As a long-distance runner, I am always curious what people think when they run. Are they thinking about running? Or are they thinking about nothing?

作为一个长跑选手，我经常对人们在跑步时想些什么感到好奇。他们是在想着跑步的事？又或者是什么也没想？

Running for a long time is like anything you do for a long time: It slowly bores you to death. Take myself for example, recently, I have started training for a half marathon. After half an hour, I will start to get bored and feel the pain in my abdomen, feet, and joints. To make time pass faster, I often try to focus on the environment, the traffic and, of course, the cute guys around me.

跑步太久，也和你长期做任何其他的事一样，慢慢的让你无聊死。以我自己为例，最近，我开始了半马拉松训练。半小时后，我就会开始感到无聊，感到我的腹部，脚，和关节都疼痛。为了让时间过得快一点，我常常试图将注意力集中在环境、交通，以及我周围可爱的家伙们。

Whenever I run, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I should think. Many of my runner friends see running as a form of meditation. They try to empty their mind while running.

只要我一跑步，我就会花上很多时间去想我应该想什么。我的很多跑友们将跑步视作一种冥想的形式。在跑步时他们试图放空大脑。

"The less you think, the more you feel relaxed," they said.

他们说，“你想的越少，你就会感到越放松。”

I could not help but wonder what we should think about while running to make the process less boring and painful. It turns out there might be some science behind it, sort of.

我忍不住但又很好奇我们在跑步时究竟应该想些什么以使得这个过程不是那么的无聊和痛苦。看起来在这背后应该有一些科学道理，有可能。

According to a 2015 study published in the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, professional marathon runners would think of their pace, their movement and the distance, while amateur runners would think of things that help distract them from thinking of running.

根据2015年发布在《国际运动与锻炼心理学杂志》的一项研究，专业的马拉松运动员会想到他们的速度，他们的运动和距离，业余跑步者则会想到一些东西，分散了他们的思维，不太会想到跑步。

How do the researchers know this? They asked 10 marathon runners to record their thoughts out loud. According to the recordings, 40 percent of their thoughts focus on pace and distance, 32 percent focus on their pain and discomfort, and another 28 percent centered on the environment.

这些研究人员是怎么知道的呢？他们采访了10位马拉松运动员，以自言自语的方式记录下奔跑时的想法。根据结果，有40%的人被说出来的思绪都与他们跑步的步调与距离有关，32%的人则集中在身体的痛苦和不适上，另外有28%的人只关注周围环境。

The results were kind of entertaining. Researchers found thoughts about wildlife were mostly positive, while thoughts about the environment and the people around them were mostly negative.

结果非常有趣。研究人员发现，关于野生动物的想法大多都很积极，而对于周围环境和人的想法大多都比较消极。

There are criticisms saying that these results are not convincing because the runners knew their thoughts would be recorded, so they might have intentionally avoided voicing some thoughts.

一些评论家认为这些结果并不可信，因为这些跑步的人知道他们的想法会被记录下来，所以可能故意的隐瞒了一些想法。

Nevertheless, now I know what other people think during their long runs, and to become a better runner, I should probably focus on the running rather than thinking of nothing.

不过，现在我知道了其他人在长跑时在想些什么。要想成为一个更优秀的长跑运动员，我应当集中在跑步上，而不是胡思乱想些什么。

It is easier to focus my thoughts on the running if I run with a training group. It is a chance to exercise and socialize at the same time.

如果我和集训小组一起训练，思想集中在跑步上还是很容易的。这是一个训练和社交的机会。

I used to be a member of a running group in Geneva. We were a group of avid runners from different countries. Anyone who is training for a 5k, 10k, trail run or just wants to run for fun could join us.

我曾经是日内瓦一个跑步小组的成员之一。小组成员是来自各个国家的跑步爱好者。任何一个在训练5千米、1万米、越野跑或者只是热爱跑步的人，都可以加入我们。

Each Monday or Wednesday, we ran for about 45 to 60 minutes. On the weekends, we ran even longer. In that way, I could easily finish a 5k run without even thinking about it.

每个周一或周三，我们会跑步45-60分钟。周末，我们跑的更久。因此，我可以没有什么压力，轻轻松松的跑完5千米。

However, when I run solo, it is difficult to focus my wandering mind. In this case, researchers advised that it is better to spend some time thinking about "associative thoughts," those about your running, and the rest of the time thinking about "dissociative" thoughts, those about your life, your work, and your relationship. Maybe I should also start recording my thoughts from now on.

然而，当我单独跑步时，很难将乱七八糟的念头集中起来。在这种情况下，研究人员建议，最好花一些时间来思考和跑步有关的东西，剩下的时间可以去想关于生活、工作和人际交往等游离的一些念头。也许，我应该从现在开始记录我的想法。

Source: news.iyuba.com