Today, I overheard a girl in a class
today talking about running her first 5k. I congratulated her and got
chatting about running, and mentioned that I hope to do a 5k one of
these days. And then she was like....oh, yeah, I have asthma and I
couldn't breathe but you know, it was easy, I just kept moving, blah
blah blah, running just comes easily to me I guess, aren't I awesome,
etc. etc. etc.
That's when I realized she was a Sneaky
Bitch. You know the type...the ones who make all your hard work and
agony seem so STUPID and pointless because they just decide one day
to do something, and it works for THEM, and they don't understand
that not everyone can do that thing easily. They don't give a crap
their words are like a knife in your back.
And today, it's just the final straw
for me, because I've spent the better part of the past two years
trying to be a runner. I went to a running clinic to learn proper
form (ball impact, heel glance...any coach that ever told you to “dig
in those heels” while running was a dumbass and likely causing you
injury). I'd get so close to completing a full mile and fall short,
because my lungs were going to explode. I've fallen off treadmills,
nay, FLEW off a treadmill, because I am a horrible spaz. I've
sprained the same ankle twice, very badly, again on the spaz bit. I
had plantar fasciitis in both feet when I started jogging and only
started jogging consistently because I realized running with proper
form moved the impact zone off my injured tendons AND that the area
was strengthening every time I jogged and felt immensely better, both
localized, and as I lost weight, overall. I finally (just recently)
reached the place where I can jog a whole mile without stopping to
walk or take breathers.
But EVERY time I start getting a good
routine going, I get hurt again, like today. Something in my hip
flexor has been bothering me for a few weeks and while I've been
trying to do stuff to fix it, and strengthen the area, today it
“snapped” about 2 minutes into a good brisk run and I had to stop
because my leg basically gave out from under me. It hurts like crazy
to even walk right now and I am PISSED, because once again, my body
is betraying me when all I've done is try to make it better, faster,
stronger, healthier, and meanwhile there are SNEAKY BITCHES out there
running 5k's without even TRYING.
It's not like I'm a nutter fanatic
trying to run marathons (you know who YOU are...nutters!) and doing
crazy routines. I'm just trying to jog a couple times a week as part
of an overall cardio and resistance training fitness plan AND I CAN'T
EFFING DO IT without getting hurt, and suffering, and experiencing
delays of every imaginable sort.
Why are there always people who seem to
be able to just fall into the thing we are bleeding and sweating our
butts off to be able to do? Like that writer who decided one day to
pen a totally ridiculous, cheesy, lame-ass knock-off book and it
became an overnight sensation, selling a hundred bazillion jillion
copies and inciting fan fiction of the fan fiction (complete with
merchandising) to pop up faster than maggots on a cow carcass (Yeah,
EL James, talking about you here, and a few other individuals who
shall not be named, we all know who you are even if you don't
acknowlege it) while there are thousands of writers all over the
world who have been slaving away over brilliant, original, FABULOUS
ideas for decades, hundreds of decades even (little bit exaggatory)
and can barely sell a thing, much less get a contract.
As if that weren't bad enough,
inevitably these “blessed” people like to oh-so-innocently rub
our faces in their success...“Oh, I didn't need painkillers for the
dentist or childbirth!” (True story...I call Alien Species on that
particular sneaky bitch, but whatever). “I ran a 5k while having an
asthma attack, and won first place!” (Ok, exaggeration, but
whatever, my hip effing hurts, I'm allowed.) “I'm now going to
share the secrets of my success with you all and show how you, too,
can be an overnight writing sensation like me via pompous windbaggy
douchery webcasts and books I've written on the subject which you
should buy so I can make more money, wheee!” (Not really an
exaggeration on that last bit, sadly)
Here's the thing. There are always
going to be people who seem to be really good at something or fall
into a bit of luck. And if YOU are one of those people, don't be an
effing jerk about it. Don't pretend you somehow magically have all
the secrets of the universe at your disposal. Don't pretend you're an
expert just because you were in the right place at the right time.
Don't knock other people's efforts, or belittle their hard work and
talent, and don't offer to “help” them or give advice with a
supercilious smirk or self-righteous attitude. Be genuine, and
humble, and grateful, and don't be a sneaky little bitch, ok? The
world does NOT need more of those people.
For the rest of us, I guess all we can
do is dust ourselves off, take an ibuprofen, and get the eff back to
work. Here's a quote to help us with that~
