Anyone NOT wanting to run a marathon?? (Read 1521 times)

CAUTION: EXTREME WHINING TO FOLLOW..........CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK.................LONG POST Ok so forgive me, but I need to complain and hope someone will actually give me some much needed feedback. I run slow. I walk at some point during all my runs. I'm ok with this, and while I would love to run faster and longer, I am content with my 11mm. I also dont think I will ever run a Marathon - I just dont have the endurance to do something I KNOW will take me well over 5 hours to complete. I think my best hope is a possible HM, but in no time soon. I've only run in 2 races so far - 1 5K and 1 5mile Turkey trot. I would like more 5Ks and I am going to attempt a 10K sometime in the Spring this year. Lately, I am realizing that I might not even WANT to up my running abilities. I am not an athlete, and never will be - so why do I feel bad about being content with my pace? I know I dont HAVE to constantly train and work towards running faster or better, but I feel like I am not "worthy" of calling myself a runner when I just dont have the love of it that I know so many of you have. Is that so wrong of me? I am glad at how far Ive come. I just dont see myself going much further. Is it ok to just be content with running/walking 11 minute miles, or just logging 13- 17 (maybe 20 someday) miles per week? I just dont have the time to dedicate myself to the sport like many of you do. At best, I can see myself completing a HM (probably just barely) and continuing to run my 3-4 times per week at my easy pace just so I don't lose the progress Ive already made. Is that so bad? Are there any ofyou out there who KNOW they will never be able to complete a Marathon and are ok with that? Maybe I'm just entering a slight depression in life right now - I HATE going on my long runs (a measily 7 miles at this point) because they take up so much time, and my mind just cant rest and enjoy it. I am a multi-tasker at heart, and running doesnt allow that. I HATE counting calories. I HATE trying to run faster or longer because I feel like I am not getting anywhere with it. I dont see any progress in my endurance, I cant even go on a short 3 mile run without having to walk at least twice during it. I know I shouldnt feel bad because Ive worked hard and have made significant progress so far. I havent been running very long (not quite a year yet), but something inside me just tells me this is the best it will ever get for me. I'm not necessarily upset about this, I just need to know if anyone else is living similarly.....or do I need to be ousted from the RA community?! If youve made it through the post so far, thanks for reading, hope I didnt bore you to death or put you in a similarly depressing mood!!

umm... try something else...? biking? Swimming? Hiking? shuffleboard? What has made you do the 5 k's? You probably started running for a reason and just need to remember that. You need to vary yourself a lot to make running fun again. Maybe it won't be hence my suggestions for other things. I know one thing I love seeing on my long runs is all the different people running. I guess why they run, wonder how long their runs are, what they are getting out of it. It is an amazing sport that people do for an almost infinite amount of reasons.

If you've been running for less than a year, there's no need to feel like you need to run long runs or need to run a marathon. Just go out and enjoy yourself. If you don't enjoy your long runs because they take too much time, then cut them short. Run for a specified amount of time and discover the distance as you go. In another year, you'll discover that instead of running 5 miles in a specific amount of time, you are running 6 miles. Isn't that nice?

This is very key. I ran for 1.5 years almost entirely for time, not mileage. Only since I started running with my Garmin do I find myself thinking of things the other way around, but I still shoot for a window of time, often based upon what other things I need to do in a day, weather, general health, etc. I don't think anyone needs to or even should run a marathon. I have plans to run one this Fall, but this will be after 2.5 years of running and I've already decided that if I don't enjoy it I'll be more than happy to go back to shorter distances, since I know I like doing races of 15k-25k.

If you enjoy running, run for yourself, for your reasons, as little, as much, as slow or as fast as you want to! You don't have to run a marathon...heck you don't have to run a 5K. I have run 2 marathons. Neither were my idea. I don't regret them; I loved the training way more than I liked the actual races though. I have vowed I will NOT run a marathon this year and I will NOT run fast. I am going to meander my butt all over this town as slow as I like, and no one can make me do any different. I bet I run more miles this year than any other year without training for a marathon, in fact. I have already been asked to run 3 different marathons this year-I simply declined saying "I don't want to." It was a lot easier to say that than I thought it was going to be. So you do what you like.

It's your journey. It's about you. Not about anybody else. Follow it where you decide it should go. Nothing else matters. But above all else, quit treating it like work. It's play. If you treat it as such, and come to love it enough, you may one day look at this thread and laugh, because you just finished your 50th marathon. Or maybe you'll stay on this path forever. So what? It's for you.

However you enjoy running is what is best. My husband runs 4 days a week on average, 3 miles mostly with a 4 miler thrown in here or there. He doesn't really like running (so he says) but he loves how he feels when he's done. He'll do one or two 5k races a year and to him that's plenty. Every now and then I'll put pressure on him to try for a faster time or a further distance and he always says the same thing "you run your way, I'll run mine".

Lots of great advice already, especially from Blaine and Jake. Blaine gets more credit however, by virtue of the fact that he is 10 years younger than our simian friend. I'll only add "never say never", life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. It likes to throw curves at people, and it loves a good surprise every now and again. Be happy.

It's your journey. It's about you. Not about anybody else. Follow it where you decide it should go. Nothing else matters. But above all else, quit treating it like work. It's play. If you treat it as such, and come to love it enough, you may one day look at this thread and laugh, because you just finished your 50th marathon. Or maybe you'll stay on this path forever. So what? It's for you.

Yeah. What the gorilla said. There seems to be this idea out there that anyone who's anyone is either training for a marathon or has done one or more. Know what? There's more to running than marathons... and (blasphemy, I know!) there's more to life than running. If training for a marathon's not for you, then DON'T DO IT. It's that simple. Who said you had to train for a marathon, anyway? Run how YOU want to, not how you think you SHOULD. Right now it sounds like you just need to relax a little and play things by ear... counting calories is hard work. It works for a lot of people, but it's difficult. Training by the book is also hard work. It works for a lot of people, but it's difficult. You don't have to do either to succeed. There are as many paths to success as there are people who choose to succeed. Why's that? Because everyone's definition of success is different. It doesn't make sense to follow anyone else's path when chances are real good it's not leading you where you want to go.