Healthy Living

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Exercise: Running out of excuses

I'm definitely not a runner, but a lot of my friends run and make it seem a little (am I really about to say this?) fun. In a fantasy world, I would like to get fit enough to run a marathon, but logistically, I don't know that I have my friends' discipline. However, if I could hire a scary clown to chase me every morning, I'll bet that I'd be hitting the 10 minute mile in short order. And maybe that's the trick: finding the motivation that works for you. For instance, my friend Poppy is motivated by free T-shirts at charity runs, while my friend Karen started running just to see how far she'd get, and Erin finds it easy to move if she's running toward a specific destination and Christina Applegate uses her run as an excuse to look at the scenery and Anne trucks it out to the gym as part of a mutual goal with E.

Every spring in Wisconsin (of course) there is a local fun run/walk called "The Beer Belly 2" in which every half mile, runners stop and chug an icy cold brewsky (or root beer) and then set out on your way, which sounds alternately like a feat of brilliance (do you think about blisters if you have a buzz?) and also a bit like a fraternity hazing situation.

What about you? What are your ideal running conditions? What does/would it take for you to put on the sneaks and kick it up, long distance style?

The comments are humming the theme song from Chariots of Fire.

Related Links from Elastic Waist and SELF:

[photo credit: Stockbyte / Getty Images]
Syndication:

From the Community…

Comments 1-4 of 4
  • Mimi-pz's Avatar
    Posted by Mimi-pz Tue Apr 8, 2008 2:00pm PDT

    One of my close friends here started a 5K run to raise funds to support the fight against lung cancer, in honor of her late step-father. It's a small community event and every year I've been recruited to work rather than run.

    This year I told her I'm running it. My "long distance" is a whopping 5K -- and I'm training for it. I had a bit of a set back when I was sick, but I am "half way there" meaning I'm up to 1.5 miles! Thankfully, I have until November!

    My ideal conditions -- on my treadmill, with my iPod, watching a movie or something on TV (with close captions on -- refer to iPod).

    Report Abuse
  • americanFraulein's Avatar
    Posted by americanFraulein Wed Apr 9, 2008 7:31am PDT

    My best runs are at the beach on sunny, clear winter mornings. I run for "me time" as well as to get off the computer/bberry and to be able to fit into my jeans.

    Report Abuse
  • Doris's Avatar
    Posted by Doris Wed Apr 9, 2008 12:31pm PDT

    In the past I always gave up on running... I definitely found all the excuses to not get moving...

    But after getting really sick I started looking at exercise in a different way... it has litterally saved my life and today I have taken up running and have fallen in love with it... so much so that I have signed up for my very first 1/2 marathon at the age of 41 :) just shows you it's never to late to start...

    Report Abuse
Comments 1-4 of 4

leave your comment

You must sign in to post a comment

Sign In for personalized information

New User? Sign Up

Health Byte

Get healthy foods for your family that won’t take a bite out of your budget.  Healthy living costs less at Walmart.