Yes, I Am a Runner!

I saw this and loved this!  I took me a long time to say "Yes, I am a runner." without cringing or laughing about it.  Even now, I still sometimes make jokes about it.  My reason is because I don't run as far or as long as a lot of runners do.  One of the most frustrating and even hurtful comments/reactions I have had with some people make me feel like I'm not an actual runner.  Usually it goes something like this: "Hey Laura, I heard you're running the marathon!"  "Yes", I reply!  Then they ask, "Oh my gosh, so you run the entire 26.2 miles?"  I then laugh and say, "Oh no, I run-walk-run-walk"  Then they get this almost defeated/disappointed look on their face and say, "Oh."  Or else they'll say, "Oh, well anyone can just walk the whole thing and be fine."  It makes me feel bad because I have worked and trained my butt off to get to where I am.  I don't consider myself less of a runner or copping out because I don't run the entire thing.  I know that I have improvement to make and mentally don't give myself enough credit with what I'm capable of.  I also know that my body has limits.  I think it's safe to say that a lot of runners out there aren't running with an extra 100+ lbs. on their body than they should have.  It's my own fault that I'm the weight and size I am.  I take full ownership for that.  Give me a break though!  At least I'm out there and trying to better my situation.  So no, I'm not running the entire marathon, straight through.  I do well the first chunk and can run a lot but, by the end it will come down to just keeping my body moving.  It'll be a lot of running .25 and walking .25, just to get my body to the finish line.  But, on a positive note, I can brag that I do have a pretty fast walk!  LOL!