What Do We Think About When We Run???

#386 - What do runners think about while we're running? I ask this question and try to answer it with things that I've thought about over the years and I compare that to a study of runners that was done. What do you think about during your runs? Pace, form, food, or maybe all of the above? 

I also review Haruki Murakami's book "What I Talk About When I Talk Bout Running" that I finally read. In fact his book gave me the idea for this episode. 

So have fun and and enjoy your next run! 

Transcript

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Hidden West share stories you might not hear anywhere else. Want to know why the last chance grade might be the most dangerous bit of highway in California? Why did the Japanese drop bombs on the western part of the U.S.? And where is the state of Jefferson? All these stories and more about what makes the Western U.S. so great are here. There's a new story published every week. Check out Hidden West on YouTube. Welcome to Martha Runs the World, a podcast with a new take on running, fitness, and all things health-oriented. I'm Martha Hughes, your host, and each week I present a new topic that is of interest to all runners. Hi, and welcome to episode 386 of Martha Runs the World. Thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it each and every week. What do you think about when you run? Does the distance you're running determine what thoughts are in your head? If you're doing a really quick run, maybe you're not thinking about too much. Maybe you're thinking about if you're going a little faster on a quick run, maybe you're thinking more about pace than anything else. And then if you're doing maybe an errand after your run, maybe you're thinking about making the list of things you need to do in that errand. So you think about that during your run. And on a long run, maybe you think about a whole lot of things. It isn't just one thing. So that's what I'm going to talk about today is what we think about when we run. And I'll specifically talk about myself because I don't know what you're thinking. So I'll talk about the things that I think about and maybe you can relate to it. If you run every single run you do with others, I highly recommend going for at least one or two runs by yourself. It may be scary at first because you've never done it before. Maybe you're afraid to run by yourself. But trust me, once you get used to it, who knows? You may actually like running on your own. I haven't run with other people in a long time, even races I haven't done for a race for a while. But I really like going by myself because it gives me time to think on my own, away from everyone else, and it's really a meditative time for me. So I appreciate that more than running with others. Which is not to say that I would turn down running with others if they were as slow as me and if we could have a good time together. I don't want to be left in the dust by fast runners. But that's another subject, isn't it? But I thought it would be interesting to talk about what exactly do we runn think about when we're running. And um this was inspired by a book that I'm going to review. It's an older book, it's been out for a while, but it's the first time I read it. So I'm going to talk about that book in a little bit in the show. And I have a few closing thoughts after that. So stay tuned to the whole show and you'll get the whole lasagna, as they say. A few years ago, Outside magazine printed a study that said 32% of runners think about pain and discomfort, while 40% of runners think about pace and distance, while the rest of us think about external environment. Well, I would imagine that those 40% thinking about pace and distance maybe are roadrunners, because I don't think that trail runners necessarily think about pace that much. Maybe they do if they're training for a race and they need to get a certain time down. And distance, of course, is on everyone's mind. I think I think distance is much bigger subject than pace for many of us. And pain and discomfort, yeah, the longer you run, the more you're gonna think about pain and discomfort. Okay, the pace part for me would take up about five minutes of my thinking and the pain and discomfort. Well, that depends on the day, what shoes I'm wearing, where I'm running. I could whine to myself a lot about pain. That could keep me going for a while. I mean, it's not really bad pain because if it was really bad pain, I'd stop running. But if it's just a discomfort thing that I could I would feel more comfortable at home not running, then that's a totally different thing. I can whine about that and keep going. It's it's not suffering. Uh, what do they say? Pain is mandatory, suffering is optional. So the pain is mandatory, the discomfort, the the suffering is optional. So I'm not really suffering, I'm just whining about it to myself. Now all I have to do is when I that happens, is all I have to do is talk myself into keep going. And to be honest, most of the time thinking about pace is boring to me. I am not a fast runner. I don't think I'm ever going to be a fast runner, and I don't really care how fast I run. I just want to be able to go as long and as quickly as it takes to beat the cutoffs when I decide to start racing again, which will probably be after my move next year. And I'm going to talk about that in the future because it's a little soon right now. And I have to correct that part of what I said first. I really have to stop myself from going too fast in the beginning of a run uh or race because especially a road run, because I think all of us maybe start too fast and we have to really stick to a slower pace. And it's