Note to Self: Grow Thicker Skin

When you have a blog (or two) you put yourself out there in a way that sometimes can be scary. I've been blogging seriously since 2011 and I have been extremely lucky that my contact with internet trolls has been few and far between. Some people got mad a few years ago when I posted about how the Paleo diet wasn't for me (gasp!) and someone once lambasted me for suggesting going to a running store to get your foot strike analyzed (how dare me!). Other than a creepy guy here and there, that has been the extent of it. I've been lucky. The internet can be cruel.

It's weird how it doesn't matter that 100s of people tell me they love my blog, when one person calls me a narcissist and a snob, I can't get it out of my mind. Even when those two particular insults are so far away from truth that if you know me at all or ever read my blogs, I think you'd know that. I can't image how i'd feel if someone called me something that I was actually insecure about.

So I wrote a blog post on LGF that sort of went Pinterest-viral called, Things to Never Say to a Runner. Now the article itself was categorized under humor and intended to be tongue-in-cheek, as a runner's inside joke. The article wasn't really directed at non-runners because let's face it, non-runners probably aren't reading a running blog in the first place.

I am thoughtful of the things I write and how people will perceive them. It occurred to me when I was writing it that it might come off a little snarky, so I went out of my way to soften it by starting the article with a story about how I don't know the first thing about golf and I asked my golfer friend a really stupid question. Self-depreciating humor to reemphasize that I understand that you don't know what you don't know.

I also wrote in the article that I realized when when people say stupid or silly things to runners their intention is really just to show an interest and I certainly don't expect all my non-runner friends to brush up on all things running just so they can talk to me, but I guess this commenter skimmed over all that.

She told me not to take myself so seriously (it was categorized under humor!) and that I sounded like a narcissist and a snob. She also went on a rant about how she perceived that I said running on a treadmill means that you are not a real runner, something that I would never say and certainly don't believe, especially since I run on a treadmill too. In fact, my often-cited favorite running quote is:

“If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.” - John Bingham

There were two similar comments within five minutes of each other on a blog post from four months ago, so I assume the commenters knew each other. I left one comment up because it at least tried to be civil about the difference of opinion but I deleted the snob comment because while I am open to constructive feedback, I don't have to stand for people insulting me on my own blog.

This has been swirling around in my head for about a week and writing about things that bother me help me get them out of my head so I can move on from them emotionally. Thanks for listening.

My blog is largely focused on helping runners find the courage and strength to start and continue a healthy running journey, something that is neither narcissistic or snobby. Right? Quick. Someone tell me i'm nice.

Note to self: Grow Thicker Skin.






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Keep Running,

Lea

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