Running worried?
This has come in the post. Look at it! It looks all proper and racey. It's what people who run have. People who love competing with their fellow man in a sporting capacity.
I love fitness and I love exercise and I LOVE LOVE LOVE to run.
The only reason I have never entered a race before is because I hate competition.
No, you don't understand.
I HATE IT.
You should see me playing Monopoly. If you could, which you can't, because you will NEVER see me playing Monopoly. Because I can't stand any sort of competition which turns people into a nasty bastard. And let's face it- that's anything that involves deciding a winner and a loser.
I don't like measuring myself against other people, full stop. You're better than me? I feel rubbish and cross with myself. I'm better than you? I feel a bit embarrassed, and quite positive there must be some sort of mistake. Can we recheck those scores please? Oh I'm so sorry. I promise not to try as hard next time.
Now I have to run with a large group of people, who are all interested in where they finish. I am not interested in where I finish, just that I finish with my dignity intact.
So no, I am not telling you my time. It will be my little secret. And when you ask me how long it took me to complete the Harewood 10k on the 18th March 2012 I will say I ran it in twelvety seconds, which was (coincidentally!) exactly the same as everybody else.
Problem solved.
I am horrendously competitive if I think there's a chance I can win, and not at all if it's something I'm rubbish at. It's embarrassing to admit, but there it is. So, obviously, when it comes to running, competition is the furthest thing from my mind. Whenever I've run before I've been focused on raising money for charity, and the race time has been irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteThis year, my work was looking for people to run the Edinburgh marathon relay, to create a little "friendly competition" between departments. I ran it last year and would love to do it again, but I refused to sign up on the basis that I like to run at my own pace (slow) and the idea of having to get a certain time so that my team can beat another team makes me feel sick.
So, no Monopoly at Pen Do then?
Right attitude! Us mere mortals have no chance of winning, or even finishing in the top 30% of races like that. The only person worth competing with is yourself.
ReplyDelete