I have to agree with Bobbi that humiliation is a big motivator. I was going to mention it in my other post, but thought I was a bit long-winded as it was! That's the head game I play with myself, but it only works when I'm running near people/traffic. There's this really long hill on my running route that goes right alongside the main road for about half a mile. I always start sucking on this part and want to quit, but then I think of all the people driving by who are watching. Then I imagine them thinking, "Oh look, she's so lame she can't even make it up that hill, she has to walk part of it." I don't want to "embarrass" myself so I keep going. I know that in reality none of these people are paying a bit of attention to what I'm doing, but my head game keeps my feet moving.

I realized how much I use this tactic when I was running on vacation. Running in farm country is not easy. This particular area is not all flat, and where it's not flat, it's straight up and down. Those gullies killed me! I went 4 miles and swore it was 6. Also, cows and horses aren't that motivating. My head game doesn't work because they're just looking at me like I used to look at runners. I know they're thinking, "Why is she running when no one's prodding her? That's dumb." (There's an idea--a prod!)

The stench got me too. On a normal day, manure isn't pleasant. But when you're running and gasping for air, sucking that stuff in is enough to make you pass out. Good God, how do these people live here?? Running on the farm made me appreciate how easy it is here.

But one thing that got me going were the dogs. Farmers like to have dogs and they don't like to restrain them. I'm not afraid of dogs, but I was just waiting to feel some teeth sink in my butt any minute. Nothing gets you moving like becoming prey. I was definitely the gazelle those days! At least in a herd, you only have to be a little faster than the slowest one.