It’s always entertaining reading the mantras, team phrases, or inspirational quotes on the back of running shirts. People come up with some pretty creative statements. Last December Matt and I, along with some good friends ran the Las Vegas marathon. We thought it would be a great idea to get T-shirt made with a bright red maple leaf on the front, and a catchy slogan on the back; mine was “Built for Comfort, Not for Speed.”
It wasn’t until yesterday I actually realized what that truly meant to me. Originally, I picked that slogan because of course it was funny, but secondly I had never really been the skinny runner type; there has always been a little cushion (which I am proud of). But yesterday morning at about 5:40 am, I had an ‘aha’ moment!
On Thursdays I run sprints around the track, with plans to increase my overall speed. This was my fourth week doing 400 meter sprints; therefore… it was four dreaded repeats! Well this morning, Matt decided he would join me. Of course, I forgot to mention the sprints until we were nearly at the track. Now running 5km or more, I can out run Matt anytime, anyplace… but 400 meter sprints, that’s a totally different story.
Lap One - How is it possible that he is keeping up with me?
Lap Two - Are you kidding me, he just beat me? He’s lucky if he runs twice a week.
Lap Three - How does he make this look so easy, I am ready to puke!
Lap Four - Okay, now he’s not even trying, this is not fair!
Of course, the entire time, I was trying as hard as I could to beat Matt, my pride would just not let me give up. Meanwhile, at the end of each sprint, Matt continued to remind me that it wasn’t a race! So, this morning, after four attempts, it became crystal clear that there is no way I could beat Matt in a 400 meter sprint. I was truly built for the comfort of distance running, and not for the speed of sprinting.
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