I’m here today to give some confidence to the slow and less enthusiastic among us.
I’m a runner. I’m slow. Lately, I’ve been running 12- to 12.5-minute miles. At the fastest I’ve ever been, I ran 5K in 29:20 (or something close to that). Once.
(I had only one other 5K under 30 minutes. It was a Komen run. I’ve long since learned about the dark side of the Komen organization and I don’t patronize their events. But I couldn’t get rid of my only sub-30 bib, so I trained to be faster—something I nearly never do—just so I could break 30 minutes again, have a new bib, and get rid of the Komen one. Also in that race, I placed second in my age group, something I don’t anticipate happening again unless there are only two of us.)
Anyway, I’m slow, but I get the job done.
Also? I don’t like running long distances. On regular evening runs around the neighborhood, I’ll go between two and four miles. Four was more common when I ran with running club. I just ran four this morning for the first time in probably two years. (I did a 10K last winter, but we walked a fair amount.)
Two half marathons taught me that I don’t like running half marathons and, until further notice, don’t need to run another. (I’d walk one, if someone was interested in walking together.)
For a while, I had stopped listening to anything while I ran. That turned out to be good, because I could use the time to clear my mind. Most of the time, I still run without music or podcasts, but every now and then, I don’t want to be all up in my head and take something to listen to. Sometimes The Climbing Daddy and I run together and talk.
Also? I don’t love running. I’ve never had a runner’s high. After a couple of miles, it starts to feel tedious.
But I love (and need) the benefits that come from running. Nothing is a better mood stabilizer. Can be done nearly anywhere. Just need weather-appropriate clothes and decent shoes (and good socks, if not in Vibrams).
So, to the people who run without loving it, who don’t run far, who don’t run fast—I am one of your people. If you need a running partner for a dose of anti-depressant, let me know.
I giggled at your Komen story. My mile is between 10-11 and I don’t enjoy it either, but it’s one of the only times I can leave my house alone, so a-running I go.
Mine was around 11 for a long time but it’s not right now. But my endurance is back up to passable, so a little bit of speed will come … just in time for it to be shot to hell by the weather. But that’s OK. I’ve learned over and over that if I run through the summer, when it cools off in the fall, I’m suddenly WAY faster. I don’t hate it—I wouldn’t keep doing something I really hated—but I don’t love it and don’t aspire to do it more.