So for those of you getting excited right now the title of this has nothing to do with what you are about to read. As I wrote this tonight I could not think of a title since it is a jumbled mess of my thoughts and frustrations. I figured Fartlek is the perfect title because basically unless you are a runner, you do not understand what fartlek is and you shouldn't! Why I decided to blog tonight is related to that because I had a non runner - my boyfriend / best friend - say such a non runner comment to me tonight it really upset me, because, well, he doesn't understand...
Most of the people reading this are my runner friends! My non running friends have probably given up on me because all I do is run. One of my friends once asked me if there is anything I do that is not about running. I got to thinking about it and came to the conclusion that there wasn't. It is not that I just run 5 to 6 days a week and that I spend most of my weekends with my running friends. It's that also most of my vacations or getaways are running events, my spending money is spent on running gear, races, etc. My diet is plotted around if I have a race or long run and what I should eat, the shoes I wear on my feet are determined on a comfort factor if I have a race coming up. Even the clothes I wear when I am not at work are showing off my latest race or Brooks/Nike sponsored shirt. I make sure I get up every hour at work and walk around so I am not stiff or sitting too long so I can prevent injuries and stay healthy for running. So yah. Everything is about running. Now I even cross train so I can continue to run. It is exhausting for a non runner to be around me, I get it. I praise Cory (boyfriend) for all he does for me to help me! He buys me random running gear, peals my oranges, listens to me cry and moan because I have been in and out of this hip injury for the past 8 months. He has been a saint. But that doesn't mean he gets it...
It all started tonight when I came home from the marathon wrap up event for the training program. Another race down where what I had planned to do was changed due to my stupid hip. Side note here, for as much trouble as this damn hip is giving me could I at least have some curvy hips or a butt or something. Nope it just has to hurt and not even look good hurting. Anyway back to the point, so I was feeling sorry for myself. All my friends are trying to narrow down their races because they have too many and I am like, damn I hope I can run that TRI in 2 weeks I paid too much for that I am not sure I can even do or should do now. So I do such a Niki thing and tell Cory, "It feels like I am never going to be able to run again." ***Tears here and Cory thinking oh god not again*** You know, I have a hip stress fracture the world is ENDING. Well he says the thing most non runners would say, "Niki, calm down, you only had to take off 6 months!" He was trying to help but I'm like.....6 MONTHS! Do you know how long a few days is to a runner let alone 6 MONTHS! Tell a runner it is time to taper and they are sad, be a runner and get a cold and have to take 4 days to a week off and you think you are going to be SO FAT and lose all your speed. Tell a runner (my turn) that you have to sit out 6 months and that said runner breaks down. It is hard.
Ok so why am I bringing this up yet again. Everyone thought I was healed and ready to go. I was! I had completed my recovery and was back at it as the doctor recommended and feeling good and then one day BAM it hurt again. Coincidence that it was right before the IL marathon events, probably not but it felt like a slap!
A few people have said to me, yah well you came back pretty strong. You know those terms "the good die young" and "nice guys finish last"??? I wish I would have just continued to race my heart out but no, actually this time I followed the doctors orders. I was a good patient as they call them. I admit, the hip injury, all my fault. You are bound to get injured running 6 days a week and 4 to 5 races a month and long runs and speed works with no cross training and no stretching/strength. The problem is that when you are on fire, you do not care. I had two good years. In high school I could care less about running and it showed, I did not do well. The past two years I worked my ass off and I was hitting PR after PR and having a great time. Many times I had people tell me I need to chill out and calm down but I was doing well and I was going to keep with it. I can warn my friends now but at the same time I understand, haha, I mean I envy them and pray they can keep it up. But anyways I did what the doctor said and when I came back to running I did the silly back to running program were you start out running 30 seconds walking 4 minutes 30 seconds on and off for 30 minutes. I even had some of my great friends do it with me! yah I did all that and everything else he suggested and it went well. The only thing I did wrong was run a few legs at River to River and he was more saying NO ONE should run like that because you run/sit/sun/sit and that is bad. I can tell you it was not one event that broke my hip and it was not that one event that would ruin all I worked for.
Anyway... after explaining all this to Cory tonight I think he still probably did not understand but he does really care. He has put up with me at my worst and always kept a smile so asking him to understand my obsession with running when he isn't a runner is unfair. I guess I could compare it to asking a smoker to take a few months off smoking cold turkey but I do not think non runners see it that way. It is an addiction. Too much of anything can hurt you, obviously, I ran on a damn broken hip for half a year haha and just kept telling myself it would go away. So here I am again. Sitting on the sidelines. I get to swim tomorrow! That would normally make me happy but right now I am just blah. I feel like I keep taking time off just to come back for a bit and then take more time off. GRRR. Why is something so good for you being so bad to me. Ok ok. I will stop. Because by November I plan to come back and tell all you had much fun Michele had at our Oak Run TRI and how we kicked Indy's butt so I guess if it means I can do those goal races I will once again sit out and be the cheerleader! I am excited to be back at it for those events so I will let myself heal...again. And to all the Crazy Runners, thanks, without you all I would have gone insane. I am sure Cory thanks you all too :)
But...In the meantime, who needs me to hold their bag? :)
