My feet are messed up.
I’m training for the Austin Half-Marathon on February 17. I am a runner … but I hate running the majority of the time. I happen to be naturally gifted with endurance and speed, but running has always been something I do to get in shape for something else. I’ve never loved running for the pure joy of running.
My boyfriend, however, loves running. He ran his first marathon in October and loved it, and he’s doing the Austin Marathon. I’m training for the half for him–not just for him, but because I was curious as to what it was about the marathon that made him enjoy it so much. I haven’t found what I’m looking for yet.
But along the way, I’ve developed a bunion, and right now I happen to have a blood blister on top of my dang bunion. Nature is a bit ironic. Don’t only old people get bunions? And why did I never suffer from injuries throughout high school and college sports (D1 basketball and track), but I try to do some recreational stuff and I start falling apart?
Perhaps my body is trying to remind me that it doesn’t actually enjoy running. But I do it because it’s a goal, it’s measurable, and there’s an end result. Athletes never change … and we love being called athletes all of our lives. Athletes have messed up feet.