I Hate Running, So Why Do I Run?

I hate running. I'll be the first person to admit it. I feel like every step I take is torture, and I constantly think to myself "I cannot go on." I signed up for the 2011 Cherry Blossom 10 miler because I thought maybe it would make me learn to love running. Wrong. I got to 6.5 miles in the training and I was like "not another step."

So why have I gone running twice in the past two days?

I can't explain it, but sometimes I just feel like I need to run. Admittedly, yesterday I was procrastinating. Even so, a walk would have sufficed. Today I was so frustrated over this mess that has become my tuition and the GI Bill that I felt like I would go crazy if I spent one more second in my apartment.

It was like Forest Gump, and I just needed to take off running.

I just felt like I had so much energy and frustration pent up that I needed to get it out. There's something about living in a small apartment that can make you go stir crazy. Luckily the weather's been nice enough (not too humid) so I can run without succumbing to heat stroke in 10 seconds.

But, there's also something about running for yourself. When I was training ("training") for the race, I felt a lot of pressure to follow the exact schedule. And I felt like a failure if I didn't. Now I'm just running when the mood strikes and it's actually kind of fun. Kind of.

I do like the idea of exercising without so much of a regimen. I think a lot of people probably feel the way I did and quit when they feel like they've fallen behind or gotten too far off their over-ambitious training plan. Now I just plan to exercise most days per week and I'm happy with that. Although my quads, not so happy right now...