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How do you pass the time on your runs?

tsikkz
tsikkz Posts: 404 Member
edited January 16 in Social Groups
What kinds of things do you guys do to pass the time in your mind?

I tried podcasts and audio books but I just cant concentrate. I like kind of emotional or angry music I cant listen to anything upbeat and happy when I run. I like to picture I'm in the music video if that makes sense.

I also do things like win arguments and give motivational speeches in my head when I run lol

Replies

  • JAHodgkinson_uk
    JAHodgkinson_uk Posts: 63 Member
    I daydream or end up thinking about work. Mostly I run without music and just enjoy wherever my feet take me. There are some great paths near me.
  • pobalita
    pobalita Posts: 741 Member
    The right music will certainly help you keep a good pace. I just kind of zone out - its me, my breath, and the road. I've tried to meditate in yoga class, but I think I do it better while running. :)
  • marikevr
    marikevr Posts: 389 Member
    Running partners, we do a chitty-chitty-chat-chat all the way through our long runs.
    If I am alone, mental maths (I am such a nerd I know).

    Or I just enjoy spending time alone in my head, running has helped me work through some painful personal stuff. Where else can you have the luxury of an hour just to think? :)
  • camrunner
    camrunner Posts: 363
    I listen to music and let my mind wander. Depends on when I run, but often that means I wind up thinking about work. That's not as bad as it sounds, though.

    Sometimes I just don't think at all, which is really cool. I always have a hard time getting my mind to 'relax.'
  • Dark_Roast
    Dark_Roast Posts: 17,689 Member
    My mind wanders, I sometimes listen to the music, but it's mainly there to keep up the tempo. I think, I daydream, I look at nature, I look at houses, sometimes I am just running.
  • MartinaNYC
    MartinaNYC Posts: 190 Member
    I usually set a specific pace I need to run at, so I'll spend most of the time focusing on that. Also, I alternate long runs with intervals and tempo runs, so that I won't get bored with my running routine.
  • Zekela
    Zekela Posts: 634 Member
    I listen to music... the first mile, I concentrate on getting warm so normally my fastest mile. After that, I enjoy my surrounding and listen to music along with my HRM/GPS watch that tells me that Ive completed a mile and about to start another one. I occasionally race myself and allow the watch to tell me I'm ahead or behind my pace. It's fun... like a game :-)
  • lacurandera1
    lacurandera1 Posts: 8,083 Member
    I daydream. It's kind of like mobile meditation. It's a place for me to not really think of anything. Listen to music, too. Since I started listening to music I don't get so "bored".
  • LisaR517
    LisaR517 Posts: 80
    I listen to music to keep my pace, and my mind usually goes blank. ;) Seriously, I don't think about anything. I'll mouth lyrics time to time, but it's nice to veg while doing something you love.
  • SteveTries
    SteveTries Posts: 723 Member
    comedy podcasts. Favourites are Hollywood Babble-On, TOFOP and Jay and Silent Bob Get Old. All are adult only but very funny.

    I do look like a tool laughing to myself running down the street though.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Zombies, Run! Zombie 5K and, coming soon, Zombies, Run 2! Nothing has ever added interest to my over-listened playlist that a gripping story I can't wait to hear the next part of.

    Also running TO places rather than around the block - visiting friends, picking up something form the shop, checking out a new gym etc.
  • jsj024519
    jsj024519 Posts: 400 Member
    I look at the ground. lol
  • moustache_flavored_lube
    moustache_flavored_lube Posts: 849 Member
    I trail run so scenery, and concntrating on not tripping / breaking my face keeps me pretty entertained.

    A lot of day's I kind of zone out, and I couldn't tell you what the heck I thought about.

    I occasionally listen to running podcasts
    * endurance planet & trail runner nation are my favorites
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    I try to concentrate on my pace and what I am seeing. But, if I am upset, I mull on the problem, and fret, and stew. Maybe it helps me work out some kind of emotional resolution. I am not sure.
  • miracole
    miracole Posts: 492 Member
    If I run with people we talk the whole time, sometimes there's nothing better than a 3 hour catch up session with a friend while you slog through 25+km.

