What was your motivation to start running?

miracole

I first started running in 2006. I'd been weight lifting with my bf (now husband) for years at our university gym but then had an unfortunate incident involving stitches in between my thumb and forefinger (never try to catch a knife!)

I started working the treadmill while he worked out and got bored with walking on it, so gradually increased the pace until I worked my way up to running for a full half hour (though my first go was about 4 minutes before I felt like dying).

I ran off and on for about 2 years and had worked up to a 10k, but then tweaked my knee and made a million excuses about why I couldn't run. But then, in 2009 I got this:



which quickly turned into this:



and quickly learned that the combination of german shephard, husky and saluki means a whole lot of running determination in a compact 65 lbs. Without running at least 30km a week she is one big ball o' crazy!

So I started hitting the trails again and we haven't looked back since! she's trained me for 2 marathons and 6 half marathons and we're working on our third and seventh respectively!

There's always a reason to go running - I use this for motivation:



and if all else fails? get a dog!

porkchop_13

i quit smoking cigarettes back in August and I needed to do something so i wouldnt gain a ton of weight. I still gained about 10-15 which i'm trying to lose now. I think running has helped to keep my mind focused and the weight under control (for the most part) ugh!

MinnieInMaine

Boredom/needing a challenge. I love to walk, I really do, but sometimes it was getting boring to walk the same routes around my house time after time. Plus I felt like I needed to kick it up a notch. So one day I was walking and decided I'd try to run for a minute. I thought I was going to pass out but I did it!! And I just kept trying it every time and I went for a walk and would run more of these minutes every time I went. And eventually I heard about Couch 2 5K and tried that but I didn't like the structure so I did my own interval training thing and eventually worked my way up to running farther and faster and ran a few 5ks last year.

I'm with you on being a wimp about winter though. I ran last weekend because we had a bit of a "January thaw" but I don't usually run at all this time of year. I hate running on the treadmill and I won't risk running on snowy/icy sidewalks. There are plenty of ways you can get around it though - there are running/walking crampons (google Yaktrax) to help with slippery surfaces and lots of cold weather running gear to choose from. But as far as I'm concerned, there's plenty of other things I can do inside where it's warm this time of year.

AsellusReborn

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/852214-nsv-journey-to-a-half-marathon-in-pics-sort-of

^ TL;dr, I hated running, but I needed to do SOMETHING - so I committed to the C25K. I decided I wasn't allowed an out until I ran my first race after completing the program. And whoops, got hooked. 5 months after I started the C25K I ran my first half marathon

AckieJ

Love this!

smittybuilt19

I want to do the couch to 5k program because it's the first thing i've seen that made me think "Yeah, that's doable!" But I can't turn off the excuses:

This. I knew that running would really help in weight loss and also being able to breathe better, so I looked at the c25k program and thought, "Dang,I can do that." It was really tough starting out but it was so rewarding!

HypersonicFitNess

LOVE THIS LOL!



I so totally had another thought, but the picture threw me off LOL!

Maybe it was that I ran in pouring rain today with the wind blowing 20 mph....no, that wasn't it.

Oh I remember now...it was the reason I run....basically I have a short attention span. I get bored easily with the same old boring exercise routine over and over again. This is especially true for winter, when the weather sucks! So, what to do, what to do? SIGN UP FOR A RACE or two, what do you have to do if you sign up for a new race...not something you've done before, but a NEW CHALLENGE. New distance, etc. YOU HAVE TO TRAIN and get a good TRAINING PROGRAM. I am very TYPE A, so I have my training schedule and I WILL NOT deviate...I need structure and so, I find a race, I register, don't want to lose my money and I don't want to perform poorly, so I also find the best possible training plan and STICK TO IT for the winter months to ensure I perform optimally and it gets me through the depressing winter weather without any extra weight on me.

