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Original poster

What do you think about when you swim / run?

62 replies

BuiltForComfort · 07/02/2013 12:30

Have started trying to get fit - bit of swimming, should get into running too.. But I struggle with my thoughts - 30-40 mins of lane swimming either gets very dull or I can't switch off with thinking about a few difficult things that have happened to me in recent years. I don't want to dwell on it all, it makes the swim into a negative experience. How do you occupy your mind?

To preempt the most obvious answer on running - music would be the easy answer but I don't get on well with earphones and spend all my time readjusting them or getting tangled with the wires. And I don't like cutting myself off from whats going on around me IYKWIM.

Cycling is my favourite as you have to concentrate on the roads / route and there is lots to look at as you whizz along. But have hurt hand and can't brake so that's off for a while. Running is embarrassingly slow - not so much variety to look at!

OP posts:
TheFallenNinja · 07/02/2013 13:18

I just think of getting to the next milestone as quickly as I can Smile

Original poster
BuiltForComfort · 07/02/2013 13:16

I wish I could think about nothing, it's quite a skill to empty your mind and just enjoy the sensation of what you're doing. I probably need to push myself harder then, that does actually make sense. Will check out the earphones,mi could probably run with a podcast. Will still find it hard to manage the wires though!

OP posts:
EauRouge · 07/02/2013 13:09

Nothing! It's half an hour a day when I can just switch off. It's also the only time I get to myself so I would hate to share with a running partner or club. I run through the countryside though so there's always plenty to look at. I can see that a treadmill or swimming pool would be very boring.

CoteDAzur · 07/02/2013 12:38

daisy - Actually, if the goal is to burn fat, you should be able to talk while "running" (well, jogging, really).

MirandaWest · 07/02/2013 12:37

I listen to music when I run but also just think. Never quite sure what about afterwards but sometimes get stuff sorted out in my head. Or I listen to a running podcast. My bf listens to ordinary podcasts I think.

CoteDAzur · 07/02/2013 12:36

Push yourself hard enough in any endurance sport, and you will see that you don't think of anything at all. That is partly the joy of it, as daisy said - for once, you live in the moment with no baggage from the past nor worries about the future Smile

thenightsky · 07/02/2013 12:36

ahahha... i knew someone would turn up and tell me that if I could talk I wasn't working hard enough Grin

We gossip on the slower recovery bits actually Wink

stargirl1701 · 07/02/2013 12:36

Swimming can depend on my mood. If I'm grumpy then a swim will work me up into fury Grin

EssieW · 07/02/2013 12:35

I count in sets of 8 and vary it by mixing strokes, or doing sprints for a set of 8. I find it more absorbing than swimming for a length of time and it's definitely improved my swimming. I'm generally trying to remember what I'm doing next when swimming. I do just let my mind wander though sometimes but mostly on trivial stuff like what's for dinner. I think I also focus on what I'm doing n each stroke eg talking myself through it in my head or working out when I'm going to breathe.

daisydoodoo · 07/02/2013 12:34

and if you can talk while running your not pushing yourself enough! Wink

daisydoodoo · 07/02/2013 12:33

nothing thats the beauty of it. I try and run most days and those 10km are the stress free part of my day. I run around a local set of lakes so can vary my route quite a bit so as not to get bored. I do have my ipod on and some music via earphones. it was a case of finding the right earphones for me, after buying many pairs the best pair have been JVC ear buds. they mold well to my inner ear and are light.

Swimming i can't relax into as much, perhaps becasue im not s comfiortable in water. I Can swim but i have this huge fear or drowning, so never fully at ease.

thenightsky · 07/02/2013 12:33

Running is best done with a partner you can gossip with.

Swimming.. I don't know. I go about 3 times a week and get terribly bored by looking at blue tiles go by on the bottom of the pool. I count lengths and think about politics at work, kids, worries etc. This can put me off going really as I end up with negative thoughts.

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