Exercise! Love it or hate it, let's motivate each other to just DO IT!

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Old 11-26-2011, 04:13 PM   #1  
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Default Runners: do you love the act itself or the feeling afterward?

I am a latecomer to running - I've tried it on and off in the past and couldn't stick with it. For the past year or so(I'm 43 now) I've been a bit more consistent and have run several 5K's and one 10K.

I wanted to hear from others who've been doing it for a while to see if you really LOVE it or do you do it more for the results and the feeling afterward? Often while I'm jogging I'm just kind of meh. Occasionally I'll get almost a high. the vast majority of the time I just want to get it done and get home. I do feel fantastic afterwards.

I do enjoy participating in 5K's although I am always just happy to finish, and when I set a new PR. I am VERY slow - my best time on a 5K is 32:30.

Do you run for the running, or the feeling afterward?
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Old 11-26-2011, 04:56 PM   #2  
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For me it's both. I love everything about running, it's a part of who I am now. Literally a part of my identity. I love the community I am a part of now as a runner. I love the feeling (aka runner's high) I get when I have one of those amazing runs. I love the acomplishment I feel after a long run or even a short hard run. I love the time to myself to just sort stuff out or zone out and thing of nothing I get during an easy recovery run. I use it in place of therapy to release anxiety, depression, stress, etc. I use it to maintain my weight. I love the sense of purpose I get durning training season. I love that I have to think about what I eat or drink and how it will or won't affect my next training run. Running is so many things to me both physically and mentally that I could go on an on. And it is all so unexpected. I've only been running a short while, almost 2 years, and in that time I have fallen head over heals in love with running. Now I love yoga and spinning too, but there is something about running that those things just don't have, can't put my finger on it, but it's there.
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Old 11-26-2011, 04:58 PM   #3  
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Some days, I am doing good to get to the last kilometer.
Some days, I feel so strong that I add an extra mile just because I can!
I love being on a Runner's High.
I especially love to run with friends. If I am running alone, I am more apt to be just meh, whatever.
However, if I am running with someone, or in a group, I feel much better about the actual act of running!

I absolutely 2nd ncuneo's statement! I am absolutely in love with running, there is just nothing like it!

Last edited by K9Owner; 11-26-2011 at 04:59 PM.
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Old 11-26-2011, 05:40 PM   #4  
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Thirding ncnuneo.

FWIW, I expect roughly 1 in 10 runs to be great and 1 to be bad-to-horrible, and the rest arranged from around a C+ to an A-. They're not all fabulous.
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Old 11-26-2011, 05:58 PM   #5  
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For me, the actual act is "meh" for me most of the time when I'm alone and better when I jog with a friend, but the best part is the feeling of accomplishment at the end.
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Old 11-26-2011, 06:14 PM   #6  
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I haven't learned to love the act of running yet. I have had a very few runs where I loved doing it, but usually it's the high afterwards of "**** ya - I just ran 4 effing miles" that keeps me doing it.

I am hoping some day I will LOVE running itself.
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Old 11-26-2011, 06:33 PM   #7  
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I'm still a newbie runner (running off and on for just over a year) and initially I did it purely to speed up my weight loss. I would push myself way too hard (I know that now) and not really enjoy the act but feel a terrific high afterwards.

Since my knee injury I've been more mindful of how I feel during the run and have found, since I'm not pushing too hard, I actually enjoy the running and if I don't get a high afterwards, it doesn't matter. If I do, then it's just a bonus to me.
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Old 11-26-2011, 06:35 PM   #8  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ncuneo View Post
For me it's both. I love everything about running, it's a part of who I am now. Literally a part of my identity. I love the community I am a part of now as a runner. I love the feeling (aka runner's high) I get when I have one of those amazing runs. I love the acomplishment I feel after a long run or even a short hard run. I love the time to myself to just sort stuff out or zone out and thing of nothing I get during an easy recovery run. I use it in place of therapy to release anxiety, depression, stress, etc. I use it to maintain my weight. I love the sense of purpose I get durning training season. I love that I have to think about what I eat or drink and how it will or won't affect my next training run. Running is so many things to me both physically and mentally that I could go on an on. And it is all so unexpected. I've only been running a short while, almost 2 years, and in that time I have fallen head over heals in love with running. Now I love yoga and spinning too, but there is something about running that those things just don't have, can't put my finger on it, but it's there.
I'm a cyclist not a runner but I really resonated with this. I freaking love biking. I love everything about it. I love calming myself to get up a series of hills after the initial panic of "I can't do that." I love the way the world looks when I ride. I love the other riders and runners out in the world in the morning when no one else is and the secret looks we give each other like "this rocks, doesn't it." I love what it does for my brain and my body. I love when I think I can't go any further and then I bust right through. I love when I can feel my lungs getting stronger. I love when my quads start bumping out of my thighs by my knee.

I just love love love it. I love that my body can propel itself through space and time so much farther and faster that I think it can.

Love.
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Old 11-27-2011, 03:21 AM   #9  
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I'm not "a runner" and I don't think I ever will be. I have neither mileage or speed, but more importantly I don't love running. I like the process and I love the feeling afterward. For me, it's more that I get a lot out of it than I truly love it.
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Old 11-27-2011, 03:17 PM   #10  
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I have not been doing this for awhile. I daresay that I have not even hit my stride yet as a runner, because this is my first year, and I am still quite overweight. BUT, most days, I love it during, before and after. It has gotten so much easier for me to run through the months. In the last 8 months I have been doing it, I have been working hard to be consistent and it used to be he**. But, the better I did, the further I went, the further I have wanted to do. If I can run 9 miles while overweight inside of my first year at it, what could I do with a lifetime? I do love running and I am so glad I chose it as one of my primary modes of weight loss exercises.

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Old 11-27-2011, 03:26 PM   #11  
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Hmm interesting question. I think I get a thrill from the act, because I'm doing it, and I can't believe how far I'm going. And the music sounds good, and I get this chest swelling pride. Like **** yeah look at me go!

Afterwards is good too. I may like it too much actually
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Old 11-27-2011, 04:04 PM   #12  
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The first year of running I only got the after-running high.

Now that I'm almost on my third year, I have no pain, and am much more at ease, I can say that I often get the runner's high during the actual running part.

That said, If I run 3 days in a row, the third day I probably will not get a runner's high during the run.

Anyway, I think there are a lot of factors: the time of day that is best for you, whether you are properly hydrated, if you have the best shoes, an ideal trail, the proper weather, clothing, the right music, etc.

In the end, running stabilizes my mood/hormones and helps me lose weight. That is why I do it.
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