What's the difference between work ethic and masochism?

I've started trying to become a runner, for several reasons.

1. Cheapness. Don't want to join a gym when I move far from the free NYU one.
2. Vanity. This reason is complicated, since I actually find runners' bodies scary.
3. Other people seem to like it
4. Because I hate running. I guess this reason is even more complicated than #2.

I took swimming lessons my entire childhood. I hated it. I spent 2 years in pre-beginners because I refused to put my face in the water. Once I gave into that, I went through the rest of the levels at an almost age-appropriate rate. I still hated swimming.

Last time I was at my parents', my old nickname came up-- "the worst swimmer at McDermott Pool" (swimmers are bad at giving nicknames, maybe because they put their face in the water too often).

I asked my mom why she tortured me with all those swim lessons. I try to guilt her as much as possible as revenge for her raising me Catholic. She said she wanted me to learn how to work hard at something.

I hissed at her, although it sounded reasonable. But why didn't it work? (I have an extremely bad work ethic.) Because putting my face in the water wasn't hard work, it was just uncomfortable. I do have a tolerance for discomfort. I go for walks in the rain. My bed is a rickety plank. I've gotten lots of complaints. It's probably the reason I don't have a girlfriend.

But isn't reading boring stuff just mental discomfort? I want there to be a connection between running and studying. I don't know why. Maybe because I think it'll be easier to fall in love with/get addicted to running than to Property.... but that I can transfer the addiction by December.

Putting my face in the water as a kid freed me to enjoy capsizing sailboats in adolescence. The difference between getting a B and a B+ in property is maybe 50 hours, and the grade and knowledge probably wouldn't ever pay off.

I've gone running twice so far. On the one hand, my knee hurts; on the other hand, I have a new appreciation for hip hop music. I guess I mind running less than I did a week ago. As for my work ethic, I just spent Monday morning running and writing about running.