That's my story. :bigsmile:

andreamarieroberts

I will try to make this short and sweet: I have been obese and depressed all of my life with a huge family history of heart disease. I never thought I could be a runner, never even considered it. Started using MFP and lost some weight, started walking... then I got the C25K app for my phone and said OH WHAT THE HELL. Felt terribly self conscious as I am still obese and large busted. Started C25K in August. Ran my first 5K in October. First 5 miler on Thanksgiving. Now I am training for the half marathon in May. I am now less obese (almost just overweight!) and much, much more importantly HAPPY and MEDICATION FREE for the first time in YEARS. Even if I never lose another pound, I don't think I will ever stop running. My heart and my brain thank me every day, and now I have the mental clarity to hear them . I had an EKG on monday and my doc said "you have the EKG of a runner!"
My friends are impressed and I am so proud of myself! I ran 10 miles in under 2 hours recently. You would NEVER know it to look at me!

CallMeCupcakeDammit

A couple of friends here called bs on my reasons for not running, so I decided to go for it, downloaded the C25K app, and realized I actually love running. I haven't signed up for a 5K yet, but I will run at least one this year. I'm trying to get my best friend going so she can do it with me. There aren't many flat areas where I live, so I started out just running back and forth on the flattest .3 miles I could find. Then I realized I'm not going to master hills if I don't do them, so I sucked it up and started running my entire neighborhood. As I was running up one of the hills the other day, I realized just walking up that hill used to kill me. Made me feel pretty darn good!

redredy9

I was inspired to start running by:

1. Have you seen how hot runner's are?!? I want to look like that!

2. I am super competitive with myself and if I can't do something I want to do - I will keep trying until I can!

I LOVE running now. I trained during the hottest NYC summer on record in super hot super humid conditions and ran my first marathon last year. I have 2 marathons this year and am already thinking about where I want to run my marathons next year. Its hard to believe now how much of a struggle that first 5K was.

Keep at it. It gets easier. Eventually you love it.

redredy9

From the time I was 21 until late 2011 (I was 35 then), Isaid to myself and to anyone who asks, I will never run again for the rest of my life. Then I thought, why won't I? I tried it, and I could only go 0.25 miles. I was huffing/puffing, red in the face, and thought I was dying. And I THOUGHT that I was in good shape... Then I hated that I couldn't run and so many people I knew could. That was all the motivation I needed.

15 months later, guess who just ran her first marathon on Sunday? This girl. It was 26.2 miles in pouring rain in 42 degrees, and I was frozen, numb, stumbling, but I did it. I walked less than a mile of it too. And I ran a quick 3 mile run with my running club last night. I just love it now. Not always, but when it's good, it's so good. On my running trail, miles in to it, with the perfect song on my playlist, with my breathing making my lungs feel like they are on fire, and my legs doing what they were born to do? LOVE it.

There will be a day I can no longer run. Today will not be that day

CONGRATULATIONS!

mlb929

Runners always looked like they loved running. I wanted to find that happiness that they were in a pure spot of enjoyment.

Chocolate_Queen

I threw myself in at the deep end by signing up for a sponsored 10k charity run for Cancer Research a fair way in the future. That way I couldn't let myself get away with the excuses. It's an amazing charity and I wanted to complete to ensure I raised money for them. Every time I though "urgh it'd be so much nicer to stay inside and clean my oven" (or any other crazy excuse) I just reminded myself why I was doing it. After I'd done the charity run I realised that I actually enjoyed running so I continued from there. If you asked me if I liked running a year previously I'd have laughed in your face.

I must admit that I have eased off a bit in winter. I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark (I'm a scaredy cat), so weekends are really my only chance to go.

sweetcheeks1978

I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it and I can!! I started late last year doing approx 2 miles a day, am waiting for warmer weather to get back to running, I would love to take part in a 5 and 10k run this year!

bluefox9er

I am looking for advice from people who run now, but who were once people like me and said NEVER I WILL NEVER EVER BE A RUNNER.

I want to do the couch to 5k program because it's the first thing i've seen that made me think "Yeah, that's doable!" But I can't turn off the excuses:

"I can't run because it's winter in Wisconsin which means dangerous ice, and my neighborhood is too sketchy, and I can't join a gym because it's too expensive, and I can't use my treadmill because the downstairs neighbors will get annoyed and I can't find the key for it anyway, and I don't have time to run in the morning, and I'm too skittish to run after dark, and my ipod is broken..."

They are endless!

What's your story? How did you make the transition between Not a Runner and Runner?

