The running zone | Reasons to Run

Long distance runners always share this magical place where they get lost in their running and just GO. They get in such mental state where they forget their running and zone out.

I’ve been running for well over a decade and, to be honest, this rarely happens. Mostly I can’t mentally escape the fact that I’m running, something hurts and “How many more miles do I have?”

Currently what works for me is envisioning running my next race — the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay. I picture climbing the hills in Snow Basin at a solid pace, gliding my a.m. run past Rockport Lake and flying down my 5.4-miles worth of downhill in Park City and passing off to my cousin to the cheers of locals.

…but this daydream gets boring and old to keep repeating over and over again.

Now that I’m training for my first half marathon, I’d really like to master the art of the perfect mental zone. How do you do it?