What goes through your mind when you're running?

[bunsnroses1]

I'm on week 4 of couch to 5K and my internal monologue is very much 'oh god, this is awful, how much longer/further' etc. Does this change? Will I reach a point when I'm not thinking about the physical discomfort?

I love music, but sometimes on a long run it can get repetitive and boring quickly. I started listening to podcasts which really helped keep my mind engaged about something else other than the pain. I've started running for a year now and just like listening to my footsteps plodding away... there is something very meditative about it. I think of running as a meditation session really and just blank out my thoughts and tune into my surroundings and how my body feels instead. Go slow though! However slow you think you may be, you can afford to go slower, and it may help you with feeling awful.
I try not to think of anything troubling personally because there were times my thoughts become overwhelming and then I have to cut my run short.

I was a runner, I'm not at the moment but when I get my fitness and normal weight back hopefully I will be one again, and I'll probably need to do C25K to get there.

I ran with a club and always found it infinitely easier to run with other people and chat as we went along. If you're moaning about work/husband/family/life you forget that you're tired. If you're struggling to talk (once you're beyond the C25k stage) then you're probably running too fast and need to slow down a bit.

If no other people were available then always music, I liked playlists vaguely matched to pace but any music would do. I never got on with audiobooks or podcasts for running, weirdly.

Running pals is 100% the way forward though.

The structure of time on feet builds gradually each week. Looking at the different structure in weeks 5 & 6 is a bit WTF when you see the change in running proportion, but the time on feet is still only going up a minute or two at a time.

On the NHS podcasts I use the total time on feet inc warm up & cool down are:
Wk4 34:40 (R16)
5.1 33:11 (R15)
5.2 32:47 (R16)
5.3 32:11 (R20)
6.1 36:54 (R18)
6.2 35:28 (R20)
6.3 36:54 (R25)
Wk7 36:16 (R25)
Wk8 40:17 (R28)
Wk9 41:55 (R28)

The total run time is in brackets and the change is quite small, and some of the run time goes down as the blocks get bigger. There are a couple of easier "recovery" runs in weeks 5 & 6 to prepare for the two longer blocks.

At week 4, you've already doubled your run time from the start (16 min from 8 min) that's over half the total run time in less than half the plan! You're now at the point of re-arranging what you are already doing into longer blocks and weaning off the walk breaks.

Left foot. Right foot. Repeat.

Do you use RunKeeper or anything similar to tell you distance markers? You are going to keep reaching new personal bests for distance so focus on that achievement and how good it feels after. Don’t worry about your pace either, just the fact you are doing it.

I do like a good podcast or audio book to focus on too.

However long you have been running, this time of year is grim-it’s cold, dark and I just want to hibernate. Spring and summer running is so much more enjoyable so if you get into your stride now you’ll reap all the benefits later.

It depends on the run. If it's a hard run then I am doing lots of mental arithmetic based on hills to distract myself from the pain - I live in a super hilly area so I'm always counting down the number of hills to the end of the run and I have an internal monlogue which is basically "ok, when I get to the big pine then I'm halfway up, but it kicks up for the second half, so let's call that a third of the way up in terms of effort, then I've got 5 minutes of easy descending, then that really steep bit, then two more hills then the fast flat sandy bit, then just up the nasty rooty bit then I'm done..." I have music on during hard runs which I find really helps.

On an easy run I'm basically just listening to a podcast, no different to doing the washing up or something, I just zone out, or do some wildlife spotting.

Bone conduction headphones are amazing.

I let my imagination run riot. Sometimes it's all the things I'd like to do to the person annoying me at work, sometimes it's planning a dream holiday I'll probably never take, sometimes it's going over a tricky problem.

Mostly how horrible it is and how much I hate it. Occasionally, very occasionally, when I hit my peak it feels unbelievable and I can’t believe my body is able to do this. What keeps me at it is how great I feel after. It’s addictive and what keeps you out there.

Try going slower. Really slow, if that's what makes it less miserable. You are much more likely to get to the end that way. I speak from experience. I got to the end and actually quite enjoyed it last time by just gently plodding along.

Thanks for all the replies- I'm going to try out a few of the suggestions and tackle week 5 :)

I fantasise about being a running prodigy (at the age of 39) and being scouted by an impossibly handsome coach who falls madly in love with me. The exact script and situation changes but it's usually something along this line.

I watched a documentary about Sandhurst cadets. They were on a long run and their superiors were screaming at them to "get out of your head, your legs can do it".

I find that happens sometimes, my legs are fine and I’m not breathless, but my mind is telling me "this is sooooo hard".

I listen to music and quite often switch off/daydream while I'm running. If I'm running with friends we chat the whole way round and the miles fly by!

I remind myself that, actually, I am privileged to be able to run. I don't imagine I will always be able to as age catches up with me. And there are people who will never be able to run. I am still fairly surprised that I can run 5K. I couldn't a year ago and am very grateful that I have managed to get to this point. And, yes, music!

I use Spotify's BPM playlists - they find songs that you've previously listened to, or ones that it thinks you might like, that have the right BPM for whatever running cadence you're at. 160/170BPM is the pace that works for me, but might take a bit of playing around to figure out what works. I used to do podcasts but I've found recently that the right beat really helps keep me moving.

Some days I do mostly find myself thinking about how much I dearly want to stop running, but most of the time I find that at around 10 minutes in I can switch this voice off and just start thinking about life.

I listen to podcasts and audiobooks, sometimes I daydream. Shorter runs I sometimes listen to some music. I find it meditative, I sort of go over all the random stuff in my head.

