It's summertime which means it's hot outside. A week ago, instead of my typical 3 to 5 mile run outside I opted for a "no cheat" inside the gym treadmill run mostly to avoid the hot temps. I pushed myself a bit too hard and that night I woke up with severe cramping and pain in my left foot. That was Thursday. On Monday I decided I couldn't take it any longer and went into the doctor for x-rays. No stress fracture, no break, so I was given a splint and directions to stay off it as much as possible, ice it, take pain meds, and to come back if I'm still experiencing pain in 2 weeks.
Fast forward a week. My foot is starting to feel better, but because I'm training for my first spring triathlon in a month I want to take it easy and not rush going back to running. Therefore, I ask my husband (who has a olympic in 2 weeks) if he wants to do a short recovery ride. Maybe 20-30 miles pacing at 15-18 mph depending on the wind.
He looks at me and scoffs, "I can't even ride that slow."
Now, how am I supposed to respond to this? In my head I have already bashed his head into the ground, with my foot triumphantly on top of his chest and I'm shouting, "Now I bet you won't keep up with me!" But that delusion is a bit too violent and has probably been spurred by my recent binge watching of Orange is the New Black. So back in reality I sigh through my nose and say, "I guess I'll go by myself again." He says, "Okay" and leaves to go for a swim without me.
Hey husband, I work out, too!
Really!? This is after the past week, when my friend asks my husband how my foot is doing and in a room over he quietly says, "I think she's milking it so she doesn't have to do her sprint in September." They didn't know I could hear them. But all I'm thinking is that it doesn't make sense. I was running 7:50 min miles and did 4 of them. This is what hurt my foot. I enjoy running. Why would I be milking this?
Our first race together (he did a marathon and I did the half). I woke up the morning of the race with a fever of 102.3 and pink eye in both eyes. I decided to run anyways, and finished extremely behind my race goal. He finished well in his age group and our family and friends could not get over the fact that he did so well. My mom told me congrats. But my friends and other family there were so focused on my husband's achievement that they mostly forgot that I was there.
Guess what guys, I ran, too!
My second race ever was when I was a coach for an elementary school girls running club. I signed up to be the sweeper. My job was to run with our fastest girl to the finish. Once she was in, I would run back through the kids to find our next girl, run her in, turn around find the next one and so on. By the end of the race I was obviously tired and my husband commented, "you look like you ran a marathon." He meant well and had no malice behind it. But of course I took it in a bad way. Instead of saying something harsh, I said, "Yes the girls did really well today didn't they! I'm glad that I got to run to the finish with every single one of them." Inside I'm thinking, of course I look tired because,
I ran, too!
My first duathlon was a woman's only event. He showed up, he supported me, and he remembered my tickets for my complimentary champagne at the end. I did surprisingly well, beat my personal goal, and surprised him with my time. On our way home he said, "I can't wait for you to do this again next year and get under 8 minute miles. Then you'll keep up with me." All I could think was, it doesn't matter if I can keep up with you or not, because I ran, I biked, and then I ran again.
I ran twice!!!
I'm sick of going to the gym and being stared at by others, or having someone chuckle behind my back because I stumble, fall, or miss a rep. Just because I don't fit into what others consider the ideal athlete doesn't not mean my workout is any less of a workout than theirs. My run is no less of a run than others. My duathlon, my rest period, my triathlon is no less of an event than someone who finishes first. In my mind I am an athlete. I am a woman who is bettering herself, and asking for just a bit of external reinforcement from those around me. And if anyone is reading this, I run, too.
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