not easy, is it? No, it really isn't. And I'm getting better at it. This one course I like to train at, the first part of the run is downhill. So it's super easy for me to go too fast. And then I realize that a couple miles in, I'm exhausted. Well, no wonder why you are, Martha. You went way too fast on that first half mile. So I have to stop myself. I have to look at my watch and stop myself from going too fast. So, and that is takes a lot, a lot of self-discipline. I'm not sprinting here, of course. I'm talking about my fast, which my fast pace is probably your very, very slow pace, but I still have to talk myself into going a much slower than I am. I guess that's where the pace comes in. And people who are doing other other intervals or repeats or things like that, uh tempo runs, they have to really consider pace. And I get that. I do think about running form and how and my steps and how everything looks. I do do that, especially in the second half of a run, because that's when I get tired, and I do tend to slouch when I'm tired. So I have to remind myself of to do to not do that. And sometimes I just tell myself, shoulders back, head up, and that will keep me going. I'll say that shoulders back, head up, shoulders back, head up. And I will repeat that to myself enough that it just happens naturally. And that is a process, and it happens because when I get tired, I just get slouchy. And it and it really, really hurts my running. And everybody has bad habits when they get tired. I see a lot of people shuffle when they get tired. Of course, you can't shuffle on the trail or you're gonna fall. But in a road run, it's very easy to shuffle, and that's not good either, because not every sidewalk or street is smooth and wonderful. There are cracks and there are unleveled sidewalks, and you can hurt yourself if you shuffle. So try not to shuffle. Pick your feet up. If you have to say pick up feet, pick up feet, or pick up knees, pick up knees, or or pick up legs, or something like that to keep yourself from falling into bad habits. It's a really, really nice thing to do. Another thing I do tell myself when I'm going longer distances is I keep track of the time I have left. If you're going out for an eight-mile run and you get to 0.25, uh, the quarter of a mile, I say, okay, I have 7.75 miles left. I'll keep track of how many miles or how much how much distance I have left. And that keeps my brain sharp, I think. It keeps me on my math skills and it keeps my brain sharp during the run. And it keeps me focused on how much I have left. Then it also keeps me from cutting the run too short, I think. I think it's a nice handy trick that I have. And now in extremely long, tough training runs or races, I like to think about what I'm going to eat afterwards. Now, this only works if the distance is half marathon or more. Because the food I'm thinking about has lots of calories, right? So on one particular hard 50k I did, in the last few miles, I thought of pancakes and bacon the entire time. And that kept me going. I just said, oh my God, pancakes and bacon, pancakes and bacon, pancakes and bacon, and it really kept me going. In my mind, I just could picture it. I was on vacation, I was up in the mountains, I didn't get that breakfast for a couple days until I found a place that had an amazing, amazing pancake. This place is in um Tahoe City in North Lake Tahoe. They gave me pancakes that were the size of a dinner plate, and they gave me a side of bacon that was this giant pile of bacon. It was it was heaven. So that's what I was thinking about the whole time. And I didn't know this place existed, and I found it, and it was really, really amazing. Just amazing, amazing breakfast. And this is like, this is what I'm running for. This is what I'm finishing the race for, is that breakfast? And it really kept me going because that race was probably the hardest race I've ever done. And other times, um, I will think of like if I'm doing a hard half marathon, I've done hard trail half marathons, and I've thought about, and I've had a cheeseburger afterwards, and I'll think of the cheeseburger that I'm gonna have afterwards. And that's really, really good. A lot of times, if I'm out of the area and I know there's an in and out, I'll get an in and out afterwards, or I know there's a local place that has really, really good cheeseburgers, I'll get that. There's a place in South Shore that has really, really good cheeseburgers and the shakes are to die for. Oh my gosh, their shakes are amazing. And I'll get one of those shakes and a cheeseburger as well. But like I said, it has to be a long race and it has to be something worthwhile. If I'm not doing a long race, if I'm doing a training run and I need to go buy groceries, I will do that after a training run. Now, is that the smartest thing to do? Probably not, because I'm overly hungry and I'll probably buy more stuff. But I've been pretty good lately about buying healthy things, so I will stick to buying healthier things and um I'll try to figure out what I'm gonna make after my race. Okay, what do I want to eat that's healthy and what can I make? And what do I will I have the energy to make afterwards? Because a lot of times I don't feel like cooking a whole bunch of stuff because I'll just be too tired. But I'll figure out what's easy to make afterwards, and I'll figure out a recipe and I'll get that in my head, and then I'll go buy the stuff for it. And it was works out okay. It has turned out okay so far, so can't knock it, right? Now, do you use your long run to solve problems? I do that sometimes. I think most of our problems can be solved on long runs, or at least that's what I'm thinking while I'm trying