Well, what better time to write a post about running than on the day of a disaster of a race for me. Let’s start there, shall we? First, you should know that I take special pride in my ability to pace myself and run smart at the start of a long (or any) run, even races. That is how I became one of the top female distance runners in my 5th grade class. Negative splits have always been intuitive to me. Well, maybe I was getting just a little too confident in that particular skill. 5th grade top distance runner? Someone should ask for my autograph. And as they always do, God & the Universe showed up at today’s race to knock me right back down a little.
I did not pace myself well. It was hot outside. I ended up getting such awful cramps in my legs and feet that not only did I start walking at mile 11 (when I should’ve been speeding up to finish strong), but I came to a complete stop and tried to stretch and massage the pain out of my calves on the sidelines. It didn’t work. I was beside myself. Fortunately, my training buddy graciously walked across the finish line with me. He was patient and let me throw my little fit when I wouldn’t high five him (telling him I didn’t deserve it) and when I refused to put my medal around my neck or take finishers’ photos. He stayed with me as I screamed and cursed in the medical tent for 20 minutes. And while I forced down a banana and Gatorade with three bags of ice on my legs and feet, he told me some of his own race horror stories until I started feeling like a normal person again. (This, y’all, is why I believe in training with groups and having supportive training buddies.)
So yes, G & U, I hear you. Lesson learned. But as it is impossible to get depressed about running (especially when I'm still feeling the endorphins from running even just part of a race), the next thing out of my mouth was: I have to right this bloody wrong. When's the next race already?
And if that’s not the sign of a running devotee, then maybe some of these things I’ve noticed about myself are:
1. I check the weather, compulsively. Increase that a hundredfold right before a race.
2. When I get sick, I wonder if a little fever is a good enough excuse to miss a training run.
3. I'm convinced that I'm getting sick the entire week before a race.
4. I wear compression socks.
5. I worship my foam roller and wonder if there is some sort of inconspicuous way I can use it in my cubicle.
6. I’m secretly disappointed when my training buddy wimps out on a long run in the pouring rain.
7. I’m openly disappointed when I get stuck in traffic and have to miss a hill workout with run club.
All of the above? Probably pretty universal for many runners. The next couple? Even I get caught off guard by the enormousness of my nerdliness.
8. When I’m driving, I automatically think about how I’d adjust my speed and form to compensate for the elevation changes if I were running instead of driving.
9. When someone tells me that it is going to be a 40-minute wait, I immediately convert it into “a little-more-than-4-mile wait.”
Ok, yes. I’m becoming that annoying runner that I’d kind of hoped I’d never be. But now that I am, I can testify that they don’t do these things just to seem cool. Either that or I’ve been brainwashed by those annoying runners who think they’re cool.
3/25/2012
Wait, it's March already?
Well hello there, 2012.
I’m still here, still working, still running, and still grateful. And still committed to keeping up with the blog. For the first post of the year, I give you these fine moments that have happened since we last spoke:
From the mouth of Senior Sign Designer:
bebe Me, you are like the little sister that I never wanted.
An exchange with my marvelously marvelous father. Oh my, but everybody should have a father like mine:
HIM (looking as if he’d been thinking about asking me this for a while): So… how exactly do you send a text?
ME: Oh, well. I mean, it’s like an email. You know. You just type a message and hit send.
Long, thoughtful pause (same look as above, slightly intensified)
HIM: But, do you have to use a-
Thoughtful pause.
HIM: different language?
At dinner with my parents:
I'd just confirmed with the server that what I ordered was indeed vegetarian. Not 10 seconds later, my mother said, "Yes. I'd like the Foie Gras, please."
In a meeting, after giving out MAD LIBS valentines at work:
ME: I can’t BELIEVE how many people don’t remember what an ADJECTIVE is. WHO? Doesn’t know what an ADJECTIVE is?
About 5 minutes later:
SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALIST: So March 14th. 3/14. It’s National Pi Day. I thought it might be nice to have fun with that on the 14th.
Appreciative giggles around the table.
ME: Pi Day? Hmm. So they just pick a totally, completely random day to celebrate Pi?
Astonished silence.
And yes, I knew that we were speaking of Pi and not PIE. The Universe didn’t waste any time putting me right back in my place.
From one of my training buddies, who has only seen me during training runs and in my basic running gear:
“You need get yourself a 13.1 sticker. A PINK one.”
Just as I opened my mouth to ask him how he knew I liked pink, I looked down at my pink running belt, my pink-trimmed running jacket, the pink trim on my shoes, and my pink LED reflective armband (pink bulbs, of course). Oh, right. I closed my mouth and agreed.
I’m still here, still working, still running, and still grateful. And still committed to keeping up with the blog. For the first post of the year, I give you these fine moments that have happened since we last spoke:
From the mouth of Senior Sign Designer:
bebe Me, you are like the little sister that I never wanted.
An exchange with my marvelously marvelous father. Oh my, but everybody should have a father like mine:
HIM (looking as if he’d been thinking about asking me this for a while): So… how exactly do you send a text?
ME: Oh, well. I mean, it’s like an email. You know. You just type a message and hit send.
Long, thoughtful pause (same look as above, slightly intensified)
HIM: But, do you have to use a-
Thoughtful pause.
HIM: different language?
At dinner with my parents:
I'd just confirmed with the server that what I ordered was indeed vegetarian. Not 10 seconds later, my mother said, "Yes. I'd like the Foie Gras, please."
In a meeting, after giving out MAD LIBS valentines at work:
ME: I can’t BELIEVE how many people don’t remember what an ADJECTIVE is. WHO? Doesn’t know what an ADJECTIVE is?
About 5 minutes later:
SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALIST: So March 14th. 3/14. It’s National Pi Day. I thought it might be nice to have fun with that on the 14th.
Appreciative giggles around the table.
ME: Pi Day? Hmm. So they just pick a totally, completely random day to celebrate Pi?
Astonished silence.
And yes, I knew that we were speaking of Pi and not PIE. The Universe didn’t waste any time putting me right back in my place.
From one of my training buddies, who has only seen me during training runs and in my basic running gear:
“You need get yourself a 13.1 sticker. A PINK one.”
Just as I opened my mouth to ask him how he knew I liked pink, I looked down at my pink running belt, my pink-trimmed running jacket, the pink trim on my shoes, and my pink LED reflective armband (pink bulbs, of course). Oh, right. I closed my mouth and agreed.
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