My DH thinks I wbu, do you agree? People interrupting me whilst out running...

[Livingtothefull]

I know I am being a bit precious but here goes…

I live in an area which has a fair few tourists, this morning I was out for a run. There is one spot in the middle of the route where I have to run up a hill, I choose it purposely as it is v challenging to do.

I was running up the hill, just looking straight ahead and trying to focus and get up there. Then a couple approached me from the side & tried to ask me the way to somewhere (I think) but I just blanked them as I didn't want to stop and couldn't talk while running, not even to say 'Sorry can't stop'.

I did feel rude but then I thought, why ask a runner for directions when there are plenty of other people to ask? It was not an isolated spot, there were literally dozens of other people walking up & down the street. They did not look distressed, if I had thought there was any kind of emergency I would have stopped & helped….but I heard them giggling in amazement at my rudeness after I blanked them & ran past.

This has happened once before & I did the same thing. I told DH about it and he said they probably asked me because they assumed I was local. He thought I was rude and should have stopped, I said they should have known better than to try to interrupt a runner for a non-emergency. We had a bit of an argument about it & I said that they would never have done it if I had been a man, as they would have then assumed I was a 'serious athlete'.

WIBU? This is a genuine question.

I haven't ploughed through 12 pages of this but am flabbergasted at op's quasi-religious attitude to running. It's like people with OCD who have to clean the whole house every day and if they're interrupted they have to start again.
Would you stop running if you had a heart attack or just keep going?

Limmited it's not that I dont feel self conscious, or rather that I did at first but now that I've got used to it and nothing 'bad' has happened I'm ok, had I been unlucky and gotten heckled early on it might have been harder to get over the self consciousness

If you were a runner orange then you would understand why runners feel religious about running

I am too, orangeyellowgreen!! She ran up the road and couldn't stop for a tourist who asked her directions, then felt bad about it! If that isn't quasi religious and worthy of being flabbergasted then I don't know what is!!

(Not)

Orangeyellowgreen. ... flabbergasted. not stopping to give someone directions and not stopping after having a heart attack...what a silly and hysterical comparison

it is kind of a weird comment, a bit like saying 'would you carry on running with 2 broken legs'

Of course it is much easier to denounce runners as mentally unstable than to admit that actually exercise is beneficial and face up to the difficulty of doing any ?

Call me quasi-religious and take the piss all you like, but I'm the one running home past queues of traffic (for free!) while you whingers are stuck on the bus/in the car/on the train, paying for the privilege of getting stressed out.

Laugh if you want to, while I'm the one running round parks, gardens and city streets on my lunch break while you eat a sandwich at your desk. And when I get back to the office for my own lunch, not only am I chilled out but I've already burned off all the calories I'm about to eat.

Have a good snigger if it makes you happy - but what makes me happy, after years of being ashamed of my belly, is buying size 10 skinny jeans from Topshop and finding they're on the big side.

And when I remember crying in happiness at the finish line of a marathon, having done something I never thought I could do when I was fat and unable to as much as run for a bus, I know I'm better off than those jealous moaners, sitting around in their pj's, having a snigger and slagging off those who are fitter than them.

Running is hard. It's hard to get going, it's hard to keep going. The first 10 minutes or so are pretty shit for me anyway, I'm dying to stop. It becomes bearable once you get into a rhythm and have some momentum. I believe at some point it may become enjoyable and possibly addictive, but I haven't reached that point yet!

Having to stop makes it hard to regain that rhythm.

Have none of you piss takers ever been in the middle of something, been "in the zone", then got disturbed and found it takes a while for you to get back into what you were doing? It's the same with running. Why is that so hard to understand?

Can I suggest that for future reference any threads about exercise in general, and running in particular, come with a "triggering" warning as it is quite clear from this thread that people have very strong feelings about it .

As a recently returned runner (aiming for a sub-60 10k in July), I'm gobsmacked at some of the attitudes on here. I'm literally that anyone would think anything other than positively about women exercising, in public or anywhere else.

orangeyellowgreen I haven't ploughed through 12 pages of this but am flabbergasted at op's quasi-religious attitude to running.

Well, its not just running - you can apply a determined, focussed approach to most things in life, because if you don't, you probably won't succeed. Why wouldn't it apply to running? Its all very nice to drift along aimlessly, whimsically even, but not everyone does that.

Echo that there are some really strange, no, unhealthy, attitudes to exercise and well being on this thread. They must have their heads stuck in the sand regarding messages on how to be healthy and active.

I feel very positive about women exercising, and like to exercise regularly, but many of the comments on this thread simply serve to reinforce my view that many, many runners are smug, self-involved and well, just a bit wankerish, really.
Oh, you run, do you? I'd never have known if you hadn't BANGED ON ABOUT IT EVERY TIME YOU TALKED TO ME AND POSTED YOUR LATEST ROUTE ON BLOODY FACEBOOK. (Sorry, but that was cathartic.)

And yes, it does happen to Mo Farah too, and heres how he dealt with it:

www.standard.co.uk/news/celebritynews/mo-farah-in-punchup-with-man-who-blocked-his-path-on-training-run-and-refused-to-budge-8873443.html

YANBU. Not a runner myself but it wouldn't occur to me to stop a runner.

