Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Oh-So Strange

I got an email the other day from a new reader, David. He found my blog through a link on Gary Cohen’s website (writer, interviewer, runner, coach). He said,

“Your site was not quite what I expected and at first seemed oh-so strange, especially that pic of you posing in the swim-gear! But, I kept poking around and reading more and finally came to the conclusion you are quite an interesting person and that the stories are quite humorous and even enlightening at times. Seems like you would be a "fun" person to know, and probably a blast to run and train with!   Not sure if this SUAR site is a "chic" or "running mom" thing or what, but I am a a 57-year old marathoning guy, not your average male runner as such, but with long, pony-tailed hair, more like left-overs from the late 60's. In fact, I posted a pic of myself on Facebook hauling-ass down the last stretch of Oak-Brook Half Marathon and someone posted a comment, "Looks like Willie Nelson running away from the IRS!"

This is what occurred to me:

If you are visiting my blog for the first time, I can only imagine what you must think. Pussy posse. Me wearing white undies in a bathing suit. Recipes for shart brownies and erections (no, not recipes for erections, but just talk of them). Peeing standing up.  It’s a wonder new readers don’t start hauling ass in the opposite direction. Maybe they are drawn in much like one gets sucked into watching a car accident or the Real Housewives.

I am thrilled, honored that a 57 year old pony-tailed runner from Chicago would find something he liked here at SUAR. If you’ve been reading for a while you know for sure that SUAR is NOT a chic or running mom site. Yes, I’m very chic (see picture in right hand corner of blog) and I am a mom who runs, but I don’t speak of play dates or changing diapers (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Here’s my bottom line:

  • I love to run, but I will do other things if I have to
  • I’m determined and stubborn
  • I believe that confidence is everything
  • I know that laughing at yourself is the best medicine
  • I’m sure most people aren’t living up to their potential. I’m just getting started.

So, if you’re new here and feeling uneasy, I don’t blame you. But, try sticking around and see what happens. You too may be craping in trees, overflowing toilets, falling off treadmills and eating shart brownies for breakfast before too long. It’s what all the cool kids do.

Am I really that weird? You’re laughing with me, not at me, right?

Going to buy some Willie Nelson from iTunes,

SUAR

PS: Bought my Boston plane tickets. Happy?

70 comments:

  1. I'm always laughing with you. I'm so glad I found your blog! And, yes, I am happy you bought your tickets.

    ReplyDelete
  2. i LOVE reading your blog. i can't remember how i found it but i am very happy i did. and i'm totally laughing with you. i think ;) and i am SOOOOOO beyond thrilled you bought those tickets.

    ReplyDelete
  3. yeah, as soon as I saw yo in the swim gear and your panties, I said alright, I am hooked. The funny thing is you are well over 1,000 followers now... I am convinced you don't read all of your comments EVERY DAY.

    It is merely impossible.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have to say your blog never fails to make my smile. More often than not, it makes me spit diet dr pepper out of my nose - and that is a compliment. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Long time lurker, and love your blog. Seriously funny stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I knew I loved you when I first arrived on your blog the post had 'penis' in the title. It just gets better/funnier and I love reading back on a Sunday while drinking a coffee and occasionally spitting it up all over my monitor.

    PS - LOVED the sky diving video, been meaning to tell you that.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love your blog. You're freaking hilarious!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. YAY for Boston!!!!! Your not weird, I only wish I was as entertaining as you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. You always make me laugh with you!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have always wanted to be one of the cool kids!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think that most blogs are like that, you need to do a little poking around to see if it is a blog worth following. You know "really" following as in actually reading and sharing comments to learn a bit about one another.
    And your blog is no exception because each day I come here I wonder if I'll be laughing or learning or lamenting deep thoughts but thats the great SUAR for you. You always keep us guessing. ...and I love it! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  12. how could we possibley laugh at someone that has run with dean? always laughing with... just keepin it real, right? :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. These days, when I need to fart on the treadmill at the gym, I think of you.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Rose. I am honored. A fart on the treadmill is a beautiful thing and a sure way to make friends.

