A Runner’s Ten Commandments
I wish I’d have thought of this! Although comical to an extent, all 10 of these “commandments” should be considered. I posted earlier to Facebook placing an emphasis on the First and Fifth Commandment:
1. Thou shall not compare thyself to other runners. A mile is a mile.
Personally I’d have said, MILE AFTER F%#*@ING MILE. 😀
Like anything in life, stop comparing yourself to others! Yes, it is OK to be competitive, it’s OK to have your eyes set on the gold, but remember that the only thing that really matters at the end of the day is that you live up to YOUR expectations. If you base your success or live your life having the upper hand over others, you will NEVER find your true happiness because there will ALWAYS be someone younger, smarter, prettier and faster than you. Embrace what you have been blessed with and set realistic goals in which you work hard to achieve. Those will be the most satisfying achievements you will ever make.
5. Honor thy muscles and thy “aches and pains” and do not push through an injury. Runners are not invincible.
Here I am with some other injured athlete at Bay to Breakers. I didn’t want to miss out on the fun so I walked and nearly got trampled to death. I only made it three miles before I called it quits.
I have struggled with this particular “commandment” for years. In fact, it is a work in progress. But as I said earlier on FB, if you really love running, listen when your body is talking to you. Differentiate your heart (drive) and passion (goals) from your ego and think about the long run (no pun intended). Shaving off a few minutes or upgrading to a podium finish may feel good temporarily but come Monday when the rush has faded, you will find yourself out for months or weeks on your way to recovery. I unfortunately listened to my ego time and time again even AFTER I suffered a broken metatarsal from running 6 additional miles on a fractured metatarsal during a marathon. Yes I finished, and yes that was kind of crazy in a brave way, but I was out for 16 weeks (should have been 8-12), stuck in a boot and still I didn’t let it stop me! I continued participating in 5Ks (wearing my boot of course) and I even earned a temporary handicap placard and used it to park in the handicap parking section at the Sherman Oaks Galleria so that I could easily get into 24-Hour Fitness and attend spin class. Priorities, let me tell ya… I have so many of these stories: Running LA Marathon with a hip injury just because I was on par for a sub-3 marathon (injury stemming from the off-balance of my hips from wearing the boot for such a long time and I think a bad Thai massage), walking Boston Marathon (5:49:53) because my pride wouldn’t let me just watch from the sidelines and most recently racing the Stanford Track Invitational with a bummed foot just because it was a privilege to even be there. So. Many. More. Just remember that there are races nearly every weekend, if this isn’t your weekend for whatever reason, there is always another.
Here I am removing my boot so that I could run a 30-minute 5K. What the heck was I thinking?
Smiling on the outside but worrying on the inside here at the Stanford Invitational. All for what? Running on a hurt foot not only cost me a horrible 5,000m race (finishing last place and running 18:40-something) but I lost my first place state ranking and couldn’t even run at the state meet. Not the way I wanted to go out. When will I ever learn. Do what is best for me and not for others. Know when to “take one for the team.”
Trace B. 
What, no shout out for telling you not to run on that toe? 😉 Good post, though I think it’s okay when you’re elite to worry a little about your competition and how they’re doing. After all, first place is attainable.
October 12, 2012 at 5:07 am
Shout out to BILL! Ha, you are right. If any elite athlete is reading this, please go ahead and break your foot when you are going for the gold. 🙂
October 12, 2012 at 5:15 am
HAHAH “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s medals” Love it! I really should add to the hydration point to add some sunscreen! When I first started to run, my lips would get so chapped I could barely talk since I wouldn’t use sunscreen on my lips and I was getting dehydrated overall though I thought I was drinking enough water!
You gotta heal and listen to your body, something we all have to take heed to!
October 12, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Reblogged this on runwritedig and commented:
Thanks Trace B. for “A Runner’s Ten Commandments”. What would you add for the 11th Commandment?
October 20, 2012 at 4:46 pm
You know, I’d say that 11th should be, “Though shall motivate, encourage and inspire both runners and non-runners.”
October 30, 2012 at 3:11 am
Love this! Great post. The “listen to your body” part really hits home! It’s so hard, but must be done, thank you for the smart reminder. 🙂
October 21, 2012 at 12:13 am
Yes, you know us CRAZY runners! Love your blog!
October 30, 2012 at 3:06 am
Girl! CRAY for sure! Lol! And thanks so much! 🙂
November 1, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Thank you for posting my photo! I’m glad you enjoyed it! My daughter and I created this as we are both runners and we had a lot of fun doing it. However, it looks like its been cropped and my logo removed. Please find the original on my facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/lifeinthedayofarunner.
Happy running!!
Rachel (AKA Runnerchik)
January 20, 2013 at 8:35 pm
No problem — I really enjoyed it and I have updated the photo to include your version. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by! Trace
January 21, 2013 at 6:02 pm