As much as I love running and nearly everything about it, I do also have some running peeves. What are they, you say? Well, thanks for asking!
People Who Come to a Dead Stop on the Pad at the Finish
I know that my brain stops working completely when my body is working hard enough to race. But really people, can you be that stupid? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve nearly plowed into the racer in front of me because they went from 60 to zero in the space of half a second on the timing mat. Here’s my lovely finish line photo from The Great Race last fall.
If you could hear that, I’m saying, it’s “DON’T. STO-OP!”
Hello? Like 5000 people moving quickly behind us!
I was mad at myself afterward for zigging around that guy when I should have just slammed into him. He had it coming.
Walkers Who Start a 5K with the Runners
On the opposite end of the race, we have the walkers you have to zig around at the start. Same zig-zaggy problem as above, only just as you’re trying to get in a groove. Line up where you’re supposed to, walkers!
Heat
I come from a long line of short, sweaty, German alcoholics (Oops! I always take that a step too far!), so heat is my running Kryptonite. It totally saps me. I would much rather run in 15-degrees than in temps of 65+. I sort of get used to it in the summer, but it always sucks. I cannot believe that anyone south of the Mason-Dixon line runs. Ever.
Post-Race Belly Aches
Racing often gives me terrible stomach cramps that start within the hour of my race finish. The very worst time I got them was after I completed my first 10K – the one where I’d never run further than five miles before. I thought I was going to die, I felt so awful. It seems most likely to occur when I’m racing a new, longer distance – or when it’s just been a while since I’ve raced, as was the case after the 5K this Mother’s Day. I’ve tried different combinations of pre-race and post-race food, but if it’s strictly a dietary thing, I haven’t yet figured it out for certain. The apple cider vinegar water seemed to help after my most recent 5K.
Being Injured
Pretty self-explanatory. I hated feeling like I was losing fitness (or at best, staying the same) while I was supposed to be improving. I really hated having to bail on the Pittsburgh half. But most of all I just hated not being able to go for a run for the fun of it.
Ugly Feet
Confession: I’m actually kind of proud of my ugly feet. Looking at them reminds me that I did something good.
I’m not badass enough to actually get a black toenail or to have one fall off. But this second toe did turn a bit blue by the time I ran my half marathon last fall. What was weirder was that I grew a new toenail, in spite of the fact that the nail hadn’t fallen off. It just grew over the old one. That line there in the middle is nail polish I couldn’t get out of the rough edge of the new nail. It’s almost completely grown out now. I’m just a little sad about it.
My new and old toenails (over sharing here?)
BUT, I hope other people (or at least non-runners) aren’t looking at my ugly feet too closely.
My Hair
I don’t have great hair, but most of the time, I’m okay with it. It’s not my friend when running, though.
Most of my pals have long hair and sport a cute ponytail or a headband on the run. And their hair tends to look roughly the same at the end of the run as it did at the beginning. I don’t have enough hair for a ponytail – and can’t grow enough for one. But my hair is long on top, so I have to do something to keep my sweaty bangs out of my eyes. A hat is the simplest solution, but it makes me hot in the warmer temps. Last year, I decided to run a 10K sans hat – just clipped my bangs away from my face. All was well until I saw my reflection in a car window right after the race. I looked like something like this:
Great Scott!
I had been smiling because I was pleased with myself for running 10K for the first time in just over an hour. Then I saw myself and took on roughly the same expression as Doc there.
But Wait! There’s More!
There are a bunch of other little things that aren’t my favorites. I don’t like how sweaty I get when I run (can you say “perimenopause’? I sweat while styling my hair.). I don’t like treadmills. I hate ice in the winter (that forces me on said treadmills). But I think the rest of my grievances are common to most runners and not worth covering in depth. (Oh, and I hate myself when I forget my Garmin. I want credit for Every. Step.)
Also – as should be obvious – the good by far outweighs the bad. I’ll take a bad, hot, blistered-&-bruised-toe run with crazy hair any day over no run at all.
What are your least favorite running-related things?
Half-Wit Mother Runner 
I never did understand why the walkers were allowed to start the race at the same time as the runners. It makes no sense to me because they are totally in the way.