    ReplyDelete
  15. love reading your blog. in fact i almost spent an entire work day the day i found your blog "catching up". I'm hoping they don't monitor internet usage of I'm screwed. I can only imagine what they would think if they saw the title pussy posse or shart brownies. I may loose my job but i will still love reading in the process!

    cheers and happy running

    ReplyDelete
  16. Why be normal? I' glad you're on the internet just the way you are.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I think your blog is AWESOME and it is auto pilot for me in the am ;-) So much so that I did what annoys me the most and "shared" you on my fb! ha So...Keep all the poop, erection, peeing standing up (which funny enough my mom had me google the site for that thing cause there was a car in front of her with the site!), running, etc coming along!! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  18. You have one of the most unique blogs on the planet and the readers to prove it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Matty O - this is how pathetic I am. I actually read every stinking comment. It's the best part of my day, really.

    ReplyDelete
  20. i believe you say the things that we all think but never say. i mean i think fart, poop talk is fine but sooo many folks act all disgusted by it. i believe you are REAL and if that is strange than sign me up

    ReplyDelete
  21. I was laughing with you until "Wille Nelson."

    Seriously? Unless you have just recently discovered him, he hasn't been relevant for music in decades. Doobage on the other hand...

    ReplyDelete
  22. Your blog is better than the Saturday funnies!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I have to admit - I don't have the strongest stomach when it comes to bodily functions and stuff. So it is a tribute to how much I LOVE your blog that I come back every single day. I'm getting better, in fact. Sometimes I get through an entire post without blushing! But all that aside, I am drawn here by your heart. It shines through everything you write. You're real. And good. And you definitely keep things interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  24. WAIT. This isn't a runner mom blog? i'm outta here

    ReplyDelete
  25. If you master the peeing standing up thing, I don't think running with Dean will be your only claim to fame... with or without the Go-Girl.

    Hooray for plane tickets!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. You are definitely not weird and we really are laughing with you and not at you.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Yay for your plane tix. Adam has me laughing. YOu were one of the very first blogs I found when I started in October. I didn't know what everyone was referring to you about you poopin' your pants or a bunch of other "weird" things. I just thought you were right up my alley and it was refreshing really...to see someone not taking themselves too seriously. Willie Nelson...Hmm we saw him in Bend, OR a few years ago...definitely on his last legs with concerts...but it was Willie nelson so that made up for it.

    Funny Willie Nelson story...when I was a kid, I was in an awful religion that dwelled way too much on "Satan" (ugggh, good grief, I know.one of the reasons I can do without religion mostly) and how he is everywhere...blah blah blah...anyway, We lived up in Dillon, CO at the time and my mom was a big willie fan...When I'd go to bed at night I'd imagine sometimes that "Satan" was floating indian style outside my window (scary, I know) and guess who he was? Willie Nelson. I'd go to bed with Willie Nelson floating outside my window. What?! Now if that isn't weird and random then I don't know what is. But I like weird. :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Absolutely laughing with you! I can't even remember how I found your blog, but I'm so glad I did. It is on my "must read" list every morning. As Jennifer said - You're real. And good. And you definitely keep things interesting!

    And so glad you got your tickets!

    ReplyDelete
  29. I laugh with you... most of the time.

    ReplyDelete
  30. No you're not weird. I had to laugh when I read Oak Brook Half. I probably have seen this guy at local races passing my slow ass.

    ReplyDelete
  31. You make me laugh - keep blogging and good luck in Boston!!

    ReplyDelete
  32. no spooky memories when I saw him in concert. Really, a memory that makes me laugh. I was never really scared about willie....just an old dude with braids outside my window. Gee, if I thought he was an old dude when I was 4...good grief, he's still alive?? How old is he now??

    ReplyDelete
  33. Yessss! The picture with Dean is back up! :)

    Your blog is oh-so-strange and that's what I love about it. I think I am equally as strange (if you ask my family and friends anyhow). Actually even my co-workers think I am nuts. I like to surprise them with a little camel toe when I enter their office and I teach them handy yoga positions for when you have gas but you can't fart. :)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Laughing with you, and at you. How can one NOT laugh at a photo of a woman with white underwear sticking out of her stealth, batman like swimsuit? Maybe you should phone Robin so he can start accompanying you to the pool. People get used to reading your stories, for sure. Just takes a while after getting over all of the poop talk goin' on. PS- what year is your cycling trainer from? That thing looks Benjamin Franklin-esque.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Stacie - yeah it's way old. About 1996.

    ReplyDelete
  36. SUAR, you make "crapping in trees, overflowing toilets, and falling off treadmills" look normal and somewhat chic. You're blog is so unapologetically and brutally honest and that's why I love it. =)

    ReplyDelete
  37. I am a new follower and I knew right away that I'd love you... no questions asked!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Ah we love you just the way you are! Others will as well.

