Lmc50 says forget the headphones and just enjoy the silence. I say I'd just hear myself huffing and puffing and thinking 'how long have I been running? How long have I got left? I hate running' etc etc What DO people think about when they're running?
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WHILST RUNNING? - Couch to 5K
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WHILST RUNNING?
59erGraduate
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59er
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DDJ2019Graduate
Well, in the spaces between thinking how long, how much longer, goodness this is difficult, I'm so tired and so on and so forth, I generally find that I'm too tired to actually think anything at all 
I hope that as my fitness improves I'll be able to look around and see what the world is doing but I'm not setting a timetable for that lol
Buddy34Graduate
I run on pavements next to roads so I love my music . Nothing great about listening to car engines😊
Can't argue with that!
I get in my car and drive to 'runner friendly' terrain but I still enjoy my podcasts/music to take my mind off thinking about the time.
There is a great place to run , its a cycle path not to far away and goes on for miles but I'm scared to go on my own.
Maybe it will be busier in the summer time and I can try it then 😊
I know exactly what you mean. Theres a place near me like that. I do run there but I always tell someone usually hubby where I'm going and roughly how long I'll be. In fact I usually do this anyway wherever I run.
I used to cycle on that cycle path about 15 years ago all the way to Bathgate from where I live in Cumbernauld, that cycle path is now where the railway is, the new path starts a little further away than it was back then and is now parallel to the Helensburgh to Edinburgh Waverley railway.
Yes AlMorr, the cycle path used to run by where I lived . The houses that were there are no longer , it is Drumgelloch train station now ..
The cycle path now starts in Plains and runs up by the Lilly loch 😊
It took me 2 hours cycling from Cumbernauld to Bathgate on the bike, when I got over to Airdrie I joined that cycle route at Katherine Park, cycled up the route past Caldercruix, Hillend Reservoir, Blackridge, Armadale and on to Bathgate, now that will be a great route for marathon runners to train on.
Katherine park is still there and can be busy in the summertime and I've done a couple of 10ks to Caldercruix
👍 Not sure about parkrun tomorrow, I still intend to go to Dunfermline, however, if its cancelled I'll run a 5K locally as part of the Vitality Running World Cup, keep checking the cancelled parkrun Website, so far at 5pm Friday Drumpelliier and Dunfermline parkruns are still on, if parkruns are cancelled, that will apply to all parkruns in the UK, there are no parkruns tomorrow anyway in Europe except the UK, that of course could change before tomorrow.
UnfitNoMoreGraduate
Today I will be thinking “what are sky sports going to fill 7 channels with?” 🤣
Running is meditative, once you’re not thinking about breathing then all sorts can come and go from your mind... same with the footfall and the time, just takes practice to get there. When I went from music it was to podcasts, as they distracted my brain better than music anyway... then one day I got to a run and had no episodes to listen to... since then I’ve rarely listened to anything while running, and have 7GB of podcasts stacked up!
I might try my next Magic 10 20 minute run 'naked' - see how I get on!
I see Bressay parkrun is cancelled because of the number of virus infections in Shetland. I was hoping to be in Shetland in early May for 10 days and running on Bressay was going to be a highlight (bucket list item). I hope I will still have the chance but I suspect it might not happen now.
We shall have to wait and see... things will change quickly so unless parkrun as an organisation shut them down I can see individual ones making decisions based on local infection rates. Fingers crossed the show will go on.
It does seem that most of the UK runs are on tomorrow, however, they could be the last ones for goodness knows how long, depending on what happens in the next week.
Here’s the latest from parkrun HQ parkrun.com/news/2020/03/12...
Just heard that most sport is to be cancelled, I don't subscribe to Sky Sports but if I did I would cancel my subscription immediately
59er you're 1/2 way towards running nakedly 🙈 I think of all sorts, I generally absorb the surroundings around me and what's going on the sights, the sounds the smells, the weather I look to the horizon randomly and try and 2nd guess what weather will arrive during my run.. and then there's my in built silent music the tune that's wormed it's way inside your head, dig deeply 59er you'll still hear that tune even though the volumes on zero.
