Keep your mind on it

A beautiful long, easy run on Sunday: two hours plus, very slowly in parts as the snow was a foot deep in places.

And what snow! Light powder, the kind that makes that fantastic crunchy sound as you run through it, and sparkling in the full sun as if it had been studded with millions of tiny diamonds. It was cut here and there with the tracks of small furry animals. Off the main trail there were hardly any human footprints.

Easing up the most dificult climb of the route, I passed a string of three women runners. "I can't believe you guys are talking all the way up this", I said as I edged past. "Where do you get the spare breath from?"

"It takes our minds off it", said the woman at the back. "Otherwise all we have to think about is running". I was still trying to get my head round that one when the front runner added, "Yes, it helps get through it, you know?"

My uncharitable first thought was, wow, why are they out here? I mean, I don't want to get too "Be here now (man)" about this, but WHY would you want to take your mind off it? Most of the time I have so much to occupy my mind that even when I run with other people I am prone to trance out and grunt, rather than hold up my end of the conversation. Having company is great, but I don't need to have someone to chat to, any more than I need to have an Ipod stuck in my ears or a book to read.

On any given run I have a milion things to pay attention to. Is my cadence fast enough? Do I have a forward lean? What the bleep are my arms doing? Am I relaxed? Can I relax more? What's happening with my breathing? Am I running too fast/too slow? What's my heart rate doing? How long till the next cup of tea? Ooops, that just slipped in there. And that's not to mention keeping an eye and part of my brain on the terrain underfoot so I don't fall over.

And if that wasn't enough, then yes. my mind turns to the snow, the scenery and the sheer felt-sense running -- that's the kinaesthetic bit I crave.

I'm not disagreeing with Yoherb on this ("15 miles and a Bears victory"). When you're indoors on a treadmill, you need something for the eyes to watch while the body does its stuff. But outdoors? No, I don't want anything to take my mind off it; I want to keep my mind on it.