Going for a run is scary advice?

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idotkd
idotkd Posts: 3 Member
in Getting Started
I'm starting running and I'm really intimidated, not by the actual running but by doing it on the street where people can see me. I need to just go but yesterday I couldn't do it and ended up doing laps around my driveway. Any tips for not feeling this way? Also I'm always open for more friends.
❤️Faith
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  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Why do you want to go for a run? Do you enjoy running?
    What scares you about other people when running?
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    You gotta do what you gotta do for yourself.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
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    I used to be just like you. Until I realized that nobody cares. Honestly nobody gives a crap If a girl is running. They are so wrapped up in their own world that they don't even notice.
    A few weeks ago a guy slipped off a treadmill at the gym. People where so busy looking at themselves in the mirror and playing on their phones that nobody even noticed until he yelled for help.
    My point is, people have their own stuff that they are worried about and won't even notice you.
    They could care less that someone is running because they are wrapped up in their own lives.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    People really don't pay that much attention. I live in a neighborhood with lots of runners and run all the time, and when I see someone running I never notice how fast or how in shape they are. I just usually think "oh, I should go running!" ;-) Just go -- one great thing about running is it helps a lot with stress and anxiety, so just doing it should help with those feelings.
  • Pocket__Cthulhu
    Pocket__Cthulhu Posts: 134 Member
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    You know what helped me? Realizing that the people who do see me have no idea how long I have been running.
    I ran through a pack of high school kids this morning on my run, and they don't know if I have been running for .25 miles or 5. FYI, I'm a really slow runner.

    Also, keep in mind. If some one makes fun of you for bettering yourself, they're the [explicit] that has to live with themselves. I'm pretty sure those highschool kids were making fun of me, but I ran 2 miles this morning, and that's a personal best. That feels way better than strangers making fun of me feels worse.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
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    idotkd wrote: »
    I'm starting running and I'm really intimidated, not by the actual running but by doing it on the street where people can see me. I need to just go but yesterday I couldn't do it and ended up doing laps around my driveway. Any tips for not feeling this way? Also I'm always open for more friends.
    ❤️Faith

    I'm shy like that too. Put on some earbuds and sunglasses and just do it! I get nervous running on my treadmill here at home if someone in my family comes out while I'm on it. :D It's just the type of person I am. So I feel ya!
  • graceire
    graceire Posts: 323 Member
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    I actually like the advice about the treadmill. I have one, and unlike others, love to run on it. I have a tv set up with a DVD player and watch movies while running and walking. I was very self-conscious when I first started out with exercise, and knowing myself, would not have done so in public. I lost a lot of weight using the treadmill (and a step aerobics DVD), and was finally able to get the courage to do so in public.

    People do pay attention to others, either more so than we think, or more so than we want to believe. I don't think that should stop people from doing what they want, but it can hinder those of us who feel more anxious about it than others.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    edited May 2016
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    When I started off running I felt the same - I would run until a car came along then slow to a walk LOL, but then I thought, who cares what they think of me!! it didn't help that my brother drove passed me running one day and mentioned about my legs looking funny as I ran!! yeah comments from family really help our egos don't they hehe
  • pinktoesjb
    pinktoesjb Posts: 302 Member
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    I used to feel like that, I still do sometimes but most people don't notice you I promise. You just need to keep going and if you like running, you will get past it and stop noticing so much. Add me if you like, I'm still trying to improve and motivate myself to do more public and team sports, it's not easy!
  • silico
    silico Posts: 88 Member
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    I had this issue when I started, I found that wearing sunglasses and a cap work well, because they create a barrier in your mind between you and other people you run past. Get those sports sunglasses that are really bright colours and reflective so they can't see you looking at them/avoiding them. The good part is that its normal to see runners with these on so like others have said you just sort of become part of the scenery.

    You can't really do running wrong, so even when you are just starting out people wont be looking at your form or your weight they just try and get out the way. After you realise that its actually quite relaxing.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    Face it as a test.

    "I must not fear.
    Fear is the mind-killer.
    Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
    I will face my fear.
    I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
    And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
    Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

    It's just running, not a Gom jabbār.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    i felt like that so i got up early and did it in the morning when no one was awake.

    i've also found most people don't really care one way or the other.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
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    is it so bad if people pay attention to you as you run by? I run early, mostly because that fits with my schedule and levels of motivation, but also because I am less awake, and less likely to have to negotiate people as I run. But I mostly meet other runners, dog walkers and just walkers. This morning we all said hi to each other in passing, and you know what that made me feel? Happy. It made me smile that I could smile at another person, before 7am, and hopefully make the other person smile.

    Having said that I’ve noticed the people who say hi are elderly walkers and runners, and other women never even make eye contact. But it kind of makes my day acknowledging a stranger. I doubt they think anything of me apart from ‘oh, she said Hi and smiled at me’. Try it.
  • Alison_2402
    Alison_2402 Posts: 2 Member
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    I used to feel the same way. I run so slow and look a hot mess. But I'm doing it for me. I know it's not easy to get over that fear but challenge yourself to go do it and you'll find it is not as scary as it feels in your mind. Ask yourself what's the worst that could happen and how could you deal with it. Good luck!

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