Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Snappy retorts

3 miles today at a decent pace. I managed good splits, too. I'm improving my pace on the shorter distances, hopefully that will translate to better paces at longer distances.

I'm getting a little tired of people telling me why I shouldn't run. You've all heard these people, who don't run themselves, try and convince you it's bad for you. Here's some responses I use for these naysayers who don't understand my sport:

1. You shouldn't run because you'll blow out your knees.
Response: You're absolutely right; my knees could blow any moment now, so I suggest you
don't stand directly in front of me, unless you want to get hit be knee shrapnel.

2. Have you started saving up for your knee surgery yet?
Response: Nope. Have you started saving up for your heart bypass surgery yet?

3.Running is bad for your _____________(enter joint of your choice)
Response: Really? So...(allow your voice to drip with sarcasm) you're a doctor, specializing in
sports medicine? No? Then you're a physical therapist? You have a degree in sports
physiology? You've coached runners? You're a chiropractor, a trainer, anything? Because
you said that with such authority, I didn't realize you were just blowing it out your butt.

4. You could have a heart attack while you're out there running so you shouldn't do it.
Response: You're right. Much better to have the heart attack like you will, while sitting on
your butt in front of the TV with a bag of potato chips in your flabby lap.

5. I could run a lot faster than that when I was in high school. You're pretty slow.
Response: Really? Let's see how fast you are now. How about a six miler? You can pace me,
since you're so fast.

Feel free to use any of these if the opportunity arises.

3 comments:

Sarah said...

I love number 5! :)

I've been reading your blog for a couple of weeks now. I, like you, like to run, feel good, and do my best. Like you, I'm pretty slow, but I'm slowly learning that it doesn't matter because I'm happy, proud, and enjoying myself at any pace. I can go the distance (longest I've ever run was 7 miles, inadvertently!) and I have the motivation and strength to run a couple of times a week - and enjoy it! That's more than a lot of people can say.

Thank you for writing such a nice blog. It really is a pleasure to read it and I always get excited when a new post pops up in my RSS!

Enjoy the rest of your summer runs!

BeachRunner said...

LOL. Great job Tanya. Keep on running!!

The Running Bob said...

The high school comparison of pace -- I just cringe when I hear that criticism. They fail to realize the years gone by and they probably only ran one mile.