Visualizing Yourself Through A Run

I know that there are all sorts of little tricks to get you through the hard part of a run (or the hard part of life, for that matter)
For example, having specific songs on your ipod, to cheer you on when you are about to break, or imagining what it will be like to have a cold beer along with the satisfaction of completing your run.
The anticipation of satisfaction usually keeps me going, once I have started, it is not enough to actually get me going though - if anyone has a motivation for that I would love to hear it.

Anyway, I never thought of using visualization as a means of getting through a run - well, obviously I did, because anticipating satisfaction and imagining myself drinking a long cool beer after a run is visualization of sorts, but not really exciting to me because it is kind of second nature by now.

The visualization I am talking about is one metioned On Run Faster - for example she says - if she is running into a head on wind - she visualizes herself as a knife, and if she wants to pick up the pace on a race, she will visualize lassoing the person in front and pulling on the rope.

I love this idea - for one thing, it is completely amusing and can take your mind of your muscles for a while.
Some I visualizations I could see coming in handy would be imaging I was a skateboarder, or bicycle rider being pulled forward effortlessly in the tailwind of a truck.
Or maybe - “I am running on rubber” for when my feet felt heavy and hard to pick up.