Exercise Freaks

Ok. So I hate running. Well, exercise in general, but especially running. I hate it with the fiery passion of a  thousand suns. But, as you may have noticed, one of my goals is to run one mile! It all started with a bad experience in high school (don't you just love those?!).  I had been swimming for two years but when my family moved to Georgia. The state still required that I take one semester of gym, which pretty much consisted of running four days a week. Almost immediately I got horrible shin splints and spent the next three months limping to all my classes. And my coach was no help, telling me to just "run through it." I now know that the key to avoiding this terrible affliction is to stretch like crazy before and after running. (Be the rubber-band...)


Finally, at the end of these torturous three months, on the very last day of class, I ran a complete lap around the track! Naively thinking I had just ran one mile, I was ecstatic! (FYI- one mile is actually a little more than four laps around the standard track.) I felt like I had conquered the world! Like I could run forever and ever! It was the one and only time I've ever experienced that "high' that all those Exercise Freaks talk about. And then... I promptly put my sneakers under my bed and prayed I would never have to see them again.
And here I am dusting off the same sneaks, almost 10 years later, in search of that elusive runners' high (and a cheap form of exercise). I have heard that exercise will give you a sense of euphoria by boosting your endorphins.




Please see Reese Witherspoon in the Legally Blonde clip below if you don't believe me!
(It must be true if Reese says it!)




Again, even when I was swimming an hour a day for two years, I never felt this. Mostly just embarrassment for being the slowest person on the team and that teenage awkwardness that comes with wearing a bathing suit in public.


Having said this, I once had a roommate who just had to run everyday. Even if she was sick! She claimed she would feel better after running. Sweat out the sickness. Although her doctor did tell her to cut back or she would do damage to her internal organs!


So here I am, attempting to fall in love with a sport I hate. Or at least to fall into like with it. And if any of you have some advice on how to fall in love with running or if you just have a good story to tell about how you changed your mind and fell in love with something you hated I would really like to hear about it! In the meantime I'll keep you posted on any mood/appetite/weight changes in this little experiment that is my life. Oh! I also heard that exercise can suppress your appetite. I don't know if this is true but it certainly seems to make food taste better!!