Elbowglitter

When did it become unpopular to be nice?  And when did it become the cool thing to go a step further and be actively rude to people?

Just about every weekend, I go out for a longer run.  I run in an area where I pass people of all ages, shapes, and sizes, doing all sorts of things – walking, running (both of these often with strollers or dogs or both), roller blading, biking, horseback riding, etc.  There are people of all skill levels out, and I’m often impressed by the huge packs of cyclists in their matching jerseys speeding along the road.  Personally, I would be afraid of crashing.  I don’t do well with speed outside of a car.

Today I went out for a 9 mile run, my last long run before next weekend’s 10 mile race.  Around mile 7, I passed a group of runners stretching.  And one of them had to comment.  “That chick is way too fat to run,” he said, and the others laughed.

Well first off, I was clearly running, so obviously, I’m not too fat to do it.

I’m not built like a runner.  I never will be.  I’m okay with that.  I also will never be fast.  It’s a combination of my build and my weight and a host of other factors, I’m sure, but I’m ok with not being fast.  I’m not out to win any races, and unless I’m still running in my 80’s, I have no chance of ever winning anything.

A quick glance around a popular running path will show you that runners come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are faster than others.  But they’re all out there doing something great.  I have friends who are significantly heavier than I am who could kick my ass in a race.  I have other friends who are significantly lighter than I am who couldn’t make it through half of the training run that I did today. I have runner friends who literally weigh twice what I weigh, but you know what?  They still run.

But what’s the point of making a crack at a runner who isn’t tiny and lithe?  What good does that do anyone?  I know some elites who think that allowing slow people in a race belittles the sport.  Why?  Does it make you any slower?  As long as people line up to start a race properly (fast people in the front, slow in the back), those slow people have no effect on you.  In fact, I’ve been in races where the course loops back on itself to finish where it started, which means that at some point, those leaders are going to pass the back of the packers.  And what happens then?  All those people in the back start clapping and cheering.  Because hey, that guy’s in the front, and look, there’s the lead woman.  Look at what they’re doing.  Sure, those of us at the back of the pack have no hope of ever being them, but that doesn’t mean we’re not impressed by what they’re doing.

This guy’s not going to make me stop running.  I hope he slipped in the mud and fell on his face today though.  But for a new runner, for someone just getting started and struggling to get through every workout, this might end their running career.  I’m not saying that everyone has to be nice.  Just be civil.

This morning, a co-worker ran through the office yelling “It’s 9:09 on 9/9/09!”  Clearly, she was overcaffeinated.  Or crazy.  One or the other.  She was also not amused when a fellow co-worker responded, “No it’s not.  It’s 9:10.”

I’m having trouble grasping the fact that it’s September.  (And that I’ve lived here for two years – yikes.)  I’m not sure where the summer went.  Especially August. 

Oh wait.  August was the month of crazy.  My sister came to visit, and we went to museums and IKEA and ate more food than two girls should eat.  The following weekend was the celebrated Merellowicz wedding, which was probably the cutest wedding I’ve ever been to.  Sorry, other brides.  Amy’s happy bouncing during the service trumps all.  A few days after that, my parents arrived for touristing, restauranting, and football watching (Go Irish!).

And that brings us to now.  September should hopefully be a quiet month.  A lazy month.  A month of detoxing from the eating that occurred in the preceeding month.  I’m running the Army Ten Miler the first weekend of October, so I guess September will be a month of much running.  Thankfully, the weather is finally cooling off.  I don’t know how people in tropical climates manage to become runners.  They must be crazy.  Or maybe they run with portable air conditioners.  The added weight increases the benefits of the workout, after all.

I have a new running schedule that makes Friday a full on rest day and Saturday a cross training day.  I am going crazy.  I had today off and it looked so beautiful outside, but it’s a no run day so I refused to put my running shoes on, even though I really wanted to.

I think this means I have a problem.

I spent about two hours yesterday putting together a tentative running schedule to get me through the winter and spring racing season.  Yes, I said winter and spring.  I know it’s only July 3.  I told you.  I have a problem.  Of course, I also have a big race in March that I’m really excited about.  I have this tendency to run races, then take a whole month off – so I’m hoping that creating a detailed schedule will mean that I will stick to it and not be screwed and end up with an over-use injury.  Again.

So I’m ramping up slowly.  I’m probably putting in a 6 miler this weekend, and I would like to make my base Sunday run at least 6 miles, hopefully a bit more.  It doesn’t seem like much to runners, but it seems like a lot to me!  I’ve got a good 5 mile loop that I love, so I need to figure out a good way to extend that.

I’m exciting, right?

On the (very slow) metro this morning, a little girl started to chat me up.  She looked to be about 10, and in the course of our conversation, she asked me if I heard about Michael Jackson.  She was sad about it because she really loved his music, like Beat It and P.Y.T.  I had to agree with her assessment of his awesomeness.

I told her that when I was young, I had his records and I loved them.

“Records?  Oh, you mean like those really big CDs?”

“Well, sort of…”

“We only have the small CDs.”

Man, I felt old.

I’m really not sure what I’ve been doing with my time lately.  Being lazy, mostly, though the other day my boss said “I don’t know how you keep up with everything you do in your life.”  I guess we have different versions of lazy.

Last night was our last choir concert of the season.  It went really well, I think.  It was nice to only be performing one piece (the orchestra did the Organ Symphony as the first half, which was absolutely amazing – if you’ve seen Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, you would recognize the piece).  It meant that rehearsals weren’t as strenuous, which was nice, after March’s concert .  We rehearse Monday nights til 10:00, which means running home after work, changing and scarfing down some dinner, and then straight to the Cathedral.  I’m really going to enjoy having my Mondays back, but I’m going to miss seeing those people all the time.  There’s a huge age range in the choir.  Our youngest member is probably a girl in her freshman year of college, and we definitely have members in their 80’s.  And there are so many different professions represented too.  It’s just nice to be around completely different people for a change.  Otherwise, I’m with people my age or federal employees.  We re-audition at the end of May, and then next season starts up after Labor Day.  I shouldn’t be, but I’m a little worried about re-auditions.  I’ve got the music and I know most of it, but I’m still concerned.  There are some amazing singers in our choir, most of them still being trained.  While I have a number of years of training under my belt, it’s been a while since I’ve had a lesson.  D.C. has also just lost one of its big chorales, and so all of those members will be looking for new places to sing.  Thankfully, we re-audition first, but our directors have to know that there’s a whole lot of other talent out there.

I ran the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Race again this year.  I actually trained properly this year and knocked more than 5 minutes off my time.  I’m still insanely slow, but I’d rather be slow and finish happy than be fast and want to vomit as soon as I cross the finish line.  I’m running the Army Ten Miler in October, and the Disney Princess Half Marathon in Orlando in March.  I’m ridiculously excited about that race, and I want to be sure I’m in good running shape for it.  I’ll never be a marathoner, but a half marathon sounds like a good challenge. 

I ran a whopping 3 miles this weekend.  Clearly, more running is necessary.

I went to Hawaii for a week in April.  It was awesome and beautiful and relaxing, and I wish I had more time for vacations.  It’s so rare that I just take a day to do nothing but sit and read and not worry about things.  When I’m home, even if I have a day off, I have a list of tasks that I feel the need to complete.  I need to work on being a better relaxer.  I don’t see that happening anytime soon though.

Other than that, I’m not sure what takes up all of my time, but it’s definitely busy.  I guess that’s a good thing.