Reading everyone’s posts on here makes me wonder if there are others like me. I can’t say I love running like so many of you do but I carry on and I’ve been thinking why?
It’s taken me about 5 years to get from starting couch25k to be able to run 10k and I’m in awe of those who do it all so much quicker. In that time I’ve had a couple of eye issues and had enforced breaks - how I envied people when I saw them running so back I went when I was able to.
When I was struggling at the beginning I read a post that has always stuck with me. It was along the lines of “who said it was supposed to be easy, Mo Farah doesn’t do easy training so why should it be different for us”. Next my son gave me some leggings in a bag on the outside of which was this quote “I don’t run to add days to my life but to add life to my days”. I leave that bag where I see it everyday and when I’m dithering (or trying to find an excuse!) it helps motivate me. Finally I run on the 7:2:1 principle - 7 runs will be OK, 2 will be terrible and 1 will be better!
I’d love to one day say I love running but for everyone like me who just doesn’t, I wonder what keeps you going?
Written by
redhat1
Graduate10
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Hi Red !! Great question !! For myself ,without over analysing, I,d say its easier to love the slower easy pace runs ,taking time to converse with your running partner or admire the scenery , then the feel good factor is high ,usually . Now when it comes to, 'eyeballs out' time ,other factors come in to play . A job needs to be done here , time for digging deep , to feel a little pain, pedal to the metal - pay off time !! I feel alive ,focused, alert,'on it' , high ,even ,when running at 'tempo pace', - 'love' , doesn,t get a look- in !! Sprint repeats ? now these,I I DO Love !! When I run I feel, 'in-control', uncluttered ,free from the shackles of my own limitations and in those moments ,all things seem possible !! (Sorry for over analysing !!)
I love running - when I’ve finished the run. Sense of accomplishment keeps me going. Plus I have targets to aim for (5k, 10k, HM times and number of ParkRuns completed), a marathon booked in October and the improvement in my mental health has been paramount. Oh and I’ve joined the best running club in the world!
I’m with you Tasha! Love it, love this amazing forum and love all the various goals. ❤️
No, it isn’t always easy and I can’t say I love every single moment of every single run, but on my rest days I simply can’t wait to get out there again. It’s totally fabulous! 🏃♀️🏃🏃♀️🏃🏃♀️
Let's just say that if l didn't like running then I'd be doing something else. Swimming, cycling or simply doing 379 push ups per day to keep the cardio going. I don't do things that l don't enjoy doing simply because they are meant to be good for me.
As for Mo Farah, let's not compare our leisurely carefree jog with top level competitive world performance. Those training sessions and runs aren't designed to feel good. They are meant to push you to the point of explosion in order to raise your performance by a few percent on top of your already remarkable talent and gift.
I never truly thought I could complete the couch to 5K, I hoped that I would but couldn’t believe that I was strong enough, fit enough or simply good enough. Every week I doubted my ability and so surprised myself when I made it. I find myself going further and occasionally faster, not always but that isn’t important. For me running is affirmation, it’s achieving my goal, I did it!
“I don’t run to add days to my life but to add life to my days”. Brilliant... Definitely nicking that, I'm going to say it one day and claim I just made it up. Muhahahah!
I always love the endorphins at the end of a run especially something timed like a Parkrun but if I am honest I face many demons getting out the door and getting into my runs. There is a lot of “giving myself a talking to” while I run as I get thinking it would be easier just to stop and go home.
I love seeing how far I have come and what I can do but in the moment I am not sure I can say I love running.
I had this for the longest time and sometimes that doubting fear still arises.
For me, tackling longer distances has helped. I know I can run a 5k or a 10k because I know I’ve run 10 miles and Half Marathon distances. I “have a word with myself” as well!
Some runs I hate every minute but I am always glad I did them.
The act of running its self I probably don't love but I love the sense of accomplishment when I do something that would have seemed impossible not that long ago, the fact I can zone out on a run and forget my day and the many good people I've meet through running.
This is exactly how I feel too. That sense of achievement that I have done. My work my tough mental arguments as I jog along telling myself I need to stop and then that I don’t need to stop! Then completing the run and feeling damn proud! That’s the feeling I think.
I’ve discovered podcasts and actually now I love that me time and I’m learning loads of new stuff too!! Bonus!
Do I love running? Simple answer is no, I love the freedom it gives me, the solitude when I'm running a long weekend run in the countryside and the fact that I am now fit enough to run for over an hour without a break. I have to force myself out the house everytime and the first 2k are my nemesis. However would I ever stop? No. I have gained too much to let the fact that I don't really like it put me off. We're all different so just go with the flow and do the thing that works for you. 😁. Now boxing on the other hand I really look forward too..........🥊🥊
I am the same. I heard running described as type 2 fun i.e. something you enjoy more after rather than during. As someone who is new to running I have improved rapidly in the last 13 weeks I am driven by running faster especially at parkruns. My worry is that I will naturally plateau and the achievements that I run for will become rarer and I will find it harder to motivate myself to get out in the non-parkrun mid-week runs. Any thoughts on how to keep the motivation?
I like your type 2 fun. I think I’ll add that to my motivation! How to keep going? I don’t have a magic answer I’m afraid, I do find it interesting that everyone is so different
I started on the c25k in Feb when I was starting to recover from depression. My daughter who is a psychiatric nurse introduced me to it and gave me her old running gear and took me out to buy Runners.
