In general, I like running. However, when running longer distances or doing tempo runs, I've found that my mentality is quite weak. Often just a couple of kilometres in, I get these thoughts in the back of my mind of quitting, walking, or resting, even though I set out to do a certain workout. Powering through these thoughts is pretty challenging, even though you could call it a skill issue.
A couple of days ago I heard that when meditating, the goal is often to become aware of your thoughts and sensations without reacting to them. I read about something similar, though in a more extreme form, in Haruki Murakami's book "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running". He said that during his ultramarathon, after 47 miles, he experienced something he described as having passed through. Basically, after that point he didn't have to think anymore and his body kind of accepted running and forgo thinking altogether. Murakami even said that at that point, first came running and then he himself - "I run; therefore I am".
Before that passed through moment though, Murakami described how painful and grueling running that ultramarathon was. The way he could manage the pain and continue was by telling himself "I'm not a human. I'm just a piece of machinery. I don't need to feel a thing. Just forge on ahead". I guess this type of mantra is also a way to dissociate.
After all of that - the meditation, passing through and mantra - I'm realizing that maybe the key to running is not the act of running itself, but the way or skill to deal with it. I started looking into this, and even found an article "Take Your Mind Off The Run" that talks about the benefits of dissociating during running.
My goal now is to study and learn more about that skill and I'm planning on testing it during my harder training sessions and also during an upcoming 6km run in April.