When I mention to people that I am running a marathon, I usually get one of three responses.
1. Oh, you are just plain crazy...
2. Why would you want to do that?
3. Totally ignore what I just stated.
HUH?? Doesn't anyone care!? Maybe it is the fact that so many people nowadays run in races and that there are 800 marathons a year. Or maybe if Oprah can do one it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. Who knows? All I know is that one year ago I was freaking out about a 4 mile run in Laurel, Montana and now 4 miles is like my warmup! It is amazing how far training will take you.
I really don't know that many runners in this area, so I'm thankful several of my family members are runners (or support us runners). It is nice to know that when you talk about having a good or bad run, trying out Sport Beans, pace per mile, or even chafing that someone knows what you are talking about and can relate. So thank you family runners for caring and being "crazy" with me!
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4 comments:
I think the funnies response I get is
"So, like, how far is that?? (X) miles??" Which when you've been into the running thing, for even just a little bit, is like having someone say: "So, like, you're having twins?? Wow, three kids at once is a lot". I saw that Chris mentioned on his blog that when he tells people he's doing the half marathon, nobody hears the half part, which is funny too. I think that for most people, anything over 3-4 miles seems long, particularly if they never run.
I've found that in running circles, marathons aren't that big a deal, cause it seems like everyone has done at least one at some point. Then it comes down to how fast you ran it to tell whether you're a runner, or (gasp) a jogger (which I am). Plus you get a lot of unrequested critiques of your training plan!!
I was mentioning my training to a lender at work, and he asked what marathon. I said "St. George", and expected to hear "St. What?? Where is that??" which is what I usually get. Instead he said "Oh, the longest sustained downhill of any marathon in the country, way to pick a toughy ha-ha" Then I discovered that he had run 22+ marathons, which you wouldn't know by looking at him. So, you never know.
When I would tell people I "was" training for a marathon, it was either,"Oh Yeah, I've ran 2 already." (or insert any number) OR "Oh, cool." (they really could care less) OR "I hate running, in fact, I hate exercising at all!"
It's kind of funny that people (wether they are runners or not)don't just congratulate you and wish you luck.
One guy at work asks me every morning how far I ran before work. Even on 2-3 mile days his eyes get really big, and says "Oh smack, dawg!" Cracks me up. It is true what Joel says about people who are runners themselves - I feel unworthy to say I'm a runner around people I know are much more a runner than me. I've come to believe, though, that there's not really such a thing as "jogging." I think there's "running slowly" or "barely hanging on at the end of a run", but running is running. It is great to have family to ask questions of especially since I don't have a lot of experience. It'd be cool to all live close, though, to train together. We just need to put some peer pressure on David to start talkin'.
I'm proud of all my runners! Can you live vicariously through your children?
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