SOMEWHERE BETWEEN OHIO AND WEST VIRGINIA — “You look like the rest of the runner wannabes,” my friend said as I showed off my latest workout outfit.
I few days later I was asked whether I ever thought of giving up running to do something more suitable. I like construction, so I should switch trades.
And that wasn’t the tipping point. I think it was the day or so before, when in an attempt to be cute/annoying/whatever, my school-aged children decided to watch my flubber-coated stomach fly as we were at the bus stop. I hate when they poke my stomach. Yes, it was once the house to three amazing beings. But come on. You don’t poke your teacher in the stomach if you get bored during recess. Hands off my belly too!
So, while I’ve been working on being healthy, i haven’t really worked in it.
That’s what I hear from the “runners” in my life. I don’t run on a consistent enough basis to be considered real.
I guess that means if you’re a parent who works full time, you’re not a real parent. If you don’t eat locally-grown food 100 percent of the time, you’re not into farmers markets enough.
Well, I call you on it. A runner is a runner, no matter how many miles you run or how fast you run. You’re logging miles, just like professionals Kara Groucher and Mo Farrah. Slow runners just enjoy the scenery a bit longer.
And as to me just focusing on strength training, I also say no. Without the cardio, the muscle work would be vain. You have to do the entire package, not just you muscles.
It’s like the scene in “Rocky IV” where Rocky is on Russia training for his bout against the Russian. He didn’t just chop wood. He ran in the snow, pulled the car, and did his “weight-lifting.”
I have always loved running. Just because I’m busy being a Mom and small-business owner doesn’t mean I need to stop running. In fact, more running would keep me saner.
So in September, I’m challenging myself to workout more and eat better. I would like to do a challenge race in November, where I do a 8K one day and a half marathon the next. I hope to get into shape, so the first race doesn’t interfere with the second. I am motivate to crush the doubter who mostly resides in my head.
That’s my biggest competitor, my biggest doubter: The person in the mirror. Everyone else can eat my trail dust.