Why I Hate Running

Yesterday’s Run

Time – 41:15
Distance – 4.24 miles
Pace – 9:43 min/mi
Elevation – 187 ft.

Easy day following a harder day. Just tried to keep my pace from speeding up into the tempo run range. It didn’t feel bad at all, and my legs were really solid. I’ll be back into the rhythm soon.

Why I Hate Running

To be clear, I don’t hate running all the time. I hate a lot of things about it, though.

I hate that I’m still trying to get away from the fat kid I was when I was younger, and he seems to always be right behind me. I don’t remember him being that fast, or having this kind of endurance. I keep getting pushed to get out the door because I need to put him in the rearview mirror and keep him there.

I hate that it seems to take forever to get faster, despite all evidence to the contrary. Last year in July, I was running 2.5 miles at 12–13 minute per mile pace. It’s 9 months later, I’m doing 8’s and 9’s for my miles, and I know that 12–15 miles is a reasonable long run. Perspective is hard to get when you do something regularly without taking time to sit back and view the work being done.

I hate the fact that I like doing this so much that I find myself daydreaming about taking a run when I’m in the car on the way to work, or in the evenings while winding down from the day, or that I find myself running in my dreams. This is getting a little obsessive.

It is, however, pretty cool that get to keep running, in spite of the fact that I seem to hate it so much. Maybe I’ll go for a run after breakfast…