Tonight was a nothing day since the Rec Pool was unexpectedly closed so I thought I would blog about something else. My personal dating life! How fun!
I dated/lived with a guy for 5 years during college (ended in 2004). He was a smoker. I usually would smoke with him as well. I tried to get him to quit a few times. Didn't work; lied & hid the cigarette boxes from me. I also tried to get him to run a few times; we even bought shoes together but it never went more than a block. I wasn't much of an independent back then and school really had me tied so I didn't keep it up either.
Then I started dating a guy in Oct 2005 that was incredibly in shape. I really felt awkward around him and just didn't fit with him. I remember putting on a pair of jeans in front of him and having to jump a few times and wiggle to get into them. I felt embarrassed and wondered what he thought. I knew I was gaining weight from my "desk job" but I just didn't know how much (the previous boyfriend wouldn't let me buy a scale so I never had one). So then I decided to join a gym and start running again. We broke up a few weeks after that. I kept going to the gym.
Oct 2006, I started dating a guy that wasn't overweight but didn't exercise at all. I was running races and all but he didn't seem to share the same enthusiasm for running that I did. I wasn't saying that he had to go out and run with me but just show a little interest in at least exercise would have been nice. After we broke up, I decided that the next guy I dated needed to believe in exercising in some sort of the other.
Then came Oct 2007. I met another guy and in our first email, he asked a lot of questions of running. On our first date he kept asking me more questions. I think it helped that I was in the middle of training for my first half marathon. I found out that he likes to ride his bike; in the city & even took his mountain bike (same model that I had) to a State Park after I told him about it. That winter he signed up for the Y. He started running. With me. I couldn't believe how freaking awesome that was! We even did our first race together in February in his home state. We participated in many more races over the Spring, Summer and into the Fall, even after he moved to St. Louis. He went biking beside me while I ran long runs to keep me company. It was great. We went on a weekend long organised ride from Iowa-Illinois-Wisconsin. For once I had an active boyfriend.
I will be the first to admit that men are better and faster runners than women. It's a natural, genetic fact. They have stronger muscles. And this guy proved it. Even though he stayed with the 5k (3 mile) distances, he was totally beating me in many races the more we trained. We ran a race where the women get a 3 minute head start. He finished only a minute or so behind me. One trail race, he beat me by a full 3-4 minutes!! I used the excuse that my back was tweaked but I'm not sure about that. A race during the summer, we actually finished side by side, pushing and kicking it all the way. After he moved to St. Louis, he wasn't running as much so our last race together in October, I beat him quite considerably but again, I was training for a marathon and actually, I PR'd in that event anyway so I was on a high. Unfortunately, his new job had him working long late hours so he didn't want/have the time to run.
I had hoped to really get him trained well and he could totally beat the 25 minute mark. I had faith that I could get him there. With dedication, time & my knowledge of what to do (sprint, tempo, long runs), we could have done it. Then a 20 minute goal after that! I wouldn't want him to beat me in ALL races. It would still be nice to run "with" him every now & then after all!
Well, we are no longer dating. (But by the looks of things, I just need to wait until October to meet the next guy!!) But now I have seen what it's like to be with a fellow runner and I liked it. I don't think I could date a runner that is super fast though. Or one who's really Really into running. I don't think I could deal with the pressure and the competition I would feel. But I think a runner will need to stay on the "list."
A little personal thing; Sept 2007 after attending a wedding alone, I made a bet with myself. I said that I wouldn't shave until I got a date. I was having a pity party. Luckily, only a month later, I got a date so I didn't have to wait long. I took it up again when I became single this year but just kept it with my legs only. I'm going on over a month. Right before Christmas. I don't know how much longer I can take it!! It keeps me warm but when I go to the YMCA and run on the treadmill, I'm afraid that people can see the hairs now. The hairs on the back of my legs are fine and blonde so that's what they see when I'm on the treadmill luckily. But I think this weekend, I'll shave it all off and start over again for another try. We'll see.
Tomorrow's a speed workout! I CAN DO THIS!
I dated/lived with a guy for 5 years during college (ended in 2004). He was a smoker. I usually would smoke with him as well. I tried to get him to quit a few times. Didn't work; lied & hid the cigarette boxes from me. I also tried to get him to run a few times; we even bought shoes together but it never went more than a block. I wasn't much of an independent back then and school really had me tied so I didn't keep it up either.
