I Hate Running and You Can Too: How to Get Started, Keep Going, and Make Sense of an Irrational Passion

Description

BRENDAN LEONARD HATES RUNNING. He hates it so much that he once logged fifty-two marathon-length runs in fifty-two weeks. Now he’s sharing everything he’s learned about the sport so that you can hate it too. Packed with wisdom, humor, attitude, tips, and quotes—and more than sixty illuminating charts—I Hate Running and You Can Too delivers a powerful message of motivation from a truly relatable mentor. Leonard nails the love-hate relationship most runners have with the sport. He knows the difficulty of getting off the couch, teaches us to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, embraces the mix of running with walking. And he shares all that he’s learned—celebrating the mantra of “Easy, light, smooth, and fast,” observing that any body that runs is a runner’s body. Plus Leonard knows all the practical stuff, from training methods to advice for when you hit a setback or get injured. Even the answer to that big question a lot of runners occasionally ask: Why? Easy: Running helps us understand commitment, develop patience, discover self-discipline, find mental toughness, and prove to ourselves that we can do something demanding. And, of course, burn off that extra serving of nachos. CONTENTS Introduction 1. START SMALL, START NOW 2. WALKING IS RUNNING 3. SLOW IS (EVENTUALLY) FAST 4. COMPETE (AGAINST YOURSELF) 5. GET COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE 6. DO THE VERB UNTIL YOU BECOME THE NOUN 7. INSPIRATION IS NOT A STRATEGY 8. WRITE YOUR OWN DEFINITION OF SUCCESS 9. PROGRESS IS NOT A STRAIGHT LINE 10. IT’S ONLY HALF ABOUT RUNNING 11. THERE ARE NO “HACKS” 12. F#%K BUSY 13. LOVING SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT THAN LIKING IT EPILOGUE Resources Acknowledgments