Further illustration of why I need that iPod

Today I did a seven-mile run, so I'm over the halfway mark for the half-marathon. Thanks to good city planning, I have 5 miles of flat lakefront trail that I can run along, plus an adjacent 2.5-mile car-free, waterfront loop at my local park. Which is great, because it's flat and scenic and safe running. Plus, because this route is used for so many races - including the Seattle Marathon - there are distance markers every half mile. In fact, I have recently realized that those good city planners actually put parks at exact one-mile increments along the lakefront.

For any run over about 3 miles, I play a lot of head games with myself. Ok, halfway to the turnaround point; now at the turnaround point, halfway done with the run! Last week I ran six miles, so this week I just have to do the same run, plus a one mile cool-down, no problem. Each additional mile is just one more half-mile tick up the lake. I watch my half-mile split times and use them as an excuse to do math in my head. I play little games with my breath - eight steps in, eight steps out; now try eight and six...And I've pretty much always done this, since I started running at age 13. It's a longtime habit.

Do other people do this? I keep thinking I should just be carried along by the sheer joy of running, instead of using all these mental gimmicks, because I really honestly do enjoy it. And even if it's an ok motivational technique for exercise, I sometimes worry that maybe I unconsciously mark my time through life like that. Ok, two months until I'm done with my job! $200,000 raised, only $50K left to hit budget! Six months until Italy! Eight weeks left of summer! That sort of thing. It seems wrong - you know, not living in the moment - and I it makes me wonder how many of life's moments tick by like mile markers along Lake Washington, appreciated only as a milestone and not for their inherent worth.