Guest Post! "I Suck At Sports..."

Today's post comes from the super speedy and adorable Margot who blogs at The Faster Bunny. Margot is not only fast, but funny... I love reading her blog! She just ran Boston this year AND is running the Nuun Hood to Coast Relay! Plus, I can really identify with this topic, as I am not a team sports person at all and running is the only thing I've really been able to do and do half-way well... I especially relate to her anecdote at the end ;) Enjoy!

I Suck At Sports :  My Tribute to Long Distance Running

You know some some people who are long distance runners but played every other sport in high school too? Give them a ball, a bat, a racket, or a freaking stick and they will MacGyver the bajeezus out of any sport?  

Yeah that's not me.  

Here's my story:  

I remember my last day of school in 7th grade like it was uhhh...16 years ago: A tiny girl named Katrina who was in my gym class signed my yearbook. 

"Margot...we might suck at sports but that's ok.  - Katrina"

Wait What? Suck at sports?? Honestly, I was a little bummed. This wasn't how I envisioned my middle school legacy. I could see my end of the year school award right then. Crowds cheering as I received "Most likely to not succeed at sports".

I thought back to our volleyball unit earlier in the year. How I literally never got the ball over the net, even in a serve, through the ENTIRE UNIT.  How my coolness level probably plummeted to a new low during that sport from the underworld.

And honestly, most of the other "ball sports" were similarly challenging for me.  Soccer wasn't as bad.  What I lacked in skill, I gained in aggression!  

However, like the stubborn girl I am, I figured, eh....surely I'll get on some team in high school.  So I tried out for JV field hockey.  

And I made varsity!!!

Hah.  Just kidding.  I didn't make the team.

Instead, I started running.  2 miles a day in my spare time.  Mostly just because I wanted to be skinny since I was a vain and insecure 15 year old.  About a month later, we ran the mile in the fall of my freshman year.  I ran it in 7:11 with almost no effort.  Not that this is anything that special, but I was surprised at myself.  My mom told me if I was going to run on my own time, I might as well join the cross country team. I told her "Are you crazy??  Those girls run like four miles a day!  No way!".

And then, I took her advice. I joined the track team.  I figured...we'll probably just race the mile every day... and that could be cool, right? 

On the first Friday of practice, it was raining.  I saw my coach after school and asked if practice was cancelled. I still remember the look of confusion and disdain on his face when he answered "No. Why would it be cancelled?  We run in the rain."

I think that's the moment I became a real runner.  

One that runs in rainstorms and snow.  Who has become addicted to the feeling of intense discomfort at the end of a race and nervous butterflies before. 

I ran every season after that in high school.  I was nothing spectacular, but I loved it and got a couple letters.  And no one wrote that I sucked at sports in my yearbook!

Since then running has come in and out of my life in various waves of seriousness.  I've never stopped completely, but developed a talent for running while hungover in my early twenties.

And yeah.  I love it.  Every run isn't great, but the overall result is awesome.  

Three marathons, a billion halves, and one running-ish blog later, here I am.  I could go on and on about what running has done for me, but let's just say it's a ton :).  

I'll leave you with this anecdote:

Last Fall, I went frisbee golfing.  My boyfriend remarked that I would probably be good since I was "athletic". I held back the laughter at this remark and promptly got my butt kicked by everyone playing.  

But that's ok because if we played a game on my field, I know I'd smoke these fools in a race.  

And I probably wouldn't even have to trip them.