Nausea. Dizziness. Dehydration. Cardiac arrest. Torn Achilles tendons. Shin splints. Stress fractures. Groin strains. Calf strains. Dislocated kneecaps. Plantar fasciitis. Plica syndrome. Pulled hamstrings. The possibility of losing control of your bodily functions and experiencing what the running community euphemistically refers to as a "G.I. incident". Bleeding nipples. The chance, however slight, that the exertion may literally kill you.
Okay, I just don't get it! What is the recent uptick of people that I know who are training, running, and/or completing marathons and half marathons? Quite frankly the only way I'm running 26.2 miles (or even 13.1 miles) is if a monster is chasing me with a knife. Even then I might lay down after half a mile and let the beast devour me. That seems less painful than running.
So can someone please explain how my friends - most of them former couch potatoes - are suddenly deciding that running a marathon is the thing to do? I just don't understand it. And don't talk to me about endorphins. No matter how many times I workout, I have never experienced the so called "endorphin rush"! Also, from all accounts I've read (like this article and this article), marathon running is unhealthy and I'm not even counting the trauma to joints, which is giving orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists job security!
In the United States, more than half a million people finished a marathon last year. What is driving people to do this heinous act? I know I have a few marathoner friends. You really need to explain this phenomenon to me. Me? I'd rather sit at home, reading a good book than beating up my body for some unhealthy and quite frankly dumb (to me) act. Not all marathoners can be goal-oriented, Type-A personalities, so why do you do it?
6 comments:
I experience all the symptoms you describe in the first paragraph and that's just getting out of bed every morning, especially the bleeding nips. Youch! I agree with you. If I want to feel the effects of Endorphins there are pharmaceuticals that'll help with that I hear. Give me a titillating book or television program to get my blood pumping and my heart racing, then pass me my cheesesteak, pizza and beer. F*** it. We're going to go sometime. I sure as hell am not going running in some strange city on some filthy street.
To quote a recent philosophical statement: "Amen. Awomen. And a Hallabaloo to ya, ma" brutha.
Oh, and a fricking hilarious response!
a report from the "girl picked last" -I like marathons because they do not require any skill or talent, just stubbornness. Speed doesn't matter, we all get the same medal. Slow running means relatively few "issues" that you mentioned. With each marathon, I get to travel, earn 5 bottles of wine, meet a bunch of interesting people, do something relatively healthy, and if I'm lucky get cheered at by thousands of people I do not know. weird, and it's not for everyone, but I find this entertaining
I still say you're one twisted chick. ;-)
I'm ok w/ that! mainstream is boring.
I run, started a couple of years ago but i will never go longer than a 5K. im actually getting slower the more I run. Its getting tougher on my joints. But I can't get to a gym & I've got to exercise somehow!
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