    If I'm by myself I have music going, if I'm in the right mood I'll sing along and dance a bit, but otherwise I let my mind wander, though I often spend much too much time thinking up my next facebook/MFP status or the subject for my next blog post.
  • LilRedRooster
    LilRedRooster Posts: 1,421 Member
    I tend to zone off. I don't know if that's a technical way to pass time, but I zone out mentally very well on runs, which is probably why I love them so much. It gives me a mental break, like re-booting a computer. I don't even think about anything in particular, usually, just let my mind go where it wants, and mull over things going on.

    It also makes me hate treadmills, because if you zone out on those puppies, you can catch your foot and fall on your face.

    Not that I've done that..
  • TheBrolympus
    TheBrolympus Posts: 586 Member
    I listen to music. If I don't have something to distract me I will count my steps and that makes the run seem so much longer!
  • camrunner
    camrunner Posts: 363
    It's kind of like mobile meditation.

    I like that!
  • RatherBeInTheShire
    RatherBeInTheShire Posts: 561 Member
    The only way I ever used to run was with music. But then I did a bunch of half marathons where headphones were discouraged. I found that I really liked running without music. I just think.. or just stare ahead and think about nothing expect how my body is working while i'm running. It's very rare that i'll run with music anymore.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Scenery. I try to not run the same route twice - lamppost by lamppost, tree by tree, building by building. When running a race, passing people makes time go by more quickly. Also, music is a must.
  • shanse21
    shanse21 Posts: 26
    I go the podcast/audiobook route for longer runs. I lose myself in them, and sometimes run longer than I had planned because I want to finish the chapter!
  • Anamika703
    Anamika703 Posts: 202 Member
    The right music will certainly help you keep a good pace. I just kind of zone out - its me, my breath, and the road. I've tried to meditate in yoga class, but I think I do it better while running. :)
    I feel the same
  • algebravoodoo
    algebravoodoo Posts: 776 Member
    I, too, prefer energetic angry music. It actually helps relieve tension for me. However, back in the day, I wrote my best papers while running. After each lap, I'd pause and scribble the ideas. The words flowed like water when I was running! I never even noticed the time then. These days, it is lesson plans and such, but it still works :smile:
  • tachyon_master
    tachyon_master Posts: 226 Member
    I listen to fairly energetic dance music on my ipod. And I have a pretty scenic running route along the local river if the weather's good, if not, the cardio floor of my gym looks out over a big forested area. So I just zone out.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
    If it's a short run, I like loud, rockin' music. If it's long, I prefer a book on tape to deal with boredom.
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
    What kinds of things do you guys do to pass the time in your mind?

    I tried podcasts and audio books but I just cant concentrate. I like kind of emotional or angry music I cant listen to anything upbeat and happy when I run. I like to picture I'm in the music video if that makes sense.

    I also do things like win arguments and give motivational speeches in my head when I run lol

    Funny, I was thinking of this message thread while I was running this morning — I don't have time to think of anything other than running when I'm running (unless it's thinking about a message thread about running!).

    I don't "just run", though. I spend time studying how the body works during running and I'm teaching myself how to run well so there's a lot going through my head as I run - head up and looking down the road, posture, breathing, arm swing, foot strike, knee lift, heart rate, etc.
  • KeithAngilly
    KeithAngilly Posts: 575 Member
    What kinds of things do you guys do to pass the time in your mind?

    I tried podcasts and audio books but I just cant concentrate. I like kind of emotional or angry music I cant listen to anything upbeat and happy when I run. I like to picture I'm in the music video if that makes sense.

    I also do things like win arguments and give motivational speeches in my head when I run lol

    Funny, I was thinking of this message thread while I was running this morning — I don't have time to think of anything other than running when I'm running (unless it's thinking about a message thread about running!).

    I don't "just run", though. I spend time studying how the body works during running and I'm teaching myself how to run well so there's a lot going through my head as I run - head up and looking down the road, posture, breathing, arm swing, foot strike, knee lift, heart rate, etc.

    This is me. I just return over and over to focusing on form. I also like to pay attention the sounds, sights and smells along the way. The crunching of the snow, a barking dog, the smell of a wood stove are all part of the experience and I enjoy that. Now, on a treadmill, I am all about the headphones and keeping it upbeat. But, even then, I really look to pay attention to what my body is doing.
  • OMG_Twinkies
    OMG_Twinkies Posts: 215 Member
    comedy podcasts. Favourites are Hollywood Babble-On, TOFOP and Jay and Silent Bob Get Old. All are adult only but very funny.

    I do look like a tool laughing to myself running down the street though.

    hahahaha winner
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