How Long Did it Take You To Like/Love Running??

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  • jeffininer
    jeffininer Posts: 204 Member
    I would never run. I hated it. I used to think it was so silly to run. My knees and hip would hurt so bad. Then I started to work out and get stronger, my health got better. My friends talked me into running a 5k. So one day I put my phone in an arm band and put on the C25K app. After the first run/walk interval I just started to run, just to see how far I could go. From that day on I've been hooked. Once you find your groove and find ways you are able to push yourself, I think that's when it gets to the love side of things.

    Keep with it. Before too long you will be beating your previous time, and that's when it gets exciting :)
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    When it was forced on me by my job, I hated it. When I realized it could help me achieve my personal goals, I loved it.
  • cavewoman15
    cavewoman15 Posts: 278 Member
    i'll echo other posters.. slow and steady wins the race (of enjoying running)! being breathless for a minute or two is okay, but for several miles is sucky and likely unsustainable for the average athlete. i have asthma, and i like running because if i am feeling a little breathless, i can just slow down and keep moving, then pick up again when i am feeling better. for this same reason, i like swimming and biking. however.. it all takes time to feel like you have comfort with a new sport.. i'd give it a couple months of running a couch to 10k before i would expect any major changes.

    another plug: i love running my dog. he likes it so much that it makes me really happy. sometimes when i have a run scheduled (i'm training for triathlons this year), and i don't want to do it or am tired, he gives me the motivation!
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
    When I stopped feeling like I was going to die every time I ran. Once I could actually breathe and my lungs and legs didn't hurt, I started to like it. That took about 3-4 months of running three times a week and even so, I have bad days now and then where I hate it again.
  • anj1030
    anj1030 Posts: 153 Member
    I remember the day that I was running...probably about a month or two after I started...and I realized that I wasn't tired, I wasn't short of breath...and I wanted to keep going (not stop and walk)...after that, I couldn't wait to do it again, and again. I am hooked now. Same thing with cycling...I love it now, hated it when I started because it was "SO HARD". It all depends on what goals you want to attain. Do you want to be "a runner"...? If so, you will make it happen. Good luck!!! If I can do it...anyone can do it!!! :smile:
  • PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot
    PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot Posts: 596 Member
    For me it was when I could go 2 miles without my lungs burning up. It became some quality head clearing time.
  • Alidecker
    Alidecker Posts: 1,262 Member
    Still not much of a runner, never wanted to be....until my doctor told me I should NEVER run again after I had hip surgery.
  • dortilolma
    dortilolma Posts: 103 Member
    I've been running for a couple of years now - and I used to hate running!

    To be honest I still don't enjoy it while I'm doing it, but find the way I feel afterwards is totally worth it.

    As some people have already stated, start slow - don't try and run a 5 mile without building up the capacity first. When I started I could barely run for a minute straight, now I go for a 30 minute run 5 days a week. Some people like listening to music, I like listening to audio books because the stories distract me from the activity at hand. :)
  • Nikachelle
    Nikachelle Posts: 66 Member
    Some of the girls at work are talking about running the 10K at the Toronto Zoo in September. I'm not a runner and never have been, but I don't want to be left out. I'm hoping to use this as motivation for running and exercising. Most people I've spoken to say they originally hated running but the longer they did it the better it got. How long did it take you to not hate or like/love running? I'm trying to gauge how long I'll be dreading the workouts for the Couch to 10K app.

    Also if anyone has any great tips, I'd love to hear them!

    Thanks!
    I didn't know there was a 10k at the zoo! That sounds like a lot of fun. I'll look into doing it myself.

    As for how long to not hate it... Once I saw results probably. Once I could feel my lung capacity go up and my muscles get stronger. Probably roughly a month or so?
  • eslcity
    eslcity Posts: 323 Member
    I hate running... never could get into it.. even when i was in the army.... I am a walker.. and I have found great enjoyment in just doing a quick pace... swinging my arms... most days I walk 18km (11miles) .. and on sunday much further...

    Whatever exercise (cardio) you decide to do.. you have to enjoy it... cardio is the key to weightloss and later for maintaince..

    If you decide to do something hate you hate..you're not going to stick with it...
  • scraver2003
    scraver2003 Posts: 526 Member
    I can't remember... It might have been my first 5k. Or the first time I could run a mile without stopping to walk. Or the first time I could run two miles without stopping to walk. Or when I first started feeling my legs getting stronger. Or the first time I ran with a group.

    When I first started, it was just a means to an end. I wanted to lose weight, so I assumed I had to exercise. Somewhere along the way, I began to love running and I decided even if I never lost a single pound, I would still keep up with running. I love going for runs on sunny days with the birds tweeting. I love that it is "me" time. I love that I can do it anywhere.
  • Vanguard1
    Vanguard1 Posts: 372 Member
    It took cancer for me, no kidding! I was never a "runner" prior to getting sick, but when the Doctor told me I couldn't run anymore it kind of sparked something. I could only run about 30 seconds at a time initially but somehow evolved into a marathon and now am involved in multisport!! I doubt that will help, but I guess what i am trying to say is imagine if you, no crap, really were not physically able to run, count your blessings and get out there and do it!!

    LiveStrong
    Jas
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    How long did it take you to not hate or like/love running? I'm trying to gauge how long I'll be dreading the workouts for the Couch to 10K app.

