You Know Your A Runner When-Part 4

Runners share a special bond and sometimes have traits, habits, or idiosyncrasies that only other runners understands.  You may be able to relate to or appreciate some of these descriptions.

• You could throw away your t-shirt at the end of the day and still go an entire year without having to buy a new one

• You could watch a whole marathon and not be bored

• You get excited about being older because if the extra time you get in Boston.

• Running cloths are your primary wardrobe selection

• You think nothing of spending $100 on a pair of running shoes but buy your dress shoes from the clearance rack

• Your running gear is always neatly organized yet you can’t ever find your regular cloths

• You live in the United States and  actually know how far a kilometer is

• You’ve had your running shoes for three months and know exactly when it is time to get a new pair. But have to look at the reminder sticker on your car when your next oil change should be done

• You know how to correctly say and spell plantar fasciitis

• You can say “I’m just running an easy 6 miles today” and really mean it

• You know where your illiotibial band is located

• You’re always hungry

• You forget how to put on a bra with hooks, and you have running bras in more colors and styles than regular bras

• You have run in public with nothing on top but a jog bra

• You have running cloths and an extra pair of running shoes in your car “just in case”

• You pack more running cloths than bathing suits when going on a beach vacation

If you have any to add please send then to me.

Running Cartoon

I have read and seen lots of running cartoons in Runners World over the last 23 years. But this one reminds me of what my high school coach  told us about running with aches and pains if it feels like something bit you take a day off and get it looked at by the athletic trainer.

I found this on Cool Running Australia – http://www.cool/running.com.au

For The Special Runner in Your Life On Valentines Day

Need a unique gift for the runner in your life on Valentines Day visit http://www.webwarezwatches.com  and click the unique running gifts to order a mug with this saying on it.

26.2 Reasons To Run A Marathon

I remember  watching Joan Benoit- Samuelson run the 1984 Woman’s Olympic Marathon, after running my first season of  Jr. High school track.  I ran the mile and thought no way could I ever run that far.  After running for 17 years and having others asking why run a marathon I came up with a few reasons.  Have you ever thought about running a marathon?  If so here are 26.2 reasons to go for the challenge.

1.  Weight Loss – With all the running/training calories you will burn running, you are bound to lose weight.  That is if you also eat healthy and not all junk stuff.  If you are already at ideal weight training will help you maintain you weight especially during the Thanksgiving Christmas Holidays when you tend to eat lots of homemade goodies.

2.  Mental Freedom – Running can be your time to zone out.  When you are out running, there are no distractions, or demands being put on you.  If you have children this can be a good time for yourself.

3.  Physical Health -  You will improve your cardiovascular health which in turn will give you a longer and healthier life.

4.  Tones Legs - Running is a great way to tone your legs.

5.  Finishing Medal - you will a medal as long as you finish and only 1% of Americans have one to proudly display in your house.  Once I ran a marathon and started “hitting the wall” and thought about the medal I would get if I finished- it was a cool looking one!

6.  The T-shirt – this will be a shirt you can wear that tells the world you ran a marathon. Friends have told me when they started “hitting the wall” they remember the shirt and they didn’t want to wear it if they didn’t finish.

7.  The Photo - Most marathons have a professional photographer stationed on the course that takes pictures of all the runners.  Later you can purchase photos of yourself running to show everyone.

8.  Helping others - often marathons have a team in training program.  These programs help raise money for lots of  different organizations.  The biggest one is team in training for leukemia they help raise money to fight leukemia.  Knowing all the miles are helping someone else will help motivate you.

9.  You have something to look forward to – when you register for a marathon you have something exciting to look forward to.  As the day gets closer you will be anxious and excited. This is especially true if the marathon located some where you have never visited.

10.  Emotional release – Feeling Angry? Frustrated? Stressed? Go for a run and the problems will seem to melt away.  Long runs are great to help release stress.

11.  It’s a good conversation topic - When someone asks Monday at work what you did this weekend you can say “I ran 18 miles” This will be a lot more interesting than most people who relax and watch TV the entire weekend.

12.  Runners High - After running endorphins are released into your system giving you a “high” feeling.  You feel like you are on top of the world and nothing that comes your way will bother you.

13.  Your neighbor/ friends are not doing it – Be different from the ones you hang around with.  Less than 1% of Americans ever finish a marathon.  So if you do you will become one of  the few.

14.  You will love your body - If you have a poor body image and find everything to complain about, training for a marathon will give you a new respect for what the human body can do.

