What do you think about on long runs??

My running partner often used to ask me this question when she used to run with her ipod on. She would ask me what I think about, I told her I didnt really know and forgot, in reality I think about her and wished she was more than just a running partner!!  Certainly takes away any physical pain I might be feeling.

On a more serious note I tend to think about positive things and how chuffed I am that I've started running and just how generally good it feels to be out pounding the pavements. Lonely bypass routes, big hills, endless rain, blistering heat, sore achilles, aching groin, they dont even come into question when I'm running. I just keep smiling. Somedays I think I will turn in Forest Gump and just keep running.................

Chocolate Moose wrote (see)

No good thinking about sexy women when I'm running

I spent one hour today without being able to get rid of a javascript function that I have been trying to fix at work... which is quite horrid, instead of focusing on speed, I go stg like...

 if(document.getElementById("thisTypeOfTraining" = "rubbish"))

{

 alert("You will die in the race");

}

honest!

Mick 'Stringy' wrote (see)

Chocolate Moose wrote (see)

No good thinking about sexy women when I'm running

Especially bad if you are also wearing tight lycra running shorts!

I'm not speaking from personal experience you understand, its just a thought....er....hasn't happened to me before....er...em.......lets move on

LIVERBIRD wrote (see)

Mick 'Stringy' wrote (see)

Chocolate Moose wrote (see)

No good thinking about sexy women when I'm running

Especially bad if you are also wearing tight lycra running shorts!

I'm not speaking from personal experience you understand, its just a thought....er....hasn't happened to me before....er...em.......lets move on

Ah, it's all coming out now Mick!

Here's hoping it's not coming out - not in public anyway!!

I tend to let my mind wander. I usually listen to music and sometimes the a song will revive memories from the past. Most of all I switch off. I very rarely think about work or any problems I may be encountering.

Colonel Blimp wrote (see)

All I can think about is the pain, torture, suffering and discomfort I'm going through.  That, and how can I call an ambulance if I need one...

That pretty much the same as me, lol!

 Sometimes I dont really think about anything, just hum along to whatever I'm listening to, other times when I'm in pain just thinking about finishing one more mile or the feeling you get when you finish!

I compose my running diary entry in my head. .and then I take the applause from the imaginary supporters lining the route of my imaginary marahon..

sometimes I wave at them which can startle passers by who dont realize that they are my supporters in my race...

I treat it as time to concentrate on me. I tend to put the world to rights. Rehearse arguments, revisit decisions. Talk to my dad (in my head, he's dead, so can't actually talk to him) Generally work through all the worries and bothers that otherwise tend to clutter up my head. Somehow the problems get left out on the hedgerows and I feel better for the experience both physically and mentally.

That sounds really heavy, it doesn't feel like it at the time. it isn't necessarily the whole run either, there's things like "I wonder what the bird over there is, haven't got the specs, so can't see it clearly, wonder if it will sit there long enought for me to get it in focus... oh it's gone." and "ooops, that was slippy" or "urgh, just stuck my hand in the mud my trainers left on the stile, wonder if i could wipe it on my T-shirt - nope, that hasn't helped." And so on. Sometimes out loud. to myself.

Maybe therapy would be the answer???

Sometimes think about rumpo. Sometimes about work. Sometimes very dark thoughts indeed which trigger a blue mood for days.

So, a mixed bag, really.

hate long runs,usually feel knackered after the first mile,spend my whole time counting off miles and making up goals to keep me going,1/4 distance ,half way now,only five to go

when do i next need to inflict one of these on myself and how far?

then i get to the pub 2 miles from my house and its "heheye" this is my longest this year the next 2 miles are all added distance,2 more long runs and start to taper,easy

For very long runs - like todays 20 miler- I like to download a few different tunes on to my Ipod, or even some classical music extracts and I use the opportunity to listen to the lyrics or music properly. The steady rhythm of the running (or plodding) helps me to concentrate.

Other than that I try and notice whats going on around me - ie changing seasons, Sometimes I get bogged down with trying to remember how many miles I've run during the week, or past month

I hate it when my mind gets filled with grumpy thoughts like rehearsing what I would say to certain members of management ....if I had the courage! Or didn't mind losing my job!  I don't like those people invading my running time

I counted snails once.....

Kept me going for a good while.

LIVERBIRD wrote (see)

Sometimes I might have been singing the same over and over in my head for an hour and a half and I haven't even noticed.......

Ahhhh, I thought I was the only one who did that!!!!, sometimes its not even the complete song, sometimes its just the verse, or one line, over and over and over without even realising it!!.

I tend not to need to have to find things to think about, one of the beauties of running without the constant din of music or the radio is the ability to let your mind drift, I can remember times when I have "lost" 3 or 4 miles because I have drifted off during a run.

One of the worst things to do is start thinking about how much distance you've got left to go, if I ever start doing that it seems to send me to a dark place, so I tend to try and ignore my watch if at all possible.

I go over and over songs in my head too. I ran my last marathon with a Lillie Allen song in my head...well at least some of the verses over and over and over and over again.

I also like to think about absolutely nothing. I ususally run with a partner and we used to gossip all the way round, but now that I am running alone I'm finding it great just to turn my mind off. I do wander off in my mind sometimes and think about men in uniform..... (which is probably why I love Hamburg marathon)

for a long training session i like listen music (alone). I think about my family, to .If i train with my runner mates we talk  about contests,training and women ,to. My last official contest (HM) i often counted number...to arrive next KM and start again.

good run