to work out my problems during my run. Might not be true, but that's what I'm thinking. Being out on a run, I mull over a problem, roll it around in my brain, and try to look at it from all sides and see if I can figure out a solution. And sometimes I think I do. Sometimes. Sometimes I think I found a solution only to find out that after my run that nah, that's not gonna work. In either case, the problem usually turns out to not be as big as I thought before my run, and everything's gonna be okay. And usually just by thinking that I have a solution and but I think that everything's gonna be okay, it makes me feel better, even though that solution probably won't work. It still makes me feel better because I've thought out the problem and I've reduced it in size to the monster problem that I thought it was before I ran. That makes sense. I don't know. I feel like I'm rambling, but I kind of am, because this is all about what we're thinking about in our heads. And it's kind of hard to take what you're thinking in your head and put it into an understandable podcast episode, right? Running is kind of like life's iron. It smooths out many rough spots by giving us new perspectives, and it refreshes our brains, I think. It's it's like, okay, this was all wrinkly and and um problem filled, but now look, it's all smooth and nice and and it just looks much better. That's the way I like to look at it. I also like to use my runs to work out uncomfortable conversations I want to have with people in my life. People that I'm angry about or that I'm just upset with, or people that I need to speak with. I don't like confrontation at all, so it's kind of hard for me to talk to people about things that what what they're doing or something that happened that I I'm not pleased with or I'm not happy with or that needs to be dealt with. I try to talk about it to myself in a run, silently of course, not not in a conversation, but um I do try to mull it over in my brain. I figure out what I want to say to them, get everything down, and then I think it over and over if I'm actually going to bring it up to them. And I usually don't talk it over. Sometimes I have to talk it over with them, but at least it gets me some kind of understanding and peace within myself if I mull it over and and think it out in my head on a run. And a lot of times it it it's cathartic because it actually makes me understand that, okay, maybe it's not that big of a deal. Maybe I don't really have to confront them because I think some people think they have to confront people on everything. I have to confront them on this, I have to confront them on this, I have to fight them on this. You know, you don't. You're just causing drama, so stop it. That's seems to be a big thing these days, and no, you don't really have to. Everyone does things differently and everyone thinks about things differently, so maybe you just don't have to. Maybe you have to think about it in your head a little bit and figure out if it's worth it or not. It usually is not. But on a run, the whatever we think about it, we can figure out if it's worth it or not. And that and that is something that depending on the situation and depending on the person, you have to figure out. Then there are those times when life is so hard, so painful, that nothing but a run can soot the thoughts in my head. It is during these times when my mind goes over sad or pain memories. I remember when my dad passed away, I was training for the San Francisco Marathon. So I had lots and l lots and lots of long runs, but I wasn't in the right head for them. It was a really difficult time. And I'd have to go out for my long run. I didn't feel like it, but I had to. And during those runs, I started thinking about my dad and break out in tears over those thoughts. But somehow, if I kept going, if I could get myself out the door and onto those runs, the running helped me work through my emotions better than sitting at home would. And it it just it's really hard to get ourselves in the right frame of mind to actually do something when we're feeling that bad. But once we do it, I'm not saying that every time, but sometimes we'll feel better for it. Or just we'll may I I'm I don't know if the word term better is is the right word, but we'll feel more relieved for it, we'll feel thankful for it or something. Better might be be just the wrong, wrong word. And even when I was laid off jobs or angry at work, running off those emotions, thinking in the beginning of the run how terrible everything was, by the time the run was over, sometimes I realized that maybe things weren't quite as bad as they seemed, and there are reasons why things happen the way they do. And this is a difficult thing for me to accept, but once I do, my life starts to make more sense. We each have to find the sense in our lives, though, don't we? And we can find that in running. We can make some sense of our lives in a run. We can't solve the world's problems, we can't solve all of our problems, personal problems anyway, but we can put them into perspective so we don't have to obsess by those problems so that they create even more problems. So it it I think it's just a really nice way, our runs to put things in the correct perspective. Another thing I think about when I'm running is a new Martha Runs the World episode ideas. Some of my best ideas have come from uh from being on my runs. If I have an idea I know will be good or I think will be good, I and I don't want to forget about it, because I do forget about things easily when I'm running, I'll stop, record my idea on my phone, and then get back to my run. If you have new ideas or things you come up with on your runs, if you need to