As a spectator at the Windsor half yesterday, I felt inspired, and desperate to put running shoes on.
I love almost everything about running. It's easy and cheap to take part, you can do it anywhere.
The fitness benefits are enormous, and its the most efficient way to burn calories.
I love all the gadgets, HRM, SDM etc.
I love the science, sports physiology and medicine.
I love the events, and being part of something big, and being surrounded by like minded people.
I love the sense of acheivement, on completing a race/distance, the feeeling of being in control of your body.
The only thing I don't like about running is........running. It's so Bl@
@dy hard! When I'm running I am frequently asking myself why I'm doing it (of course the answer is written above). I am quite new to running, and I hope that one day, I will go out and enjoy the actual run, but it hasn't happened yet!
Comments
Most things in life that are worth having are hard work, take lots of effort and sometimes make you wonder why you bother. BUT unlike so many of those "other" things in life you don't need to be a genius, rich or talented to enjoy running.
.....and that enjoyment is also so hard to classify because its so many things to so many people. Whether its the freedom that comes from pure physical activity, the opportunity to race, or simply the opportunity to get some time and space to yourself there are many, many paths to enjoyment.
.....the bad news is that running never becomes really easy it just gets faster! For me, running a forest trail in autumn mists moving fast and quiet is like no feeling on this earth and worth every second of the effort.
Stick with it and it will happen.
it gets me fitter than anything else
it's free
it's time efficient
you make new friends
it exercises my dog
you get silly medals with Windsor Castle on
and because sometimes, in between all the pain and the effort, you just run, you are serene, focused, strong and experiencing a wonderful sensation that very few people ever get to feel. There were points at Windsor where I just ran, in step with my neighbours and felt absolutely wonderful (there were also several bad bits but I won't go into those...)
Keep it up Fat girl slim - one day you'll be running and you'll realise that it's taken over, it's not costing you anything in effort - you just can.
(I want to go for a run now I've waxed so lyrical but I think I'll just dive into that big tub of Heroes hubby bought me yesterday to say well done - and restore my carb levels)!!
Is this the runners high, aren't hormones wonderful.
fat girl slim keep at it, you too will feel this kind of high one day. Enjoy!
I shouldn't be here, but here I am because when I can't run, and I can't run all the time, I want to think about it. All the time
See you in Waterbeach, right? Not long now.
Feels sooo much better when I run now, cos it ain't long ago, I thought I'd jogged my last.
Performance is less relevant than attitude.
The perfect sport, I reckon.
But I've hobbled around today after the windsor half yesterday thinking how nice it was to run along with everyone else. And that's it - I like the races - even though I'm pretty near the back - it's everyone together, with one goal. And the next day, well, you've done something that most other people wouldn't or couldn't do -it's a nice feeling.
My advice is, join a club - run with people - it's much more fun that way and you can have a nice chat as the miles go by :-)
DD
Unlike team sports, if you have an off day it only affects you..........so what....try again tomorrow.
But something keeps me going back
Dont think Ill ever get "Runners High" though, too slow
And Stickless, great post. Fantastic description of why this sport is so personal and yet so great.
Waap.
Why do I love running? I'm not sure. I guess it's mostly cos it makes me feel good. I have yet to come back from a run, however well or badly it went, regretting having gone out.
I am probably in a minority when I say that I prefer working out alone rather than in participation team sports.
I like to set my own goals and running gives me that freedom to challenge myself, and only myself.
I can take it all at my own pace and enjoy every minute, knowing that I have acheived something on my own, that my fitness goals arebeing met, and that I will fit into my slim-sized clothes comfortably to boot! :-)
My early morning runs make me want to get up out of bed!
It's the one thing I feel under no pressure to be good at. I can play at competing in races, but it doesn't matter if I never finish among the frontrunners. I don't need anyone else to validate me as a "good" runner whereas being seen as a good doctor or a good enough parent does matter.
It's an excuse for solitary protected time. I don't often work out problems whole running, but I always come back feeling that the problems are smaller.
And in the longer term, running is going to be the antidote to the fat-stashing gene that I may have inherited from my mother's family. This is important because I'm a nosy git and want to live forever just to see what happens next in the world.
Of course, in the words of Swiss Tony, running is like loving a beautiful woman...
So I can say I love running because it keeps the pound in my pocket!
So I think a good reason for running is that I am lucky enough to be physically able to.
I also like the purity of running, no bat, ball, bike or team mate, just me, running for me.