CarbKiller: Faster then You

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the Bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”– Mark Twain

I remember reading that quote on a poster in my 9th grade classroom. I think if someone had walked up to me the first time I read that asked me what I wanted to do at exactly that moment I would have said pilot a sailboat.  I tend to be kind of a literal thinker. LOL. Still, I think about this quote from time to time, particularly when things aren’t going my way.

It’s easy to be safe. It’s easy to hide away in your safety bubble and protect yourself from the world. It is much harder to put yourself out there and try something outside your comfort zone. And I always think about that when I hear judgemental bullshit from non runners.

I don’t care how fit you are, I don’t care how skinny you are and I don’t care how young. Until your ass has been 13.1 miles or 26.2 miles during a sanctioned event you don’t get to call me slow. I just thought I should proclaim that to the internet.

I was at the gym today doing weight work (which is kind of a miracle, I hate the gym) when a guy  saw my Disneyland half marathon shirt and asked me about it. When he asked me my time, I told him. He said “wow, that’s slow,” with a smirk. Now understand it is slow. I am slow. I don’t mind being slow and frankly killing myself to finish 5 seconds faster then last race isn’t why I’m doing this at the moment. Maybe one day I will feel that way but I don’t at the moment. Still, the sneer really pissed me off. So I looked at him and said “Yes it is, what’s your half marathon personal best?” He told me he hadn’t run a half marathon yet. I turned “Well then,” I said, “I guess as slow as I am, I’m still faster then you.”

I wish I could say that was my parting shot and I walked out the door with perfect timing but my workout wasn’t over yet and sadly, neither was his. So I did what all smart women do when confronted by a guy with a small peepee who can’t backup their trash talk. I smirked for the duration of my workout.