Let the weekend begin!
Not going to lie, I started the weekend off by celebrating with some wine. :)
Thank you for your congrats on my Glo Bars hitting Ambrosia! I couldn’t be happier to have your support. :) Also, great discussion going on in My Breakfast Story– it is really inspiring to read about your journey, so thank you all for sharing your experiences.
Fit Sugar had a wonderful post today called ‘What do you think about when you run?’. Fit Sugar wrote about a recent opportunity to meet two elite runners Jenny Barringer and Sarah Bowman at the New Balance Women’s Running Summit.
When the elite runners were asked what music they listen to when they run they simply chuckled and said they don’t listen to music…ever. When asked what they think about when they run, they simply said, ‘running’.
I thought this was so interesting, although not overly surprising, that elite athletes would have their mind on the training, and not anything else.
Another tidbit that I thought was fascinating was that for every hour they are running, they spend 2 hours on strength training, stretching, and icing their muscles! Reading this makes me want to stick with my strength training, stretching, and icing when sore!!! I think it also speaks to how hard running is on the body and how we need to ensure our muscles are strong so they can support the wear and tear of the sport.
When I used to play competitive fast pitch we had training in sports psychology and we learned about the importance of tuning out all distractions. It is supposed to improve not only your mental game, but your physical performance too!
On this particular 12 mile run, I was thinking…
- Damn, it’s hot. It’s getting hotter with every mile too! Oh crap…
- Thank God I have a Camelbak now!! *takes gulp*
- I hope I don’t see one of these!
- How much longer? I sure wish my Polar wasn’t broken!
- I wish I lived here ;)
- Oh good song, crank volume and repeat.
I had Eric by my side (on bike) so I talked to him most of the time! Had I been alone I would have been thinking all kinds of things to pass the time.
I had to ask myself the same questions after I read this article:
1) I tend to always listen to fast and upbeat music, and
2) What I think about on runs varies in great part by the type of run that I am doing. For example, when I go on long, slow-paced runs, I let my mind wander and I think about so many things…family, friends, blogging, to-do lists, the bakery, etc. However, when I do speed work, like the 10k mock race on Monday, I typically only think about running, my goal, my pace, my form, and how much longer I have to pant for! There isn’t much energy to think about much else.
One of the things I LOVE about running is that it gives me time to think and be with my thoughts. I have created Glo Bar flavours and dreamed up new dinner recipes on some of my long runs! I consider that a productive run… ;) Other runs, I just soak up the scenery. It really varies!
I like having the freedom to take running seriously on some days and take it very lightly on other days. I think there is a time to train and a time to play and that is how I like it.
What about you- what do you think about when you run (or just exercise in general)? Do you let your mind wander or do you just zone out and not think about anything? What about during a race?
Updates:
- My RAW and gluten-free Glo Bar was a smashing success-finally after SO many trials over the past several months!!! More info to come next week… :)
- Is anyone else having their comments disappear on them after hitting submit? It has happened to me a couple times and also to another reader. I’m wondering if it is due to this new plug-in I installed…
Enjoy your Friday night :) Coming up tomorrow a VERY delicious dinner recipe you will want to try this weekend!
I always have upbeat music, and I like to think about the goal I’m working towards. It differs whether I’m doing cardio or lifting. I try not to let my mind wander too much!
I don’t run but when I exercise I think about a lot of stuff, my life, my work, etc. While I’m thinking I’m not really paying much attention to the pain or to the fact that I’m tired as hell, so I guess that’s a good thing!
When I was at uni, I used to plan essays in my head when I ran! I would do all of my reading, make lots of noted, then off I’d go for a run and let it all sink in and formulate into an essay! :D
Now, I just let my mind wander – work (lesson planning!), what I’m going to cook for dinner, what other exercise I’m going to do etc. Sometimes I listen to books.
When I race (haven’t in ages!) I never listen to anything though. I’m usually thining about how much I want to stop but I check every single km split and if I go through a km a bit faster and I’m on track for my goal time, I get a little buzz. :)
When I swim, I count my laps. Sometimes my mind wanders but the counting brings me back and relaxes me. When I run, I listen to upbeat music to motivate me. I think about running, my form, my pace, my body.
I don’t listen to music and I think that’s kinda weird. Readers ask for my play list and I’m embarrassed to admit I don’t listen to music.
I’ve had my comments disappear before! I thought you were deleting them or something lol
I listen to music when I run but the more I run, the more I realize that it’s not fun. And why am I doing something that isn’t enjoyable? So I’m slowly embracing the idea of NOT being a runner and finding other activities that maybe a little better-suited for ME. No need to follow the crowd… :D
I listen to music on about a third of my runs, another third are silent runs and the last third are with a bunch of people so we chatter amongst ourselves.
I always hate the first 20 minutes, so whatever silent/music/chatting run I’m on, I just silently repeat “keep going, don’t stop” for that first 20 minutes :)
If I’m alone, I usually listen to music. Occasionally, (when alone) just enjoy the quiet. I live in the suburbs and there’s not much quiet around here during the day with all the cars on the streets.
I much prefer workin gout with a buddy and chatting. This ALWAYS passes the time fastest for me.
I’m like you, I’ve created some bomb recipes while letting my mind wander.
-Mary
I pray :)
The latest Runners World has an interesting article about ‘meditating’ running. It was very interesting to me.
I will be in Thornhill next week so if my meetings don’t run long, I will try to make it to Ambrosia – congrats by the way!
a lot of times i let my mind wander, but somehow i end up doing math problems?!?! it definitely makes the time pass REAL fast though :)
I love letting my mind wander but sometimes I find that when I look down at my Garmin, I have slowed down quite a bit! I find I run the best when I’m not thinking about much but the beat of the music.
At this point in my “running” – if you can even call it that … I only think “How much longer do I have to run? When will this be over? This is torture.”
i like to listen to music, but sometimes my mind just wanders and i dont even hear my music anymore. I just think about random things usually, nothing in particular
I mostly think “God, please let this be over soon.” LOL! Seriously, I do a lot of visualizing when I run. I haven’t quite been able to get “lost in the moment” yet. I’m hoping that happens one day when I can get to the end of a run and be like, “oh, wow, it’s over already???” :)
I can only zone out when I’m swimming. For some reason the repetitive breathing and water helps me to clear my mind and veg for however long I can swim for. While running, I’m usually bored ;) so I think about absolutely everything. Usually my worries or a problem I’m having, but also sometimes why I’m training and what I have to do next. Probably not very good for focusing on one task at a time, but I just can’t seem to find that zen mode while running. Maybe with practice?
Unfortunately I’m on indefinite running hiatus due to injury (so sad) but when i was running, I’d think about ANYTHINg and EVERYTHING! Especially if something was bothering me I’d really use the run to try to work it out in my head.
What I found very interesting was when I started yoga. DUring yoga I don’t think about anything BUT yoga! There is too much to concentrate on between posture and form and breathing to let any thoughts creep in. And you know what, I love that! Its like a nice mental nap!!
TBH I’ve had my comments disappear a few times… but it’s been for a while now, not just since the plug-in was installed.
I think about a lot of things while exercising, but I honestly can’t remember them at all! Mostly, I just repeat Caitlin’s mantra, “Lay the hammer down, lay the hammer down, lay the hammer down”. It really helps me power through difficult bits of a workout.
When I run outdoors I like to split my time between music and silence. Sometimes just listening to the birds chirping is music enough (I know that sounds super lame, but its true!). Other times, I mouth the words to some fast tempo music…because I like to pretend that I’m a superstar/rapper/popstar :)Makes time fly!