The Awful Truth About Jogging

To greatly simplify things, I think there are basically two types of people: Those who enjoy running, and those who don't. I am in the former group. (Now, obviously, there is a spectrum between the two ends but that's besides the point)

For me, and the runners I train with, it's not so much about the races but rather the experience of running itself. When I run, I am in one of two states: Either intense concentration (if it's a hard workout) or in a nice flow where my mind wanders and is occupied by interesting thoughts. I don't think I've ever had the cliched "Runner's High", but perhaps this is it. I always end up feeling less stressed and more relaxed. So this is probably why I run.

Those that don't enjoy running probably don't get this out of the act. It's probably mind-numbingly boring, which is why many people are forced to listen to music. The few times I've been injured and forced to use indoor cardiac equipment (like an elliptical), I've experience this sort of boredom.

Now, as to why the author was not informed of such delicate topics and "runners' trot", I can only chalk it up to runners not wanting to bore "normal" people with details of their personal activities. I can tell you that among runners, we're more than candid about such topics, and most runners can remember fairly exacting details of races they've run. They probably choose not to share such details with outsiders so that they don't bore or annoy them to death with something they might not be interested in. (As the author pointed out in the second paragraph - how they "hate people who are constantly posting about running over on Facebook")

As for preventing it, nothing's foolproof. Know when you usually have to "go", and structure you runs accordingly. Try to keep a log of what you've eaten and draw inferences from that. Oh, and good luck - keep up the running - if it's something you enjoy!