Thursday, July 14, 2005

What's Not to Like?

I already used up all my metaphors for hot muggy washington days. Let's see if I can pull a few more out.

Washington ... has a G in in, and that stands for "godforsaken" which starts with a G, and hey, there's a G in "muGGy"!!!

But muggy does not even come close to describing yesterday morning, 6:30 a.m., on the Capital Crescent trail. A place where there are lovely tall trees, and lots of shade. Kind of Amazonian. And my last whingy post about running through water-soaked air? Well that was when it was still cool out. Now, it's definitely hot. Hot, and did I mention muggy?

So following my own advice, I ran only three miles, and I didn't push it, and I did ok: 33:43, which is still thrilling. Anything under 12 minutes is now thrilling.

And then I made the mistake of standing by our office door to do my stretches, instead of behind the building, so that every single person who came to work yesterday got to hear me say "I can't do this, it's too hard, I want to quit..." Top o' the mornin' to ya!

Will I ever like running? All signs point to no. But I have this annoying thing about not quitting. So there's that.

I think it's high time to post about why I'm doing this (running this marathon, for those of you tuning in late). If I had a solid reason, maybe I could focus on that instead of how much I hate running? Just a thought.

And why do I hate running, exactly?

1. Too sweaty.
2. Too smelly.
3. Too much hard breathing (hmm... no comment).
4. Too scared of getting injured and not being able to run which MAKES NO SENSE, because if I hate it, I'd be dying to get injured!! Then I could quit with dignity!

So here's today's question: Does anyone else out there in cyberspace (who is running a marathon) also hate running? And part b) why do you still do it??

8 comments:

Dawn - Pink Chick Tris said...

Actually I love to run....I just hate being so slow...lol.

Stephanie said...

I hate the period of time between when I know I have to run and I start running. Then, I pretty much enjoy it unless my mind isn't into it. So much of it is mental.

jeanne said...

It's like religion, I guess: a mystery. I don't hate thinking about running, in fact, I look forward to it! and yeah, the part after feels great! if only I could get rid of the actual stuff in-between, ya know, the, um, running part! Ah, maybe some day it will all click and all that runner's high jazz will kick in!

a.maria said...

like everyone else, i often loathe the idea of running, but once i get out there, i enjoy the actual running part... (however i'm now in my 10th week of training, so it's taken some time to get to this point)... the hardest part for me is getting out of bed to go run, but the feeling i get during, but especially after, is totally worth it!!!

you need a power word. it totally works for me.

power word
check it out, its good stuff!

jeanne said...

power word is awesome! the blogfather is awesome...so, so blogfatherish!

Thanks for the tip! onward, and after!

Erin said...

I hate running. Especially now that it's the middle of summer, the temperatures are hovering near the 100's & the humidity is so bad that I feel like a sponge the second I walk out my door. I hate sweating. But I still do it. Why? Well, before it was because I was running a marathon for the LLS & I knew if I quit, I'd not only let myself down, but I'd let down my honored patient & countless other people. I haven't gone running since I ran the marathon a month ago, but I'm going to get back out there because I liked the fact that my clothes fit better, I looked better, & I felt better when I ran. I also miss the people I ran with & being out there in the city before the rest of the world woke up. However, I am still dreading the idea of it all.

Rhea said...

I sometimes dread running right before I head out, but enjoy myself when I do. And I LOVE the tired-but-in-a-good-way feeling you have when you're done. And I think you've inspired me to do a marathon next year! Now that I have a few 10-milers and a half-marathon under my belt, I can envision doing 26.2 miles (without wincing too much).

jeanne said...

Holy baloney. If I'm inspiring running goddess Bex, the world's gone mad!

Erin, I like your honesty! And thanks for the reminder: I'm actually running this marathon to raise money for our local AIDS clinic, which is having a huge money-crunch right now. So that alone should be enough of a reason to quit my whining, and as the commercial says, just do it, already.