A Necessary Evil

Running. Everybody does it. Hell, some people actually enjoy it. But I am not one of those people.I tried to like it. I really did! But I hate it. I hate that I have to buy special shoes so I can actually do it. I hate the shin pain that I get from it.  I hate how it hurts to breathe when I run outside. But the thing I hate most of all is that it actually works for me when it comes to weight loss...so I HAVE to run.

I kinda feel bad posting this considering the Boston Marathon is coming up on Monday. Thousands of people will fly in from all over the world to run 26.2 miles voluntarily and here I am complaining about how much I hate it.  I can't even wrap my head around that! Kudos to all the runners this year, in the past, and those to come! You guys have an intense amount of strength  and will power that I don't think I will ever achieve. Simply because I loathe running.

Even as a kid, I hated it! Most kids like to run around and play tag and chase each other. But not me. I remember running in gym class in elementary school and the teacher would make us run across Merritt Park in Chelsea to get warmed up. It really was hard and painful to breathe afterwards! Thinking back on it now as an adult, that was probably a bad thing. It's probably STILL a bad thing since it happened the other day. Maybe I should get that checked out.

I've always had an underlying fear of running as well. Being a long-time sufferer of heart palpitations, I'm always worried that my heart is going to crap out on me right in the middle of a run! Even though they're waning in consistency and I've been told they're nothing to worry about, they're still terrifying to experience DURING a run. Yeah, that totally happens to me! I'm so thankful for those heart rate monitors on the treadmill for the terrifying moments when I DO feel some flip-flopping in my chest cavity during my workout! They help check my hypochondria at the door before I can convince myself i'm dying.

Yes I know I can get my cardio in on the elliptical and the stationary bike but they don't really work out that well for me. I don't "feel the burn", as they say. I can't really SEE a difference with the low-impact cardio either. This could just be all mental of course. At the end of a long run on the treadmill, I'm covered in sweat and I can feel that every muscle got a great workout! But that still doesn't mean I enjoy it.

Anyone out there have any tips on how to make this seemingly mundane exercise more fun? I've heard great things about the "Zombies, Run!" app, but I've yet to try it. Lady Gaga seems to work wonders when it comes to helping me zone out and forget that I'm running but even that gets old after a few runs. I'm running out of ideas (no pun intended)!  

I guess the most important thing out of all of this is that even despite hating running, I still do it. I still realize that is going to be a key ingredient during this phase of my life. Approaching my 30th birthday in the next few months, I realize that I'm not getting any younger and as a result am fast losing my youthful metabolism. Focusing on my diet and exercise will be crucial to maintaining how I look and feel! 

Hopefully by the time I reach 40, I won't hold such a grudge against running. ;)