Misery Loves Company: An excerpt from my next book

High Desert Half Marathon

Here is another sneak peek from my current writing project. This book has a different focus than my previous works. It’s coming together and on schedule to be released shortly after the beginning of 2015, just in time to get everyone excited about the racing season – OR NOT if that isn’t your thing.

This excerpt is from the "Misery Loves Company Lesson."

When I adopted the habit of running I also began talking about it like a fisherman talks about his latest catch or a Monday morning quarterback talks about the Super Bowl. Running had added a new dimension to my life and enthusiasm for all the new things I was learning spewed forth. I had no idea that Nike shoes were narrow in the toe or that there were so many other options with which to be shod. I shared this knowledge with my friends.  I learned the importance of hydration for myself and began prescribing fluids for every complaint my friends and family shared with me.  I began requesting running gear and sports watches for my birthday and Mother’s Day with long explanations of the merits of different name brands and styles. I now know that I was much more interested in my new adventure than were my friends.
The only people who truly want to hear you discuss your running adventures are other runners and they mostly listen politely so they can have a turn to share their adventures, too.  Nobody else cares. They don’t care about your running shoes or your favorite sports bra.  They don’t want to know which sunglasses fog and which do not.  They are not interested in your nagging Achilles tendon or your stretching routine, your newfound relationship with ice and ibuprofen, or what dead animals you saw on your morning run. Many assume that you are running your way to a hip or knee replacement and they think that is stupid. In fact, most non-runners are convinced that runners are crazy.  Maybe we are. They don’t run and they don’t want to hear about your running passion – until they begin to run.
A new runner will welcome your wealth of knowledge and empathize with your aching hamstrings.  A new runner will ask where to buy shoes and how far you ran this week. They won’t ask why you run, because they understand that it is different for every runner and often the answer is many faceted.  They don’t care why you run, new runners are simply glad to have a comrade’.  Oh, and they will talk to you all day about running.

What did I learn from the Misery Loves Company Lesson?

Our painful experiences are most valuable to those enduring similar hardships by allowing us to show true empathy. We really do understand what they are going through and they have confidence that our sympathies are genuine...

You can read the rest of this essay when The Hard Run: Painful Lessons from a Running Granny comes out in January.  The book is available for pre-sale at a reduced price on Etsy.

Happy Running!