Overcoming thoughts when running- how??

[RainbowInACloud]

I'm never going to be a long distance runner but I've recently done c25k and have really enjoyed it. I'm going to keep up the 3 runs a week.
However. . . I spend a lot of the run thinking 'this is hard/ shall I just stop/ i can't do it today' etc.
how do you stop those thoughts? I could probably keep running even further if it wasn't for my brain!
Thanks.

Podcasts. Or an audiobook?

I love to listen to them and find bring at home too distracting. When out running I can really listen to them.

I have a few 'Fighting Talk' length routes these days

I listen to Zombies Run. Keeps me amused as I struggle along.

I found that variety helped. So in my three runs per week i do one longer steady one, listening to a podcast. One other run is a slightly faster but shorter one, and the other is a very short but very fast one. (When i say very fast clearly in my own head I am striding gracefully at a pace to rival any Olympian. The reality is that my sprint is slower than DH's jog and I must look a state but who cares? )

The negative thoughts stopped because i was not bored with the runs, and the short sprinty one really benefits your leg strength, meaning the slower long run is quite easy in comparison.

Finally I can never speak to a runner without urging them to go to a parkrun. It really fires my enthusiasm.

I like to imagine myself in a zombie apocalypse. I have to get better at running so I can outrun the zombies and protect my family. It whiles away the time and gives me something to aim towards.

Yes amouseinawindmill!
Long slow run with a podcast.
parkrun
Then usually a friend and I will run together on a Sunday doing awful hill sprints if we can handle it!

Never gets boring - and you can change it whenever you feel like!

I haven't run with music for ages ever since I put my iPod through the washing machine but I used to have a couple of "power songs" for when I was feeling a bit meh about running. They bring back memories of times and places when I was feeling great and really enjoying a run.

I also agree with breaking it down into chunks, and like the idea of a circular run.

The first 10 mins is always the worst, as it's your body getting used to the extra demands you are placing on it - I once read a really good article about the biochemistry going on within the body but never managed to find it again. It was to do with needing more oxygen to burn stored carbs and turn them into fuel for the muscles, which takes normal people about 10 minutes to get into balance.

I 'play' songs in my head which are the right tempo for a good cadence. My favourites are

Every little thing she does is magic

Bright side of the road

Karma chameleon ..sp

There are loads of them on running playlists online.

Also check my form whenever my garmin watch beeps-run tall, relax shoulders, breathing check etc.

In a race I use 'I can do anything for x mins'...and visualise the finish line.

amouseinawindmill I'd be interested to know a bit more about your three different runs - what sort of distance/pace do you do for each one?

The other thing that's made my runs easier is not wearing my watch - I used to obsessively check how long I'd been running for. Now I have a few routes which I like and I know roughly how long they take so I just run and know that I'll have done what I want when I get home, without actually needing to know how long I've run for.

I used to do this (and stop after about 5 minutes). I now imagine (and sort of tick of) every part of my body from the toes to the top and down again. So I think about the very end of each of my toes (one at a time), then the first joint, then where they join the foot, then the foot etc etc all the way to the top of my head (ends of my hair). Dull but I find it more interesting than counting and I particularly focus on how amazing various areas are going to look as a result of running (they don't but it helps to keep me motivated ).

I use numbers too, like "at exactly X time I'll stop" or "just finish this song and one more". Then I'll count my breaths (in on one and exhale on five) and I'll often find that I'm distracted enough to pass the marker I had set myself and keep going another while.
I love the joyous feeling of "I did it!" When a run is over

The long run is 7-10k depending on how much time i have to spare, at about 7min/km. I am aiming to keep increasing this with the goal of a half marathon in 2016.

The medium one is around 5k at about 6.15-6.30min/km

For the fast one i don't wear a watch, I just run as fast as I can for about 10-15 minutes.

Thanks amouse, that's very helpful.

I listen to audiobooks or MarathonTalk podcast on my long and medium length runs.

Shorter runs I do a circuit as a pp said, so after a certain point it's easier to continue than turn back.

Mostly I've just learned that voice is not my friend and I know I can continue because I've done it so many times before. I know I would be gutted if I don't finish a run and that keeps me going more than anything else really.

This might make me sound mad...

You know the book "the little engine who could"?