have new ideas or things you come up with, does your running help? Does that help you figure it out? Let me know your thoughts. Email me at martharunsheworld at gmail.com and let me know if you think up great ideas or new ideas when you're running. And I thought of this idea for an episode after reading Haruki Murakami's book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I don't know why it took me so long to read this book, but I finally did. Now, in my defense, there are thousands of running books out there, and I'm slowly getting through reading most of them, but I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to read all of them because there are so many of them. Murakami has a way of writing without saying too much. It's a really nice style. I like his writing. He can express a lot in a short amount of words, and that's kind of cool. It's it's a nice, easy style in his memoir. I just ordered a fictional book of his, so I'll see what that's like, because I really enjoyed this book a lot. I love how he talks about running. I love how he talked about how running helped him learn to write. He writes, Most of what I know about writing, I've learned through running every day. These are practical physical lessons. How can I push myself? How much rest is appropriate? And how much is too much? How far can I take something and still keep it decent and consistent? He's not talking about anything we runners don't know already. I mean, we we know these things. These are also things I ask myself when I'm running. And because I haven't had the time to be as consistent as I would like, I whine a bit about it during my run. Of course I do. But see, Murakami writes about the New York Marathon he's training for, and he also talks about his life in Japan and the US. I'm not sure if non-runners will will appreciate this book as much as we runners do, but I certainly enjoyed it. It's a quick read, and even though it's a quick read, I got a lot out of it. He's talking about in that paragraph is he's pushing himself in both writing and running, and he talks about how writing helps him be a stronger writer and be able to write novels, especially long novels, better. I would imagine that writing a novel takes a lot out of a writer, especially a long one. And being able to keep going in a long race, although a much different activity, of course, can help writers in that it gives them not only physical strength, but also the mental strength to keep going when the writing gets more difficult. Writers like runners are not going to have perfect days all the time. There's going to be those tough times where you don't feel like writing and you don't feel like running. So, but you still have to write because you have a book to write. Many writers have deadlines and you've got to get it finished no matter what. Even if you don't feel like writing, you still have to write. The act of finishing long races gives us all of us a skill that is so useful throughout the rest of our non-running lives. I hope we all appreciate that fact. Maybe because we have the mental strength to finish a tough race, we can see other difficult things through without giving up so quickly. If you can finish a tough race, you can finish anything. So we can do this. And that's what I liked about his book. He talks about how tough it was to train for certain races, and how that really helped him be a much, much better writer, and he goes into it much better, much better than I am telling you about it. Now, there's only one part of the book that I wasn't as thrilled about as everything else, and that was his triathlon training. And just only because on a personal note, it doesn't interest me. I'm not in I don't do triathlons, I'm not going to ever do them, so that just wasn't my thing. But like I said, that's just a personal thing. If you like triathlons, you might enjoy it because he talks about going into them. I mean, if he he has the strength to get through all that training, good for him. I think that's great. All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot. I really liked reading it. I'd probably uh refer back to it just because he had a lot to say about writing it. And let me know what you think if you read it. Now, the last part I want to go over briefly, uh, because it's more of a personal nature. We all have things that happen to us that suck. Let's just be honest about that without going into too much detail about it yet, and I really can't. I'll tell you more in a week or two. Um we all get a stab in the gut after hearing news that changes our lives almost immediately. I'd like to think that this is what God has planned for me. I'm not a hugely religious person, but I do believe in a higher power, and I do b and I do believe that we don't know what God has in store for us all the time. So I I had not great news this past week, and and I'm not sure what's going to happen now. And I will tell you about it in the future. I cannot now. So I'm going to go on my run today and be positive about my future. I know things are happening and for a reason and I'll figure it out. Now don't forget that Martha Runs the World has a YouTube channel under the same name. I post regular length videos. I also put the podcast episodes up there, but it there's no live feed or anything. I I don't do this live. Um I like to actually edit out my mistakes if I can. Um but it has the episodes up there, and I also put regular length videos and short videos up there as well. So if you'd like to check it out, I'd love to have you. And thank you so much for joining me. I truly appreciate it. Have great runs and have a great rest of the week. And on that note, let's tie it for shoelaces and go.