When I am bored with the places I am running, and am unable to derive any enthusiasm from the idea of running my usual trails... instead of wasting mother nature's finite resources by driving to a different place to run, I sometimes imagine that I am running somewhere else. Here is how one might go about it:
First you watch an epic movie with a corresponding epic landscape (examples: Lord of the Rings, etc.), I decided to watch King Arthur this morning, the version in which Kiera Knightly is a blue painted "wolt" (aka Briton) who wears cool leather war gear and kicks ass. In this move the landscape is green, hilly and enveloped in a mysterious fog... very cool.
Second, one plays epic music to listen to while running, I use an ipod shuffle. For this particular run I will listen to something inspiring and evocative of the landscape I wish to envision myself in, like the LOTR soundtrack or an old cd I found that contains Irish folk music, or just hardcore rock where its hard to understand the words :)
Third, you must run hard. If you are running too slow you won't be focused enough to ignore the fact that you aren't in the landscape you are trying to envision.
Fourth and most importantly, you MUST do your best to pick out a landscape that has some similarities to the one you are running in, in reality. This will make it easier to pretend! For example, if I were running in say... the Yakimanian countryside while its rainy and foggy out, the above imagining is a more probable one. But if I were in Arizona where it's humid and sunny and hot as hell it might be more difficult to convince myself... see?
Okay people, now get out there and imagine your own cool landscape, and let the running begin!
I love your personality
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