I HATE running!

I hate running too!! I never enjoyed it! So what I do, is I don't run. I find other cardio that I actually enjoy! I find that cycling is a great alternative to running. I can get going, get my heart rate in my zone and keep it for a sustained period of time. If you have the resources to do other forms of cardio such as cycling or swimming, I would do that to break up the monotony of running every day.

Good luck and keep in there!

The best advise I can give you is to get comfortable with discomfort. In order to improve with running, you're going to have to get a little uncomfortable. Learn your thresholds- and push past them when you feel it's safe to do so. It sounds like you're sticking well within your comfort zone- try pushing yourself out of it, and you might be surprised what you're capable of.

best of luck!

I really hate running for fitness too. I just can't do it. I too have taken up cycling instead. For me it's the fact that the same (or similar) amount of effort results in far greater speed and therefore distance achieved. I get to see more of the country side in a 90 minute ride than I would on a 90 minute run.

If you're intent on running still here are some thoughts that might help you. First, you said you're running in the gym. Try running outside. Use MapMyRun.com or a similar site to find good routes in your area. Another thing that might help you with extending your run time is something I do when I'm feeling tired during a game and need to get myself to continue on. Break down your expected run time into small intervals. So say you're going to run for 10 minutes straight, break that down into five, two minute segments. Focus on getting through those two minutes, telling yourself it's just two minutes. Do that five times and you've just completed a 10 minute run. It's a lot easier to think of "I just have to do five of these little 2 minute segments" than to think "man I gotta run for 10 minutes".

Running isn't compulsory!

Try and run outside, leave your watch and GPS phone or whatever at home and just enjoy the feeling.

You could also set mini goals for each session so you don't get bored - a minute longer before a walk break, a 30 second sprint every 5 minutes, some hills etc.

Running doesn't have to be the be-all and end-all of your exercise, just an ENJOYABLE session somewhere in your routine.

Have fun! :flowerforyou:

I have to run outside, I cant do it on a treadmill. I used to run in hs, and I think its just that we are older and our bodies are different now.

I hate running too!! I never enjoyed it! So what I do, is I don't run. I find other cardio that I actually enjoy! I find that cycling is a great alternative to running. I can get going, get my heart rate in my zone and keep it for a sustained period of time. If you have the resources to do other forms of cardio such as cycling or swimming, I would do that to break up the monotony of running every day.

Good luck and keep in there!

I'm with you on that one. I do not enjoy it, never did, so I use the treadmill or the bike. The elliptical and the stair monter try to kill me, too...

i second going outside to run, to start with you'll be slower due to not being on a controlled surface with a controlled incline, but in time you'll improve and you won't be staring at the same wall/screen for ages

I definitely can relate to you sometimes! I run on a treadmill all the time for fitness, trying for around 6 miles a week currently. I think if you vary your treadmill workouts to do a few speed drills, that really spices up an otherwise boring routine (and sometimes you are done faster!)

What's really important for me is motivating music - try changing up your running playlist and getting an arm band so you don't have to hold anything while you run!

I HATE running on a treadmill. Plus I'm much faster outside. I only run inside in then winter.
What makes me LOVE running is the freedom of it. Which I think is from being outside.
Sometimes I listen to my Ipod and other times I like the sound of my feet hitting the pavement.
What pumps me up is when I see a hill coming up and I power to the top. It feels like such an accomplishment.
I think the feeling your getting after you run is why most runners run.
Have you ever done a race? I suggest signing up for one. Then you'll be training for something. Which helps keep you motivated. And races are SO much FUN! Good luck sweetie..

There are days that I hate running and wish that there was some magic way to be able to run farther or longer but I haven't found that yet. I have followed the couch to 10k program that has helped to increase my distance over time. I also use the Nike + running app on my phone. It is fun to compete with friends and with my competitive nature it pushes me a little farther when I can see the progress. Even if you don't have the app I would start keeping a log of distance and time so that you can see the progression. When I am feeling down I can go back and look how far I have progressed and feel much better.

I am not sure if this will be any help to you or not, and if it isn't then please just go ahead and disregard it.

I have been sort of training to run longer distances lately and at first I found myself at odds with it because I was often out of breath, which made me slow down, which made me want to speed up, which made me slow down, which made me want to speed up.......

