The secret is out. I've been registered (I'd like to say against my will) for the B.A.A. 5k on April 15th. I'm really excited to run my first official race with a team of 2FNS family by my side.
Reading through Dave's post and Jon's post where they talked about the calculations they do while they run made me think about what I think about when I run. I don't think about how far I've gone, I typically think about how miserable I am at that exact moment, how each step is one more that I'd rather just be walking. It's really difficult to keep going when every thought I have is discouraging! I don't know if this problem is just in my head, or if it plagues other beginner runners.
There are a few tactics I've found to help cope with the incessant negativity coming from my own mind. They all come back to distraction. So while Dave and Jon are solving equations, I am forcing myself to think about anything other than the run that I am on. I listen to music that I know so well the lyrics feel a part of me. I think about my to-do list, drafting grocery lists in my mind, and pondering when I'll have the time to clean my bathroom. I think of the blog posts I need to write and the job applications I need to fill out. Sometimes thinking about all of these unfinished tasks makes me anxious and forces me to run a little bit faster, but usually I just feel better having the half and hour or hour to get everything in order.
I've heard that at some point in a running career you will actually start to like running, and I'm looking forward to this phenomenon. I'd like to be one of those people that goes for a run to clear my head and think of nothing, instead of this distraction method I've concocted that tends to make me uneasy. It is a romantic thought: to go for a run and to be in the zone. If anyone has any tips or short-cuts to finding this "zone," I'd love to know.
What really keeps me going is knowing that my family is doing it too, that the 2FNS community is working with same trepidation and through the same troubles that I am. We're all working towards the same goal: to have awesome t-shirts at the B.A.A. 5k.
ADN! I feel your pain. I find it really hard to run on treadmills even with a personal television set approximately one foot away from my face. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like the commercials are longer and the dialogue is less engaging when running on a treadmill, even when it’s trashy reality TV (usually my fail-safe!), and then I am counting every step, every second, waiting for it to be over.
So what I like to do is run with someone else. I am finding that when I run with Jono (outside or on a treadmill), we talk pretty much the whole time (we’re going at a comfortable pace so it’s not like we’re dying for air after every syllable) and I (happily) never even get a chance to put in my earbuds. Also, running with Rara is a great distraction because she is such a cray-cray and I have to make sure she stays on task, doesn’t stop to eat bunny poo, and isn’t about to collapse from exhaustion. I know me saying “Run with a dog!” may not be helpful, but I think running with something else to do (talking, training a crazy pup) can be even better than music. I know Jon listens to stand-up comedy and/or podcasts a lot when he runs.
So maybe something like this could engage your mind without causing the stress that your to-do and grocery lists do.
I hope you find something to get your mind in the mood to run!
P.S. The months before I studied abroad, I would run on the treadmills at school and think, “In three months, I’ll be running in Germany,” “In one month, I’ll be running in Germany,” and so on. Even now, reminiscing about my awesome adventures helps break up some of the monotony.