Stop Doing What You Don't Enjoy

Monday: 4 mile run
Tuesday: 7 mile run
Wednesday: 5 mile run (with intervals)
Thursday: 6-8 mile run
Friday: 4 mile run
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 8-12 mile run (depending on what I'm training for)

From 2008-2011 that was my normal workout routine. The mileage would vary a little bit depending on whether I had a half marathon in the next couple months but that was the basic jist of what I did week in and week out.

Let's back up a little bit. There was once a day when I truly did love to run. I wouldn't say I necessarily looked forward to going but I always looked forward to the feeling I had when I was done; I felt like I had really accomplished something, because hey-there are lots of people who can't even run one mile and I would go out and do 5-10 like it was no problem. Once I started college in January 2008 my mileage greatly increased. I was no longer active in sports like I had been in high school but I needed a way to stay in shape. I really didn't know much about weight lifting at the time so I picked up running basically because I really didn't know what else to do.

I'm the type of person who likes to work towards a specific goal; that's what led me to doing 5K's, which led to 10K's, which led on to half marathons. I really hit my prime with running in early 2011. I was doing a couple half marathons a year with shorter races in between. I was go, go, go all the time and was clearly not giving myself the needed recovery time. My mileage increased to at least 6 a day; usually more.



Completing a race: Summer 2010



 I'll be honest, I wasn't just running a ton because I wanted to do well in my distance races. In my mind, running burned a lot of calories and the more calories I burned the more weight I would lose. I struggled with image issues a lot when I was younger, from about ages 13-20. While it's not something I like to talk about or share with very many people, it was definitely a struggle for me. From very low calorie diets to over exercising, the problems were clearly there, so in my mind, the more I ran and more calories I burned and I better I would feel about myself, right?

Wrong.

I wasn't losing weight but gaining. I remember one day during my Junior year at Purdue trying to put on my favorite pair of jeans and they wouldn't fasten. "Well, I'm sure the dryer shrunk them." Yeah. Because blaming the dryer was certainly easier than thinking that all my running basically back fired on me. This article http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/women-running-into-trouble/ which was featured on elitefts.com awhile back does an excellent job of explaining the effects that steady state cardio has on some people, females especially. Turns out I was severely harming my metabolism and thyroid by doing something that I thought was helping me.

Once I stopped worrying about the scale, I was much happier

Not only was the weight gain evident, I just all around didn't feel good. All the running was putting far too much stress on my joints. At 21 years old there were days I couldn't get out of bed without hobbling like a little old lady for the first few minutes due to all the pain in my knees and ankles. Unfortunately, at that time in my life I wasn't listening to what my body was telling me. In my mind, I needed to push past the pain and keep going: couldn't slack off for that half marathon coming up! There would be days the pain in my left foot was so intense I could barely walk. After two episodes of my ankle swelling up so big I couldn't put my shoe on, my mom decided it was time to take me to the doctor. Turns out I had been putting way too much stress on myself (surprise, surprise). Due to all the running, I had developed severe tendonitis and was told to cut back the running. For good.

Right before my first half marathon

 By the time this happened I was tired, burnt out, and just all around sick of running. I didn't like it anymore. I dreaded the thought of running any distance, let alone mile upon mile. So I stopped. I finally realized it wasn't good for me;  I didn't like the way I looked or felt. It was time for a new athletic outlet. I tried out swimming and that stopped about as quickly as it started. After that I decided to try a route that wasn't cardio based. With the help of two people closest to me, I started lifting weights and it made all the difference.

Now, two years later, I'm happier, healthier, and more confident than before. I no longer dread going to the gym and having to hop on a treadmill for hours. I look forward to my training sessions and find that it is the highlight of many days. My image issues have improved greatly; I no longer find myself worrying about how many calories I burn or what the number on the scale says. I'm focused on being strong and healthy and I've found that by doing that, the rest will take care of itself.

B and me after a recent weight lifting competition-he's been one of my biggest inspirations.

The point I'm trying to make isn't to tell girls to stop running. Just find what works for you; for some people, that could be running. It wasn't the thing for me so I explored other options until I found a good fit. If you dread your workout, chances are it's not the thing for you. There hasn't been a single day where I dreaded lifting weights. Sure, there are days where I'm not quite as motivated as others, but I never wake up in the morning and groan about having to lift weights like I did with running.

Now, don't think I just completely stopped with the cardio. I do still do cardio, it's just not the long duration, steady state distance running that I was so dedicated to. My cardio now consists of sprints, sled drags, and conditioning drills. It's shorter, more intense, and much more enjoyable.

While running really isn't a part of my life anymore, I still have good memories of the days when I did enjoy it and all I accomplished. It was something I was incredibly dedicated to for quite some time and I'm proud of what I was able to accomplish. But as time passed, it was no longer enjoyable for me, nor was it putting me on the path to achieving my goals.

With life in general, it's important to find things you enjoy doing. Whether it's your workout, your job, whatever it may be, find things that you are happy to do and the rest will fall into place.