We've discussed these kinds of comments before, but I'm going to bring it up again.
This morning my oldest D and I each had a pair of running shoes under the tree. My mother asked what was special about running shoes...she assumed they had extra cushioning in the heel for protection when you landed. D and I used my stability shoes and her neutral shoes to briefly explain/demonstrate the importance of wearing the correct shoes.
When we finished, my morbidly obese father turned to my younger D (a nursing student) and said "Now explain to them how they are ruining their knees and joints and how bad it is to be a runner.". Blank stare from younger D,(who also runs for exercise), slow burn from me. But I did manage to keep my snarky replies to myself.
I love my Dad. But he is in denial regarding how negatively his weight affects his health and quality of life.
Shakedown Street
yep, I went and ran 6 today in sleet, should have heard all the comments I got for that.
I guess it would be better to sit on my ass in front of the TV and eat hickory farms.
Started-5/12, RWOL refugee,5k-24:23 (1/12/13),10K-55:37(9/15/12),HM-1:52:59(3/24/13)
Sometimes you just gotta shrug and move on! Hope you had a great xmas otherwise.
Wickedly Average
My brother in law was highly relieved that I wasn't going to run a full marathon any time soon. Seems that, according to him, the knees are OK with the half, but the full marathon will tear them up.
He also made some silly comment about running shoes being bad, and how barefoot running was the best way to protect your joints. Of course, he's never run a race in his life.
I pretty much blow it off. I listen to other runners and I listen to my body. I'll listen to my doctor. But I tend to give unsolicited advice from folks that deem themselves as know-it-alls the attention that it deserves. In one ear and out the other.
Tom (formerly known as PhotogTom)
5K - 25:16, 10K - 55:31, 15K - 1:20:55, HM - 1:54:54
It helps that I come from a running family. Instead of all those unpleasant comments, we discuss our upcoming races, the relative merits of fartleks vs interval training, and the advantage of pure distance in establishing a base. The problem we run into is when my morbidly obese brother is over. He is wickedly outnumbered and gets very defensive.
Can I come to your next family gathering?
Susan, sounds like your brother needs a little friendly coaxing into walking (easier said than done, usually).
In my case, and to be fair, most of the family is pretty supportive of my running. I mostly get positive comments from them. And as stubborn as I am, there isn't much they could do to stop me if they wanted to.
My biggest challenge was to slip out to grab morning coffee because my parents are not coffee drinkers.
I had to answer about 20 questions about coffee................as if it had just been invented and they have never heard about this popular morning routine.........
Which is precisely what I have done today. Now, I'm topping it off with a St. Peter's Cream Stout.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
levitation specialist
I probably make the same uninformed, moronic comments regarding home improvement projects or decorating rooms in a house with furniture. Not that I don't try to understand, but frankly, it isn't my thing and bores me to tears.
My family acts impressed with my running prowess(just like I pleasantly do with wallpaper patterns or color coordinated pillow shams when they talk about them). But I'm sure they really think it is a waste of time just like I think their quest is. But we don't say it.
Too bad your dad doesn't understand the same is true for his favorite pastime. Sitting is bad...for your ass!
Barking Mad To Run
You have way more patience than I do, Margo. I would've been a smart-ass and said something like "Well, gee, at least I can
SEE my knees when I'm standing up and look down..."
You probably did the right thing, just let it go, some people will just never get it. Now me, I'd probably have been thrown out of the house, lol.
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt
My BIL is worried about every disaster possibility known to man like an LNG tanker blowing up due to terrorism miles from their home. Occasionally I have the standard comment like if I worried about that I would move which makes him quiet, but it's no fun to do that every year. I would trade running comments for those on any occasion.
Skirt Runner
Sometimes it's best to just let it go. My grandmother refuses to accept that I run and keeps calling it WALKING and emphasizing the word (ie "did you have a nice WALK Kristin?") and tells me she's afraid I'm going to hurt my heart and lungs (yeah with my 11:30-12:30mm training pace I'm really in danger of that..... I've been doing intense cardio classes at the gym for 9 years and did sports as a kid). Meh. Can't please everyone.
PRs: 5K- 28:16 (5/5/13) 10K- 1:00:13 (10/27/13) 4M- 41:43 (9/7/13) 15K- 1:34:25 (8/17/13) 10M- 1:56:30 (4/6/14) HM- 2:20:16 (4/13/14) Full- 5:55:33 (11/1/15)
I started a blog about running :) Check it out if you care to
You have way more patience than I do, Margo. I would've been a smart-ass and said something like "Well, gee, at least I can SEE my knees when I'm standing up and look down..." You probably did the right thing, just let it go, some people will just never get it. Now me, I'd probably have been thrown out of the house, lol.
Ha!
Am I the only one with family members who have high/unreal expectations? My DD is constantly asking me if I've PRed, each time I race. I tell her that I cannot do it everytime, that it requires more time in training, more experience and enough rest between efforts. She then looks at me like I'm making excuses. My mother tells her friends that I run marathons which are 42 miles long. I say "No, mom, they're 42 KILOMETERS, not miles..." "Oh!" she says, sounding disappointed... Then, she forgets what I told her and makes the same mistake a week later. As for my sister, she almost took a fit when I told her I was going to Boston to have fun, to reward myself. She said "No way! You have to go there as a competitor, otherwise, what's the point? The whole family expects your best performance ever." I hate exterior pressure. I create more than enough for myself already.
No one else runs in my family (except for my SO who has started training seriously recently) and they have very little knowledge of the training and the sacrifices I have to make year round to run so many marathons. Yet, they talk about it like it is something very easy for me. It's not. Training is hard. Racing is stressful. It is not all that easy. Sometimes, when I don't PR in a race, I prefer not telling them that I just ran a race. This way, I don't have to see my failure in their eyes.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010