In October, I started walking as part of my workout. I gave into the fact that I'm getting old and old people walk to work out. (of course that's not true, walking is a good workout, but in my mind, running is better) I tried to get into it, but frankly, I'm not ready to be old, so by mid-November, my walking evolved to jogging. In December, I decided it was time to get some new shoes, so I timidly went to the running store where the running store staff intimidate the hell out of me.
The store manager is like a super runner in my mind. I see her running all over town, always at a fast pace. So, even though I consider myself fairly comfortable in most situations, I end up being the geeky kid making awkward conversation in the store. I make stupid comments like, "oh you know, I'm just a jogger... I walk mostly... wow.. you run a lot" I wouldn't want her to think that I would put myself in the same category as her by calling myself a runner, so this verbal nonsense keeps flying out of my mouth. Hell, I even felt uncomfortable getting new shoes, like I don't deserve them or something, so, I didn't want to get on the treadmill to do the foot analysis. I ended up getting new shoes, but they were the same model as my previous shoes and I didn't even know if they were good for my feet. Walking away from the store, I had stars in my eyes thinking about how I could become a runner like her.
By April, when I went to get new shoes at the running store, I was still intimidated by the workers, but I knew it was time to do the running analysis. Luckily, only the running guy was in there, not the super girl. He did the analysis and even with my mildly awkward conversation, I walked away with a great pair of shoes. In those shoes, I've been able to increase my distance and speed. I feel like I'm actually getting somewhere now.
Over the past few months, I've worn out those shoes, so last night Jason and I headed over to Potomac River Running. While Jason was trying on some shoes, a guy came up to me and started asking me some questions about running socks. I told him that I didn't work there and he said, "oh sorry! you looked so good standing there, I thought you worked here"
Me! I was mistaken for a worker in a running store! Jason can attest that I was so thrilled, the guy made my night. So this morning, even though my legs were tired from yesterday's run, we had to be at work for an early meeting, and today would have been a fine day off, I got out of bed and ran. I thought about last night at the store and realized that guy's perception of me doesn't make me a runner. Instead, I thought about the hundreds of miles I've put on each pair of my shoes over the last year. I thought about how much I've improved in speed and distance. And so, I ran hard. I didn't stop when my legs screamed to me. I didn't blink when the sweat was dripping down into my eyes. I didn't slow down when the humidity was pressing down on me. Because finally... I Am a Runner.
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