Talkback: Six Common Beginner Excuses

Is that it. Only six excuses. Surely a beginner must have more than six.

What about the I'm going to start running but won't because its raining outside and have a fear of getting wet.

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Comments

  • I could probably think of 6 now and I have been running for years.  In fact I wonder if the number of excuses you can come up with is in correlation to the number of years running? image
  • my personal favourite (and I never get tired of telling this story) was an otherwise highly intelligent guy in my office who spoke to me just before I was going out for a run and came up with the classic:

    "I'm too unfit for anything like that."

    I SO had to bite my tongue not to say "Er... so was I... BEFORE I started running!"

  • I heard a good one from a workmate too:-

    him - "I wouldn't run because of the damage it would do to my knees"

    me - "why, have you got bad knees?"

    him - "no, but don't runners get bad knees?".........

    ?? what an idiot image Almost as bad as the other popular one about how running so often must surely be bad for you and other such chestnuts...

  • At the end of the day its just will power.  I have been running for years and there are days I would rather do anything than go outside.  I often don't enjoy it when I do go out with that attitude but when I come back I feel sooo much better for it.  Its that that makes me go. 

    Its difficult explaning that to people who don't run.  I don't believe anyone who says they have never had a bad day....

  • My wife refuses to take up running as she says (amongst all the other excuses) that she will get two black eyes from her chesticles.... she just asked me to change that but it's what she said first so there it is!
  • I think Jodie's point about willpower is very relevant. I've been running a few years now, and still sometimes find it hard to get out there. By varying routes, speeds and terrain (sometimes even the gym treadmill provides a welcome change!) all provide diversions from thinking "I've got to do another run around the same loop in the same time".

    And Damon - that's no excuse either! When I started running I was a FF (now an "A", sadly!!) and it still wasn't enough to faze a good Shock Absorber :??)

  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭
    I found that running with a club, and/or a friend, helped a lot - it's much harder to wimp out if you know other people are expecting you.
  • Rach E is, sadly, spot on - I've lost two cup sizes in 12 weeks!!

    There's a positive feedback system when it comes to getting out on a bad day; once your willpower has got you out the first couple of times you don't want to, in your heart of hearts, you know you'll feel brilliant for the run when you get back.

    I kind of enjoy the runs I didn't want to go on more than the ones I did!

    Tx
  • i've just started running again after a years 'break'. All of the above excuses couldn't counteract the fact that I was exhausted after 2 days in Disneyland, so i started my first day with a short run around the block...at my aunties house in LA and on boxing day of all days....if i can do it the day after xmas in 80degree heat i can do it anywhere!!

    x

  • Very true,varaition is the key. But we're from the point,excuses. My favourite being,"I'd only get too good at it. I'm like that with everything I do". Tosser.
  • WilkieWilkie ✭✭✭

    No, Xandria, it's not.

    I think that if you have more to start with, some of it will go, but I was never big-busted and mine didn't shrink much (one cup size as part of the overall weight loss).

    I'm a 'B' cup after 10 years of running.

  • i started running in august gave up the whole of december because it was "xmas" bet that wasnt on there!!! and now went back to running club last night and wished i had just carried on i actually love it!!

    i am the queen of excuses i wish we had our snowfall last night and once i was out i am glad it didnt snow!!

  • Nope, complete nonsense that you lose your bust. 

    I run marathons and ultras and whereas everything else is tiny my bust is much the same.  Still a D cup.  (and they are not implants before you ask)

  • anybody who has been denied mobility at any stage in their life would give their right arm to get on their feet and charge down the road. if you're a fat lazy f*ck you don't get any sympathy from me. you have one body, one life- get out and use it.
  • albert... couldnt have said it better myself!! image
  • I started running a C, and I'm actually now a D, and have lost the fat round my thighs!

    But like Wilkie metions, if you have some extra weight to lose then yes you might loose a little from your bust, but you'll lose LOADS everywhere else so they will end up looking bigger! 


  • How about this as an excuse from a beginner  - me.  Its 2 inches of solid, lumpy ice on all paths and roads within 15 miles except for the M3 motorway.  Running around a park in the dark would be pure stupidity unless you have a death wish and all running clubs evenings start and finish when I  am still at work.  That said,  when it clears up I will be out again and cant wait.

    Albert,  I thought running was not an elitist clique of "so much better than thou" people that you can find in other walks of life.  I hope this remains to be the case. 

  • KeirKeir ✭✭✭

    I stumbled upon this thread, hoping to find an excuse not to go running tonight, but seem to have read all about shrinking breasts. I am tempted to request some before and after photos image  but instead I thought the following story from the BBC might be relevant:

    Australia's double world 400m hurdles champion Jana Rawlinson has had her breast implants removed to improve her chances of winning 2012 Olympic gold.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/8441196.stm

  • PhilPubPhilPub ✭✭✭
    Er, elite athlete spends 7 grand on breast implants and then realises they might affect the way she runs? Is she feckin stupid or summink?!
  • KeirKeir ✭✭✭
    Not stupid. Australian.
  • re: snow/ice problem.

    running in the snow is a good, tough work out. if you can't hit the pavements, i s uggest trying to get to a golf course/ park- few laps of that will finish you off. try getting up a bit earlier in the morning maybe if the park/night thing is scary- although i think in this cold weather there won't be many folk hanging around waiting to mug you... i've got no excuse cos i've got a bleedin' marathon to start preparing for- so anxiuos times with the weather i agree

     ... by the way if u fancy sponsoring me (ho ho ho!):

     http://www.justgiving.com/tobys-boston-marathon-2010

    cheers.

    h- in - the - l 

  • yep, I just did 2 laps round the local park - lovely run image

    it's basically like doing Cross-Country - very similar running on scrunchy snow to running on mud/slippery grass

    helps if you have a pair of XC spikes or a pair of fell shoes to run in though!

    oh, and buy a headtorch if you want to run in the dark image

  • We have a guy (Gul Darr) on the sub 3.15 forum who has been running round the same field in the snow every day at 5am for the last two weeks as it is the only feasible option at the moment due to the weather. Total respect for that.

    I have run at 8.30pm every night this week as my daughter has been ill so it's the only time I have been able to, even on Tuesday night in a blizzard!!!

    I agree, it's will power. If you really really want to do it then you will get out there and do it!

  • I now feel like a complete lightweight!!! Reading about all you people running in the dark in the snow etc. I was thinking of doing so....but didn't. I made excuses-the pavements are treacherous(which they are),it's dark AND slippy(which it is),and the gym over the road wants to charge me thirteen pounds(!!) to go on their treadmill(including induction). Come on,someone tell me these are good reasons not to run tonight-ease my guilt.
  • ... if you're not in training for anything specific, there's no point trying to kill yourself on the ice... but if you can drive (!) to a park or something it's worth it, just because it's quite good fun. saw deer out the other day...

     ... or run late with high visibility clothing so u can jump in the road if you have to, less traffic etc... perhaps? managed 10 hilly miles last night. is tough in the snow though. the cold's no problem- as the norwegians joke, " there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing!" ho ho ho, those norwegians, they're so crazy.

    h - i n -t h e - l

  • ... or you could just chill out tonight, and then maybe add a few extra miles on to your next run.. ? or next week... maybe do a bumper sunday run out in the countryside. no big deal. 

  • Yep,that's what I was thinking of doing- a longer run on sunday when I'm off.Got the Helsby half next week and I've barely ran this week. Oh well,see how it goes.
  • When you get to my age (58) you are more concerned about not breaking bones. i train in the gym on a treadmill with Sony Walkman, instead of on the icy roads. 
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