Confession: I am a very competitive person, perhaps some would argue, too competitive.
If you’re running next to me on the treadmill, I will try to run faster than you. Yes, I’m sorry to admit, I am that person who looks at how fast you’re running and I try to run just as fast, or faster. If you’re running faster than my legs can possible carry (which isn’t all that fast to be honest) I will dismiss your speed as being “super-human” and “impossible” to keep up with.
It doesn’t end at running either. As my friend once pointed out to me in a spin class, if you turn your resistance up, and I see you…I’ll do it too…but try to annoyingly work just a little bit harder than you are for that 30 minute sweat session.
This isn’t always a good thing…usually what ends up happening is this. I’ll run faster or bike harder than you for awhile, until my lungs or legs (whichever gives up first) forces me to quit. What I’m left with, instead of a good workout, are sore muscles, blistered feet, and a painful reminder that sometimes I should just go at my own pace.
But being competitive is not my fault, really! I blame my brothers, all three of them. I was the only girl growing up, and they never took it easy on me. I was expected to play by the same rules as the boys, which I happily accepted. I loved knowing that they weren’t going to take it easy on me and that I was expected to guard and fake out my older brothers who were high school athletes, when I had just learned how to dribble.
I took my hits, and was probably on our concrete basketball court more than I was on my feet most of the time, but skinned knees and hurt pride were never an excuse to stop playing. As we’ve all aged, and our basketball skills became progressively worse (except for my little brother, who is on the UW-P basketball team), we’ve been taking the competition inside. When we’re together, you’ll usually find us playing a semi-friendly game of Trivial Pursuit, or the ultimate game of world domination…Risk (kind of fitting huh?)
I’ve learned that while this competitive attitude has helped me succeed, looking back, I can see now that it wasn’t always appropriate. For example, perhaps I shouldn’t have written a note to my 4th grade teacher telling her to call on me more because I had all the answers. Maybe it was a slight waste of time to demand knowing why I got an A- on a paper instead of an A.
Either way, looking ahead, I vow to take it a little easier. Once a week I’ll go for a run, just to have fun…or maybe I’ll go twice a week and improve my mile time…or maybe three times…or wait, how often do you run? Do you want to race?