Do you ever feel foolish for taking running so seriously?

Art Vandelay the fake one wrote:

I love the sport and it brings joy to my life, but I'm a freaking hobby jogger. Why do I structure so much of my life around strutting around in my little shorts? I could be doing something useful with myself. Who cares if I set a PR or place at the Joggerville 5k?

It is better to run 20mins 3x a week on the treadmill and get olympic rings tatoo on your shoulder , and live your life in a delusional state. I your own mind you are preparing for the next olympics . Back it up by pretending Lindsay Vonn is a good friend . Buy your kit from the USATF store and only do your treadmill runs with USA logo gear. Have a message roller stick sticking out of your gym bag , so people at the gym know your legit,

I've thought about this in reference to my college running career. The lifestyle had a large opportunity cost - and I'm talking about building my resume, not my social life. I feel I might be better off in my professional life if I had not run in college - or at least not taken it so seriously.

College running was an awesome experience, but I have zero motivation to compete anymore.

There are far stranger hobbies with far more obsessed people who have much much less to show for it. When you feel you have a a small gift/desire for running, sometimes you just have to pursue it.

I do feel bad for sub-elites though, I mean think about the few hundred people that qualify for the Olympic Trials every four years but have virtually no chance of actually going to the Olympics (or even the trials).

They are definitely putting in as much work as the genetically perfect elites, best they can do is come home and maybe win a few local races and some small checks that way but that cannot be why they do all those hours of training, you aren't going to make a living that way.

It's like that quote, never give up on something that you can't go a day without thinking about. Humans are weird, we gonna do something we actually enjoy regardless.

Yes I've definitively feelt foolish for taking running so seriously, especialy for the months i spent fooling myself that I could become an elite athlete or something. I mean really, best case scenario, you become an elite athlete. Is the life of an elite athlete really that enjoyable. I don't think so. Running isn't worth giving up other aspects of my life for.

But I feel it's all about the mindset. If you don't let running controll your life, it wont and you can still run fast. I don't allow myself to obses about running any more. I allow myself one thing(running wise). I allow myself to train as hard as I want, and that's it. If there's a party, no way I'm thinking about how it will affect recovery. If someones having a birthday and there is cake, no way I'm gonna be like: can you make a no sugar cake for me? just cause I want to be healthy, I never say no to food because of running(tough I guess I generally try to eat healthy). And if you think about it, running one hour a day can be good training(if there is intensity). Really how much do you have to sacrifice to run one hour a day? Actually I think running is the best sport for training hard and still having a life. Like I said, it's all about the mindset, I mean, I see people training 10 miles a week who are letting running control more of their life than I do.

Agreed, I'm 21 and this definitively motivates me. When I'm 28 I want my body to be something I'm proud of. I don't need to look good, but I want it to be obvious I'm still training and that age hasn't made me weak as it seems to do way to early for so many people.

I'm a freshman in Highschool. I was homeschooled last semester, so I ran road races, but trained with a local Highschool XC team. I go to that Highschool this semester.

My first 5k was 24:37. I started taking running *very* seriously in he second half of the season, and brought my 5k down to 20:37 and ran a 1:43:28 half marathon.

As you can probobly guess, these times were very slow compared to my teammates. But I don't feel silly for taking it seriously, because I know that I will continue to improve, and may make varsity senior year.

On the other hand, if you take running seriously and you aren't improving at all, perhaps you should feel silly. But I don't think anyone who takes running very seriously will remain super slow for long.

End very serious motivational post-------

Why get out of bed every morning? Because you are alive! You have limited time on the planet. Finding purpose and meaning in your existence is part of life's mystery and journey. Running and racing for many of us is away to express being fully alive. There are any number of pursuits, passions and interests in life that you can devote your time to. Running for many is one of the simplest as all activities as all you need is shoes and shorts. If you want to be good at any pursuit you need to put in the time to develop. The more time you spend on one thing the less time you can spend on another. Crossing over from the realm of hobby to a more serious pursuit is often when you start questioning yourself about the purpose of this time and level of your commitment to the sport. The recent passing of Ed Whitlock brought out many expressions of admiration for Ed as an example of the best aspects of the sport, but also knowledge of how difficult it is to reach his level of excellence at any age.

Ed has said his three-hour runs in the cemetery were mostly drudgery, but they were what he needed to do to compete at a high-level. For Ed and many of us the reward of running is a combination of the highs and lows and being alive in the moment.

epicTCK wrote:

I'm a freshman in Highschool. I was homeschooled last semester, so I ran road races, but trained with a local Highschool XC team. I go to that Highschool this semester.

My first 5k was 24:37. I started taking running *very* seriously in he second half of the season, and brought my 5k down to 20:37 and ran a 1:43:28 half marathon.

As you can probobly guess, these times were very slow compared to my teammates. But I don't feel silly for taking it seriously, because I know that I will continue to improve, and may make varsity senior year.

On the other hand, if you take running seriously and you aren't improving at all, perhaps you should feel silly. But I don't think anyone who takes running very seriously will remain super slow for long.

End very serious motivational post-------

What does taking running seriously mean to you? Like I adress in my post, you can taking running seriously, without letting it control your life. Identifying yourself as a runner wont make you faster. Training hard will.

