[johnny99]

I've run consistently for the past 30 years, most often in the spirit of the article: long, slow, meditative runs. What my cross country coach in high school called Long Slow Distance ("limber up gentlemen, we'll be doing LSD today!"). Tried a fitbit for a while, found that reducing it to numbers took the joy out of it. I'm back to where I started: no accelerometers or earphones, outdoors, ideally on a trail. I don't go all that fast or do big miles, but it's pretty much where I'm happiest.

About bum knees: I've often been warned that running will ruin them, but I stopped running for two years in my mid-thirties due to work, and then blew out my knee in a frickin' coffee shop, of all places--because the muscles holding it together had weakened from not running. Major surgery, took forever to recover. Limped for well over a year and thought I might never run again. Got a new job and started biking to work--about 4 miles each way. Within a month the limp was gone, a month or so after that I was running again. Been six years and my knee feel great. If you haven't tried gentle cycling and it's an option, you may want to consider it. I think maybe the low-impact nature of cycling let the knee strengthen without being stressed, and once the strength was back, it could handle the stress.

[simonswords82]

Are you me?!?

I too went all in on the numbers, heart rate monitor, detailed running plans, 5k competitive park runs every weekend. I thought I should run at least x times a week or I'm doing it wrong.

Holy cow, did it suck the enjoyment out of it. Having MapMyRun shout in my ear every kilometer meant I couldn't just zone out and enjoy the run.

Then I fell down some stairs at a tube station in London and popped my patella. Fortunately it popped straight back in, and it healed on its own but it took months and it was over winter so I stopped running.

When I got back in to it I decided it was time to go "au naturel". No head phones, no shouty applications, just me and the road. I've kept it up, and don't ever plan to go back to my former approach. I've also found that if I switch up cycling and running there's less strain on my healed knee whilst still allowing me to exercise 2 - 3 times a week. I always recommend to people now that if they can they should cycle and run.

[Sharlin]

Is there any human endeavor where going super technical, analytic, and by-the-numbers on it sooner or later robs all joy of it?

[simonswords82]

I guess it's related to personality types.

Some people simply will not undertake an activity they wish to improve upon (exercise, coding, playing an instrument etc) without objective numbers guiding them and relaying their progress.

Others, like myself and perhaps OP, are happy enough to undertake an activity and be less scientific about their performance so long as they "feel" they are making progress and more importantly enjoy the activity.

To add to my previous post. I do try to strike a balance. For example the vast majority of the time I don't measure myself, but every now and then for curiosity I'll strap on a heart rate monitor and mobile app like MayMyRun to see how I'm performing versus a few months ago. I still don't have the voice shouting progress in my headphones, and I still run without music, but it's interesting to see the results and a nice outcome if they have improved.

[sarnu]

> I guess it's related to personality types.

This and it also depends on your experience. When I started running I also used a heart rate monitor and training plans guided by an app. By the time I got a feeling how fast I can run I ditched the heart rate strap. Now I still use a running watch with gps, but do not let it set my pace. On the other hand, I'm not ino competitive running, I'm doing it just for fun.

[CydeWeys]

Totally agree. The friendly competition and social sharing aspects of Strava make me enjoy running more, not less.

[ArlenBales]

I've ran all my life and having metrics does not rob any joy out of it for me. I wouldn't take one person's anecdote as fact.

For me, heart rate monitors and Strava have greatly improved my running and cycling enjoyment, as well as made me more likely to run. Strava has lots of metrics, and encourages competition with others, and my heart rate monitor (and accompanying watch that tells me my heart rate) gives me direct feedback to how hard I am running, and if I need to slow down or pick up the pace.

[sarnu]

> I always recommend to people now that if they can they should cycle and run. And not only because of some health reasons, I would miss either of it if I concentrated on only running or cycling.

[notheguyouthink]

I think we as humans really need to learn a line between medical treatments and help-your-self. Medicine is dolled out far too easily, when as you mentioned, activity that our body is meant to do is so much more effective.

The simply things in life like exercise are so amazing for us. At work I have back problems, yet they completely go away as long as I keep my core in check. I did this by simply buying a pull up bar for easy upper body workouts and almost like magic, the pain is gone. As an aside, physical activity (mild lifting weights, and pull-ups) also seems to stay off repetitive elbow pain I was having from computers too.

We're simply machines being used wrong and seeking incorrect fixes. Medicine is obviously needed in many cases - running won't fix everything.. but I wish doctors would be harder on people. We know what helps, we know what fixes things. Doctors seem almost to be enablers, more than anything. Almost to a harmful degree..

[joshmarlow]

I'll add my own anecdote here. I'd been having arm/shoulder aches for several years due to typing/mousing and when I started indoor rock climbing, it basically entirely disappeared. I'm assuming stretching/strengthening other arm muscles is what addressed it.

[overcast]

I always tell people to do pushups. It's the simplest exercise to do just about anywhere with your height in floor space. I guarantee that will clear up 99% of your back issues, especially those from excess time spent in a computer chair. Every hour or so, get up, bang out 10-20 pushups. You'll be amazed.

[WalterBright]

Yes, I don't run for time, either, nor do I run with earphones on. I just jog, and my mind drifts off to work on some problem or other.