I picked the one thing I thought would be truly impossible for a guy like me to do. I know, at 46 I'm 20 years late to the party, but C25k has changed my life.

emilyrocks_123

I suddenly realised that I'd put on 14lbs since July. And it was the week before Christmas.

Like you, I have downstairs neighbours, so I started doing a little cardio watching a fitness DVD when I guessed that they were out, or they were n a room that wasn't beneath my living room! Then I went and walked 5km on a treadmill at my work gym. That gave me a starting point - I know I can't ever run slower than I walk (right?).

The next week I dragged myself through two more 5km runs on the treadmill. The first took me four minutes less than walking, the second took another couple of minutes off. The next time I was 10 minutes faster than my walking time and it's the improvement that keeps me going back to the gym. Initially it was like crawling over broken glass, but I knew I just had to get through those first painful experiences because otherwise, that 14lbs is going nowhere and not fitting into my favourite clothes is getting me down.

Last Saturday a friend who runs took me for my first run outside. It was through a beautiful park. It was FREEZING and it took me nearly an hour to get there on the tube, but the scenery was worth it. And do you know what? We did five MILES, not 5km, and I barely noticed!! Maybe you could run somewhere other than your own neighbourhood? Mine is too hilly for me to try running near my house! Also, if you can find a friend to join you, it suddenly gets so much easier.
I actually ran a 5km tonight, on the treadmill - then I carried on for another 3km! And I'm not a runner!

You really can become better than you ever thought so, so quickly. Very, very best of luck with it, from one 'non-runner' to another ;-)

SpleenThief

285+ pounds, prediabetic - I needed to do SOMETHING. Running is simple and you can make it whatever you want it to be. You want to race? Not just enter a race, but RACE - as in go for all the gusto and try for the age group award? Go for it. Want to go out a few times a week for a dog jog? Sweet. Feel like running some trails, dodging rocks and roots? Nice. So I ran because it was simple, I ALWAYS get out of it what I put into it and it doesn't cost anything other than shoes and time.

marycmeadows

I was told last february that I should do a half marathon. I literally laughed in that person's face. I had no desire to run. seriously. never had.

I ran my first half marathon on nov 10 2012. I ran my second half marathon on dec 9 2012.

I kind of started running in like march 2012. but really just did intervals, until august 2012. My friend and a trainer at the gym invited me to join her and her boyfriend's half marathon training team. I got suckered into it. the first 'long run' weekend was 5 miles. actually the first three weekends were 5 miles. and that first weekend. I thought I'd die. but I made it through. that night I felt like a zombie, I was so out of it. but as the weeks went on, and the mileage went up I just stuck with it, and found that I liked it. I was also amazed at the progress I was making. I felt so much better while running. It was fantastic., and I'm addicted.

I am currently participating in another half marathon training program with the same trainers - simply because I like the long group runs on saturday mornings. I have not yet registered for another half (I have a couple of 5ks & 10k's coming up) - but I'm using this as a jump start on training for tribal quest (obstacle course 5miler) as that's my goal for this year!

runningwild00

My sport is your sport's punishment. That always cracked me up.

But honestly, my motivation has fluctuated throughout the years. In the beginning, it was to make my parents happy. They kind of bribed me!! Haha. I enjoyed it enough, didn't hate them, I didn't feel pressure to start, but they encouraged and I enjoyed getting things for it!! (I started running at about 10!). Then it turned into a way for me to lose weight. I was never over weight, but I got obsessed with getting thing....OK so I had an ED for a few years, and running was my way to purge calories.

BUT then I really found a lot of enjoyment from running. I loved running on the cross country and track teams -- I always love runners, they are such unique and kind people. We used to play games while we ran....hitting street signs pretending like we hit our heads, catching leaves, jumping fences, gossiping, making fun of each other, anything. Today, I still love running (15 yrs later)....it's definitely therapeutic, I have a stressful job and it makes me feel more sane.......but it's just absolute fun. Fortunately today it is also a healthy fun, not an obsession!

So motivation wise, it just depends!

czmmom

I started the C25K program for the sole purpose of not getting too bored on the treadmill. When I ran for 5 minutes without stopping, I wanted to see how much further I could go. I took it outside because I really do hate the treadmill :-) I love it now! Will be running my second half and second 15k this spring and summer.