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Comment by chongli | Hacker News Reader

Did you get all the way through the program? Did you have good quality running shoes? I remember it being miserable at the start, but after I finished the program (and was going beyond 5k up to around 12k) it started feeling amazing. It was really strange. It went from painful to just plain addictive!

But then Canadian winters intervened and I got out of the habit and never got back to it again. Since then I’ve had a pretty bad ankle injury (at work, not from working out) and I miss running so much!

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I'll never tell people they have to, but winter running can be really enjoyable. I committed this year to doing as much of my training outside through the Canadian winter as possible, and so far it's been a dream. I ran through the storm that ripped through Ontario right before Christmas and caught myself thinking that I wasn't sure how much worse conditions would have to be for me to stop having a good time.

Like the beginning of your comment, it ultimately comes down to gear. An ankle injury is a good reason to not push yourself running, but the weather need not be :)

Yeah, when the weather is right winter running can be amazing. The perfect is running in like -4 C with crisp air and everything covered in snow or frost.

The amount of light exposure you get is incredible, with the crisp air and the all-white world reflecting the sunshine. So good against seasonal depression

You don’t get great light exposure when it’s cold and you have to wear tights, long sleeves and gloves

You still get exposure to your face and eyes though.

Yeah man I love winter running/walking! I went out during the -45C wind chills too. That's why I had to get some ski goggles. My eyes were freezing shut! Plus during blizzards the snow is like little razors on my eyeballs.

That's the last bit of winter gear I think I needed. There's something about it though that I love. I can't force myself to get to the gym a block away but I'll go outside in blizzard conditions and really enjoy myself!

Interesting perspective. I could see my inner child treating it like an astronaut going on a spacewalk!

Not every sport is for everyone. I feel the same. I even ran some 10Ks, but I hate every second of it. Maybe I'm too heavy or my joints are already screwed up too much, but I much prefer weight lifting and basketball.

Obviously not everyone like running (I especially get the boredom argument) but I doubt your joints are screwed up if you do weight lifting (stresses the joints quite a bit) and basketball (totally massacres joints). If your joins can survive basketball then your joints should have zero issues with running unless it is something very specific.

Basketball and similar activities probably are what killed my joints. I have MRI pictures of my knees and lower back showing different kinds of damages in each and had sprained ankles several times. These were gradual damages according to my doctor. My hips have felt funny lately, too.

These days, I can barely walk for three days after playing basketball or running, but weight lifting still works.

Anyway, all I can say is that running always made me feel much worse than the short sprints and jumps in basketball, whatever the precise reason may be.

Yeah, I got up to 5k. I think that most of the problem was running the same route every time. There's no new experience, it's just a slog on the same roads and paths. When I know I'm going out on a hike, I pick really nice places to go, where there's beautiful scenery. I take my son, my nephew, and friends. We go to the pub afterwards. Also it's not an after work activity, but a dedicated day. Half the year in the UK, before you start work, or after you clock off, its dark.

> When I know I'm going out on a hike, I pick really nice places to go, where there's beautiful scenery.

Now imagine doing that but instead of being limited by how far you can hike in the time, you can go further because you're running.

> I take my son, my nephew, and friends. We go to the pub afterwards.

Now imagine that even though it's an after work thing and maybe in the dark, you meet up with some friends and talk while you're running.

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