True Life: I’m Married to a Runner

It’s 5AM on Saturday, you roll over to discover nothing but a dent in the pillow next to you, do you know where your spouse is?

If they’re a runner you do!

Instead of keeping you warm in bed, they’re deep in a routine of bathroom breaks, chugging water and licking peanut butter from a spoon. All leading up to that inevitable moment, when they step out the door rub their hands together noting the chilly air and start to run anyways.

By the time you’re rubbing the sleepers from your eyes, they’re bounding through the door ready to tell you all about their miles while dripping sweat around the kitchen floor.

Wedded Blisters

It’s not quite so glamorous as tiaras and ballgowns on Princess Diaries or as abrupt as a quickie among the medical supplies on Grey’s Anatomy, marriage is the best unscripted reality show…at least it is when you tie the knot with your best friend.

Today marks 9 years of marriage and 13 1/2 years together, which is effectively a 1/3 of our lives.

I continue to feel like the girl who tossed a penny in to a fountain with a big wish and turned around to see it come to life. To have found someone who makes me a better person, who is so kind, who looks better with age and most importantly who supports  my neurotic need to run.

Instead of getting all deep, sentimental and mushy today, I’m going to follow David’s preferred method of showing love…silly.

You might be married to a runner if…

• Your laundry room looks like a running store threw up
• Your hallway closet is littered with various forms of old, new, clean and dirty running shoes
• You’ve been forced to look at blisters, chafing and other unfortunate skin issues
• Friday nights have slowly gotten earlier and earlier to match weekend long runs
• Vacations are dictated by races
• You don’t even like running, but have decided it’s more fun than spectating so you will
• When looking for places to live, you consider the proximity to trails or well lit sidewalks
• You’re used to statements like “yup I’ll have dessert, I’ll just add a couple miles to my run tomorrow“
• And you know they mean it
• Finding bags of ice in your tub is doesn’t make you think someone is about to borrow some organs
• You can’t quite comprehend why we get up to run again the next day after telling you how awful it was
• Bizarre words like fartlek are used enough to not  make you giggle repeatedly
• If you choose to run, when they can’t it’s going to crush their spirit
• If you sign up for a race, it better include them to avoid a major meltdown
• You’ve done the nail biting of standing under an arc that says finish and wondering will it be smiles or tears
• Weekends are filled with LSD…and not the party all night kind, the go to bed early for a Long Slow Distance run kind

Is It Better with a Runner?

Maybe you’re also a runner, maybe you’re not.

I’m usually asked almost immediately by new friends if David runs. There’s an assumption that life must be better if you’re married to another runner. I’d say there are pro’s and con’s.

For instance, David is naturally athletic and basically better at me in everything except writing, reading and photography. Yes he even grows hair faster and could survive on less food. SOOOOO for a lot of years, he ran occasionally, but mostly lifted. This gave me a great random running partner, but I never felt any sort of competition.

Now he’s still not much more consistent, but he’s always faster than me. 10 training runs and he’s at the start line, happy to run along side me, but could very well leave me in his dust though I’ve been running consistently for 15 years.

On the flip side because he’s active, he gets my bizarre life choices. Doesn’t question the random things coming out of the blender, the cabinet of powders, the plethora of highly necessary running shoes and the time required to enjoy it all.

So whether you’re both putting in the sweaty miles together or doing your own thing…be glad you’ve got a runner by your side per the reasons to marry a runner that I shared for Valentine’s Day >>

Do you have any any funny tales of being in a running relationship?

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