Hi y'all,
Two weeks since I last updated you on my journey to marathon finish line. What's been up? Well to begin with I entered the final weeks of the academic year before summer and for a teacher that means the crazy van just rolled into town. Everybody is stressed out, tired and ready to for that summer holiday to start. With just 3 weeks left and a growing stack of term papers, exams, graduations and other stuff to deal with...it's crazy time in crazy ville. So what's a girl to do? Try to maintain your calm and taking each day as it comes along, roll with the punches and just breathe through it. Easier said then done when you are at the end of your rope and dangling above a cliff with a mile drop. But I try.
To keep my sanity I run, you've figured that out by now and honestly last week was a good one runningwise and it ended with me running my Half Blood Prince Half marathon in 2 hours and 29 minutes. My third half marathon and I felt surprisingly good. Wasn't too tired, felt like I could run some more and most important of all: I had fun. This half marathon was a virtual one created by my virtual running club: Hogwarts Running Club. What does it mean to run a virtual race? Basically you buy the shirt and the medal and the money from that is divided between several charities. After that it is all up to you to actually run the race and actually earn your bling. This is when your runner's moral becomes a true thing. AS someone so eloquently reminded me: SO....you buy the medal and that means you can fake running it right? Well yes dear....you could but just the mere thought you just voiced says everything about you and nothing about me. You do realize it is quite simple to fake running an entire scheduled marathon by jumping onto the course, off of it and back onto it and receiving a medal for it too don't you? You might even end up on some of the photographers pictures along the race course.
Yes you can fake run everything. You can show off medals for runs you didn't actually run. But let me ask you this: WHY WOULD YOU??? So ....yes it is a bit geeky and weird maybe even to some to pin a bib on your chest and run a race that maybe only you are running at your time and place...remember this though: as I was running my half marathon to actually OWN each and every piece of that medal, so was one of my fellow snakes all the way over in the USA. And that is just awesome. To me running those virtual races is a fun way to up my mileage and get some bling for it too AND help make the world a better place all at the same time.
Hmmmm reading what I just wrote I see that I'm bothered with some of the things people tell me lately. Buying your bling is just one of them. The other thing that sincerely annoyed me was when someone told me: waaaiiit so everybody get's that medal at the end of the race? Not just the top 3? YES!! We all get them and let me tell you something: we are ALL runner's. Some might be fast, others less so but we all ran the darn distance! Could you be a little more respectful please? If it were so easy then why on earth aren't you running?
Last thing that has been bothering me lately is the difference between men and women when it comes to talking about their races. Men don't refer to themselves as joggers, men do never belittle their accomplishments when it comes down to the time they clocked.Women however that is a completely different story. Women post their races and immediately start explaining why they do not think of themselves as runners. They focus on all the things that really do not matter. They talk about their body weight (often combined with a fixed set of negative self imagery attached to it), they tell the world that they are totally not fast and that they are joggers more then they are runners, they find a reason to not be proud. GIRLS!! Wake up! You run simply because you put one foot in front of the other at a pace that is slightly faster then walking. You know what?/ There will always be a faster runner, a leaner runner, a taller one and a smaller one and a bigger one. WHO CARES! Did you do something that made you smile? Did you make an effort to accomplish something you never thought you could? If so then you have every right to show your medal, to boast in your glory and to celebrate what you have done. Because what ever it was: it was a huge thing for you!
For me these past two weeks were about accomplishing goals and allowing myself to be proud of them. If anything I hope this blogpost inspires women and girls all over the world to just be proud of what you have accomplished without the comparison to the rest of the world. You are trying to be the best version of you. That is the only thing that matters!
That's it for now, until we read again,
Love, Marlies
Two weeks since I last updated you on my journey to marathon finish line. What's been up? Well to begin with I entered the final weeks of the academic year before summer and for a teacher that means the crazy van just rolled into town. Everybody is stressed out, tired and ready to for that summer holiday to start. With just 3 weeks left and a growing stack of term papers, exams, graduations and other stuff to deal with...it's crazy time in crazy ville. So what's a girl to do? Try to maintain your calm and taking each day as it comes along, roll with the punches and just breathe through it. Easier said then done when you are at the end of your rope and dangling above a cliff with a mile drop. But I try.
To keep my sanity I run, you've figured that out by now and honestly last week was a good one runningwise and it ended with me running my Half Blood Prince Half marathon in 2 hours and 29 minutes. My third half marathon and I felt surprisingly good. Wasn't too tired, felt like I could run some more and most important of all: I had fun. This half marathon was a virtual one created by my virtual running club: Hogwarts Running Club. What does it mean to run a virtual race? Basically you buy the shirt and the medal and the money from that is divided between several charities. After that it is all up to you to actually run the race and actually earn your bling. This is when your runner's moral becomes a true thing. AS someone so eloquently reminded me: SO....you buy the medal and that means you can fake running it right? Well yes dear....you could but just the mere thought you just voiced says everything about you and nothing about me. You do realize it is quite simple to fake running an entire scheduled marathon by jumping onto the course, off of it and back onto it and receiving a medal for it too don't you? You might even end up on some of the photographers pictures along the race course.
Yes you can fake run everything. You can show off medals for runs you didn't actually run. But let me ask you this: WHY WOULD YOU??? So ....yes it is a bit geeky and weird maybe even to some to pin a bib on your chest and run a race that maybe only you are running at your time and place...remember this though: as I was running my half marathon to actually OWN each and every piece of that medal, so was one of my fellow snakes all the way over in the USA. And that is just awesome. To me running those virtual races is a fun way to up my mileage and get some bling for it too AND help make the world a better place all at the same time.
Hmmmm reading what I just wrote I see that I'm bothered with some of the things people tell me lately. Buying your bling is just one of them. The other thing that sincerely annoyed me was when someone told me: waaaiiit so everybody get's that medal at the end of the race? Not just the top 3? YES!! We all get them and let me tell you something: we are ALL runner's. Some might be fast, others less so but we all ran the darn distance! Could you be a little more respectful please? If it were so easy then why on earth aren't you running?
Last thing that has been bothering me lately is the difference between men and women when it comes to talking about their races. Men don't refer to themselves as joggers, men do never belittle their accomplishments when it comes down to the time they clocked.Women however that is a completely different story. Women post their races and immediately start explaining why they do not think of themselves as runners. They focus on all the things that really do not matter. They talk about their body weight (often combined with a fixed set of negative self imagery attached to it), they tell the world that they are totally not fast and that they are joggers more then they are runners, they find a reason to not be proud. GIRLS!! Wake up! You run simply because you put one foot in front of the other at a pace that is slightly faster then walking. You know what?/ There will always be a faster runner, a leaner runner, a taller one and a smaller one and a bigger one. WHO CARES! Did you do something that made you smile? Did you make an effort to accomplish something you never thought you could? If so then you have every right to show your medal, to boast in your glory and to celebrate what you have done. Because what ever it was: it was a huge thing for you!
For me these past two weeks were about accomplishing goals and allowing myself to be proud of them. If anything I hope this blogpost inspires women and girls all over the world to just be proud of what you have accomplished without the comparison to the rest of the world. You are trying to be the best version of you. That is the only thing that matters!
That's it for now, until we read again,
Love, Marlies
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