I think "addiction" is really a word that is only properly used when it's something negative. Have you ever seen someone "addicted" to reading? They are picking up a book at every moment they can and reading for hours and hours (more than we run). What about TV "addicts"?
I've put in 140 mile weeks when I was in top Marathon training and yes I HAD to get it done. Running every day was a must, I ran every day for 2.5 years once. I ran to the point of injury sometimes and many times to exhaustion. I never once thought I was an addict because I had people around me that were actually addicts to real problems.
Most everyone here is trying to justify their "addiction" to running and exercise. Maybe the term addiction is not correct to you, but whatever you want to call it - it's unhealthy.
I think it's detrimental when you start planning your whole life around exercise, affects your relationships with others, and has negative effects on your body. Maybe it's worth if it's your job and you're going to the Olympics.
Being a running website, I don't expect anyone to understand. But yes, there is running and exercise addiction. It doesn't make it better because you think it's less detrimental than food, drug, TV addiction.
You can plan your whole life around exercise without it being detrimental. My wife shares the same love for running. So we can either run together or take turns when our kids were small and at home. We also had many vacations that were around our Marathons. We met through running. It has affect this relationship in a positive way.
There are people that their entire life (pros) is about exercise, they are making a good income and many have healthy relationships because of it.
Yes there are some that are exercising and overdoing it but there are some that are spending many many hours doing it and are still ok as well.
Then add on all the other stuff that goes with it…
Extra training to make those 100 mile weeks possible. Strength training, flexibility work, foam rolling etc.
What about meal prep times? Reading about training? Scrolling through Letsrun? Or just being so exhausted from training itself that you have no energy to be productive in any other area of your life…so they go neglected.
I see what’s going on here. You gave serious training a try, but you had poor time management skills which created friction between you and your wife. She probably gave you an ultimatum, and you decided to give up on your running goals. Now you’re feeling bitter about it, and you’re ruminating about the time goals you never met.
You probably did a 4th of July race (Peachtree?), ran a lot slower than you’ve done before, and finished more than 5 minutes behind guys in your age group. The experience made you miserable, so now you’re trying to get other people to join you in your misery. Accurate?
Not even close…but thanks for playing. And thanks for getting personal and demonstrating how much this topic has apparently stung you personally and emotionally.
I think "addiction" is really a word that is only properly used when it's something negative. Have you ever seen someone "addicted" to reading? They are picking up a book at every moment they can and reading for hours and hours (more than we run). What about TV "addicts"?
I've put in 140 mile weeks when I was in top Marathon training and yes I HAD to get it done. Running every day was a must, I ran every day for 2.5 years once. I ran to the point of injury sometimes and many times to exhaustion. I never once thought I was an addict because I had people around me that were actually addicts to real problems.
Addicts very often can’t or won’t identify such in themselves and will often be in denial if it is pointed out by others, using whatever means to justify their actions.
I think "addiction" is really a word that is only properly used when it's something negative. Have you ever seen someone "addicted" to reading? They are picking up a book at every moment they can and reading for hours and hours (more than we run). What about TV "addicts"?
I've put in 140 mile weeks when I was in top Marathon training and yes I HAD to get it done. Running every day was a must, I ran every day for 2.5 years once. I ran to the point of injury sometimes and many times to exhaustion. I never once thought I was an addict because I had people around me that were actually addicts to real problems.
Most everyone here is trying to justify their "addiction" to running and exercise. Maybe the term addiction is not correct to you, but whatever you want to call it - it's unhealthy.
I think it's detrimental when you start planning your whole life around exercise, affects your relationships with others, and has negative effects on your body. Maybe it's worth if it's your job and you're going to the Olympics.
Being a running website, I don't expect anyone to understand. But yes, there is running and exercise addiction. It doesn't make it better because you think it's less detrimental than food, drug, TV addiction.
When you're only tool is a hammer, every problem is a nail.
Not quite understanding your point here…
but hey, at least the sound bite was catchy.
My deceased partner was at different times in his life: an alcoholic, a sub-4 miler, a jacked-up gym bunny, a meth-head, a two-pack a day cigarette smoker, culminating in suicide. Two of those things are not like the other three, and it's pretty damned patently ridiculous to pretend that extreme running and lifting impact one's life in the same ways that extreme alcohol abuse and nicotine & meth consumption do.
Simply put, I liked him a lot better when we ran and went to the gym together.
I see what’s going on here. You gave serious training a try, but you had poor time management skills which created friction between you and your wife. She probably gave you an ultimatum, and you decided to give up on your running goals. Now you’re feeling bitter about it, and you’re ruminating about the time goals you never met.
You probably did a 4th of July race (Peachtree?), ran a lot slower than you’ve done before, and finished more than 5 minutes behind guys in your age group. The experience made you miserable, so now you’re trying to get other people to join you in your misery. Accurate?
Not even close…but thanks for playing. And thanks for getting personal and demonstrating how much this topic has apparently stung you personally and emotionally.
No sting here, bro. I’m in a happy marriage, my career is going well, we have a good friend group, we’re close with our families, and my wife and I are still able to hit PRs in our early 30s. It’s possible to balance all those dimensions of life. I just think it’s funny that you failed at it, and now you’re projecting your failures onto others, trying to get people to commiserate with you, and seeking external validation for your choices.
Not even close…but thanks for playing. And thanks for getting personal and demonstrating how much this topic has apparently stung you personally and emotionally.
