peanut butter running time

I like running. I like going for long runs. A lot of people go on runs to think. I go to clear my head.

My meditative method for clearing my head dates back to when I started running as a teenager. I pull some rhythmic section out of a song -- usually a couple of bars -- loop it over and over in my head while running. This repetition creates a trance-like state where I zone in only on running: my breathing, where my feet hit the ground, when my feet hit the ground. It also stops other thoughts from entering my head, because those would mess up my cadence and probably cause me to get a stitch or something.

Often I seem to get "Big Calm" by Morcheeba stuck in there, but other tunes will kick in from time to time. One of my least favorites is Hammer Time, which dates back to my high school days when an aerobics class in the centre of the track would blast MC Hammer while I did my track workouts.

On occasion, this "rhythmic meditation" can backfire because I don't have the best ability to control what the tune will be and once I get this song in my head, it doesn't leave until I'm done. This weekend, I ran to what was probably the worst song (if you can call it that) I've ever had stuck in my head. It was in there for every step of my hour-long run. And I hope it never finds its way back in there.