“External feedback about the number of completed laps, distance covered, elapsed time, and lap time increases the ‘temporal demand’ of the task,” said professor Samuele Marcora of the University of Kent’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences. When the lights were on, we felt like we were supposed to be performing. “On the dark track, runners felt less time pressure, which is clearly a good thing for people that run for relaxation purposes.”

What does this mean for those of us who don’t have ready access to a specially-constructed blackout track? “Over the years, the focus in sports has primarily been on physiology and physical conditioning,” says Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe. How hard can you go, and how fast, and how far? “This aspect of training often neglects the importance of the mind and of mental conditioning in our preparation, performance, and recovery.”

The “mindful running” school of thought dictates that if you can focus on how you feel while running, unencumbered by the compulsion to set a new personal best every time, that sentiment should factor more into the way you exercise. If you’re ready to chase some zen during your next run, try using these expert-backed tips.

1. Start small

For some, just ditching the music is hard enough. Instead of embracing the silence all at once, focus for five minutes at a time. “Even in that period, you can begin to zoom in a little on the running stride, the movement of the legs, and how your foot comes into contact with the ground,” says Puddicombe. “This gentle foot strike is your point of focus. Come back to it anytime you realize the mind has wandered off.”

It will wander off at first, assures Puddicombe. Probably a lot, actually. That’s okay. “Over time, this focus on rhythm allows both the body and mind to relax, so that we find a greater sense of ease and enjoyment in our running,” he says. “Soon, you may see an improvement in your performance, too.”

2. Make use of mantras

“When you find your mind wandering or thinking about the finish line, invite the intention you created into your awareness and silently repeat it, like a mantra,” suggests Danielle Mika Nagel, the director of mindful performance at Lululemon. Yes, a mantra is a sort of thought, but this particular thought helps to focus the mind instead of overwhelming it.

What makes a good mantra depends on things like your tolerance for affirmations and your affinity for expletives. One tip, though: Using the word "I" when talking to yourself can stress you out instead of bringing on waves of self-love and acceptance, according to research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Try swapping “I” for “you,” and addressing yourself as if you were addressing a friend. “You may not have control over the 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts streaming into your awareness each day, but you do have control over which ones you hold on to,” says Nagel.

3. Learn your lessons

Sometimes it feels good to bang out a ten-miler or crush treadmill sprints. But once you start integrating this mindfulness training into your running workouts, you’ll come to realize that the lessons you learn can help you during those more intense runs, too. Taking this step back has taught me, for example, that The Suck only lasts so long—and that if I persist instead of panic during races, I’ll be cruising again within a mile or two.

4. Appreciate the little things

Maybe you’re good at staying on task for like, the first two miles of four. Hey, that’s progress! The more often you practice running mindfully, the more you’ll see full-body benefits.

“As the mind-body relationship improves, you will know when to start, stop, speed up, slow down—and when you’re about to get injured,” says Chevy Rough, a London-based human performance and mindfulness coach. “Running without distractions means you can stop basing your performance on what your smartwatch says and bring it in house.”

5. Go try it

If you don’t have a private blackout track at your disposal, a few gyms now offer dimly-lit treadmill-based classes in which you can give mindful running a shot. If you’re on your own, though, a do-it-yourself set-up isn’t hard: Trying covering up the treadmill console at the gym, putting your phone on silent, and grabbing a pair of earplugs. (Don’t blindfold yourself, though. That tends to be frowned upon.)