No sting here, bro. I’m in a happy marriage, my career is going well, we have a good friend group, we’re close with our families, and my wife and I are still able to hit PRs in our early 30s. It’s possible to balance all those dimensions of life. I just think it’s funny that you failed at it, and now you’re projecting your failures onto others, trying to get people to commiserate with you, and seeking external validation for your choices.
Funny how I don’t consider myself as a failure.
But there again I’m not sad enough to judge my self worth on a running PR.
My deceased partner was at different times in his life: an alcoholic, a sub-4 miler, a jacked-up gym bunny, a meth-head, a two-pack a day cigarette smoker, culminating in suicide. Two of those things are not like the other three, and it's pretty damned patently ridiculous to pretend that extreme running and lifting impact one's life in the same ways that extreme alcohol abuse and nicotine & meth consumption do.
Simply put, I liked him a lot better when we ran and went to the gym together.
A simple Google search will tell you otherwise.
Your anecdotal example probably goes against countless otherwise where the experience was a negative one.
Some individuals can become obsessed with exercise, leading them to continue excessively working out despite harmful consequences to their health and well-being.
My deceased partner was at different times in his life: an alcoholic, a sub-4 miler, a jacked-up gym bunny, a meth-head, a two-pack a day cigarette smoker, culminating in suicide. Two of those things are not like the other three, and it's pretty damned patently ridiculous to pretend that extreme running and lifting impact one's life in the same ways that extreme alcohol abuse and nicotine & meth consumption do.
Simply put, I liked him a lot better when we ran and went to the gym together.
A simple Google search will tell you otherwise.
Your anecdotal example probably goes against countless otherwise where the experience was a negative one.
By their definitions it looks like every single person that is training for a big race is "addicted". I do have to take with a grain of salt when they are trying to sell services on there too.
By their definitions it looks like every single person that is training for a big race is "addicted". I do have to take with a grain of salt when they are trying to sell services on there too.
It took me about ten seconds to pick that one from a quick search. I’m sure if I’d have taken thirty seconds I’d have found a link more to your liking / acceptance.
No sting here, bro. I’m in a happy marriage, my career is going well, we have a good friend group, we’re close with our families, and my wife and I are still able to hit PRs in our early 30s. It’s possible to balance all those dimensions of life. I just think it’s funny that you failed at it, and now you’re projecting your failures onto others, trying to get people to commiserate with you, and seeking external validation for your choices.
Funny how I don’t consider myself as a failure.
But there again I’m not sad enough to judge my self worth on a running PR.
Is that what you tell yourself to cope with your failure to meet your running goals? Sounds like you’re envious of people who are faster than you.
The sad thing is you creating this thread to try to feel better about yourself.
But there again I’m not sad enough to judge my self worth on a running PR.
Is that what you tell yourself to cope with your failure to meet your running goals? Sounds like you’re envious of people who are faster than you.
The sad thing is you creating this thread to try to feel better about yourself.
You keep telling yourself that…if that makes you feel better for being butt hurt because your only means of self validation has been criticised in your opinion. 😂
Talk about being emotionally attached to an activity…😂
Where’s the line between dedication and addiction? Trying to realize one’s potential as a runner is a noble pursuit that will inherently require some trade offs. Who’s to judge?
When you are not getting paid to train or race, and when there are other priorities in your life ( family, friends career etc) I would say that many cross that line sooner than they would care to admit.
6 down vote's. Must have hit home for someone. I've seen the obsession with running at the hobby jogger level wreck marriages and people.
Is that what you tell yourself to cope with your failure to meet your running goals? Sounds like you’re envious of people who are faster than you.
The sad thing is you creating this thread to try to feel better about yourself.
You keep telling yourself that…if that makes you feel better for being butt hurt because your only means of self validation has been criticised in your opinion. 😂
Talk about being emotionally attached to an activity…😂
Is being emotionally attached to an activity always a bad thing? I am emotionally attached to hugging my kids, it's not an addiction. I'm emotionally attached to watching certain movies, is that a problem?
Is that what you tell yourself to cope with your failure to meet your running goals? Sounds like you’re envious of people who are faster than you.
The sad thing is you creating this thread to try to feel better about yourself.
You keep telling yourself that…if that makes you feel better for being butt hurt because your only means of self validation has been criticised in your opinion. 😂
Talk about being emotionally attached to an activity…😂
Quit while you're behind. You've been schooled by several posters with much more life experience and self awareness.
All I can say is, it raises some big red flags for me, when there are stories in the media cautioning against problems that the majority of people do not have, advising “medicine” that the majority of people do not need (run less).
I don’t know whether I think it’s propaganda, or just driven by people who like to like to look down on people who exercise “too much”?
In any event, it’s super clear to me that we are a society that has a problem of sedentary living and poor fitness, FAR more than we have a problem as a society with people who are fit to the point of being self-destructive.
I don’t personally know anyone who places so much of a priority on running, that they cannot hold down a job. Does such a person really exist? Someone who really can’t get to work on time, because they insist on getting a 12-mile run in every morning?
I think of another example of someone who is so dysfunctionally obsessed with running, that they compulsively run on an injury and can never heal because they cannot stay away from running for more than a week. I don’t know anyone that fits that definition.
There is also a distress element, for something to be a mental disorder. Like, if a person says they wish they could stop placing so much emphasis on running, because they are spending money they cannot afford on it, getting passed over for jobs and for promotions because they can’t seem to give their work life the time and attention needed to be valuable to employers.
It just seems like these stories are always packaged as first-person stories, because then we are supposed to accept them as fact and think that exercise addiction is a very real danger that we need to caution against. Ugh!
