Glutton for Punishment
So...I've decided to have another go at the Chicago Marathon this year. Because apparently I just can't get enough of my thighs chafing, sweating my proverbial balls off and having my toenails turn black. Yeah, I'm something of a masochist.
As most of you probably know, I'm not really what you would call a "runner" in the traditional sense of the word. I don't really enjoy it, I'm not really good at it, but at the same time it's something I feel compelled to do. I guess that's why I'm so amused by this running subculture I discovered last year and I'm beginning to rediscover this year.
These people lose their f-ing shit over running. They wake up at like 5 in the morning so they can run 500 miles, and they do it WITH SMILES ON THEIR FACES like some sort of crazy cult. Apparently, they drank the Kool-Aid. They spend hundreds of dollars on products like BodyGlide, which is supposed to keep you from getting chafed and blistered, but really makes you feel like you're preparing your body to get basted like a Thanksgiving turkey; nipple guards for the dudes, which keeps them from getting bloody nips while they run, which, um, gross (any sort of activity that would cause me to bleed from the breast-al area is not an activity in which people should really be participating); and Power Gu, which is a jelly-like substance that comes in small packages and is supposed to keep runners feeling energized during long runs but which instead makes me want to stab puppies because it tastes like their crap.
So I've been known to buy some of that stuff from time to time, but the one ridic thing I will cop to doing as a runner is being a freak about my iPod. Some people say that running with music is "cheating," but I say that those people can go screw themselves. Whatever gets you through, man. So anyway, I'm a little obsessed with making an awesome playlist, interspersing inspirational 80s tunes with hardcore rap to find that perfect balance that'll keep me going when all I want to do is stop and take a walk break.
I'm a bit ashamed to admit my power songs, but I'll do it anyway, if for no other reason than that perhaps there is a runner out there who is also a bit ashamed of their power songs and is afraid to share. I want to break the spiral of silence.
So, for posterity's sake:
Hold the Line, Toto
Jump Kriss Kross
Mama Said Knock You Out, LL Cool J
Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
Got any of your own, reading public?
So...I've decided to have another go at the Chicago Marathon this year. Because apparently I just can't get enough of my thighs chafing, sweating my proverbial balls off and having my toenails turn black. Yeah, I'm something of a masochist.
As most of you probably know, I'm not really what you would call a "runner" in the traditional sense of the word. I don't really enjoy it, I'm not really good at it, but at the same time it's something I feel compelled to do. I guess that's why I'm so amused by this running subculture I discovered last year and I'm beginning to rediscover this year.
These people lose their f-ing shit over running. They wake up at like 5 in the morning so they can run 500 miles, and they do it WITH SMILES ON THEIR FACES like some sort of crazy cult. Apparently, they drank the Kool-Aid. They spend hundreds of dollars on products like BodyGlide, which is supposed to keep you from getting chafed and blistered, but really makes you feel like you're preparing your body to get basted like a Thanksgiving turkey; nipple guards for the dudes, which keeps them from getting bloody nips while they run, which, um, gross (any sort of activity that would cause me to bleed from the breast-al area is not an activity in which people should really be participating); and Power Gu, which is a jelly-like substance that comes in small packages and is supposed to keep runners feeling energized during long runs but which instead makes me want to stab puppies because it tastes like their crap.
So I've been known to buy some of that stuff from time to time, but the one ridic thing I will cop to doing as a runner is being a freak about my iPod. Some people say that running with music is "cheating," but I say that those people can go screw themselves. Whatever gets you through, man. So anyway, I'm a little obsessed with making an awesome playlist, interspersing inspirational 80s tunes with hardcore rap to find that perfect balance that'll keep me going when all I want to do is stop and take a walk break.
I'm a bit ashamed to admit my power songs, but I'll do it anyway, if for no other reason than that perhaps there is a runner out there who is also a bit ashamed of their power songs and is afraid to share. I want to break the spiral of silence.
So, for posterity's sake:
Hold the Line, Toto
Jump Kriss Kross
Mama Said Knock You Out, LL Cool J
Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
Got any of your own, reading public?
posted by Yvonne at
12:11 AM
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1 comments
