Conversations While Running
By Kaitlyn
During my 18k run:
Right shoulder: Alright! Let’s get going!
Left shoulder: Yeah, I guess.
Right Shoulder: Here we go down the hill! We’re running, we’re running, weeee!!
Left shoulder: You’re an idiot.
Right shoulder: Half marathon! Six weeks! We’re going to rock it!
Left shoulder: No. No, we’re not.
Right shoulder: Well, I am a little tired and have dead leg and now that you mention it my knee is sore and ankle keeps twinging. But! It’s ok! We’re running 18k!
Left shoulder: This sucks. Why are you even doing this? What’s wrong with you? Why the fuck can’t you just be happy with 5k? Why are you so damn competitive?
Right shoulder: Well…. uh…
Left shoulder: You should just turn around. There’s no way you’re going to break two hours. You. Can’t. Run that fast. Stop running, turn around and go home.
Right shoulder: No. Keep running. Just keep going.
Left shoulder: You look stupid. Everyone who drives by can see your thigh fat when your shorts ride up like that. You think you’re so good just cause you coach a clinic now? What do you know? You know this run is going to hurt and suck and you should just go home.
Right shoulder: It will hurt. This will hurt. If running a half in under two hours was easy for you, you would have already done it. Keep going. Push through this pain, it’ll be over soon.
iPod: Raise a little hell, raise a little hell
Left shoulder: Still. You’re going to fail. You won’t make your goal.
Me: Ah for heaven’s sake – SHUT. UP.
Repeat about every 20 minutes. But: 18km, 1 hour 41 minutes. Breaking two hours just might be possible.
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:19 am
Yep, the old Left Brain vs. Right Brain battle. There’s a whole chapter on overcoming your left brain (the part that is so smart and logical, that it sees all the way through to the end and wants you to avoid failure by just quitting now) in my Galloway book. Your ipod is supposed to help your right brain prevail, and once it engages, that’s when all the clear thinking and problem solving and revelations happen. Science! For me, this battle starts in the car on the way to the run.
April 22nd, 2010 at 6:02 am
That sounds like a good book, one I could definately use! I may pick it up. Thanks!
January 4th, 2011 at 6:24 am
Quite a beautiful website. I recently built mine and i was looking for some design ideas and your website gave me some. Did you develop the website alone?
Thank you