I've Got Friends in Low Places

Marathon Training Week 9 - Day 4

Thursday is the worst day of the week....Let Jillian Michaels make you cry day.

I was super excited for the butt whippin'....and talking about butt whippins'... I'm gonna give Randee one for not telling me I was wearing half my protein bar on my upper lip when she took this picture!

Randee and Jillian are having a love affair, I have no idea what this look is all about.

It was hot.  Horrible.  Horrendous.  But the best part...DONE SON! 

In a moment of insanity I ordered this from Amazon....

So now I get to spend tomorrow morning with Jillian again.  She just looks evil on that cover staring at me with that "I'm gonna hurt you" smile.

Today I have running buddies on my mind.  You all know mine.  I make fun of them often on this blog.  I love them to death and would probably not run one single mile without them pushing me along.

Just to remind you...we have Little Brittany, Raging Randee, Ms. Thang Talia, and Moi.

I have been deep in thought about the relationship you build with those you run with.  Especially in the middle of marathon training, you spend a lot of hours together.  You sweat together.  You bitch and moan together.  You share that runner's high together.  You talk about poop together.  You find your friend leaves in the woods to take care of business.  It's a very intimate relationship.  I'm guessing non-runners find it very hard to understand.

How many of your sober non-running friends are doing this?

How many of your non-running friends are getting Starbucks at 5:00am on a Sunday morning instead of sleeping in?

How many of your non-running friends wear knee high socks and short sorts?

How many of your non-running friends will roll in the mud with you?

How many of your non-running friends will watch the sun rise with you on Sunday  morning?

How many of your non-running friends will not wanna slap you when you whine about losing yet another toenail?

How many of your non-running friends will let you take 100,000,000 pictures of them with no makeup, unfixed hair and sweating like no tomorrow?

There is a special bond between runners. I follow many running blogs and several of the writers feel like friends now.  You have a special connection just because you run.  We are all runners.  It doesn't matter the age, occupation, married, single, kids, no kids....the common thread is that we run.  Some run much faster...some (yours truly) run slower.  What matters is that we understand the need to run.  We understand the joy of waking up at insane hours to get our run in.  We understand the need for yet another pair of running shoes.

Pounding the pavement, mile after mile, leads to a lot of talking.  Sweating together breaks down barriers.  You're honest.  You talk about things you never thought you would.  You might pass gas.  You might have to poop.  You might need to vomit.  There is no judging.  You just do what you have to do to finish the run.  Then over coffee you chat some more, as you enjoy your runner's high of knowing you completed what you started.  Then you repeat this tradition week after week.

This does not mean you don't still love all your non-running friends.

You gotta have someone to do this with....

and this....

and this!

The moral to this story....I'm long winded!

No really.  The moral is I love my running buddies.  I love my non-running friends.  The things we do together are just different.  The things we talk about might be different...unless they want to talk about my bowel movements and missing toenails.
Now, that's enough of that.  Get back to enjoying your Thrilling Thursday!