I ride a scooter wrote:

I've had that thought too recently. Not just running, but fitness in general. It all feels so pointless sometimes or like im some wannabe athlete. Just last weekend tho i had some beers with some old friends. We are 28 and while we were sitting around my friends living room i was looking at all their bodies and they were all pudgy with feeble looking legs. 28 years old and they already look terrible. In that moment i realized that i never wanted to stop being in shape.

This. I am 32, and I see my friends getting lazy and rocking the dadbod (even though none of them are actually dads yet). They are too out of shape and lazy to do simple things like walk to the bar instead of Uber. They drive to the grocery store that is like 4 blocks away. Some have them have even started golfing for christ's sake! Golf!

But all that said, you can be in pretty good shape on under 30mpw. Fitness doesn't necessarily require hobbyjogger obsession over getting a BQ or whatever.

Stats of their fantasy football is all too true at my job, all they ever talk about is that and what kind of porn they watch. I'm not shaming, if that's what they truly enjoy that's what they truly enjoy. I remind myself that although I'll probably never become better than maybe a 4:30 miler 16-16:30 5k'r like most sub D1 high school elites, it's definitely an enjoyable of getting some physical exercise for me and a much more productive endeavor than just hugging my pillow and think about the girl that I like that I'll never have.

I concur with most of the other guys/gals here. Running's a way to keep our health and our ambition in life; nothing's worse than waking up one day being reduced to a pathetic depression due to the 5 different pills you must take for all your young years spent sitting on your butt and eating heart clogging food. My parents are like this, and my brothers are obese, I've seen it in my life; no one deserves that.

People in our country live robotic lives, long commutes, work, consume shitt.

I applaud anyone that lives life: running, travelling, chilling in the park and coffee shops, hiking, volunteering...

and don't watch mind numbing television programs.

Life is a series of scaling misery. No person is truly happy until the moment just before they die.

Because it makes you happy, be thankful for it. And more happiness leads you to be a better person to other people, so everybody wins.

It's the recovery that I think makes serious runners look foolish. No I can't help wash the car today because I am recovering and re-charging for my next run. Those dishes and the trash might have to go another week.

40 plus years as a coach at all levels and I shake my head these days when I hear the nonsensical theories that people come up to improve speed. The times for the average and even the above average athlete (ie. college athletes) had not improved in 30 years in fact in many cases the times have gotten slower.

Over analysis has killed the sport for many. I hear coaches telling kids and high school runners about macro/micro training cycles, etc that none of these athletes no what they mean. Even the coaches don't understand.

There more theories on running than there are for the golf swing.

Losers....all of you.

Not foolish, but selfish. At one point I pared back my milage for several years to devote more time to volunteerism and coaching. Glad I did. Met a ton of great people along the way.

celebrate masters wrote:

I do feel bad for sub-elites though, I mean think about the few hundred people that qualify for the Olympic Trials every four years but have virtually no chance of actually going to the Olympics....

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Ha, this tread, but especially that post sort of hit home for me. As I get older I've questioned this at times. I've had a kind of change in my views on racing in the last year to two years or so. I realized at some point being a bubble, post-collegiate team type guy who qualifies for road championships is as good as being a 1:07-1:09 type guy in the grand scheme of things if you're not making teams and at some point you have to prioritize racing and your life to fit more things you love in.

I was All American in college a handful + years ago, have raced in US Road Championships and am still fast enough to get shoes, free entries, and occasional hotel / travel but am realizing as much as I still love racing there are other awesome facets of life.

I have a real career outside of running, life goals, a relationship, and other hobbies that I'm good at. Having racing as a subsidized hobby is definitely where I see myself. I think about what makes me happy its training hard and competing in something and winning here or there - it's a nice feeling.

I think I've made my mind up to go to trails, ultras in the next year or so because its fun and an adventure with less stress. Figuring if I just run a lot of miles in the mountains/trails hit three hard workouts every two weeks (in a less intense than on the track or roads sort of way). Basically doing enough to stay in like 1:08:00 +/- half shape) I can probably be fast/ strong enough to do well at trail stuff to win have fun have some cool adventures etc.

This lifestyle also connect well with my other favorite activity (skiing) and how much I love being outdoors. It's more about balance now. Being solid in all aspects of life while still being fast and getting perks is more appealing than being a broke post collegiate runner in a training group. It is still fun to have money get free gear, win regional sized races and get mini vacations out of it all though.

Sorry man, Rojo signed an executive order banning Hobby Joggers from the site. Jamin has filed a lawsuit to end the ban based on it being discriminatory towards non-elites and doesn't promote growth/participation in our sport. Rojo has filed an appeal, but with the St. Patrick's holiday upon us it won't be heard until Monday. I'd get to Flotrack as soon as you can before Rojo sends you to Runner's World or Dyestat. Everyone on Letsrun can run sub 15 and makes $200,000/year.

Wow, that's pretty dark man. Kind of struck me... I don't think its all bad. I picture a 6:30 am tempo before work/school, meet up with the squad (or solo, whatever you prefer), its 50 degrees out, you're on a bike path gliding 5:40s looking smooth and relaxed. Maybe get like 12 miles on the day. Finish tired but not DEVASTATED. Head home for a quick breakfast. That's the setup for a quality day.I run because I want to reach my potential, I want to see what I'm capable of. I like knowing that I am currently better than I've been before in my life. And sure, I like kicking my brothers' arses too. I like the pre quote, "It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement"

Lightswitch wrote:

Life is a series of scaling misery. No person is truly happy until the moment just before they die.