The Day Has Finally Come

The one I have dreaded and feared! Seriously.

My husband has caught me in running.

We recently both competed in a local snowshoe race and had we both been running the same length he would have beat me. I ran the 10K and he ran the 5K. It was a double loop course for the 10 K and a single loop course for the 5K. We both started at the same time and ran the same loop for the first 5K.

From the gun, never did I see him. NOT ONCE! Gone! Like shot out of a cannon! He was ahead the whole time and would have beat me by about 1-2 minutes. That is like an ETERNITY!

Now don't get me wrong, I am not mad at HIM! (well, maybe only a teensy bit!). And bless his heart, he REALLY tried to make me feel better about it saying, "well, I only had to go 5K. I didn't have anything left. I couldn't have held that pace for another 5K." OK. Fine. But, neither COULD nor DID I!

I knew this would happen eventually. I knew he would get faster and probably start to be faster than me. But, so soon? I mean really, I've been running consistently for 6-7 years. He just started to run a bit more seriously over the past year. Sure, he dabbled here and there with running for a few years before this. But, I really wouldn't call running twice a month consistent. Now, he runs about twice a week (God, I hate him!). And yes, he's in pretty decent shape considering the half-marathon he did OVER ONE MONTH AGO (now, I really hate him!). The other thing is I've been helping him! Yes, I've given him advice on his running stride and cadence. I've talked to him about core strengthening and showed him some exercises to do. I've found him training plans. I've also recently got him going on riding our old relic road bike on the trainer in the basement. Now he says stuff like, "Boy that bike riding helps. I can really feel my legs getting stronger even while I'm riding it." Whatever! This is coming from the guy who has legs that look like a chicken. One of my thighs is like equal to two of his! I am not kidding. Most girls would love to have his legs!

So, in other words, I have no one to blame but myself! I encouraged him. I helped him. Now, I have to SUCK IT UP! But really what this has done is STOKE THE FIRE. I admitted my irritation and frustration to him after the race. I then told him that "I am only saying this once. Today represented a turning point and this was never going to happen again." OMG. All you men out there, aren't you happy you're not married to me!!! Psycho, nutcase! I am more motivated than ever to really put 100% into every workout. No slacking. Train smart and with purpose.

I hope you all realize this is light-hearted and not mean-spirited in any way. I am truly proud of him. Basically, he just laughs at me when I say this stuff and acts like he really doesn't care. But, I KNOW THE TRUTH! You can just bet, he likes the current state of affairs. Probably, now that I've thrown it out there and he knows I'm irritated, he's going to work harder than ever just to keep getting that little dig on me.

So be it. An elephant never forgets! I've got work to do.