On I went, out of the wood, passing the man leading without knowing I was going to do so. Flip-flap, flip-flap, jog-trot, jog-trot, curnchslap-crunchslap, across the middle of a broad field again, rhythmically running in my greyhound effortless fashion, knowing I had won the race though it wasn't half over, won it if I wanted it, could go on for ten or fifteen or twenty miles if I had to and drop dead at the finish of it, which would be the same, in the end, as living an honest life like the governor wanted me to. -Alan Sillitoe, "Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner"

Friday, September 3, 2010

Unsolicited advice from me to you.

American Apparel does
inappropriate like nobody's business.
With some time off from running to think about, well, running, I wanted to share my insights with you.  Here are two pieces of advice for you on running, based on my experience.  My sister touched on some of this yesterday, too.
  1. Wear sunscreen.  I can't say this enough.  Especially if you're a woman.  Month after month, I open up my favorite running publications and see a picture of a gorgeous, lithe, beautiful runner in her late 30s/early 40s.  And then I read in the accompanying article that she's actually in her 20s.  Wear sunscreen, especially around the eyes.
  2. Check yourself in the rear-view mirror before you head outside.  I have no problem with cellulite; this is not a sizeist rant.  I just want you to make sure that what you're showing off is exactly what you think you're showing off and that it is what you want to be showing off.  The super-short shorts that look adorable in the front?  Well, I might be inadvertently seeing the bottoms of your cheeks (not the face kind - also, how do you sit on the subway in those?).  And this advice is gender neutral: your testicles may well be an unwanted side effect of those super short shorts.  Especially when you're stretching, sad but true.
Now.  Something else.

Yesterday, first thing when I woke up, I was greeted with an email telling me that one of my favorite internet runners had given me an internet award.  Bizarrely and miraculously, this happened AGAIN from ANOTHER one of my favorite internet runners last thing before I went to bed.  Two awards!  One day!!  To make it even crazier, another one of my favorite internet runners, favorite midwesterners (at least now), and favorite vegetarians gave me the same award again this morning.  I'm kind of awed, actually.

The good news: I'm totally flattered.
The bad news: I am where chain letters/memes/email forwards go to die.

I will definitely participate in rule #3: thank the people who gave it to me.  Mrs. Duffy, the Dutch Silly Girl, and M are awesome, dedicated, talented athletes (with lives outside of running, too!) and I love reading about their training.
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3 comments:

  1. Silly Girl RunningFri Sep 03, 08:19:00 AM EDT

    You're welcome! ;) And next time I head out for a run, I will check the old behind. ;) Just to make sure that the skirt is really what they are honking for. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownFri Sep 03, 06:39:00 PM EDT

    I've got nothing after that. Seriously. Honk away.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ShelbyMon Sep 06, 11:41:00 PM EDT

    I see a slew of those #2 people at the gym. Girls in the shortest shorts even and then its all cheek in the back.. I'm thinking "how is that comfortable??"

    This post made me laugh.

    Congrats on the 3 awards. What a G!

    ReplyDelete

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