Were you completely sedentary before starting?
And I mean, psychologically, the feeling of nearly dying would have been enough to scare me off any exercising had I started with that. Being able to push yourself physically, and enjoying it, is a skill that needs to be learned gradually for most people.
I was completely sedentary for 2-3 years. I did practice intense sports over the year and I already had experience with sedentary/active lifestyle changes, so I'm familiar with the "throw up" feeling. That goes away in a couple of weeks.
My mother did always describe to me the feeling of being exhausted after sport as a pleasant one, so I do perceive it as pleasant.
The reason why I hate it is because I could be doing something enjoyable. I tried looking for sports that I actually enjoy but I found only windsurf, which is highly impractical, expensive and very time consuming. I'd rather spend that time with my kids, my wife, playing board games and playing videogames.