I have come to realize that there are some things that the "normals" will just never appreciate and or understand. They are the things that endurance athletes in particular just treat as everyday topics, occurrences and or things. What are they? Well lets see:
How about any occurrence involving bodily fluids - Spit, Snot, Urine, Poop, Sweat, etc are ALL things that people in general deal with but as endurance athletes we deal with them on a daily basis. Whether we're spitting on our friend that ride up next to us when we thought they were on the other side, possibly witnessing a runner at mile 40 oakie blow because they don't have a Kleenex or even in the worst situation have to figure out how to use a lone t-shirt shirt laying out on the road for TP. Do all these things phase us? Nope....just part of the life. If you told any of the non-endurance athlete ppl in your life, their response would be a varietal of EEWWWW's and YUCK's whereas if you bring it up around a fellow endurance athlete most likely you will either get a "Hey no problem" ( to the being spit on ) or a "Yeah, well you know last year when I was training........" story that tops whatever you were just going to talk about.
What about body aliments? - blk toe nails, heat rash, chaffing, GI distress, blisters, saddle sores/pinches. These are all like a "no fly zone" to the public in general. Whether you're married or single consider yourself lucky if your spouse/bf/gf is an endurance athlete or even better .. they aren't an athlete but still love you when you turn your body into a petri dish of cultures to be cured by some combination of NSAIDS/baby powder/ice/Vaseline/Bodyglide/scissors/zinc oxide/spit/urine and towel. Generally, if you're married your SO will tolerate most self imposed body aliments(but after while will begin to care less when you return home missing a toe :p) and if you're single you hope to god your BF/GF doesn't mind that fact that after a run in 120 degree weather you have blisters the size of a .50 cent pieces on the bottom of your feet, that they wont care that after forgetting your body glide you realize on mile 50 of your 100 mile run that the inside of your thighs now look like tomorrow butchers special or that after running a PR at your latest half marathon you feel like your intestines are being pulled out of your abdomen by some unseen forces apparently only the Aliens and Mr. Wizard can see.
The silly things! - Like......getting excited that you get to eat your body weight in food after your long brick workout, that you scour the internet for the cheapest place to purchase technical clothing, triathlon stuff or swimsuits! Like...the fact that you are still amused every time you say "fartlek run" , that you do laundry enough to provide water for a small country, that you have shoes for every phase of training but can barely find time to put your dress shoes on or that you now consider chlorine to be a cologne fragrance :)
All of the above listed things are commonplace in your typical endurance athletes world and yet are usually stumbling block when brought into conversations with people OTHER than fellow endurance athlete. The general and overwhelming response from the "normals"..."Why the heck would you do that to yourself ?" Or "Wow....*insert cricket noises*..that sounds like fun"..... and my personal favorite......."Have you done Kona?" :P
Awww...yes all the things that seperate us from the rest of the "normals" but you know what......I WOULDN'T TRADE ANY OF IT FOR A MILLON DOLLARS. I love being an endurance athlete and I will handle my saddle pinches after a 100 mile ride like a big girl. *thinking* Now if I could just find those Big Girl panties I have. :PP hee hee
And on a side note: HOLY CRAPOLA...less than 90 days till Boise!!! :)
How about any occurrence involving bodily fluids - Spit, Snot, Urine, Poop, Sweat, etc are ALL things that people in general deal with but as endurance athletes we deal with them on a daily basis. Whether we're spitting on our friend that ride up next to us when we thought they were on the other side, possibly witnessing a runner at mile 40 oakie blow because they don't have a Kleenex or even in the worst situation have to figure out how to use a lone t-shirt shirt laying out on the road for TP. Do all these things phase us? Nope....just part of the life. If you told any of the non-endurance athlete ppl in your life, their response would be a varietal of EEWWWW's and YUCK's whereas if you bring it up around a fellow endurance athlete most likely you will either get a "Hey no problem" ( to the being spit on ) or a "Yeah, well you know last year when I was training........" story that tops whatever you were just going to talk about.
What about body aliments? - blk toe nails, heat rash, chaffing, GI distress, blisters, saddle sores/pinches. These are all like a "no fly zone" to the public in general. Whether you're married or single consider yourself lucky if your spouse/bf/gf is an endurance athlete or even better .. they aren't an athlete but still love you when you turn your body into a petri dish of cultures to be cured by some combination of NSAIDS/baby powder/ice/Vaseline/Bodyglide/scissors/zinc oxide/spit/urine and towel. Generally, if you're married your SO will tolerate most self imposed body aliments(but after while will begin to care less when you return home missing a toe :p) and if you're single you hope to god your BF/GF doesn't mind that fact that after a run in 120 degree weather you have blisters the size of a .50 cent pieces on the bottom of your feet, that they wont care that after forgetting your body glide you realize on mile 50 of your 100 mile run that the inside of your thighs now look like tomorrow butchers special or that after running a PR at your latest half marathon you feel like your intestines are being pulled out of your abdomen by some unseen forces apparently only the Aliens and Mr. Wizard can see.
The silly things! - Like......getting excited that you get to eat your body weight in food after your long brick workout, that you scour the internet for the cheapest place to purchase technical clothing, triathlon stuff or swimsuits! Like...the fact that you are still amused every time you say "fartlek run" , that you do laundry enough to provide water for a small country, that you have shoes for every phase of training but can barely find time to put your dress shoes on or that you now consider chlorine to be a cologne fragrance :)
All of the above listed things are commonplace in your typical endurance athletes world and yet are usually stumbling block when brought into conversations with people OTHER than fellow endurance athlete. The general and overwhelming response from the "normals"..."Why the heck would you do that to yourself ?" Or "Wow....*insert cricket noises*..that sounds like fun"..... and my personal favorite......."Have you done Kona?" :P
Awww...yes all the things that seperate us from the rest of the "normals" but you know what......I WOULDN'T TRADE ANY OF IT FOR A MILLON DOLLARS. I love being an endurance athlete and I will handle my saddle pinches after a 100 mile ride like a big girl. *thinking* Now if I could just find those Big Girl panties I have. :PP hee hee
And on a side note: HOLY CRAPOLA...less than 90 days till Boise!!! :)
2 comments:
You mean isn't not normal to have entire conversations about bodily functions or protein supplements?
lol...great post!!! you had me snickering the entire time :)
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