I have been known to plan my Oscar speech/ted talk 😂

It depends what your goals are. But I would agree with pp and say slow right down.

My goals are to be able to keep running and keep enjoying it (I'm 58 and mainly do strength training and really push myself on that).

So when I run, I run slow, then slow some more, as slow as makes it enjoyable, and then slow down some more. Take the pressure off and look at the trees. Just get out there, run as slowly as you like, and enjoy it.

When I run more often, I go faster without really trying. When less (weather/work/illness/injury etc) often, I go slower. It doesn't matter, the main thing is running is now a healthy habit that I enjoy and I enjoy working it into holidays, errands etc.

Google niko niko for how to run REALLY slowly - that's what I do after illness to get back into it without getting put off.

I started running just over 2 years ago and never loved it. I did it as I decided to run after a family member passed away and wanted to raise some money in their memory. I was unbelievably crap at it. I hated it. But as others have said, I kept going. I went out in the cold (I tried rain once and it was horrendous so never again, treadmill for days like that), in the warm before it got too hot and forced my arse up hills.

My PT said to me it would get easier. I thought he was lying. He wasn't. I did and it made a difference. It became a little challenge for myself each time. Could I get a lampost or bin further. Could I go for a bit longer without a walk. Could I do it but be less out of breath.

I tried with a friend but it wasn't for me. I prefer going on my own so not holding someone back or as it became them holding me back because I kept going.

I did my first 5k on a treadmill and cried as I never thought I'd do it. I started end of Jan and this was probably about the late March. I was running 3 times a week fairly regularly. Then built up to a 10. Still didn't love it. Then last April so just over a year in I did my longest which was 13.5k. I can very distinctly remember being at about 8k thinking "I'm not dying, bloody hell I've got better at this" and feeling really proud of myself.

You have to keep going and celebrate the little wins because it does get better. I still don't love it. Sadly I've been out for most of last year with a stress fracture that won't heal. 2 months rest and then 2 months on crutches as it didn't improve.

Went back to running in August. I was so out of practice and basically back to my original time for a 5k. I was so sad as I felt like I'd lost all my progress. It came back quickly. As too did my sore shin. So now on rest again awaiting a MRI (5 month wait) to see what's going on. I miss running. Not because I was any good at it. But it meant something to me. I started it when I was at my lowest. I missed someone so much and I always thought they'd be a) shocked at me doing it and b) so bloody proud.

And the races, I don't care if I'm in the bottom few for my age (43). It feels brilliant to know you went out there and did it. Also if you do Parkrun find the right one. I went to my first one and it was super competitive with no toilets and crap parking. Been to 2 others regularly pre ban and loved them - nice people who genuinely support you no matter how good you are.

Good luck and headphones all the way - I love bone conductor ones too as can hear properly so feel safe running through woods or on a path.

Have been running for years and I still actively hate the first 1-2km and find it really awful. My coach said in simple terms it's the part when your body is trying to keep everything at the same level and it hasn't caught up to the physical demand of the run starting.
I have a few games I use to stay occupied if I'm struggling. I start at the beginning of the alphabet and think of a someone I know for each letter, how we met, how we interact, when I last saw them etc.
Sometimes I do maths problems because when I struggle it means I haven't been fueling properly so it's an easy check to see how my body is doing.
I plan holidays, my kids birthday parties, make lists of things that need to be done, plan meals, all sorts of thinking stuff that is usually interrupted by the kids.
On good run days it all just flows and I can actually enjoy the run- feeling strong, un-injured, the weather, the surroundings...

Keep going. One day out of the blue you will be running and forget you are running. Your mind will be thinking of other things, or nothing or just daydreaming. Then it's fun and a nice peaceful time for you

C25K is hard and you do have to struggle to push yourself to finish sometimes but if you keep at it it does get easier (although everybody has crap days when they aren't feeling in the mood).
Personally I love listening to music, usually Imagine Dragons greatest hits, and having a good daydream.
Also don't be afraid to go slow. I'm not a natural runner and think of my speed as '80 yr old marathon runner'. I won't win any races but I'm getting out there and doing something at over 50 that younger me wouldn't of dreamt of!😁

I listen to music and day dream. I love it. I'm not particularly fast but that's ok with me.

As a cyclist I can confidently say that - judging by the fuckwit runners who launch themselves in front of my bike without looking - that the only thing that doesn't go through the minds of runners is road safety!

But when I used to run (and now, when I cycle) I solve a lot of the problems the world, and find solutions to things I am struggling with at work at. I find exercise allows my mind to focus in a different way to normal and I see things in a different light, which makes me happy!

A lot achieving runs is down to your mind so I always listen to podcasts when I run on my own as it stops the little chimp in my head that says I can't do it or I need to stop. I just try to focus on the podcast and get the run done (and sometimes I think about what I'm going to have to eat when I get home!).

i listen to music, I don’t know how people run without it. I have some very inexpensive bone conduction headphones which have been great. I brought them as race nation events will only allow bone conduction headphones.
I also run through all sorts of things that are on my mind and put the world to rights with myself.

on the whole running isn’t anywhere near as hard as it was during the later stages of C25k. Though 5k in a treadmill still feels like more than 10k out on the road. I spend the whole time on a treadmill thinking surely this must be over soon, why does this feel so hard but my pace is so bad? I do quite enjoy running outdoors now. Did best part of 10 miles at the weekend and it was lovely running down country lanes in the winter sun (apart from the bloody massive hill).

I have a job interview this week so tonight’s run will be mostly thinking through possible interview questions and responses.