11 February 2008
The Waiter
Posted by Kristin Linscott under: Kristin Linscott .
Gotta LOVE this wonderful weather we have been blessed with! I slid through an intersection on the East Beltline this morning…even in 4 Wheel Drive, FUN! And then the most random thing EVER…there was a huge TURKEY - yes, a TURKEY - pacing on the side of the road on Michigan Street by Wealthy Park Baptist Church. Poor little butterball…he looked so cold! Regardless, I had a great laugh on the way into work. What the heck is a TURKEY doing in subarctic weather wandering the streets of Grand Rapids?!?!?!
Anyways, back to my blog. Due to the insanely cold weather, I’ve been ‘riding the pine’, as Chaz would say. The treadmill, my best friend…we have become quite close lately. I didn’t realize how cold it actually was until yesterday when I went outside, in shorts, to head to the gym. A nice chilly breeze blew up my shorts…WOW. And then the cold leather seats in my car…YIKES! So yesterday (Sunday) I had a great run indoors. About 6.5 miles on the treadmill…not too bad. I’ve been reading the book ‘Chi Running’…great read…highly recommend it! Pair that with my Accelerade and I’m good to go. I felt great after my run…full of energy, ready to tackle my day. My confidence was sky high…I felt great.
So later on last night I went out to dinner - restaurant will remain anonymous. I was chatting it up with my dinner date about my great run. Well, the Waiter comes trotting over…young guy, maybe just out of high school. He overheard my excitement of having run a long distance on the treadmill and, uninvited, started to yap about how good of a runner he is…blah blah blah. THEN, he had the nerve to start ripping on the fact that I had run inside on a treadmill. He says “Ya know, those treadmills usually lie to you about your speed and distance, so you probably really aren’t running all that fast or far if you think about it.” WHAT THE HECK!?!?!?!?
Okay, I get it…treadmills are all different and they probably aren’t all that accurate versus getting out on the roads. BUT…I’ve been working very, very hard and I am proud of how far I’ve actually gone at this point. I don’t know why, but he really hurt my feelings and I was totally thrown back by his unsolicited comments. I don’t think he was trying to make me feel bad, but he sure did a great job. It really struck a sour note with me.
I don’t care how far each of us are running at this point…we are all working our butts off at our own pace, building up to the big race on May 10th.
I think that is what irritated me so much…that this guy, although he probably wasn’t purposely picking on me, he has no clue the time I’ve been putting into running and training. I’m hooked at this point - I love getting into the gym or on the roads and just letting loose, relieving the stress, making myself happy :)
So from here on out I’m going to promise myself that I won’t get ‘irked’ or ‘beefed’ at anyone who wants to rip on or put down the hard work put into my training. I’m confident with the pace I’m at and I know that in the next couple of months the hard stuff will start to kick in. I’m ready for it…and looking forward to it.
And if you are wondering…we left him a really nice tip. I’m a total believer in Karma!
7 Comments so far...
Terry Says:
11 February 2008 at 3:36 pm.
Way to stay positive Kristen. You are doing a great job in your training. Keep up the hard work.
Terry
Mike D Says:
11 February 2008 at 3:57 pm.
Don’t worry about that guy. You should have replied “Yeah I was probably running a lot faster and farther than the treadmill said”. Keep up the great work.
Deb Says:
11 February 2008 at 4:07 pm.
Guys like that drive me crazy! You hold your head high girl cause you’re doing awesome!
Shelly Says:
11 February 2008 at 5:03 pm.
Pay no attention to him! He was probably having a bad day and was mad that he couldn’t run as far as you did so was trying to make himself feel better. 
Julie Hurley Says:
11 February 2008 at 9:53 pm.
Love this post!! I’m looking forward to the nitty-gritty part of our training as well! You rock!
Bob Says:
13 February 2008 at 8:04 am.
Sounds like someone is lacking a real life. Never mind what others say when you know in your heart that you’re putting forth your all! Great work on the treadmill. Running on the treadmill deserves special credit. I would much rather run outside or even on a track. When you hafta, you just hafta!
highhanded doctrine Says:
20 February 2008 at 8:26 pm.
UNIX is basically a simple operating system, but you have to be a genius to understand the simplicity — Dennis Ritchie
I’m not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers We are the president — Hillary Clinton
There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably diserable — Mark Twain
Military justice is to justice what military music is to music — Groucho Marx