What do you think about when running?

danjsimas

I went for a run this morning and so many things went through my head and helped motivate me. I was wondering what everyone thinks about....

AmberLiscous

I LOVE IT!!! I think about how far i have come!!!

DancinSMartiPants

When I finally get into the zone (after a mile or so) I think of stories that I want to write.

therealangd

I usually listen to a running podcast. So, I try not to think at all.
When my mind starts wandering, I check on my form, or wonder if I'm going to die :P, or try and talk myself out of the pain, or into walking.

I think of stories that I want to write.

During my race on Sunday, I was thinking about my blog post to write.

MOMvsFOOD

Just about EVERYTHING! What to cook, whats on my todo list, what my kids current shopping needs are, what needs to be done around the house, how pretty things around me area. AND at the gym, who picks whats on the TVs, and people watching the people down below (the cardio machines are up on a deck over the weights)

nikki0404

The first 2 miles I ask myself "What was I thinking!!" After that my mind clears up and i think about how good Im going to look when I reach my goal! LOL

MellyPfromVT

I get some of my best ideas for lesson plans when running.

trainguy917

It's not what I used to think about, but I think about my cousin Bruce, who was like a brother to me, and was a running partner for half marathon training for several years. He passed away on Friday at only 49. I can't imagine I'll ever be able to run again without thinking of him.

Aesop101

Are we there yet.

cenafan

pushing further into each interval. Still doing C25K and am at the point of making the jogging parts longer. I use lamp posts and electrical boxes as guides..."just one more...two more....". LOL!

ARighteousWoman

I try to capture the smells when I do run. Though, I don't run much...

keb80

I always think about 'problems' that are bothering me. I've tried to think about other things but, for some reason, I ALWAYS think about things/issues that have me down or are weighing on my mind.

AmberLiscous

Are we there yet.

Yes....this also!!!!

SandersWifey

I think to myself
'Don't trip, don't fall, don't trip, don't fall" :laugh:
For real though I really don't know, I get in a zone and kind of go all mushy minded

jlewis2896

Are we there yet.

Haha, exactly!!

I actually try to do long division to distract myself. Another trick is thinking about body parts that DON'T feel tired. Like my thumbs. Or my teeth.

Last summer I ran a half marathon and stayed to watch the full marathon finishers and cheer for them. It was SOOOO inspiring. I was sitting at probably the 24 mile mark, so people were really struggling and digging in.

When I think I can't go on, I think about the people I saw finish that marathon. No lie, most of the time thinking about it makes me tear up a bit. It's amazing what we can do when we really want it. I got to see the last people finish -- a very heavyset couple, obviously struggling, and they were holding hands and limping through to the finish. It was amazing, absolutely amazing.

HolleeERL

This is the biggest reason I love running. I have time to actually complete a thought (I have two young children). I think about EVERYTHING! I'll pass by a dead animal and think about what scavanger has ravaged it...who else thinks of such things; then I'll see a crushed CD and wonder why it ended up on the side of the road; a garbage bag with something in it...wonder if it's a body! I might see some animals (deer, turkeys, horses, bunnies) and wonder if they think they are outsmarting me by running away from the big bad human that was chasing them even though I had no intention of going near them. I ponder a conversation that I could have handled better. Politics!!! ACK! Plans for vacation; upcoming races; bug bites, my hurting toenails; old friends; my to do list... )

sunnyrunner23

Sounds really Hokey but I think about things that make me truly happy, a kind of gratitude. My son's smile always helps me run a little better! Try it you won't believe the boost it gives you!

phillytle

"Don't die! Don't die! Don't die!"

JDMPWR

Donuts, Beer and Sex....all at once

or sometimes

I bet smoking crack would be much easier

Syntax_Error

"don't pass out, don't pass out, don't pass out....."

hroush

I'm just concentrating on my pace and my breathing. I have a little cadence that I "hear" that corresponds to my steps and my breathing and this helps me stay constant.

knapowell

Most of the time I sing. Singing takes my mind off of how far I have left, how hot it is, etc. I have been told by neighbors that I look like a crazy person huffing and puffing and talking to herself. They also tell me that whatever I'm doing it is working, so I don't mind looking crazy.

The last time my ipod went dead while jogging, all I could think about was how loud I was breathing.

bunchesonothing

Donuts, Beer and Sex....all at once

or sometimes

I bet smoking crack would be much easier

lmfao!

Often, my day.

Sometimes, nothing. Sometimes my head is clear, almost like a meditative state.

Sometimes, if it's a hard run, I think of how far I've come and that this hard run will help me go farther.

Sometimes I'm focusing on how I feel.

Sometimes I run with my hubby, so I'm talking to him.

During my weekly long runs, I am a pace leader, so I am constantly focused on my runners, talking to them, checking on them and talking with my fellow leader. And I tend to love these runs, so part of these runs, I just feel incredibly good and focus how lucky I am to have such a great running group!

leighkent

"Oh, I'm not even half way through, I'm ready to stop" !!!

Last night however, I was thinking about who was more embarassed - me, as the older school kids were watching me attempt to look casual and like a pro at running, or the older school kids I ran past whilst having a .... "moment" with each other :-/

stormieweather

I think to myself
'Don't trip, don't fall, don't trip, don't fall" :laugh:
For real though I really don't know, I get in a zone and kind of go all mushy minded

^^This ^^ My legs get heavy and uncooperative and sometimes I stumble. I run late at night so have a fear of falling and knocking myself out, and lying there on the street in the dark, all alone. For this reason, I tell my family to check my route if I'm not back in xx minutes.

tannaleigh

generally I will focus on the music I am listening to. Sometimes I will work through issues with the boyfriend so that I don't get angry with him for something insignificant. Yesterday I thought about donating part of my liver to my Dad. He is an alcoholic, but needs a new liver because of his cancer. He can't be listed for a liver because of his active alcoholism. I've been on the fence about it for some time because it would anger me to go through something just to watch him abuse the gift, but then I think of the stranger who donated their child's organs and thus saved my son's life. If a stranger could do it for me, I should do it for my father. Once its out of my body, it will be his liver to do what he wants to. I am kind of ashamed that I used to justify my not wanting to donate to him because of his alocoholism. On my run yesterday I kind of came to the conclusion that that is no reason to punish him, or watch him suffer and die.

Okay...that was a little personal.... but really. its true.

When I am coming to the end of a run, generally I am thinking you have to run faster harder, because I like to run a PB everytime I go out....

BerryH

I think about Haruki Murakami's book "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" and disappear into an infinite loop of self-documenting running.

laceylovespink

if I'm running a 5k I promise myself that if i can just complete it then I'll never have to run another again (but i always do)

just running to train I try to shut my mind off but usually I'm counting down how much time I have left or saying 'don't be last, don't be last, don't be last' hahaha

superhippiechik

Can people see my stomach flopping over my shorts? Is my cellulite still flopping or stationary? Damn my boobs hurt! Oh,pretty flower!

lildevil968

I use running as a form of stress relief, or even theraphy. Sometimes I think about things at work that make me mad, or sometimes I think about how I can make things better in my life, and the life of my kids. Other times I just pray that I make it through the run without dying...lol. Before I know it iam done, and heading back into the locker room. My motto is that "running is cheaper than theraphy".

I also think about how if I die out there, iam on a trail, and no one will find me. I also worry about the mountain lions getting to me, so I run a little faster.

gingerfoxxx

I love that i am not the only one questioning my decision to run for the first mile (unless i am still too asleep to realize what i have gotten myself into!!) haha. I run through a pretty lively area, so i guess i do less thinking, more people watching. I love playing guess what breed that dog is and listening to people playing loud music in their cars.