You Know You're a Runner When...

Many of these are my own ideas, the silly things I've noticed about myself since embodying the life of a dedicated runner. But I've seen similar ideas from other runners online and discussed some of these with runners I know. So if you happen to have seen some of these ideas before, I confess, they are not purely my own ideas. But they are certainly true about me and things that automatically come to mind when I think of my quirks as a runner. We, the members of the running community, really do have a lot in common and are certainly a quirky bunch! Thought it might be fun to make my own list. So, in no particular order, you know you're a runner when:

• You get excited over GU announcing new flavours and you rush to your nearest running store to see if they have it available to try (BTW, have you tried the new peanut butter flavour? It's delish!).
• It's laundry day and the overwhelming majority of your dirty laundry is sweaty running gear.
• You have a designated place in your home for displaying your finisher medals.
• You include a line in your budget for race registrations.
• You religiously check the daily AND hourly weather reports to plan your weekly/daily runs
• You're constantly hungry! In addition to my 3 square meals are 2 smaller ones too :-)
• It feels weird to leave home without your Garmin.
• When planning a trip, you focus on fitting time in for runs and look up possible running routes.
• When you hear the term "PR", you think of "personal record" first, not "public relations"
• You can plan a 5km or 10km running route from your front door and back home again with uncanny accuracy without relying on technology (and are pleased when your Garmin tells you you're right!)
• Your obsession with shoes is not for cute heels and flats, but running shoes for different types of terrain. You replace your running shoes so often that your closet has more running shoes than any other type of shoe (I mean, they're still cute and ok for walking and casual wear!)
• You create a wish list for your family's Christmas gift exchange and find that 99% of the items you ask for are running accessories
• Running takes over your social media presence (Facebook updates and Tweets, for example)
• When people ask you, "what's new in your life?", one of the first things that come to mind is what race you're currently training for.
• You have issues justifying purchasing new jeans, but a 4th pair of running tights, there's no issue at all! They're a necessity and worn way more often than jeans are. :)
• You know where all the public washrooms and drinking fountains are in your city to help you plan your long runs
• You can say "10km run" and "quick and easy" in the same sentence and totally mean it
• You believe your t-shirt works as a perfect alternative to a kleenex (I mean, it's going in the wash soon anyway)
• You've been known to run errands during your way back home from a run, and people look at you weird because you're a little sweaty (and smelly?) and pulling out money from out of ziplock bags you tucked into your pants.
• You speak about the pain and fatigue you experience after a race but you secretly love it and can't wait to do it again!
• You don't freak out when you lose a toenail.

 .....there are so many more!