If it's suffering, you're pushing too hard. I think that's the challenging thing for beginners to understand. At worst you should be bored, most days. You don't really need to push into uncomfortable territory until you've got some regular volume and want to improve race performance.

Every day it gets a bit easier. But that's the key. You have to do it every day.

- weird monkey from Bojack Horseman, paraphrased through my memory

The cheat code is to substitute it with something like rollerblading. But you'll need to practice it ~3x longer each time, and aint' nobody on HN got time for that.

[dead]

Have you tried other forms of cardio?

Running never did it for me, I just couldn't stick to it, was always miserable and bored, etc. My main focus is strength training, but for my cardio cycling is what brings me joy. I would dread going for a run, but I excitedly look forward to my next bike ride.

Cycling, swimming, hiking, rowing, even dance will all get you the same benefits so if you're bored doing one, try something else - the important thing is to get moving, the specifics of the activity doesn't matter.

If you really want to get into running, and you have some green spaces or trails near you, give trail running a try. It's the one form of running I sort of enjoy - I get so bored on a treadmill or just in my neighborhood, but I love being out in the woods.

> half the time I want to stop and take notes because the advice or information being given sounds really useful or seems worth following up on.

Like running, keeping notes in your head is something that gets easier if you do it a lot. It's also a really useful skill to have when talking to people in person.

I

   - load chess problems (look at a diagram before getting out the door) and try to solve it while running. Sometimes, I solve it the first 5min, sometimes I get frustrated because it turns out to be too difficult.

   - practice polyrhythms. you have a dominant cadence while running, now impose  others on top of it.

Consider picking up another language! I've found YA audiobooks (right now, Harry Potter) in my secondary language to be wonderful. It's interesting and engaging enough that I enjoy listening, and I don't feel like I need to "do" anything like take notes or whatever, because I know just the exposure is beneficial in and of itself.

My solution to getting bored is to run harder. Zone 4 heart rate is really the sweet spot for me. It's intense enough that I don't get bored - it's like all the energy that would typically make my mind look for stimulation gets sucked up and directed towards running instead. But, critically, it isn't that hard to sustain - I can do 30-40 minutes of Zone 4 and, while it isn't exactly a walk in the park, it's infinitely psychologically easier than full-out sprints.

Be careful to avoid injury, however. I wouldn't recommend this until you've already got a solid running base of miles to build upon.

It certainly sounds like you've tried a lot. One approach could be to (and I'm not being facetious) cultivate a mindfulness-in-boredom practice. Seriously. I'm not saying you will initially get onto the treadmill thinking "Boy, I can't wait to be bored." However, over time you might start to crave that time in your head. Alternatively (if that sounds absolutely unappealing), you might try another type of exercise. Running definitely isn't the be all, end all. I wish you luck!

- Audiobooks: I love reading but I have a hard time getting into audiobooks. Same issue with podcasts, I often want to stop and research topics and that would take me away from the treadmill.

Sounds like you are only listening to non-fiction? You don't need to research topics to enjoy (say) a genre thriller, so listen to fiction.

Treadmills are boring, yeah. Not sure why you can't run outside but that's probably worth more interrogation than a single parenthetical comment.

Could try informative podcasts that just give you information, instead of wisdom or life practices - such as a history of philosophy, or some other topic. Or just history in general!

For audiobooks, something I've been wanting to try is to see if I can listen to an audiobook of a textbook for a topic that I'm interested in. But I'm not sure if it would work well, since often textbooks have diagrams and such.

One possibility is trying a different form of cardio. I personally don't enjoy running at all... but I love cycling. Running for 30 minutes is super boring, but I can go do a 4-hour ride no problem. If you can't go outside at all, then this won't really help you though.

Unpopular opinion: Maybe being bored isn't a bad thing. It allows for an escape from constant stimulus and eventually, your mind will learn to wander, introspect, and come up with new ideas.

