Originally I wanted to title this post, Running Fantasies, but if you read the two previous posts, you know that the word fantasies sidetracked me, and the topic turned into sexual fantasies. I pledge that I’ll stay on track and keep smut off my blog.

There can be two types of running dreams – ones that you have while asleep, or thoughts of great accomplishments while awake.

I don’t have running dreams so much these days, but earlier in my career there was an unpleasant one I had repeatedly. In it, I was trying to run faster in a race, but the harder I tried, the more resistance I encountered. It was like running underwater. I felt very frustrated in the dream, and if I really made an effort to increase my pace, the opposite happened, and I slowed even more, as if the water changed into a fluid that was way thicker. This dream was real enough that in the middle of it, I was trying to discern whether I was dreaming or this was really happening.

Sometimes while on a run, I’ll fantasize that I’m in a race, and I’m at the front of the lead pack, or pulling away to win. I usually do this when I want to push a sustained fast pace or finish a training run hard. It seems to help and I like the small, but noticeable thrill of excitement I get thinking this way.

Here’s another fantasy that might make you chuckle:  When I was in high school, my early, minor successes at running made my head swell to the point that I thought I could accomplish anything. I told my mother that I would win the gold medal in the 800 meters at the Montreal Olympics. Of course, this fantasy didn’t come close to materializing, and fortunately I mentioned it to no one but my mother.

What dreams or fantasies of running have you had?