Runners.... when does it start to get fun???

hey there for me its the same situation just one more song... i can do another 2 minutes. however i have found that walking on an incline of around 13 and watching the tv helps a lot. you burn more calories and walk heck of a distence.
now for the running as i know this is important i find it fun when i have music pumping. i also enter little event like local 5k races and the achivment and buzz of doing this is enjoyable.

it will get there xx

Running became fun, when I started running outdoors. I found a beautiful trail and I love running it. Try getting off the treadmill. You will see faster results with outdoors running

Bump....I have tried running over and over....I hate it. My mom started running in college and said she eventually started enjoying it....I can never get to that point....

Do you run outside? I find absolutely zero joy from using the treadmill. It's boring and laborious.

Outside however? I enjoyed it from the start, but really started loving it after completing my first organized race.

I started running this year. I did the couch to 5K plan... I know how you feel. I HATED it! I felt like if I kept pushing myself...it'd start to get fun.... It gets easier and more fun. After a certain point...~ 4-5 miles in...you get an AMAZING feeling. It's like you can see better, you feel great, you have a second wind and you're just very happy. I think that's why so many people are addicted to running. It's that "runners high".

Keep it up!!! You will start to love it!

I have a love/hate relationship with my treadmill. I hate it most of the time but I love that I have it when the weather is bad. I always struggle to get my miles in on the treadmill but I could easily run a 10k outside everyday.

I've been running for about six years and it does get easier. When I first started someone told me that the first three miles is the hardest. I didn't know they meant EVERY time. :noway: Now, once I make it past that three mile mark, it's much easier. I won't say I've ever developed a love for running, but I do enjoy it more than I used to. I've learned to use the time to work out any problems or stress I might have going on in my life. I'll get into a "zone" and don't even feel the miles slipping away.

Edited to agree with most of the people above. Get off the treadmill and get outside!! It's so much better.

This topic name made me literally laugh out loud. I have been for months and am still waiting for it.

I was where you are about 12 years ago, and I also had an "ugh, GOD" relationship with it at first. I started doing it just because it pissed me off so much that I COULDN'T run like those other folks I saw in the gym and on the road.

I slowly worked my way up, just like you (and when I say S L O W, I mean that I just broke through my 4 mile barrier last MONTH), and it's only recently that I really started to LOVE it.

That's not to say that I've HATED it all the years before this. But running on the treadmill gets mind-numbingly boring. When I started running outside more, I liked it better. It's still not a "YIPPEEE YAY WHOOOPPEEE" event every time, but as your body can do more, you'll enjoy it more. Find a road outside, and just explore.

I also signed up for a couple 5K races early on to keep me motivated. Now i'm signed up for my first 1/2 marathon -- that is, if I heal from an injury in time!

Hang in there! I think every runner has a love/hate thing going, especially when you first step out there. Some other MFP person said to me "Always remember -- the first 2.5 miles SUCK" -- and that's no matter how long you've been doing it, or how far you're running. It's so so true.

When I was a teenager I was an outdoor only runner--hated treadmills! I don't know what changed for me, but this time around I actually prefer the treadmill. I think just because it seemed easier to track my progress--the numbers were right there in front of me!

I would say that once I hit my first goal of 3 miles and had run it a few times, I was able to enjoy running. When it got to the point that I could think about things or lose myself in a song, I really began enjoying it. And as a previous poster mentioned, you just get this amazing high and then this little voice that says, "I think I'd really like to go for a run today." Good luck!

I run outside not on a treadmill (I don't have access to one) and I still sometimes find the run being all about the run. I don't get a ton of enjoyment out of it, but I still look forward to getting out there and doing it, mostly because I'm trying to go that much faster or that much further. I still run/walk and plan to do so for the foreseeable future. I find it best if I can run some place new and not just the same one mile loop through my neighborhood. In fact, I did 4 miles this weekend in the mountains, and while the run itself was tough and NOT fun, I'm still pretty thrilled that I did it.

I do, however, own a stationary bike. I cannot just sit there and ride that thing. I have it in my computer room and I watch TV shows or movies while I'm riding it. I've gotten myself to the point where I really don't watch TV on the sofa any longer. I watch and ride and the 45 minutes to an hour go by very quickly. Rather than listening to the radio, if you can put a small TV, or laptop, in front of your treadmill, you may find that to be a good solution for you, too. If that's not an option, try to get some podcasts of old radio shows, or audio books, instead of just music. Something which more fully engages your brain and distracts you from the boredom of running.

This is another big belief I have, if you want your exercise program to be successful in the long term, you have to find something you enjoy. If you don't like running on a treadmill and can't find a way to make it enjoyable, try something else. Running outside on a good trail might be a good choice to try. For me, I hate running for no reason. I'm a soccer referee and I don't mind running in games and I really enjoy that. But just running a trail with no place really to go is just boring and annoying to me. So I started biking instead.

We've got a great trail by our house that was built on an old railroad right of way. It's pretty scenic and also relatively flat. It spans over 50 miles and connects to 5 different towns along the way. I've found I enjoy riding along there for the scenery and to go to places I don't normally visit. Right now my goals for my riding are to keep pushing a little farther each time and see new scenery and towns. I got a GPS tracking app for my phone from another site and use that to track my rides and estimate my calories burned. That makes it a lot more fun for me.

Try different things until you find the one you enjoy the most and then make some games out of it. Challenge yourself. Explore new areas you've never been to before. Do your activity at diffferent times of the day and see if the scenery changes. Things like that.

U have to get outside and experience running that way...it started to be fun for me once i completed my first 5k. I was hooked after that

bump, want to finish reading later as I'm in the same boat.

Who said you HAVE to run to get sufficient exercise? There are a lot of other effective workouts out there -- if you don't enjoy running, then maybe there are options for you. Exercise is crappy enough; why not find something that isn't torture? :flowerforyou:

agreed. Kudos for sticking with it. And stick with it. But additionally - find something that IS fun. Lots of other cardio options out there.

Try podcasts if you're sick of music (or buy new music). Or go without music and listen to what's around you, outside.

I say give it a few more years and then see if you love it yet. If you don't love it, you'll love the results, and that's reason enough to keep doing it :happy: