Tips for Spectators

This is a blog I follow, Prior Fat Girl.  If you're planning on coming to my race, please read this.  I never thought much about these things, but Jen's words are so true.  I especially like #3!  The only difference is #5 where she says to just make noise.  That would be distracting to me.  Please don't bring a cowbell and especially don't bring those extremely irritating airhorns!  Other than that, cheer on!

 

Tips for spectators, from a PriorFatGirl’s point-of-view.

by Jen, a priorfatgirl on October 4, 2011

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I thrive on spectators at a race. I know I’m running the race but spectators can change the feel of the entire race. No matter if it is a marathon, half-marathon, 10 mile, 10k or 5k, spectators are treasured. Just your presence is appreciated but here are some additional thoughts from my point of view on spectators:

1. Your presence is very appreciated: It means a lot. As much as I say “Oh, no worries, don’t worry about it,” it really does mean a lot when you take the time out of your morning to come and cheer for me. No matter how many races I may do, each one, especially each of the long runs are hard. They never get easier, I just get crazier. I won’t ever be mad at someone for not coming but will be overwhelmingly appreciative of those who actually do come.
2. Scream, cheer, shout, yell and make noise! I think some people are embarrassed to be loud but as a runner, the louder you scream the better. When I run, I am fighting through all the noise in my head so whatever you can do to distract me is appreciated. I need YOU as a spectator to be louder than the noise in my head.
3. Scream when you see a runner you know: Running is hard. When you see me coming, be LOUD. Yep, it is nice to hear “ohgoodjob” but lemme tell you it is so much more fun to hear “OH HERE SHE COMES, JEN JEN JEN, OVER HERE! WAHOO!!!! KEEP RUNNING, OH MY GOSH YOU ARE DOING IT! WAHOOOOOOOO!!! JEN KEEP RUNNING!!! I LOVE YOU!” No lie. Go all out. Your 30 seconds of screaming will carry me an entire mile. I will float on your cheers, puff my chest out and let your cheers be my fuel.
4. Cheer for others: Again, running is hard. You don’t have to know me to cheer for me. Cheer for me and let me know how proud you are. Tell me to keep going and remind me I’m running. Tell me I can do it, I will do it, I AM doing it. Cheering for me when don’t know me is like an extra amp. Don’t just stand there staring. First, you look silly just standing there. Second, your cheers are my fuel. I suck it in and turn it into amped up power. It is an adrenaline rush hearing cheers and even more exciting when people I don’t know are cheering for me.
5. If you just aren’t a cheerer, just make noise! You know those loud annoying cow-bells? DO IT! Cowbells, thunder sticks, hand clappers and stadium horns are very inexpensive but they can annoy some people so pay attention to those around you. If you see people who seem to be disturbed, tell them you are cheering for the runners and to get a life… or maybe just walk 20 feet away from them
6. Bring signs: Use humor. Or be serious. Reading simple signs distracts me and gives me something to do while I’m struggling to fight through all the noise in my head. I may think about a sign for 5-10 minutes so trust me, your sign helps! Here are some sign quotes I love:
   • “Your feet hurt because you are kicking so much butt!”
   • “Your legs will forgive you…eventually.”
   • “Don’t stop — people are watching.
   • “Today, you’re my hero.”
   • “Pain is temporary, pride is forever.”
   • “Remember the reasons you are running.”
   • “If it was easy, everyone would do it.”
   • “One foot in front of the other. That’s all.”
   • “You are no longer training, you are RUNNING THE RACE!”
7. Be okay if I am distant after the race: I am probably in pain. I am probably ready to collapse. I am thinking about what I just accomplished. I am emotional and coming down from an intense adrenaline rush. I’m covered in an inch of sweat which is layered with the dirt from the wind I just busted through. All I want is a hot shower. And food. And a nap.
8. I will never be able to thank you with words: There are no words I can, as a runner, say to you, as a spectator, to thank you for coming to cheer me on. Running is hard. It is emotional. It is fighting through all the voices in my head to achieve a goal I set for myself. Having you there means the world to me and there are no words I can use to thank you appropriately. In place of the absence of the perfect thank you, please know your support helped me achieve my goal.

Being a spectator can be such a simple act. It may not feel like a big deal but spectators help more than we as runners can ever describe. We don’t run for your cheers, we run to achieve goals we’ve set for ourselves but your cheers, your support, your presence helps us to achieve our goals.

Possibilities and Responsibilities

Normally I don't run on Sundays because I'm fasting, but I wasn't feeling well so I didn't fast today.  I was feeling better by this evening, so I decided to do my run (Notice I don't say walk/jog anymore?  :-)).  I got in half a mile before I saw lightning.  Sigh.  I tried. 

I follow a blog called PriorFatGirl.  Here is an excerpt from the latest post of one of the contributors (actually, the woman in charge of it) to the blog:

"Our server came by just enough to let us know he was still there but not to bombard us with intrusions. When he noticed we were slowing down on our meals, he asked the tempting question surrounding the subject dessert. Would we or wouldn't we? I entertained the thought. I even went so far as to ask for descriptions of heavenly creations and begin the process of elimination deciding which one I wanted in my stomach.

As I looked up at the server, I noticed a monster-sized antique looking door on the wall behind him. A symbol, I'm sure of it. The door represented all I'd hope for, fought for and dreamed of. This door was colorful as if alluding to the promises met on the other side. It also appeared to be a heavy door of which one would need to use all the fight they had to push open. It looked simple yet screamed of strength and power.



The server was calmly waiting to fulfill my dessert dreams but my thought process revolving the door helped me realize my stomach was truly satisfied. I had bread and chickpea spread and honey butter. I had udon noodles with a spicy peanut sauce and chicken and an egg. I was satisfied and did not need dessert. {Trust me, I'll talk plenty in the future of dinners when I decide dessert is the perfect end to an evening.} As the server walked away, I looked up as if my decision had been influenced from above. A wall full of mismatched framed mirrors looked down at me.


I smiled and snapped a photo. Doors and mirrors. An entrance to possibilities and a reminder of responsibility. Out in the real world, healthiness exists. We just have to slow down and take a breath long enough for it to make its presence known to us. Blackbird Cafe gives us the space we need to take a breath long enough for us to slow down in a fast paced world. It is a reminder we can be healthy by looking in the mirror and seeing ourselves making responsible decisions."


Isn't it cool that God showed her that?!  I certainly see Him at work here!

Sweat is Beautiful

I follow a blog called Prior Fat Girl and one of the contributors is doing a project called Sweat is Beautiful.  She asked people to send in pictures of themselves after a workout, so I did.  I even told her that sweat is ageless too and that I'm almost 42.  Imagine!  Here's the picture:

Now, I'm not going to send this picture to a modeling agency, even a plus-size one!  But the fact that I took a picture of myself looking like this and posted it for all of cyberspace to see is testimony to how far God has brought me.  If this was just a random picture, I would've deleted it from my camera, but there is a purpose for it.  Sweat isn't beautiful in the Hollywood sense but I'm moving my body and disciplining it like in 1 Corinthians 9:27.  "I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should."

That verse and the one before it in The Message read like this:  "I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself."

So if disciplining my body produces sweat and flushing, so be it.  I'm okay with that.  :-)