I don't belong here

Hi, I'm really a runner, I don't belong in this gym

Hi, I'm a runner,

Hey, I'm a runner so I'm not like you,

Oh I'm sorry, I don't know the rules here at the gym because I'm really a runner and don't go to gyms,

No I don't need help with that, I'm really a runner so I won't be coming here much longer,

I know I've been here everyday since Saturday but I still don't belong here. You see I'm a runner but can't run right now because I'm hurt.

Oh don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm "better" than you, it's just that I'm different. You see, I'm a runner and I don't go to gyms like you do. You come to these places to see and be seen and maybe lift something repeatedly. I go to that place called "outside" and run by myself (yes that means with no one else around) to get away from people for awhile. My goal is to be in motion for hours at a time. I don't do "sets" or "reps", I do miles. I don't rest in between them either. I know, I know, this is hard to understand and I don't expect you to. I just want you to realize that I don't fit in here so please stay away from me. BTW, your lipstick and eyeshadow are smudged so you better go fix it.

Am I being too cruel? Am I stereotyping? Am I just getting old and cranky?

Actually I think I'm just proud of being a runner and want to make sure everyone knows it. I put a lot of my self-identification on my running. It's more than what I do, it's what I am. Maybe I do this because for many years I wasn't a runner and I worked very hard to get to where I am now. When you work that hard at something you want people to recognize it and, if not respect it, at least be aware that it's important to you.

This is not to say that running envelopes my entire world and it's all I do and talk about. I do lots of other things like......, Um, ..... well I sometimes....... Uhhh...... well it's not like I plan my whole week around running, Oh wait, I do kinda do that but a long run must be planned for you know! Sometimes I surf the Internet, OK so usually I'm reading running websites but sometimes I click on non-running sites by mistake so that counts.

My point with all this is only to get it out of my system. I've had all these thoughts lately while I'm walking into the gym and needed to put them down in pixels so they would stop swirling in my head. Now that I've said it, I feel better.

Then there's this just for fun!



Thanks for listening