15.  Carbs are good – When you run long distance carbs  give you the  energy you need to keep running for hours at a time without stopping.  So eating then are not bad.

16.  Dieting – if you are training for a marathon you can get away with the one piece of cake for snack

17.  Boost your confidence and self-esteem - Running a marathon is an accomplishment and you will feel good about what you achieved.  It will give you confidence to tackle any other challenges that come your way.

18.  You can race against “the stars” – every year famous people run in the big marathons, you can see their race results and race against them.  For example Oprah Winfrey ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 4:29. Ready for the challenge!

19.  You are highly motivated and committed person – training and finishing a marathon takes both.

20.  Need structure? – running a marathon takes exactly that.  You have to do the training if you want to finish.

21.  Enjoy the outdoors – you will be spending lots of time outdoors.  You will get to know your surrounding better than the neighbors.  If the marathon you decide to run is in another state you will get to see that area as well.  You may want to take pictures during the marathon because you will see lots of things.

22.  To say you did  it - You can say you ran a marathon, this could mean something different for everyone.  Some runners just want to finish and others want to qualify for Boston.

23.  Making more time for yourself - Even if you train with others you are still making time for yourself.  Getting away form the grind of everyday life/work.

24.  Time with friends - if you are training with partners you will look forward to this adult time with other runners.

25.  Crossing the finish line – You will feel like you just won a gold medal.  You will have a range of emotions all at once pride, relief, and excitement.  You will be tired but to excited to actually feel it.

26.  Doing it again - I have heard runners say it is similar to having children.  As soon as you finish you can’t imagine going through all that again.  But later you get thinking about  running one again and before you know it you have finished another marathon.

0.2  - When you pass the 26 mile marker you realize that you are only .2 from the finish and you suddenly will get this burst of adrenaline.  You may have hit the wall or had times during the race that you doubted yourself but you mad it.  Wait a few weeks and you will think about doing this all again.  It gets addictive and you will want to run faster and see new places.

Top 10 Funniest Marathon Signs

If you have ever run a marathon you will understand how  funny signs the last couple of miles will help when it really starts to hurt.    They may  help distract you for a minute and hopefully give you a good laugh when you are feeling like giving up.     The last couple of miles you really don’t want to see the ones that say  “You’re looking great!” (cause at that point you don’t) and “Almost there!” (because you have  been checking my watch every 20 seconds hoping the GPS has moved to the next mile).  At the end of a marathon sometime even the stupid signs seem funny.

1.  “Humpty Dumpty had wall issues too”

2.  “Run faster, I just farted!”

3.  “You can do it Lisa Don’t Die”

4.  “Your feet are hurting because you’re kicking so much asphalt”

5.  “We thought this was a 5K”

6. “This marathon would be fun if not for all the running”

7. “Half Marathon 35,000 runners without being chased”

8. How you feel

9.  Yea- right! They need a lot of these signs at the Boston Start

10. At the end who has the bragging rights!

You Know Your A Runner When….Part 3

Runners share a special bond and sometimes have traits, habits, or idiosyncrasies that only other runners understands.  You may be able to relate to or appreciate some of these descriptions.

• you have  more dirty cloths than a newborn

• you wear your running cloths for pajamas as to not waste any time getting out the door in the morning

• you always wear running shoes, your old running shoes are now walking  shoes.

• you have a pair of running shoes for the muddy days, two pairs of training shoes you alternate every other day and you know the exact mileage of them all

• you have more race tee shirts than all the cloths the rest of your family has put together

• you can start anywhere in your home town and be able to tell others where the next mile is

• even your church shoes have something to do with Nike, Asics, New Balance

• you give directions to someone and tell them it’s just a 5k up the road

• your laundry area is always littered with running stuff you’re drying out because you never put it in the drier

• you can say things like “I’m just running an easy 6 today” and you really mean it

Runners are a special group of people.  Individuals that don’t run think we are crazy.

You Know Your A Runner When…part 2

Runners share a special bond and sometimes have traits, habits, or idiosyncrasies that only other runners understands.  You may be able to relate to or appreciate some of these descriptions.

• when you hear PR you automatically think personal record not public relations

• you no longer hate port-a-johns.  In fact, there have been times when you’ve been very happy to see one.

• you’re not embarrassed to wear spandex

• you wear your running watch even when you’re not running (It matches right?)