    It took me about a month to realise that it was something that I enjoyed enough to start planning it into my diary, and I started seeing the pounds drop off.

    I think I was about 6 weeks into the Couch to 5K when my diary got very difficult for a week, so I ended up actually putting time into working out how I could fit in an hour for a session the following week to catch up.

    That's the point where I wwent out and bought some new running shorts and tech tees.

    The clincher was probably when I bought new running shoes, which was an eye watering experience.
  • lisaabenjamin
    lisaabenjamin Posts: 665 Member
    I fall in and out with running, and I've discovered my relationship with it is directly proportional to how hard I train. When I have a goal in mind (say, a race I've signed up for or a challenge to run X number of miles in a given timeframe) I am far too stubborn to give up on that goal so I go for it and really commit to a training plan. During each run I grumble and complain at some point, but towards the end I feel much better, and then I feel great when I have completed it!

    I have to see a "point" to running though - I have to have a goal. I'm not one of those people who can just happily skip out of the door for a random 5 mile run because I feel like it. I have to actually be working towards something.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Running isn't compulsory, and not everyone who does it regularly loves it! Conversely, not everyone who loves it is good at it.

    I love the idea of running - the other day I dreamt I easily ran a 4:08 Marathon without training - the reality not always so much - it's a good day if I run a 36 minute 5K.

    I've blogged some beginner's running tips here:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/BerryH?month=201105

    But in your position, absolutely the best thing you could do to make running enjoyable is to do at least one of your training runs a week with the friends who are doing the race with you!
  • katimorris87
    katimorris87 Posts: 65 Member
    I am still only a walk/runner and I still kinda hate it.
    I want to be good at it so bad. I have never ever been a good runner, I run out of breath so quickly. It is a lot about pace, don't try to stay with your friends necessarily.
    The best advice I've gotten to date is to walk as fast as you can and just skip into a running cantor instead of a walk at that same pace. That was the first mile I ever ran through, at 3.8mph, but I ran it!
  • amw5471
    amw5471 Posts: 111 Member
    I only like running while I am working towards a goal, like the tough mudder I am doing 6/1/14. I also didn't feel myself get comfortable running for about 3 months, I started running in early November and finally could be ok running in February
  • brittany2188
    brittany2188 Posts: 63
    I JUST started running (today is day 4). I use a C25K app. It starts off with a 5 minute walk and then you go into a 60 second run and 90 second walk interval. The first day I ran it was on a full stomach. Bad idea. My lungs were burning and I thought was going to pass away. Day 2 I ran on an empty stomach. Felt like a million bucks after. I used to get shin pains when I walked, tied my shoes tighter and that's not a problem now. I run on the road instead of the sidewalk because the asphalt is softer than the cement. I run REALLY slow. Turtle slow. I didn't think I'd like it but I really do enjoy it now. You just have to try different things and see what works best for you!
  • wanttolose40lbs
    wanttolose40lbs Posts: 239 Member
    I've been running for 1.5 years and still don't love it. The longest I've run is a 5K race, felt great when I finished and for some reason just kept running. Don't know if I ever want to run a 10K, but I know I can if I train and put my mind to it. Three miles is easy for me now and don't know if I want to push myself to do more.
  • zillah73
    zillah73 Posts: 505 Member
    Running was something I simply couldn't do when I was at my heaviest. I could hardly walk through the shopping mall without swollen ankles. Over time, running became the symbol of all the things I "couldn't" and would never do because of my weight – it represented my limitations, perceived and actual. I would solve world hunger and find Jimmy Hoffa's remains before I could run. When I was about 60 lbs down, I decided to try to run and I ran one lap (3/4 mile) around a small lake at a local park – a HUGE accomplishment for me. In that moment, instead of being a symbol of all I couldn't do, it became the symbol of the fact that I could do anything I set my mind to. In that moment I loved it.

    This is one of the most inspiring things I have read in a long time! You are amazing! Thank you for that.

    Aww, thanks! It means a lot to hear that!
  • Jamie_55
    Jamie_55 Posts: 61 Member
    Thanks everyone!! I appreciate the responses! I'll check out the links.
  • maybeazure
    maybeazure Posts: 301 Member
    I think I started liking it better after I started to notice improvements. Running is hard, especially if you are new at it, and most especially if you are overweight or not in great shape anyway. It hurts sometimes, and it's hard to breathe. There are still times that I hate it...while I'm doing it. But I started to learn to appreciate the runner's high that I got afterwards. Working hard like that gives you feel good endorphins, and that coupled with the feeling of accomplishment when you run longer or faster than you have before, makes it really addictive.

    Running now is it's own motivator. Now I do other exercises (like strength training) so that I can run better without getting hurt. Also it's become motivator for losing more weight. I know that I'll be faster if I'm lighter, so I am motivated to watch my diet.
  • tappae
    tappae Posts: 568 Member
    About 20 years, I would say.

    I didn't like running until I learned proper form. I didn't love it until I learned to slow down, run most of my runs at an "easy" pace and increase my overall volume.
  • Jamie_55
    Jamie_55 Posts: 61 Member
    Did week 1, workout 2 tonight, it was MUCH easier than the first one! I'm hoping that it keeps getting better!

    Thanks for all the advice!

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