Tyler is my HERO

"Hey, you created me. I didn't create some loser alter-ego to make myself feel better. Take some responsibility!" - Tyler Durden in Fight Club.

     I don't have Tyler Durden in my head. But I have a dude a whole lot like him. In fact, I call him Tyler. He likes to cuss me and bully me around. I love him. He pisses me off all the time, gets on my nerves when I feel like I am going to die and pushes me to get up and get the miles in when I have no interest at all in training. Fortunately, for me, my Tyler only wants to punish me. Unless, of course, I can rope somebody into coming along on a long run in the heat of summer or the freezing temps of the winter, but that is more their own fault than mine or Tyler's. 


     I think that anybody who pushes themselves out the door or onto a treadmill and runs has someone like this in their head. An instinct or drive to focus on the task and complete something that is HARD. Without this "voice" they're would be no distance runners, without this "voice" a lot of us would be eating Doritos or Cheetos on our couches while slurping down a soda and watching re-runs of Seinfeld. Accept it, we all hear "voices". It is what keeps us going in the lonely and difficult runs, be it a marathon or a short training run. We need to hear that encouragement and, at times, that kick in the butt to finish strong. 


     Many people say that runners, distance or endurance runners in particular, are crazy. I think they may be right. Most runners have a loose screw or two but not my Tyler. That dude is a STUD......