As much as I love running and cannot imagine my life without it, there are a few things I hate about it too. Lest you think I wake up every day eager to get out the door and pound out the miles, here are 10 things I could very happily live without, when it comes to my favorite pastime.

1 – – SO MANY SHOWERS

There are days when I take three showers, especially in the summer. If I need to be somewhere before I can workout I take a shower, then I shower after my run and sometimes I do another run or walk with the dog and need to shower before bed. And, as odd as this is, I shower before races. If you had my unmanageable hair issues, you would too.

2 – – OFF LEASH DOGS…AND PEOPLE

I have been scratched down my back, scared shitless, screamed out loud and have been with someone who was bitten, all by off-leash dogs when I was running. It’s horrible. I have also been taunted, teased, whistled and honked at by ignorant people. Mostly men.

3 – – ALL THE PLANNING

From choosing race goals to what my training plan will look like 16 weeks (and sometimes more) from race day takes a toll on the brain. I also have to think about how much time I have to fit it all in, packing the night before and all.the.mother.effing.laundry. As soon as I unpack my gym bag for the day, I have to repack it for the next day. Don’t even get me started on vacation packing.

4 – – THE WEATHER

I’m either tracking it, cursing it, relishing in it or trying to figure out how to dress for it. If I could track the time I spend between the two weather apps I have, I would guess it’s more than all other social media combined. Oh and 80% of the time, they are wrong.

5 – – ELECTRONICS

God forbid I don’t have my Garmin, a heart rate monitor, foot pod, wireless earbuds, wired earbuds (as a back up), iPod, power meter and my phone. I spend more time charging and updating all of my gadgets than I do showering.

6 – – TELLING SOMEONE YOU’RE A RUNNER

Epic eye roll. Side eye. Fright. Unfriending on Facebook. Trying to excuse themselves as fast as possible before you start telling them about your last race, mile by mile. Or they dismiss you with “aren’t you worried you’ll hurt your knees?” I’m actually much more worried about the weather.

7 – -EXPENSES

Races, travel to races, shoes, gear, electronics, food, gels, subscription boxes, therapy (running does not touch on the kind of therapy I require) sports drinks, coaches, orthotics, compression socks and investing in all the latest and greatest gadgets that help me run better, faster, stronger and recover. If I didn’t invest so much in this sport I could afford the therapy I truly need.

8 – – FEAR OF ILLNESS OR INJURY

You would think I have an autoimmune disease (well, other then vitiligo) the way I try to avoid getting sick before a big race. My thoughts get consumed with “what if I get sick?” and sometimes I do and it’s the worst. The same goes for injury. I have a veritable physical therapy office in my living room with mats, foam rollers, balls, sticks and various other oddities that were pandered to my old bones in the name of cutting my risk of injury. If running is supposed to be so good for you, why do I have to spend so much time avoiding being injured by it?

9 – – CROWDED TRACKS

Way back in 2000 when I started running there was nary another person on the track, indoor or outdoor, when I would use it for my speed work. Now, years later and in the midst of another running and health boom, tracks are overcrowded with people walking three across, in the wrong lanes or spontaneously stopping right in front of me for no apparent reason. Can’t we go back to when only weirdos ran and people died fat and happy?

10 – – USE IT OR LOSE IT

It’s seems horrendously unfair to spend years building up your running base, speed and endurance knowing that if you had to take a few months off, it would all be gone. Unfortunately, I went through that process when I was pregnant with the twins. It was a very hard road back, especially since I had two newborns in addition to being completely out of running shape, but I did it, and I’m a better runner because of it.

[Tweet “10 things I hate about #running because it’s dirty, expensive and sometimes dangerous. #train4life”]

All that being said, I obviously love running far more than I hate it. I actually struggled a bit to come up with a full 10 things to hate but I can easily come up with thousands of reasons why I love it. I guess I just have to suck it up and deal because I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

What do you hate about running or any other sport?

Can you add to my list?

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