Musings

There are a few questions I am asked regularly when people find out both that I am a runner and how often and far I run. In the interest of clearing a few of these up, I thought I'd write about them over the next several posts. They might be short, and they might go far too long. I am not sure quite how it will work yet.

FAQ #1: What do you think about when you run?

This is probably the most common question I get asked. The answer depends entirely on the day.

The simple answer is: anything and everything. On my runs, my mind generally wanders a fair amount. I good portion of the time I am actually coming up with ideas. Running is far and away my most creative period.

The number one topic is this blog. I consider not only what I will write about in this blog, but how I will write it. I gather experiences that I want to share, and I take pictures that I subsequently post here. I also have come up with business ideas, song lyrics (yes, I occasionally write songs too), story ideas (much more common than song lyrics), and just about everything else you can think of.

I always, always have a song running through my head. Sometimes it is the same song for the entire run. More often I bounce from song to song via melodies. I tend to start with the last song I heard before heading out on the run, and from there progress to songs that either sound like it or have a similar theme. Like a game of "telephone," often the song I am singing, in my head or out loud, at the end of a particular run seems to have nothing to do with what was going though my head when I started out.

The other thing I often do on my runs is process whatever is going on in my life at the time. I use running as therapy, where I can really focus on a topic with few distractions (other than the occasional other runner or hiker) and really process where I am. If I have a problem in my life, I go out for a run, and usually by the time I come back, even if I don't have a solution, I have a new way to approach the issue.

The one thing I never am on my runs is bored. To be  a successful distance runner, I think it's safe to say that you have to be fairly comfortable in your own head. If you were anything but, there is no possible way you could go out for a four hour run by yourself and come back sane.

When I race, though, everything else goes out the window, and the only thing on my mind is the race.

This only just scratches the surface of what I think of when I run, but it gives at least some idea. I have a whole philosophy around running, that I will touch on throughout my posts in this blog, but I think that is good enough for today.

Oh, and of course, the other thing I think about quite a bit is the run itself. With trails like these it's required.

And just for the fun of it, I'll leave you with a picture from a run I went on back in June, while I was training for the Leadville Marathon.