I think everyone has that one food that they ate before they got really, really sick. For me it was Reese's. I had been feeling sort of gross all day, and the only thing that sounded good to me was a peanut butter cup. Being a college student, I actually had some Reese's in my dresser drawer. I ate a few, thinking that they were going to be the only thing I'd eat that day.
It didn't take long before I felt that rumble, so I ran to the dorm bathroom and made it just in time to jackknife over the toilet and spill my insides. Needless to say, watching Reese's perform an anti-gravity routine did little for my desire to indulge in any future peanut butter cups.
I developed an aversion.
And now I have a new one. But I don't have the luxury of avoiding this particular thing.
A few weeks ago I was in the Rockies of Colorado, vacationing with family. As I am officially in "training mode" for the Chicago Marathon later this year, I knew that my running schedule couldn't really afford a vacation hiatus. So I packed my running shoes and planned to suck up the few Os that I could while running at 9,000 feet.
The first half of the run was actually fine. Altitude schmeltitude. Sure, it was on a slow & steady decline, but whatev, right? The energy that I saved by going downhill would leave me with plenty of juice for going back uphill for the second half.
Not the case.
My heart rate raced to the 190s and I had to keep taking walking breaks. But worse, far worse, was the rumble I started to feel in my stomach. Before I knew what was happening, I was on the side of the road summoning up the little bit of breakfast that I had that morning.
I was mortified! I was running with my brother-in-law and we were only out for a two-miler, and here I was throwing up like I was at the end of an Olympic training session. Two. Miles.
Well, so I made it back okay. But since then I have absolutely dreaded the thought of running again. I've kept up on my training, but there is not a single positive thought that I have about it before I lace up my Asics. I've developed an aversion to running.
I've already booked a hotel room in Chicago, paid the hefty registration fee, and planned a mini-vacation around it. I don't have the option of just bowing out, really. So how do you get over an aversion?
3 comments:
I have an aversion to meat loaf. I used to request that my mom make it everytime I visited. When I was prego with Case, Jeff and I went to one of those pre-make your meals and stick them in the freezer places...we made a meatloaf and their recipe was so nasty that I haven't touched one since!
Keep reminding yourself that you're in 1% of the population to ever complete a marathon - and probably an even smaller percent to do their 2nd. You can do this!
Mine was ginger ale. (Actually threw up INTO the bottle mid-gulp when I was about 10.) I got over it - about 25 years later - by just having a few sips of it and remembering that I did, in fact, like it. Now I drink it all the time and rarely think about the unfortunate incident of my youth.
Would it work if you just didn't "train" for a bit and just "ran"? I know you love it at some level; you couldn't do it for 26.2 miles if you didn't. Maybe you just need to remind yourself of that.
Or replay the video of you running your first 5k with your kids cheering, "Yay, Mom!" in the background.
Or have someone with a large attack dog set it loose after you. Your survival instincts will overpower your aversion - and fast!
(Full disclosure: I couldn't run two miles at sea level with a swift tailwind without puking my guts out on the side of the road.)
You know, that's darn good advise. I went ahead and tried that last night. I brought Caeden with me (he was on his bike), no music, no watch, no heart rate monitor...just me, my boy, and the open road. Much, much better.
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