And as for the huffing and puffing that fades away and soon you'll not notice it!!! 👍
Watch this space!😉
WenderwooGraduate
When I first started I didn’t listen to anything but the app, but used to count randomly and I got on my own nerves. So I’ve tried a myriad of things, Spotify, amazon prime, bbc sounds, lots of different podcasts, Nike run club - all as a means of distraction. But recently my music failed and I found I wasn’t doing the counting thing, so I’m going to give the “silence” a go and see what it’s like 😁
agirlinwinterGraduate
I think about my breathing, about each foot hitting the ground, about work, pretty much anything really. I like running without music. I find it meditative and it helps clear my head.
I somehow think I'm missing out on this meditational run but I'm open to anything. I'll see where it takes me 👍🤗
This is what I do too. I also do this when I’m listening to music/podcasts.
RigpigGraduate
I listen to podcasts and my internal monologue both of which vie for attention. Sometimes but very rarely I can just zone out but mostly I.m very conscious of where I am and how far I have to go.
sTrongFuseGraduate
Really just depends. If I'm running in the dark, I'll listen to music but if not, then I'm generally just absently taking in the sights and sounds around me. I tend not to think of much as its sort of my unwind time where I just switch off and concentrate (as much as I can be said to) on just going where my legs decide to take me.
I suppose too it depends on what time of day you run. If you run in the morning perhaps, you think more, whereas if you run in the evening you're chilling out and hoping not to think too much?
What is this "run in the morning" you speak of?
I'm definitely an evening runner.
Aaah the morning run! It's when you get up with the sole intention of running when you're full of energy and fresh from your good night's sleep and fuelled up from your healthy breakfast. Of course this is the theory - it doesn't work like this at all.
RigpigGraduate
I also compose my next post for here in my head, the high and low points. In my head it’s quite prosaic and not the rambling stream of consciousness that usually ends up coming out 😆
That's exactly what I do. Unfortunately by the time I actually come to posting I've forgotten what I was actually going to say, and it was quite amusing!
& so say all of us too🤣
AnnieappleAdministratorGraduate
🍏I am fortunate to run at the beach so I sometimes listen to the wind & the waves, the seagulls or little birds like goldfinches or wagtails. It’s a time to take in the sunrise over the sea & to think & plan, meditate, or just to be.
However I love music too, so I have different playlists downloaded. I get lost in the music & the words or the emotions evoked.
Often it’s pure concentration on the run...waiting for the distance & time prompts, focussing on how I am feeling, breathing, moving, arms, heart. Thoughts of others creep in too, how they are, how they are doing.
This is the wonder of running! You can own it! 🏃♀️
I can completely get not listening to music/podcasts etc when you're running along the promenade. I have been lucky enough to have done it a few times - loved it. Just listening to the sea and the gulls was enough for me. Possibly because I was on holiday and everything was new to me? Perhaps the reason I prefer to listen to something is because I'm doing the same runs and finding them a bit boring? Perhaps the changing of the seasons will bring something new.
The trick is not to do any one thing for too long even ones route I think. The change in seasons certainly helps us so much! I enjoyed this post!!
So change my route, turn off the music and hope that Spring shows her face very soon! I have too 😀
🤣
ForbiddenPlanetGraduate
Like you I must have headphones and music. I have the strongest active noise cancellation I could find (Bose QC30). And it's a bit like driving: watching my speed, watching the traffic, music blasting away, but pretty much on autopilot, and my mind drifts off to wherever it goes - I'm a bit of a dreamer.
59erGraduate
With the head phones in though I do wonder what else I'm missing....
mrrunGraduate
A few years back during shorter runs, I couldn't possibly run without music. As the runs grew longer, currently not shorter than 10k and with HM marathon twice a month, l cannot have anything that distracts me, including my favourite songs. I simply relax and think of whatever springs to mind, words/ideas/melodies, whatever, l let the brain go freestyle. Often it is a unique place to be in especially because l run alone, always alone, and in my own time. Works for me.
I think this is what throws me - my mind just jumps around not necessarily settling on anything and constantly jumps back to 'how much longer have I got to run?' 'Must be nearly there' etc etc I think I really need to try and run without distractions for several runs to see if my mind settles?
The key is to figure out what causes you to think that way. Are you bored? In discomfort? Once you clear that hurdle the rest just falls in place.
Possibly/probably bored with my route and probably finding the actual run quite hard.
I change routes, often drive myself to different places. Imagine doing the same 10k every time? Neither can l. Hard runs can be eased by running in lower cardio zones, you can alternate them and change into 'easy runs'. All sort of stuff can be done, never stick to the book.
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