Concentration.

My next new challenge in my marathon training will be to learn not to zone out. Instead I am to learn to achieve "flow"...but that isn't that same as zoning out. I must admit that I enjoy zoning out: it passes the time quicker and I feel less pain, and generally am less aware of what is going on around me. But that isn't such a good thing. Flow occurs when you maintain fluid awareness and solid concentration and combine that with genuine enjoyment. I'm discovering that only if all the variables are in order does this happen to me; even if one small thing is not right I have a harder time achieving flow.
To help me concentrate, rather than zone out, my book suggests a number of mind games that force you to concentrate on the same task for a fairly extended period of time. It goes back to the mental aspects of marathon training: you have to train your mind just as much as your body. So yesterday Coby and I played four games of Concentration and another really cool game called Stare where you have to stare at a really detailed, colorful picture and then answer as many questions about it as you can in 30 seconds. At first it seemed kind of silly to be playing mind games, but then again, a lot of things the book suggests seems silly...until you do it. Then it's easy to see how important they are.
One of the things that I'm still getting used to...is all the sweat. I really don't care for sweating. It's gross. I understand that it's a normal and necessary part of this training program and I'm supposed to be sweating a lot. I just really don't like it. Soaking through all my clothes and having to stay in them for hours, dripping out of my hair, into my eyes and down my back...ew. I recently started feeling like I was sweating even more than I used to, and couldn't figure out why...until Coby's brother Jordan and I were talking about running one day. I mentioned that even on the short runs I still sweat like crazy, and he said "hey thats a good thing!" Apparently it means that my body's cooling system is in better shape and more efficient at keeping me cool. As soon as it realizes that my body is working hard it kicks into gear quicker and starts cooling me right away..,and that's why I sweat more. It makes sense!...but it's still gross.
Also some cross-training and more intense stretching are definitely in order.