Welcome to Week 7 in PodRunner's first day to 5K program.

From here on out, you're back to running with one mix three times over the course of a

week.

We've touched on some concrete aspects of running, form, benchmarking, the first 10 minutes,

the effective music.

Now let's focus on a more abstract but equally important topic, the zone.

It turns out that being in the zone isn't just an idea, it's a codifiable thing, technically

called, low state.

Tasks that involve low state tend to be challenging but not impossible.

They're emotionally rewarding and they're involving, requiring time and energy to make

progress.

Sound familiar?

You're in low state when you're focused, not easily distracted and thinking entirely

about the task at hand.

You're not self-conscious, your ego isn't separate from the task, you're enjoying the

task and being immersed in it, and your familiarity with the difficulty helps keep you going.

There's a good chance you've dropped into this state during the last seven weeks and

in other endeavors as well.

A lot of people in sports, competitions, the arts and many other areas become very adept

at getting there.

People in low state have higher levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that supports feeling

motivated, pleasure, reward.

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