This is how we ran before smartphones, anyway.

Try biking. I can't run due to a hip issue and it has been very fun for me.

Find a neighbour with an active dog and offer to take them for regular runs.

If you're on a treadmill, then you should try Zwift

What about a particularly exciting book in audiobook form?

To get back into running I listened to some page turners, but I’d only listen to them when running. Sometimes I’d do an extra lap just to hear more. And I’d look forward to the next run.

Once the habit takes, I don’t need as much stimulation.

Another idea is political commentary slop or news. Don’t consume any during the day like you normally do (Reddit, twitter, news sites).

Instead consume it only through Youtube on your run. It’s usually stimulating enough to compel the run.

> I tend to stop running just because I want to work on something more mentally stimulating and tangibly productive

Maybe accept that running, or perhaps exercise in general, is not your thing? You clearly have more pressing interests and there are other ways to maintain good health. My grandfather lived well into his eighties with nigh a scrap of fat on him and, near as I can tell, did no formal exercise after his army days ended. My mother is on the same track despite health issue severely limiting her mobility.

I say this as a guy who rides an indoor cycling trainer 3-4 times a week during the winter and turns in to a raging jerk if he doesn't get his workouts done. If you're not a "gym guy", "runner guy", "biking guy" or whatever, why waste your extremely limited free time trying to become one?

Try convincing them with incline walking - feels less daunting than running and has helped me get going! And now as it's gotten easier I'm starting to feel a natural running bug to up my intensity.

I'm not a doctor or any kind of expert, but I think consistency is pretty much always the best. A lot of people get stuck in a weird mindset of "it's only a mile why bother" ... but even just going for a walk every day is infinitely better than doing nothing.

From my own experience, after 2020 threw me into a bit of a depression I gained a bunch of weight for the first time in my life. I decided I was going to "workout every day" but gave myself a ton of grace about what the definition of "workout" meant. If it was bed time and I hadn't done anything yet I'd just do a couple sets of pushups to "check the box" and go to sleep. I tried to do as much as I could every day, but still gave myself a pat on the back as long as I did ANYTHING that I could call a "workout" ... I lost the weight shockingly quickly and felt a lot better even though most days I was only working out for 10-20 minutes.

> I started running a mile five days a week, and have slowly moved up distance and pace

Presumably more than a mile a day now

If you have the time I recommend working on distance first. Running farther is great for fat loss & cardio training and speed only really matters if you're trying to be competitive in races or have to squeeze your run into a confined time slot.

I also find that adding distance makes it easier to improve time. If I can only run 1 mile, it's pretty hard to run that same mile but faster. BUT if I can run 3 miles, it's a bit easier to run 1/3 of my normal distance but focusing on pushing the pace.

I was here about a year ago. Getting close to doing 5k 4 times a week, but the last 2k are more walk than run. I'm definitely more interested in getting endurance over speed, but both improve pretty steadily at this point. I guess once I'm doing 5k without walking I'll try to just increase pace. Pretty amazing how much better my quality of life is since exercising seriously for the first time in my late 40s.

I was you like 3-4 months ago. Part walking, part running. It was a tough start and I was extremely sore during many runs!

Keep it up though. All of a sudden it all sort of comes together. I just ran 9 miles straight last week! I was shocked and so excited.

The cool thing about running and lifting weights is that you see a lot of progress early on. The path to a sub 30 minute 5k is all about getting out the door and consistently running a little more. Pretty much everyone who starts weight lifting has a moment a few months in where they go to lift a random household object and are shocked by how light it feels.

Don't push yourself too hard, especially if you are out of shape.

I did the same thing but kept pushing harder because my muscles could keep up and I wanted to build up cardio endurance, but I didn't take into account my bones.

Shin splints are no joke and will sideline you for months without warning. It takes several months for your leg bones to build up the compressive strength to deal with continuous high impact running.

Even if your endurance can take it, take your time. Slow and steady wins the race.