When can a runner call herself a runner?

[anigo]

Here's a question for you.

I've been running off and on now for about a year and a half, maybe two years. Maybe even longer, truth be known. Maybe more off than on. Lately more on than off. Since about Christmas I've been running between 4 and 6km 3x a week. Not always mind you, the week before last I took the week off. The week before that I only ran 2x. But you get the picture.

The thing is, I like it, but I really don't LOVE it. I like it more than I did, but really, the whole inertia thing, getting my ass off the chair and doing it... meh. And there will be times that I'm running that I say "Why the hell am I doing this?" and really just want to stop. Not that I'm tired, not that things hurt, just because I'm not loving it. But the truth of the matter is, I don't despise it, it's an easy and cheap exercise that I don't need equipment or a gym membership or anything, and I like how it makes me feel *after* I've done it. But I don't actually LOVE doing it. And I'm incredibly, ridiculously slow.

So, I sail (in case you don't know) I sail most Saturdays in the summer from about Mid/Late May to the end of September. Not all Saturdays, and once in a while there will be a regatta where there might be four days of sailing. So what, let's say 20 races a season. But I LOVE it. I breathe it. It's in my bones and my blood and all those other dramatic things.

I am a sailor, despite the fact I only sail 20 days a year.

Interestingly enough, I also consider myself a swimmer, though I haven't ever swam competitively, and haven't even swam laps in a lane with competitive swimmers in a year and a half.

I've run in excess of 200 kilometers spread out over at least 50 runs since January 1st of this year. Yet for some reason I don't consider myself a runner. Belle helped the other day after I had a poor result in a race. She said a runner is a person who runs, therefore I'm a runner. That helped, but still, I can easily say I'm a sailor. I can almost as easily say I'm a swimmer, yet I have a hard time saying I'm a runner.

Why do you think that is?

On that note, I'm actually supposed to be running now, so I'm going to go do that.

As you were... but your feedback is welcome.

Comments

[anigo.livejournal.com]

The Saturdays are PHRF races. The club's about an hour from home and I can't make their Wednesday night races, just the Saturday ones. (our boat doesn't tend to race on Wednesday nights anyway). There are closer clubs, but I don't have it in me to juggle the crew commitment. I've been with my crew for about 8 years and couldn't even think of standing them up for a race on another boat.

Good stuff, wah? :).