Getting Myself Through the Long Runs

This weekend, (after I ran 14 miles by myself on country roads at the lake) I went to our friends' lake and we were talking about how crazy I am for running... 

Of course the main question I get is -WHY? But #2 is always - HOW? Certainly the how comes with training physically and getting the miles on the legs, but for me it's more about mental training.

Here are the some phrases that go through my mind while I'm running:

Has it really only been .5 miles since the last time I looked at my watch?

I'm not sure I can do this

Be strong; keep moving 

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other 

Why the hell do I do this?

There's chocolate milk, beer (and perhaps pie) when I'm done

Some phrases are me attempting to motivate myself, but most are my brain trying to tell me to stop. So, the key for me is to either distract myself from myself or to get the good thoughts to outweigh the bad. 

Celina and Ashley certainly help distract me when we're running together, but when I'm alone, or during the silent parts of our runs - I need music! Here's the Spotify playlist I'm building for the big day: (Chicago Marathon Playlist 2014)

I'm going to need some more motivating thoughts for this weekend for 15 miles. Please send them my way!

Cheers,

-AB