He gets up the hill by chanting "I THINK I can"

It's just the right tempo and positive idea to keep you running. So me plodding along with my head going "I THINK I can I THINK I can" and then as it gets harder "I KNOW I can"

It's a mixture of the rhythms and the positivity that keep me going. However I am a shit runner, I really don't enjoy it, but as Suzanne says way up there I enjoy being done and I enjoy the feeling afterwardsonce I can breath again

I was going to come on and say I count then I realised that I haven't been counting for a while! And I'm thrilled that I'm finally fashionable!! Although I have been running for about 15 years so was clearly ahead of the trend. . DH and I will run together as a treat if we have visitors (normally one of us on child duty) and although it used to wind me up to run with him as our paces were so different now I enjoy it. I find running really useful for sorting things out in my head and problem solving.

I find runs easier when I don't know my route, just go and find new roads paths etc. Also mix it up with a bit of fartlek training, which will also help with speed.

I can't run with music, I use my run time to clear my head of everything and just focus on my breathing, I do use the Runkeeper app which gives me updates on my pace/distance so I kind of end up racing myself.

RJ I do that too

Also I thought I could, I thought I could....

I generally run once or twice a week on a circular route (just over 5k). I definitely couldn't run back on myself as I'd hate it! I listen to dance music or anything generally upbeat which usually takes my mind off the task in hand. Often though I'm tired and it's not enough, I hope this doesn't sound too ridiculous (probably will !) but I then imagine myself at an upcoming event in THAT dress in my wardrobe that's slightly too tight but I know that if I carry on it wont be and I'll feel great or on a night out bumping into people who haven't seen me for ages (I've dropped about 5 stone in total) and that spurs me on. In other words I try to focus on future positive situations i.e. the results, rather than spending too much time thinking about the run itself. Hope that helps!

Sometimes I like to do the same route over and over again. It becomes second nature, you don't have to think about it, it inevitably becomes easier and easier until the 'stop' voice goes away completely.
Likewise, whether i run the same route or a new one, i sometimes like to listen to the same music - same album or playlist - over and over again. It helps me zone out quickly and then my mind wanders rather than focussing on the running. I've listened to the mika album life in cartoon motion sooo many times.
Sometimes i like to run with friends or husband, but mostly these days just with my dog.
Sometimes i like to run alone and set myself a challenge like a steep hill - and i'm realistic about my fitness. i know what type of hill is an attainable challenge for my current fitness level which fluctuates a lot, mostly because of school holidays.
Sometimes if i feel it's tough i tell myself to slow the pace until i feel better again. Other times i'll run even harder and push on through the pain!!
It's a "whatever works" approach. at the moment i don't feel that fit but i still keep plugging away as much as i am able.
Good luck & enjoy!

Everyone else has said these really, but this is what I do;

Get changed really quickly and get out of the door without thinking too much.

Set myself a route (always circular) and distance in advance - if I say to myself that I'll just see how I go, I always tend to do shorter distances.

If a long distance, choose a new route to try - therefore not thinking 'oh no, I remember this point and I've got miles to go'.

Spend lots of time breaking the run into, say, 8 chunks - visualise each part and then calculate where I am as a percentage, then a fraction

When it gets hard, make up a mantra, I suppose - 'I can do this, I can do this' saying a word each time my foot hits the ground.

Visualise something lovely I can eat guilt-free later.

Think who I can tell how far I've run and recording my workout on mapmyrun.

Plan my shopping list/to do list/holiday plans (whilst visualising myself in a bikini!)

If all else fails, buy some fab new kit!

Oh, and you may well become a long(er) distance runner - it's amazing how it creeps up on you.

I try and do a 10-12 mile run at the weekend which is lots of time to think! Music is a must and I normally think about the week ahead and what I need to plan for, plus think a lot about holidays and places I've been to in the past. I rarely focus on the actual running unless it's up a hill when I chant to myself this is flat, this is flat which helps me run more quickly up it. I have a perverse love for running up hills!

I'm another one who LOVES holiday running!

Also I think I felt better once I realised that unless you stagnate and just plod at the same pace for years and years - it doesn't necessarily get easier. You push yourself harder, you get better - it's still tough going. But you get lots out of it just the same.

I did a half marathon last year. Looking back I would say I loved it. When I think back properly, I loved up to about 13-14km, and the last 30 metres or so. The bit in-between was largely extremely hard-work (I had a target time in mind and was determined to keep the pace up). My head was stuck in a 'everything-hurts-what-the-hell-was-I-thinking-I-am-completely-shit-at-this' loop. But the satisfaction when I crossed the finish line was soooo worth it.

I spend a fair amount of time wondering if I ought to have worn something warmer or cooler, a different type of hat/gloves and generally trying to work out exactly what gear would have optimised the running experience

theonlyone on hills I go "it's uphill, that means there's a downhill following!"