I have read about people who like to run "unplugged" just zoning out, so I thought I'd use the idea of meditation while running and see how that worked for me. I normally use music and podcasts along with running apps (Zombies Run! is my favorite and I also use NRC). I also used to play several different games on my phone (NOT while I'm running) and I've lately come to realize I don't ever allow my mind to just rest, I'm always doing or listening to or watching something, so I wanted to try to use my running as a way to mentally rest.
I did run today with headphones but I planned to only use them minimally, or as a last resort if running in silence was just unbearable. I'd googled some ideas to try:
1. First I tried counting my steps, 1-8 then 8-1 over and over. It was too mentally taxing 
I didn't like it.
2. Next I tried counting just 1-8 over and over. That was better. I think I could keep that up, but it seemed to me like the counting was a way of forcing my attention to the steps, like a big burly guy grabbing my head and forcing it back to where it was supposed to be! It was too much.
3. Next I tried focusing on my breath. That was awful, I quit almost immediately. It made me hyper aware of my breathing and I got an anxious "I can't get a deep enough breath" feeling.
4. Next I tried a mantra to repeat, I'd found tons of examples online. I tried "I am strong" over and over, one word per footfall, and I kind of liked that. I tried other things later but went back to it when I started to get tired.
5. When "I am strong" became too tedious I added "I am loved" so I used both together "I am strong I am loved" one word each footfall, and I LOVED THAT! It was gentler, it wasn't forcing my focus into the mantra the way I felt with just the one "I am strong" mantra. When I added the "I am loved" part, my mind was flashing just for tiny split seconds on the faces of my 3 kids, alternating randomly among images of their faces. No thoughts just images, it was really nice! It allowed my mind to wander just that tiny bit. Like trying to stick with no thoughts whatsoever was just too much for me but allowing just those quick flashes of thoughts loosened up the "rules" enough for me to be comfortable. And with the words going exactly along with the footfalls it became very rhythmic and....I don't know the right explanation here but it was great.
6. When I started to get tired physically I gave up the "I am loved" part and went back to "I am strong I am strong" for the last few minutes. This really put my mind in neutral. Like letting someone else drive.
7. And finally, I just need to add that this was not a true experiment in meditation because I couldn't quite go unplugged. I listened to my podcast during my warmup walk, and I listened to my episode of Zombies Run! too, but I timed it so that the episode was over by the time I'd finished the first few minutes of running and it went into the "radio mode" which is just a 20-30 second clip of dialogue every 4-5 minutes. It did bring me out of the meditation zone but it allowed me not to panic at being completely unplugged! Next time I'll go without ZR altogether.
So I think that maybe I'll try this again. Not every time, because I really enjoy the podcasts I listen to, and my Zombies Run! game too, but when I need a mental break, to allow my mind to rest, I will go unplugged, because I AM STRONG!
week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
How did your parkrun or (not)parkrun go?
