Stop. Breathe. Focus.

Lately I've been starting a lot of blog posts, but never finishing them, so I'm trying something new. For the next few weeks, I'm going to try taking a thought, writing about it for one handwritten page, then posting it.

page

My run this morning sucked. It happens, it was just one of those days where my head wasn't in it, and a mile in, I knew it would be a slow and painful run. Why? I wasn't focused on the run, but on what had to be done today, how many other miles I have to run this week to stay on my training plan, and who knows what else.

Contrast that with my run on Saturday, where I had an amazing, 10.7 mile run on one of my favorite trails (the BWI loop.) That run should have been harder, and more stressful, but instead it was great. Why? Because when I woke up that morning, a run that I had planned all week was on my mind. That focus gave me the strength to get a tough run in.

And yet, I find it so hard to make myself do that in other parts of my life. Even as I write this, I have four different screens vying for my attention, and two phones that could go off at any moment. What would it take to bring my running focus to other parts of my day?

For a great video on the mind games of running, check out Casey Neistat's "Mind Games"