Living - try not to feel guilty. I know it sounds trite but looking after your own physical and mental needs with a good, hard run doesn't detract from your ability to focus on your family's needs. Personally, that complete break from everyone else's needs/wants/whinges makes me come back nicer and more "giving".

And I'm definitely in better shape when I'm running lots.

Would you stop running if you had a heart attack or just keep going?

and slow handclap for the most obnoxious post of the day.

I choose my route so I have very limited road interruptions as stopping and starting completely ruins my flow, I have never been stopped by pedestrians but until this thread I would have stopped as I would assume it would be important! Now I see people would just stop me for directions I will do exactly the same as you OP.

Not precious about running or times, just find it extremely hard and it takes me a huge amount of effort to start and then keep going!

Don't think man = serious athlete though, just the old adage that woman are seen as more approachable.

Foureyesgood, runners are a bit wanker-ish? No, it's not the runners that are wanker-ish. It's the people that slag them off that are wanker-ish.

Jesus, a lot of mummies on here are upset with the way they look and feel post-baby, and feel nervous about working out or might face real difficulties fighting for time or money to get out there and exercise. Running is free but the s£it that gets posted here is probably going to depress and demotivate a lot of people and stop them from doing it?

Why not just stop the disgusting vitriol and just be encouraging for other people? I for one am impressed and totally behind anyone that works out in any shape or form.

Not much of a sisterhood is it, if these kinds of threads are anything to go by.

It takes grit to go out running, especially when you start off, firstly running itself (until you reach a good level of fitness) is hard, grueling even.
On top of that you have to deal with feeling self conscious and conspicuous, the possibility of being heckled.
If you are in an area where there are lots of other runners all this is easier.

Why are we perceived as smug and self absorbed?
We are absorbed in what we are doing because anything physically strenuous tends to require all of your concentration. ?

I'm also a bit bemused by the scorn being heaped on runners.

It's just moving your legs fast while going somewhere.

Foureyesgood - fb posts about running are annoying. So are photos of food, holiday countdowns, airport check ins, inspirational quotes, boring "at the supermarket" none statuses, declarations of love for DP, photos of a glass of wine after "a long day" etc etc. Everything on FB is self involved but it's your bitter post that comes across wankerish and has just a hint of sour grapes.

Thanks to all those who have posted.

orangeyellowgreen - I can't agree that I have a 'quasi-religious' attitude to running. I actually have my own religion. I didn't know that it was considered by some a problem to take a pursuit seriously and devote time effort & concentration to it. I had to study hard for a work related qualification recently and that took similar dedication.

Foureyesgood - I am sure there exist some runners who annoy and bore people by 'banging on about 'it' but I think that bores can come in many guises.

I don't know whether I am 'smug' but really don't think that you can accuse me of being 'self involved' for wanting an hour or so of time to devote to a pursuit in the midst of a q demanding life involving caring for others.

Coffee1234 - thanks for that and no it doesn't sound trite. I think it is important to try to take care of myself if only for DS sake, have been neglecting my own health too much recently. My guilt feeling centres around the fact that something I find so personally rewarding DS can't and will never be able to do.

Runningupthathill - I am seriously impressed that you completed a marathon, really respect all those who do that. I have toyed with the idea of doing it myself, maybe in support of a charity DH & I are active in…..but have to somehow take the plunge & do that. And be realistic about what I am getting into!

I can't fit into size 10 alas - but only recently got back into running after a long time away so it is early days!

Anyway, onto more important things. Does anyone have any recommendations for running shoes for WIDE FEET? Ones that don't make your feet feel as if they are being squeezed in a pressure cooker?

I've got men's running shoes at the moment TheChandler. Nice and roomy

The Chandler - try Brooks, they have a wide toe-box. I'm running in the PureCadence at the moment and love them. Used to run in the Trance and loved them too.

Saucony are also good, but Brooks are my absolute favourite.

And TinyTilly has it spot on. Lots of people are wankerish on Facebook, but that doesn't make all runners wankers.

LivingtotheFull - do a marathon. Seriously. The training is the hard bit, the actual event will be one of the most fantastic experiences you could imagine.

The camaraderie of other runners, the support from the crowds, the feeling as you count down the miles, and that elation when the finish line is in sight - all of it is just brilliant. Hard and painful, but brilliant.

Doesn't matter if you finish in three hours or in six, it's the doing it that counts!

@TheChandler

Asics, New Balance, Nike all have a wide foot shoe in their range. Get yourseld down to a proper running shop, nine times out of ten the people who work in the store are active runners who know their trade and are very knowlegable. The better shops will have a treadmill with a video camera where they record you running for a few minutes (wear loose clothes to the shop), from the recording you can have you gait checked before being offered a selection of correct shoes. All decent shops will have a number of wide foot in stock. Spend a good while choosing the shoe best for you as it is very unlikely they will exchange your purchase two weeks later when you have been pounding the pavements in them. The shoe should be lightly snug with a bit of wiggle room for your toes, when testing the shoes remember that you should be 100% comfortable in them, test them on the treadmill for a few minutes, any discomfort you feel then, no matter how mild, will be 50 times worse after a few miles!

Good luck