Quick, like a bunnyI've had the occasion to run three times this week: twice out of necessity and once simply because I felt like it. Running and I have a sordid history. As a kid I remember running everywhere (just as a means of locomotion) but as a teen I began to despise it and thought it the most painful physical activity a human being could engage in this side of excercising in an iron maiden. Like most teenagers health wasn't a top priority as much as comfort, so I rarely ran. This lasted for a while until I got in grad school and took it up again for health and physical appearance vanity. Even then, however, I thought it excrutiatingly painful and since I got a bad case of shin splints I ended up stopping altogether. Fast forward a few more years and I started running again now purely for health reasons (a high blood pressure scare that was related more to consuming 2 pots of coffee and smoking too many cigarettes than it was to not being in tip-top physical condition). I committed myself to run through the pain and did find that the pain of running was not as bad as I remember, but it still was annoying. All this soon ended when because of my pronation I messed up my right knee and did a number on my ACL. It was not an operable offense, and with rest and a proper bandage it soon healed itself, but it did hurt like hell and caused me a great deal of mobility problems.
Suddenly I feel, however, that I would like to take up running again mostly because my few dashing moments felt incredibly good and I've felt very good afterwards. If I do take up running agian, I know I need to get some decent shoes this time to prevent my pronation and be careful to note what my gamey knee tells me.
I'll let you know.
Running is horrible. I hate running. Must go running more.
ReplyDeleteI hate running, honestly. Even when I was at my lightest and in pretty darn good shape, I never had a runner's body and I felt like I was pounding the hell out of myself. This, without injuries. I tried a little running a couple of winters ago and it was sort of bliss-through-pain. Really, I'm better off walking. My sister, who does have a runner's body and who has taken up marathoning, makes me look at running with longing. Every time I watch her or her husband finish a race, I think I want to do it. But really, I'm better of walking, or maybe watching episodes of Law and Order: Criminal Intent.
ReplyDeleteMy argument is that running is only bliss when you do it a lot. there's this threshold when running moves from agony to bliss--for me, it's at mile 3. and at 20+ miles a week. but even when it's agony, I still rather love running
ReplyDeleteCycling. We all need to go cycling more. First, there's a bike. Then there's the nifty, colorful tights. Three, no shin splints. Finally, it's transportation.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Lis: there's a threshold. I didn't start to like running until I did those longer Saturday runs. Then your body takes over and you start to like running whether you actually like it or not. One word: endorphins. Welcome to the club!
ReplyDeletecycling? blah. I have a bike, but it's perpetually dusty. Biking scares me a bit because I'm so clutzy. You remember the treadmill incident? My interactions with bikes are much the same.
ReplyDelete