The Others

Piggy backing on my last post about the support crews...I'm highlighting the "support crew" that actually gets you out on those runs. You know the ones, the friends that are still running while you have taken a sabbatical to sit on the sofa and eat potato chips. They chirp excitedly about their PR (personal record) and how beautiful their morning jog was. They post glamorous selfies on Facebook for you to peruse as you slump in your chair and reflect on just how long it has been since you went for a run...3 weeks? 4? Who knows at this point, but somehow these friends and their perky attitude draw you out of that running hibernation and inspire you.

Or in my case, encourage me to watch a movie with a bag of chocolate chips. I have zero want to run, it is like a disease has taken hold of my brain and even thinking about running has a backfire result of LESS running! That is a talent by the way...to run less than not running at all.

But then there are the back-to-the-gym friends that had been your sofa allies only now to have fallen victim to the inspirational stories about running they saw online. These "supporters" are the worse. These people turn on you and while they were the buddies you called to have drinks on the patio at 3:00 with hot wings and talk about everything BUT running, they now tell you how great it is to be back running or working out and try to encourage you to get off your flabby butt and join them. My eyes can't help but glaze over with these people.

And then there is that one supporter that knows just how to get to you. For me, that person is my husband and coach. He has silently let me take a break, work on my health issues and become a lazy wad of snotty Kleenex. Then out of no where, he blows the dust off my treadmill and walks for 40 mins. This may seem like nothing to most of you, but my ultra runner hubby could be running outside in the fall leaves enjoying the crisp air...but he isn't, he is WALKING in the stuffy house on the treadmill...and he hates the treadmill. So what is this all about? Subtlety. With a simple walk, he guilt tripped me into putting my running shoes on.

He didn't say a word. He simply walked for 40mins. By the time he was done, I had my running shoes on and was prepared to spread my butter like body on the treadmill. I didn't have any grand ideas, I too was just going to walk. Walking I could handle. Walking was a first step.

This walking exbidition was followed up by a talk last night where I ventured to say I might want to go for a run in the morning. Our conversation went as follows:

Coach: "Will you run before you take our son to school or after?"

Me: "After, I can't get up early enough to run before."

Coach: "Will you dress in running clothes to do the school drop off?"

Me: "I see what you are doing here...yes, I will dress in running clothes."

Coach: "Where will you run to?"

Me: "I'm loosing interest in this run."

Coach: "Well talking about it is a start. Maybe it will happen tomorrow, maybe another day."

He is a clever man. A very clever man.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com

Running a Runner

There are no excuses, I STILL am not running.  I have had one of THE busiest event seasons EVER, but still, I know better than to say 'I just couldn't make the time', we can always make the time, we choose not to.

Anyway, believe it or not, today's blog isn't going to be about me complaining about running (or not running), but as a suggestion from my sister-in-law Liliana...and to distract you from the fact that I continue to avoid running, I will be writing about the support a runner needs. We have been supporting our runner husbands for years and as we take up running ourselves, we see the support that comes in to help us.

A runner in training requires massive support from those around them. Not only does the running  itself take as much time as a second job, but there is the emotional support a runner needs. There are  the highs that require an excited response of "oh wow honey that is so great you love your new running socks that much!" and the lows "honey you are not a complete failure in life because you have an injury". Each high and each low are dense with meaning for the runner and supporters, it requires the entire family to rally behind the runner. Even our small children have a part to play, they make signs for races and excitedly quiz their parent about the distance ran and what they saw on the run.

It doesn't stop there though. There are the middle of the night alarms that rouse the runner...and wake you up too. There is the constant lack of food in the house as the runner eats anything and everything that isn't nailed down and then there is the laundry. Running clothes require special drying being made out of synthetic materials so the house is constantly draped in stinky sweat laden clothing or clean drying clothes draped over every last piece of furniture. Usually is is a combination of both. I have actually considered buying a clothing store hanging rack for the house.

Finally there is the race itself. Races always start at the butt crack so the runner can get a good distance down the course in the cool of the night, but this means the support crew is cold...in the dark...and miserable as they send their runner off with cheers. Is it back to bed for the family while the runner runs? Hell no! We have a job to do! Now we must track our runner and camp out at specific spots with a bag of necessities...changes of clothing, food and of course to be a catcher as your runner decides they only need to shed a jacket or other layers. The catcher has to be one of the most demeaning of jobs as you find yourself mid way through your cheer of "you're doing great!" only to catch a mouth full of sweaty clothing.

We have even taken family trips entirely built around a race, we have spent countless hours discussing running strategies, goals and injuries, we have taken on the "sport of running" with our runners without glory or even much thanks, so you might wonder why a family wouldn't simply put their foot down and say NO to this ridiculousness. The truth is, there is nothing like the feeling of waiting at the finish line, anticipation and adrenaline pulsing through your own veins,  packed in next to all the other supporters sharing stories, there is a real sense of community felt here. Then finally seeing your runner pushing their limits and cross the finish line; there are always tears. To be there and witness the journey of willpower and perseverance is truly remarkable. Our children run out to finish the last steps of the race along side their parent, beaming with pride, and you welcome those sweat soaked hugs of joy...or sometimes disappointment when a race doesn't go well. Suddenly it is clear that the family has been a team, a lesson that can't be articulated as clearly as felt at a moment like this and it can choke up even the hardest of hearts.

So today we say CHEERS to the support crews, for every runner, no matter how big or small the race, needs them. Thank you to all of our family and friends that listen to our boring stories, are there at races, hold our hands when we cry through self doubt and all of you that read this blog.

-Cheers from the Vivác Winery Family!
www.VivacWinery.com