Then I started dating a guy in Oct 2005 that was incredibly in shape. I really felt awkward around him and just didn't fit with him. I remember putting on a pair of jeans in front of him and having to jump a few times and wiggle to get into them. I felt embarrassed and wondered what he thought. I knew I was gaining weight from my "desk job" but I just didn't know how much (the previous boyfriend wouldn't let me buy a scale so I never had one). So then I decided to join a gym and start running again. We broke up a few weeks after that. I kept going to the gym.
Oct 2006, I started dating a guy that wasn't overweight but didn't exercise at all. I was running races and all but he didn't seem to share the same enthusiasm for running that I did. I wasn't saying that he had to go out and run with me but just show a little interest in at least exercise would have been nice. After we broke up, I decided that the next guy I dated needed to believe in exercising in some sort of the other.
Then came Oct 2007. I met another guy and in our first email, he asked a lot of questions of running. On our first date he kept asking me more questions. I think it helped that I was in the middle of training for my first half marathon. I found out that he likes to ride his bike; in the city & even took his mountain bike (same model that I had) to a State Park after I told him about it. That winter he signed up for the Y. He started running. With me. I couldn't believe how freaking awesome that was! We even did our first race together in February in his home state. We participated in many more races over the Spring, Summer and into the Fall, even after he moved to St. Louis. He went biking beside me while I ran long runs to keep me company. It was great. We went on a weekend long organised ride from Iowa-Illinois-Wisconsin. For once I had an active boyfriend.
I will be the first to admit that men are better and faster runners than women. It's a natural, genetic fact. They have stronger muscles. And this guy proved it. Even though he stayed with the 5k (3 mile) distances, he was totally beating me in many races the more we trained. We ran a race where the women get a 3 minute head start. He finished only a minute or so behind me. One trail race, he beat me by a full 3-4 minutes!! I used the excuse that my back was tweaked but I'm not sure about that. A race during the summer, we actually finished side by side, pushing and kicking it all the way. After he moved to St. Louis, he wasn't running as much so our last race together in October, I beat him quite considerably but again, I was training for a marathon and actually, I PR'd in that event anyway so I was on a high. Unfortunately, his new job had him working long late hours so he didn't want/have the time to run.
I had hoped to really get him trained well and he could totally beat the 25 minute mark. I had faith that I could get him there. With dedication, time & my knowledge of what to do (sprint, tempo, long runs), we could have done it. Then a 20 minute goal after that! I wouldn't want him to beat me in ALL races. It would still be nice to run "with" him every now & then after all!
Well, we are no longer dating. (But by the looks of things, I just need to wait until October to meet the next guy!!) But now I have seen what it's like to be with a fellow runner and I liked it. I don't think I could date a runner that is super fast though. Or one who's really Really into running. I don't think I could deal with the pressure and the competition I would feel. But I think a runner will need to stay on the "list."
A little personal thing; Sept 2007 after attending a wedding alone, I made a bet with myself. I said that I wouldn't shave until I got a date. I was having a pity party. Luckily, only a month later, I got a date so I didn't have to wait long. I took it up again when I became single this year but just kept it with my legs only. I'm going on over a month. Right before Christmas. I don't know how much longer I can take it!! It keeps me warm but when I go to the YMCA and run on the treadmill, I'm afraid that people can see the hairs now. The hairs on the back of my legs are fine and blonde so that's what they see when I'm on the treadmill luckily. But I think this weekend, I'll shave it all off and start over again for another try. We'll see.
Tomorrow's a speed workout! I CAN DO THIS!
2 comments:
This post reminded me that I want to do the Skirt Chaser 5K this year. It's June 13th.
Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I was with a guy who liked to run. Would I enjoy it or would I want that time back to myself?
I'll have to put that on my calendar! It was fun (but extremely HOT race to do even at 5pm). Have you seen my post about it?
I wondered the same thing too beforehand! Luckily, we were getting off work at different times, so sometimes I would run without him at the Y. On the weekends we would usually run together but he wasn't as long distanced as me so he would stop sooner and walk back and I would just continue on home. It worked out nicely.
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