Some days I felt like a sack of potatoes 🥔 but I persisted.
Last month, while ran she 10k, I completed my first 5k in 43mins. I am so proud of my medal. It was the day of the London Marathon and I felt like I had won that.
Every week now I run a minimum of two 5k.. My dog goes too.
Depression is a thing of the past and I believe that running will help keep it there.
I do enjoy it and I think it is just because I can.
Being retired gives me the time. when I was working full time with 3 children I would never have managed however my daughter does. She is runningv a half marathon next week a year after having her 3rd son.
She runs for stress relief and weight management.
Dont you give up. I think you have a very supportive family to help you along. ☺️
Well done in getting to your 5K goal. I started too with my daughter’s help and we do still motivate each other to keep going. She’ll be in awe of your daughter running a HM after having baby number 3. I’m with you, there’s no way I could have managed running with 3 small children but I’m now retired so have more time and I shan’t give up, it’s been so hard to get here!
I think I love what running does. I'm much fitter and I'm starting to lose weight. I love my new running shoes and I love the sense of achievement when I finish a run. Sometimes I enjoy running as I'm running - I love being outside - but it does depend on mood, tiredness, how many hills... I'm motivated by a desire to go further and maybe faster... I just have to tell myself I can't achieve it all at once.
I don’t feel as though I need to run and at times I can happily not go when I have said I am going to. Mind you, I can go past runners when I’m in the car and think I would really like to be out running. I do get a great sense of achievement from hitting my goals and I love the buzz from running with others at parkrun or races. It was also so blooming hard getting to a level of fitness I haven’t enjoyed for years that no way am I letting it go. So many things are easier and I recover so much quicker from walking long distances, skiing, climbing hills and stairs, gardening etc that life generally is more enjoyable.
I’m with you about it being so hard to get this fit so I shan’t be stopping either and it does help in other aspects of my life. All the stranger that I don’t love it !
I started running jan 2018 with my daughter as she was training to join the army. She has since packed in ( last June) and although I’ve had injuries and illness since I’m still going but my feelings about it vary.
Last year I loved it and could not wait for rest days to be over and my next run to start. Then I sprained and fractured my ankle ... cue 3 months of no running and I was devastated!!! Yet also determined to run again so for the 6 weeks I had the boot on I walked everywhere, and signed up for 50 miles for July, 75 for August and actually did 75 and 100 miles of walking. I had sports massages and did everything I could to get fit to run again. And when I could finally run again I was overjoyed!
But then I had another foot injury in December and was ill with chest issues over Xmas and new year, and just seemed to lose my mojo.
I’ve worked back up through C25K again and B210k too but I still have to really talk myself into going out there each time. As you say I’m ok once I’m out there and on a high when Ive done it but seem to ache more and talk myself out of it more easily now.
Maybe now it’s warmer and I can run at 6.00 am again I’ll get back to loving running
I didn’t have to stop for injuries but for detached retina. I was so jealous of other runners then and so pleased to start couch25k again. After more eye surgery I worked my way back again and up to 10k, today I managed 12k. Like you I do get a sense of achievement when I’m done but I do find it very hard. I won’t stop because it’s been hard to get this far. I hope you regain the love of running that you had before, if not I guess we keep going for other reasons!
I was lucky that I just had 2 small bleeds in back of my eyes not detached retina like I’d first thought.so no Op for me but still very scary. That was in January this year. The first doctor told me no running for 3-4 months but the second one said “ don’t put your life on hold, give it a couple of weeks and then take it easy to start with. “.
I really thought I was going to have to call it a day then. And now when I feel I can’t drag myself out there again I remember how gutted I was when I thought I would not be running again...after the ankle injury, after the dislocated toes, after the chest infection and cough, after the eye bleeds.
I ran tonight , only 4K and it was a struggle in the heat , but I’m glad I went. And I’m not giving up.
This is a question that seems only to be discussed in dark corners.
Personally speaking, all through C25K I got huge enjoyment from completing runs but the running bit was excruciating. I’m the “wrong” age, size and weight (63/6’5”/103kg).
Only now, some 6 months after graduation can I say that, once over the Toxic Ten, I genuinely enjoy running. I’m not competing against other people or PBs, just keeping to 150 - 160 steps per minute and appreciating what’s around me.
I have runners in my group who have done 100 days of running, 10 days of 10k, 12 hours running, lost lot of weight running.... I have people training seriously for ultra marathons.
Me? 1 year in, I am definitely breathing better when running, but, when I get allergy attacks, it is more severe and I am out of running for at least 1 week, frequently two. I want to keep at it because I hope it will add to my cardiovascular fitness.
I am not terribly over weight, 10 - 12 pounds with a nice round belly. unwilling to do the associated dietary changes to really lose weight. I doubt I will see much changes on the scale the way I am going about it, but I am certainly more toned.
I guess I am content to just chug along? Running seems better than going to the gym and it gets me out of bed early to enjoy sights and sounds of the city before all the hustle and bustle.
And best of all, on days I run, I close the Move and Exercise rings in my Apple Watch before coffee ! Yay!
Someone else had a post on what you think when you run. Fight with hubby gets sorted in my head when I run, I am the sort to remember the last 20 years of infarctions, so this is a seriously good thing. I am able to bring the fight down to the hear and now and instead of from the beginning of time.
SO not loving running, but marginally fitter and happier for achieving fitness goals and perhaps an easier spouse to live with?
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