How to Have Fun Running (Gulp!)

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Many people have a love/hate relationship with running. It’s a highly polarizing activity, as many people find it the most difficult, laborious type of exercise, and others find it the most freeing, liberating exercise possible. Where do you lie? And have you ever wondered how some people could actually have fun pounding their knees and gasping for air over miles of land? Here are some ways to actually cut loose and have some fun when running.

First, if you’re going to have fun running, you have to be well prepared. You need running shoes, because running on sandals, no matter what your attitude is, will get very unpleasant quickly. You’ll want to pick some comfortable shoes, test them out a bit, and then take them out for a few runs in order to break them in. Also make sure that you wear some nice athletic shorts and a comfortable shirt that wicks sweat away. A good place to find these items is to check clothing outlets that make T-shirts specifically for activities like running.

Next, you’ll want to have the right attitude. Running is indeed difficult and many times laborious, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you’ve never experienced what runners affectionately called the “runner’s high,” then you haven’t lived. The runner’s high is an experience in which running stops being a pain and starts bringing you in to an awareness at a whole other level. Any runner worth his salt will tell you that these moments of bliss are well worth the pain to get there.

But, yes, it does take some pain to get there, but that’s just another challenge to embrace. The pain from running – when not joint pain or some other possible medical symptom – is a growing pain, a pain that gives you greater endurance, speed, and muscle. If you run devoutly enough, you’ll notice you gain some rippling quadriceps and calves, and it will look like you’re capable of running forever.

The pain of running also lets you know that you’re working out, which means you’re burning fat and improving your cardiovascular health. Besides, running doesn’t always have to be totally painful – you can pace yourself and enjoy a nice moderate, brisk exercise that gives you twice the high of walking.

Ultimately, it is your attitude that will determine whether you can have fun running. Some don’t understand it, but unless you’ve tried it for yourself for a specific length of time – think at least a few weeks – and started noticing how that after it becomes labor and simply becomes fun, you’ll wonder how you ever did without it.

Originally posted 2008-12-15 04:55:30.

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