    I can't take a dump in the woods or see a hollowed out tree w/o thinking of you. That's a good thing. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  39. Laughing WITH you! You're not THAT weird, you're just like me but thin and fast and fecund. We're ALL out there shitting in the woods and falling off treadmills, THEY'RE all just too shy to talk about it.

    This is what I tell myself.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Love your blog! You definitely keep things interesting! Yay for Boston as well!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Totally laughing at you. Eh, its how I roll. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  42. Totally laughing with you. I'm not even embarrassed to make bush stops anymore. It's just part of the norm now.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Girl, I'm totally laughing with you every time I read your blog. You've seriously had me in tears with your stories since I started following your blog a few months back. Then, the hubs comes over to see what is so funny and we are both cracking up. Keep them coming!

    ReplyDelete
  44. If we were laughing at you you wouldn't care. You'd go on sharting and crapping behind bushes and wearing transparent swimwear. This is why we love you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  45. There are so many blogs to read, but with you I always leave with a smile on my face...or... a smirk on my face...or...rushing to get to the bathroom before I pee myself. Thanks for keeping it real!

    ReplyDelete
  46. I'm not a runner but you totally crack me up. That alone brings me back to see what funny story you have next. Not to mention the pussy posse (Did you go out to lunch with them yet?)

    ReplyDelete
  47. Another day of laughing out loud!! Good thing I wait until I am home to ready your blog :) I read the overflowing story and laughed so much!!!

    ReplyDelete
  48. We like you because you're REAL. We all fart and have crappy incidents while out running and you're not too prissy to talk about it. (BTW the fire hose incident involved my 21 yo son cleaning off the legs of his faecally incontinent Mum - that would never happen to you, would it?)

    ReplyDelete
  49. as a newer runner, I thank you for helping me to realize that one should always carry a little T.P.,when running, just in case!

    ReplyDelete
  50. I have a sticker...and we never ever know what's coming next.....nuff said...carry on!!

    ReplyDelete
  51. Laughing with you.. every step of the way! :) hell after all that, i still want to meet you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  52. You're weird in that "wow, that chick's just as weird as me and pretty funny to boot" kind of way. Totally laughing with you by the way because I can relate half the time - except when you talk about your running ability because I'm like the tortoise in the tortoise and the hare.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Congratulations on purchasing your plane tickets. You have got this.

    ReplyDelete
  54. love you just the way you are, don't change a thing!

    ReplyDelete
  55. You are absolutely hilarious! Don't change a thing! I love your gross (I mean that in a good way) humor. It is exactly what everyone else is thinking but they won't say out loud!

    ReplyDelete
  56. I was on Facebook and reading too quickly and read the first couple sentences.... something struck me as funny... I had read "He found my blog through a link on Gary COLEMAN'S website"

    For a split second I thought HOLY SHIT Gary Coleman is reading her blog, that's awesome!! Then I realized Gary Coleman is dead. Then I had to google if Gary Coleman was in fact dead, or if I mixed that up too. Then I re read the sentence and laughed so hard I almost woke up my entire house!

    ReplyDelete
  57. OMG...... This is a running blog? LMAO.

    ReplyDelete
  58. love your blog.... love you waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more.

    YTB!

    ReplyDelete
  59. Reading your blog first thing in the mornings always gets my day off to a great start! You motivate us all and keep us thinking positive. PLEASE keep up the great blogs and good for you for getting that plan ticket!

    ReplyDelete
  60. nah, I laugh with you. It's like that old quote about Howard Stern "I want to see what you'll say next." : )

    ReplyDelete
  61. I'm either laughing with you or totally inspired by you on every post. Love your blog!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  62. DEN -> BOS One way ticket to your dream run. YEA!! And always enjoy your blog du jour!

    ReplyDelete
  63. my first thought when i got here and saw the undies pic... "well, this is going to be interesting". yup. i wasn't disappointed!

    ReplyDelete
  64. You are awesomely weird and if only there were MORE tree crapping in the world.....

    ReplyDelete
  65. Always laughing with you! I think farting, shitting, barfing....hell even erections all are fair game when talking about running! Love your honesty and upbeat blog posts :) yaaaaayyy for Boston!

    ReplyDelete
  66. So laughing with you but that's not to say that if I ever got to actually meet you and you did something hilariousI wouldn't laugh at you. :)

    ReplyDelete