Mind Games

Running away in the gym today (bit too dark, icy and windy outside!) it came to my attention that I play a lot of mind games when I run to detract from the boredom and to keep me going. This got me thinking about whether I'm alone in this, or whether other people do their own games and if so what are they?!? I once read that Paula Radcliffe likes to count during each mile so that she knows how far through the mile she is at any point, but I guess she probably doesn't have to count as high as I would given that she will have finished a marathon, had a shower, eaten a three course meal and been to the supermarket for her shopping before I'll be hitting the 20 mile point! Also, I don't have the discipline for such a game, my mind would wander (ouch my knee hurts!.... hmm what shall I have for tea?.... is that dog wearing a hat?!?!) and I would quickly lose count, obviously defeating the object! So what games do I play? Well as I go along and spot these weird mid games I like to play I'll try to give you an insight to some of my current favourites.......

The first game is one for outdoor running and what I have entitled "Recycling Intrigue": This is a game to be played on bin day, and it needs to be an early morning run before the bin men have been. Basically I enjoy running around the various estates noticing the types of things people have in their recycling bags / boxes - sounds dull? Believe me it's actually fascinating! For example, the people who live in the massive dream house who you presume are millionaires but have a huge number of 'no frills' type baked beans in their recycling. Then there's the types of cereal people eat (can be determined on cardboard recycling day).... I have a theory that the type of cereal people have reflects something about them, in terms of their age, their lifestyle and their outlook on life etc. Try it - and see what you find out about people! The recycling day between Christmas and New Year was nothing short of entertaining and possibly one of the highlights of the bin-day schedule, all the bottles and tins people had out on display on the kerb was captivating, looking at the trends as you go from street to street, estate to estate - it kept me going through a 11 mile run without too much boredom so it must have been good! I realise that this probably makes me look slightly mad, but I bet next time you see someones green box or bag of cardboard outside their house that you have a sneaky look as you pass :)

In the gym, however, it's obviously considerably more difficult to look at people's rubbish so I have to occupy myself in other ways. If there are other people around, perhaps running on treadmills alongside me, I like to try and run slightly faster than them. This has an added layer of danger however as it involves a degree of sideways spying on their display which can lead to problems if you don't keep your balance very well - there have been times when I've nearly tripped over or been thrown off the treadmill by not paying enough attention to what I'm doing! If I'm running solo, however, I like to try and set myself little challenges like sprinting for 30 seconds then recovering for a couple of minutes, then trying to go faster the next time round etc etc, or trying to run up hills but keeping the same speed going. I find that messing about with the buttons in this way stops you from being overwhelmingly bored (and thinking about all the aches and pains etc!) and makes the time go much faster. Playing this sort of game has made me realise just how competitive I can be, particularly with myself, I don't like to do less than I did last time, or run slower, but almost end up daring myself to go faster and faster each time. Sad I know but hey ho it passes the time and makes it feel like a proper workout!

I'm pretty sure there are loads of other strange things I'm already doing to pass the time but I just don't realise it! Hoping I can find one that will keep me occupied for 26 miles so that ideally I don't realise how tired I am, how long it's taking how much my feet/knees/back hurt etc etc - I'll let you know if I find one!