Just One Marathon

Bad Runner

You know how people sometimes describe faults that are really virtues in disguise? (“My biggest fault is that I’m too loyal. I can’t help it; it’s just the way I am.”) This isn’t one of those lists. Here are five things I sincerely wish I could change about my running habits.

1.      I never stretch. Not because of any research showing the possibility of increased injuries from stretching but because I am just too damned lazy. After a run, I usually  sit down. I chalk up the fact that I’m still mobile to my habit of incorporating walk breaks into my running.

2.      I’m too slow. It’s not that I don’t want to complete my runs in less time. It’s just that I can’t seem to bring myself to run faster in order to do it. Most of my training is aimed at increasing my stamina. I find fartlek and tempo runs taxing and I whenever I set out to do them, I just kind of wimp out and run the same pace that I always do.

3.      My iPod selections don’t pump me up. It’s not uncommon for me to while away a 60-minute run listening to the podcast edition of “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me”, a news quiz show. I doubt very many people have gotten a runner’s high from listening to National Public Radio.

4.      I don’t drink enough water. If I could crave it like I do salt, fat, sugar and alcohol, life would be so much better.

5.      I skip runs. Without excuse. Too often.

Just so you don’t worry about my self-esteem, I’ll post a list shortly of why I think I’m a good runner. In the meantime, I’d love to hear what other runners feel are their biggest running struggles. C’mon … confession is good for the soul.

Candy Confession

I can resist anything but temptation. -- Oscar Wilde

Me too, Oscar. However, I regularly forget and put myself in temptation’s way. And this week, it resulted in a bad run. Here’s how it all came down.

Mistake #1:  On Tuesday, I was running a few minutes early for dinner out with some friends – my lucky day! A nearby bulk candy store sells these tasty beehive licorice candies that you can’t get many places (probably because other people find them yucky). In front of the store was a big bin of Halloween kisses, another weird candy that I like. I usually eat about one a year, when I dig it out of the bottom of my kids’ Halloween loot bags (there’s always one). So I got a small (kind of) bag of those, too. To round out the offbeat candy selection, I also picked up a Ganong Roman Nougat bar.

Mistake #2: On Wednesday, I decided to bring all the candy to work. I imagined myself – doubtless in some alternative fantasy universe – eating a couple of candies every once in a while, always having some on hand as a special treat.

Mistake #3: Over two days, I ate it all.

Mistake #4: On Thursday, I stayed after work and went for my hills run. Six kilometers, five hills, a gut-full of candy. Now I know why they call it bulk.

I think I’ll stay away the bulk candy store for a little while. Although, I’m getting my hair cut tomorrow and there are some amazing bakeries near my hairdresser I might check out.