I think after two(ish) years of running I've figured out a possible answer to this question... it is frustrating. Running is probably the most frustrating sport/activity I've ever done.
And I think that it's a problem of scale.
A mile in a car is not that far at all, generally it's a minute away but in terms of running, a mile is a full 5,280 feet. This vast difference in perspective is frustrating for a lot of people, myself included. To add to this basic perception of distance, the frustration of scale impacts everything since everything is, in its simplistic form, based on the mile. For example, improving from 10 min/mi to 9:30 min/mi... should not be a problem I mean it's 30 seconds, I mean the average person can hold their breath longer than that (yes I broke out the stopwatch for this and hit 30 seconds with ease... I'll wait while you try ... ... ... ...) this seemingly short duration makes running extremely frustrating because improving times by even 1 or 2 seconds is extremely difficult.
I know, I know, improving time is a function of running faster, which is related to cardio health, muscle, etc. Again though, the scale comes into play. 1/2 a mph is roughly what it takes to drop from 10 min/mi to 9 min/mi. One HALF of one mile per hour. In terms of perception this should not be hard, 1/2 a mph is not that fast.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy running (I'm a glutton for punishment) but the frustration of trying to improve at it is a heavy weight. All of this is probably nonsensical... but the rant and getting it off my chest makes me feel a little better.
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