• you spend more time researching running routes than local restaurants when traveling to a new city

• you own more pairs of running socks then dress socks

• you have several drawers dedicated to running shirts

• your holiday wish list can be fulfilled at any running or sporting good store

• you know how to take a cup of water from a water stop without choking on it or spilling if all over yourself as you run

• when you eat dessert you don’t feel guilty and tell others you run so you can eat it

Runners are a special group of people.  Individuals that don’t run think we are crazy.

Marathon Humor Images

These running cartoons will have any marathoner laughing.  The last miles of a marathon are hard.  Think of these when you run your next marathon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marathon Signs and Slogans

During a marathon, most runners have doubts.  But reading the perfect sign at the perfect moment can help put those fears out of their heads.    The average marathon runners is on the course for 4-5 hours and will go through several good and bad spots during the 26 miles 385 yards.  Usually it gets especially rough around 20-22 miles.  You have spent months  training and are so close to accomplishing your goal-but it seems like the finish is so far away.  If you are going to a marathon to cheer on a loved one you may want to make a sign to help all the runners during a rough point in the race.  Here are some of those spectator signs that can really help a marathoner though a rough sport.

• “All walls have doors”   (seen at mile 22 of a marathon-when some runners hit the wall)
• “This mile marker is farther than most people will ever reach”
• “Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit”
• “You can throw in the towel or you can use it to wipe the sweat off of your face” (from Gatorade)
• “Your place in history is almost secure” (Adidas sign at mile 23 of the Boston Marathon)
• “Your feet won’t fail you know!”
• “This is your moment.   Celebrate the pain”
• “One foot in front of the other.  That’s all”
• “You are no longer a runner, YOU are a marathoner.” (seen at mile 25 of the San Antonio marathon)
• “Trust your training”
• “Forget everything you’ve done.  It’s just a Sunday 10k left to do!”
• “If you walk, you’ll still be hurting”
• “FINISH” (seen at the end of every marathon)
• “Don’t stop– people are looking”
• ” That’s not sweat, it’s the fat cell crying”
• ” This is easier than labor and delivery”
• “You’re not slow.  You’re just enjoying the course”
• ” You’re almost there only 385 yards to go!”
• ” In our minds, you’re all Kenyans”
• “You feet hurt because you are kicking so much butt!”
• “You’re legs will forgive you eventually”
• “If it was easy, I would do it”
• “Run like you stole something”
• “Stop reading this sign and keep running”
• “Don’t worry, toenails are overrated”
• “It will feel better when it stops hurting”
• “Mortuary ahead…..look alive”
• “If I ran it, by God, you can, too”

Your Sports Punishment Is My Sport

Any one that has played other sports as well as run can relate to this saying.  How many time did someone have to run laps because they missed a pass, or a goal, or maybe because they where late to practice.  Did this ever irritate you when you heard the coach yelling at the athlete and then tell then to run laps.  Believe it or not this really happens.  I played soccer for Warminster township while running high school cross-country.  I was often late to practice because of cross-country meets and the coach would have me run laps.  Of course I didn’t mind.  But how many athletes grow up and hate running. This was one thing I didn’t want my children to do.

I have recently seen this saying on several shirts while at local high school cross-country invitations this year.  I have two daughters ages 9 and 7 years old and a 2-year-old son.  They  have seen both their parents go out daily for runs even on the worst days.  If it is hot we run, if it is freezing we run.  We even ran when the “blizzard of the century” in  1996 30 inches hit the area we ran.   W hen we had our first child we wanted a jogger instead of the more traditional stroller some relative thought we where crazy.   All three of my children had logged lots of miles in the jogger before they could walk.  They all had different reactions while being pushed.  One yelled faster as we where breathing hard, while another lounged forward as if they where trying to help us go faster.  Our son sits up straight to see more of what is going on. All three seemed to calm down and get excited when they would see us get the jogger out. My daughters have the continued the running jeans. They started running 1 mile fun runs at the age of three and finished 5k races at the age of 7.   They don’t understand why other hate running.  I know this is only because they have seen Mom and Dad going out for runs.  I have wondered how many natural runners are out there but the individual never tries running  because they had a bad experience while playing other sports.  After all once your college athletic years are over most areas don’t have adult leagues for sports.  Running is something anyone can do no matter how short, tall, fat or uncoordinated the individual is.

Coaches should think about the saying this saying before they “punish” athletes.  I am sure lots of runners out there have stories to support this saying.