Thursday, June 25, 2009

No One Ever Told Me


TIART
"This week's theme is ... Yeah, no one ever told me this about running.... Now that you are a runner, what is something you have learned about running that no one ever told you before. You didn't read it in a book, a blog or hear it from a friend or another runner. Or...maybe you did, but you didn't understand it or remember it until you learned it yourself."


No one ever told me that I'd run one 5k then suddenly want to do another event, and eventually I'd get the chutzpah to sign up for a marathon, no matter how many people thought I was a psychopath for wanting to do so.

No one ever told me that I'd be making so many new running friends through blogging. The running blog community has been amazing, even though my non-runner friends and family are concerned that they're all psychopaths.

No one ever told me that I would break a bone from running. Who breaks a bone from running? Me. I didn't fall or get beat up. The diagnosis was a femoral neck stress fracture. I got a bonus surgery, complete with hardware, and a 4 night's stay in the hospital, and mind altering medications. Wooohooo! (NOT!) I always thought my injuries would be limited to blisters, losing a toe nail or two, sore muscles, and perhaps tendinitis. Call me enlightened.

No one, not even the doctors, ever told me that I couldn't run after my surgery. Even before I had the surgery they said I'd be running with in 4 to 6 months of the surgery. They were right. It wasn't pretty, but I was up and running. I'm still working on making it look pretty.

No one ever told me that I would travel by plane to run in out-of-state events. I wouldn't think to travel to those places, otherwise. The Rock 'n' Roll half marathon in Las Vegas, NV in December on my calendar.

No one ever told me that I would own more running shoes than other types of shoes, because I'm always in search of just the right shoe, and bonus points if I find my perfect shoe on sale for less than half price because it's from two seasons ago.

No one ever told me that I would remember the Boston Marathon qualifying times chart, and I can't even remember my husband's work phone number.

Finally:
No one ever told me about the sense of well being and satisfaction that running gives me. I can pound out any frustration or problem while running. It's such a release. Sure, life's problems or frustrations may still be there, but I can handle things better and with a clearer head after a run.

Monday's song:
Struttin' With Some Barbecue - Louis Armstrong

PEACE

13 comments:

Unknown said...

great post!

kara said...

Sweet~
I also have way too many running shoes!
Thanks for stopping by my site and sharing your wisdom.

barbie2be said...

wheat?

i am on the hunt for some new shoes now. the ones i wore for the nike last year went into the trash after brusing both of my big toes and causing me to lose the nails.

Aka Alice said...

All of it is so true, so true...especially the one about the shoes!

Great post.

montisse98 said...

Very funny post... And I bet if anyone were to tell you that in the beginning, you would've thought of them as nuts. Now it's the other way around.:)

Anonymous said...

Awesome post!

IzzyBubbles said...

Great post! I love the running community, I've never felt anything other than welcomed even though I'm not fast and don't have the perfect runners' body. It's so great to be surrounded by other runners who do nothing but support and encourage you ever step of the way.

Deene said...

good post!
one thing i learned after i started trail running - girls do pee standing up(not me of course)

Glenn Jones said...

Excellent post Irene! So true, so true.

Anne said...

I love your list!

Lisa said...

GREAT post. I really enjoyed it and completely related. I ran 7 miles today with a woman I met through our blogs... it was totally normal, like we had known each other for a long time.

Thanks for sharing.

Irene said...

Lisa,
Thanks!

Kara,
I have a hard time letting go of old running shoes, although I did donate some earlier this year.

Barbie,
You probably need to get a size up from your normal size to allow for swelling. Winner!

AKA Alice,
Yep. It's always about the shoes!

Cami,
I know! The tables sure have turned!

Stacey,
Thanks. :)

Izzy,
The running community has been wonderful and so supportive. I never knew this until I started running.

Deene,
I guess a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! LOL.

Glenn,
There's more to add to the list, I'm sure, but those stand out the most!

Anne,
Thanks!

Lisa,
I guess you can sort of have a good sense of how someone is through their blogs. I've met a ton of bloggers who run or work out, and they have been wonderful.

Mel-2nd Chances said...

love this post Irene! Well said, and I share of lot of the same feelings :)