I think that anyone who has spent enough time on the web is familiar with the wonders of The Oatmeal. Short of his love of cats – cats, which I hate with the fire of a thousand burning suns – I always walk away from reading an Oatmeal comic strip with either a little happier or a little more enlightened. The strip I’m about to share with you is no different.
Now, I won’t lie. After the Army Ten Miler last year, I’d basically taken an, ahem, sabbatical from running. It’s lasted, oh, almost a year.
Let’s not talk about it, ok? Okay.
But, after having spoken at the Black Girls Run! Sweat with Your Sole conference a little while ago, I realized what I missed the most about running, not only the comraderie – because the BGR! girls are absolutely darling and it was easily the most pleasant conference experience I’ve ever had in my life – and not only the banana ice cream (which may or may not make a great recovery treat for long runs), but the thinking time. The time I spent listening to audiobooks as I ran. The time to myself.
In short, I’m posting this comic more so for myself than for you, in hopes that I’ll skip the weights today and hit the park for a run.
courtesy: The Oatmeal
The strip goes on for a few more parts, all of which you should check out. I laughed – heartily – at the “I run so I can eat!” mantra, because that’s the one thing that freaked me out about running long distances. That binge-like fury with which I ate after a 16-mile run (my longest to date) felt too much like a binge fro my old binge eating days, and after I finished my Army Ten Miler… I had to hang it up… until I learned how to fix what I broke.
Long distance runners, go check out the strip and let me know what you think.
And then let me know what your fueling techniques are. Because, while he talks about running making him feel like he’s defeated the kraken… I certainly felt like long-distance running turned my appetite into the kraken. Whew.