One of my favorite people is a man who is a sub-2:40 marathoner. Needless to say, he is the best runner I know. He is also one of the laziest runners I know - he peaks at 40 miles a week and rarely runs more than 10 miles for his long run. Needless to say, again, I am jealous of him. I posses absolutely zero natural athletic ability. He, on the other hand, is immensely talented, and because it comes so easy to him, he doesnt actually enjoy running all that much. Ugh!!!
Its always nice to run with someone like him, something I do very very rarely (although I do admit, I would like to do so more often). His ability intimidates me - as simple as that. I dont want to let him down, or slow him down or look like a clumsy klutz infront of him. I started my day relatively late today, which meant I ran at a more 'normal' hour this morning. It also meant that he was wanting to catch up, and what better way to do than with a morning run ? (his words not mine). Running with him this morning gave me a sleepless night last night. Because an 'easy run' for him is like 'all-out' pace for me! If there is one area where I *sort of* feel *sort of* confident is the fact that I have much better endurance than him. Mmm hmm - whatever!
Long story short, I had a great run this morning. Its always nice to have company once in awhile. He said to me "in another life, I wish I ran as gracefully as you do". Oh my goodness!! That made my day! What also made my day is that I didnt make a complete ass of myself - for once!
With running, as with life, I am like a dog with a bone - I dont give up - and since I lack any sort of natural talent for most things - I have learnt to work hard, I am not afraid of challenges and I think, I hope, this is what builds character.
8 miles 55 minutes - so challenging to keep up pace!! I stopped talking for atleast 10 mins because I was concentrating so hard. It aint easy to shut me up!
36 laps in the pool.
"Hard work beats talent when talent isnt working hard"
No comments:
Post a Comment