Running In Your Head

I was doing a training run for the Around the Bay 30K race in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  It was hard.  Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was -19 degrees with the wind chill.  Maybe it was because I was doing one loop three times over.  I'd rather have new scenery the entire way.  Whatever it was, it made me realize once again how much of running actually occurs in your head.  When you're running for hours, you really have no place to go but in your own mind.  Sometimes it's not easy to have that much time to examine your thoughts.  Especially when your thoughts are going like this: "I'm so tired.  How much longer?  Why did I think this was a good idea?"  By the way, there is always a moment like this in a race, too.  It's how you react to it that counts.  You have to realize you're thinking negatively, and then try to change it.  Sometimes even closing my eyes for a few minutes and trying to focus helps me.  Then you start saying, "I am so lucky that I am able to run at all.  It's a beautiful blue sky.  I'm more than halfway done."
You have to do whatever you need to do to make sure your brain keeps making your feet move.  That's all it is really about, at the end of the day.  The ability to just keep going.