Which eventually ended with me walking for a couple minutes until I could catch my breath.

So I tried a couple things that really made a lot of difference in my runs, they may not work for you and I am by no means an expert at anything.......

First I turned OFF the music for a little while so that I could concentrate on breathing. There is a rythym to the way I breathe when I run. Its very controlled and if I can keep that rythym I find I don't run out of breath nearly as quickly and my runs are stronger and more even. Once I was able to recognize my breathing pattern I was able to turn the music back on because I no longer had to think about breathing or finding the rythym, it was part of me.

I know I am absolutely terrible at explaining things and I doubt what I said made much sense , but, the principle of rythmic breathing is more easily expressed / explained / understood thru the idea of Cadence. Cadence is a way that soldiers control rythmic breathing, gauge running speed and find motivation. You might try googling Army Cadence or something to get more info. You can buy cadences on pretty much any music sites, they are not the most fun thing to listen too, but if you spend some time listening to them as you run you will sort of just automatically fall into a controlled breathing rythym.

I have some free Cadences that I would be so happy to send you if you'd like, just let me know.

Secondly, I decided to try controlling my route and using it to my advantage, which REALLY worked for me. I adjusted my route so that I would climb a big hill just BEFORE hitting the distance where I would start to poop out. Going up the hill was taxing and would take me far out of breath, but, once I got "over the hump" and back onto level ground (or even a declining grade) breath would come much more easily.

I would slow down a little bit once I was "over the hump" but never to a walk, just to a 5-6 mph pace (which I can easily gauge by the speed of my breathing rythym. Once my breath caught up to me I would kick back into full gear and I would find that my capacity seemed to be greater and even tho I was moving faster my breath and calves stayed strong.

Thirdly, I started hitting a track once in a while. I don't try to do huge distances on the track. I am there to work towards building a "set of gears". Basically I will jog around it a couple times to warm up, and then I will really start moving. I will start a lap at a normal pace and then once I get around the corner I will run very fast, lifting my knees high and breathing with all I got untill I get to the next corner where I will slow down to my normal pace until I hit the next corner where I will increase my speed further and further until I am in a dead sprint. Once I hit the tracks finish line (which is where the next corner begins) I slow down and repeat the process.

The track is 1/4 mile and I usually do this about 10 times. I won't do anymore running / jogging that day, tho I always take a long fast walk afterwards. This workout always remains taxing because the faster you get, the faster you go. If it is really hard the first few times add a fast walking laps every 5th go round, feel no guilt, just keep moving.

The way this translated into help for my run was that because I was spending time running at high and higher speeds, it became easier to maintain my "normal" pace.

I notice you talking about 10k programs and stuff and its obvious from your picture that you are very fit, I am sure you are probably a much better runner than I am and I dunno if the stuff I just mentioned was so novice as to be assumed........

But....... no one else mentioned any of them, and , they really helped me, not only to find some speed and balance , but to take the dread out of the run. I used to hate walking out the door to run. It would take me 10 minutes to tie my shoes and I would always stall for a few more minutes before taking my first steps. Nowadays I love to run, I buy ostentatious shoes with huge shocks in the back that could never match any outfit and I don't care. Where I used to stall walking out the door, now I can't wait. I am moving and hopping around in the house before I even get my shoes on, and I can't tie them fast enough.

I am by no means an accomplished runner. My BEST runs are 5 miles in under 35 minutes and my average pace is actually closer to 8 minutes per mile than 7 minutes per mile. I know this is not very good performance, but, I am pretty heavy and believe it or not it took me awhile to even get this far. When I started my run miles were around 13 minutes, considering I walk an easy easy relaxed mile in 15 minutes I know thats not very fast. I actually amped up the speeds pretty fast. It took only a few weeks to turn that 13 minutes into 9 and instead of running 1 -2 miles I was running 3-5. 9 minute miles were my wall and its taken awhile (3 months or so) to get down to 8's. I can run 7's, but, its still too hard to do it consistenly. 8 is a comfortable pace for me.

Again I am not really sure if any of this helps, and I apologize if I didn't understand the question.... feel totally free to disregard if its not what you are looking for...... I just hoped maybe I could add something to the conversation. Thank You for reading it if you did.