Spring In My Step...

When I go running, I need motivation. Some are able to run in groups. I've never felt as comfortable running that way because I'm not good about running and talking. I could run in silence next to someone, or if we both have headphones in. But not so much running while talking. So when I run, I like to have an mp3 player. I have finally acquired (thanks to my mother-in-law) one of those nifty arm bands to hold my mp3 player while I run. I have it packed full of fun and fast-tempo music to keep me feeling energetic and help me keep a good pace. Without that music, I would find running extremely difficult. When you're out there alone, as I am, it's just you and your head. Being alone in one's head can make the time go insanely slow. Sometimes as I'm delving in my thoughts, I'm able to get on a tangent so I'm not thinking about the running, but I get really focused on the tangent. This helps me to not think about the running and how far I've gone. When my mind gets focused on how far I've gone, how my feet feel, or things like that it makes the running very tedious. So for me, I listen to music. I've even found a select list of songs that have a tempo which is pretty similar to my running speed. So it helps me to keep going when I start to slow down, because I'll run in time with the music. I don't know other people's tricks for keeping their speed, for keeping their motivation while in the midst of a run, but for me music certainly keeps me going.