A running buddy of mine experienced the joys of an internet "troll" a few days ago. He's fine, but I'm annoyed with the attitude which seems to be quite prevalent in some people these days.
So, the background of this is he's a really good athlete, even when he's injured, and believe me, there are times that I'm green with envy. The thing is, being a really good athlete doesn't mean you're always on great form, or that you're happy with your performance. He wasn't particularly impressed with a run that he did, and shared this on Instagram, then Nobby the Troll decided to have a go at him for "moaning" about something other people would "dream of".
In the grand scheme of things, it's like the last Mentos. If you get the last Mentos in the packet, great, if not, the world economy isn't going to collapse and everyone's life will go on as normal. Except, it's not that simple.
This sort of person is the type to have taken my last Mentos, and eaten it, then told me to get a grip because there are worse things happening in the world. Yes, there are, but that doesn't make it acceptable for you to steal my Mentos (or have a go at me for sharing when a run didn't go well, because that's what I use Instagram for).
Additionally, you don't know what I had planned for that Mentos. Okay, we're not talking about me taking it to the local registry office and making it my life partner, but maybe I'm stressed and the mint will calm my stomach, maybe I ate a tuna sandwich at lunch and am going on a date this afternoon/evening and don't want to have tuna breath (I mean, I wouldn't, since I don't even eat tuna, but still). Maybe my life partner at home thinks I never do anything considerate towards her, she loves Mentos and I'm going to take her my last one because she hates Rolos but the sentiment is the same (IT DEFINITELY ISN'T, but just humour me.)
My point is, you don't know.
I had a really s****y run the day I was supposed to decide whether to pull out of LLHM or not. I was told something along the lines of, well, you've done better than x person, or whatever, but the problem was it was a s****y run at a time I really didn't need a s****y run. I'm stubborn and pigheaded, so I just did the run and bother to the consequences, but maybe someone's not where they want to be on a training plan, maybe they're in pain, maybe they're a few minutes behind their PB, or they've been stuck a few seconds behind a new one for weeks and they just can't smash through that - my point is, you don't know. You aren't entitled to make that decision for them, just like you don't get to decide if I can spare my last Mentos. Maybe you think it's ungrateful that people fitter or faster or better at something than you are complaining, but trying to make them feel crappy about themselves for it makes you the bad guy; just try and have a bit more compassion and understanding for a situation that is different to yours. And for future reference, keep your hands off my Mentos.
Catch you later.
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