When to give up on a spouse

I no longer do a sitting job and I never will again. Sitting sucks. It's detrimental to your body, mind and spirit.
 
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My inspiration needs no exaggerations. I think even Micah complained about McDougall's journalistic embellishments. I once traveled with a journalist friend. It was amazing how much more amazing everything we did was through his eyes: Epic bus rides, desperate searches for market place food, cockroaches the size of baseballs (wait, that part might be true) . . . really quite hilarious.
 
My problem is that whenever I try to sit at home, my wife decides there is something more interesting I should do....like replace the sink, paint the ceiling...etc. As far as the actual thread goes...my wife doesn't get the barefoot thing, but she did get a pair of VFFs, that she wears at the gym. But I don't think I can convince her to wear minimalist footwear unless they look stylish enough. So at least your spouse has started, possibly time and patience will win out!
 
My inspiration needs no exaggerations. I think even Micah complained about McDougall's journalistic embellishments. I once traveled with a journalist friend. It was amazing how much more amazing everything we did was through his eyes: Epic bus rides, desperate searches for market place food, cockroaches the size of baseballs (wait, that part might be true) . . . really quite hilarious.

Here's the thing about that book, for me: I picked it up mainly because I kept reading references to how it was some sort of game-changer in the running world, but had absolutely no idea in what way. His writing style was entertaining enough, and as far as whether or not it was representative of objective reality or not didn't much bother me. It was well-written and fun to read, and that was all it was, up to a point.

Then, I got to the second half of the book, and it did what I think all good books aspire to do: it forced this reader to confront certain "settled truths" about my own experience, in this case, my running life. As I mentioned before, I had just finished training for my first race in years, was about a third of the way through the book on race weekend. After the race, nursing my inevitable post-race aches and pains, I got to the part about Lieberman and shoes and all that, and the proverbial light bulb exploded in my head. What if? I thought.

Up to that point, I'd given the few barefoot runners I saw at races precious little thought. I really had no idea why anyone in the world would run 13.1 or 26.2 or even longer without shoes, but hey, to each his own. But after reading BtR, I began to look at you guys in a whole new light. You weren't just showing off how tough (or insane) you were; there was real justification for doing it. And it made me give it a shot, and I haven't looked back since.

Popularized entertainment though it may be, I think that if it takes that benign method to get runners to places like this forum, and to Jason's and Ken Bob's books, then I'm all for it. It's that "spoonful of sugar" that makes the lesson go down easier. McDougall is a writer, and thus, an entertainer. There's a reason "Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo" has higher ratings than "Washington Week in Review." It's to our good fortune that at least he turned his skills to a subject that could have a positive impact on people's running lives.

And I've been to Florida...there are cockroaches the size of baseballs.
 
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Oops...I forgot the original thread.

The answer is...never.

My wife was a dedicated, committed non-runner since forever. No amount of my own enthusiasm for the sport, no amount of her volunteering at races and having fun doing so made her change her mind about wanting to do it herself.

Fast forward to my own foray into barefoot running. For some reason, it intrigued her enough to get her to toss her shoes and give it a short try. And to her (and my) surprise and delight, she enjoyed it. She continues to practice, little bits at a time, and I gently encourage but never push her. This is someone who seemed allergic to exercise for years, yet barefooting seems to have lit a small fire which I am certainly happy to carefully kindle.

So, my experience says to never give up, at least in your head. They can surprise you.
 
Oops...I forgot the original thread.

The answer is...never.

My wife was a dedicated, committed non-runner since forever. No amount of my own enthusiasm for the sport, no amount of her volunteering at races and having fun doing so made her change her mind about wanting to do it herself.

Fast forward to my own foray into barefoot running. For some reason, it intrigued her enough to get her to toss her shoes and give it a short try. And to her (and my) surprise and delight, she enjoyed it. She continues to practice, little bits at a time, and I gently encourage but never push her. This is someone who seemed allergic to exercise for years, yet barefooting seems to have lit a small fire which I am certainly happy to carefully kindle.

So, my experience says to never give up, at least in your head. They can surprise you.

Thanks. I won't give up, not really. I'll just make him think I have. He'll either come around to barefoot on his own, or he won't. I still love the stubborn man. =)
 
Popularized entertainment though it may be . . .
Yah, I've never read it so I can't say anything about its actual contents, just the blurbs turned me off. Not my sensibility. I suppose that's why I read ethnography instead of travel writing.

And I didn't in any way mean to diminish the obvious importance of the book, whatever its flaws. We all owe a lot to it, whether we were barefooters already or not.
 
Oops...I forgot the original thread.

The answer is...never.

My wife was a dedicated, committed non-runner since forever. No amount of my own enthusiasm for the sport, no amount of her volunteering at races and having fun doing so made her change her mind about wanting to do it herself.

Fast forward to my own foray into barefoot running. For some reason, it intrigued her enough to get her to toss her shoes and give it a short try. And to her (and my) surprise and delight, she enjoyed it. She continues to practice, little bits at a time, and I gently encourage but never push her. This is someone who seemed allergic to exercise for years, yet barefooting seems to have lit a small fire which I am certainly happy to carefully kindle.

So, my experience says to never give up, at least in your head. They can surprise you.
My wife so far fits into your wifes "old category". I mean the non runner allergic to exercise type. My wife likes to do things like hike and play softball and basketball, but the moment you label it "exercise" she clouds over and doesn't want to do it. I keep trying to get my wife to read btr but because it has running as a theme she refuses to read it. I think she is afraid she will become a nutty barefooter like me, and unfortunately she can't let go of how people may perceive her. My wife did purchase a pair of Merrells barefoot shoes though, but only because they were "cute". When I pointed out to her after we got home that they were part of the barefoot line she almost took them back, but then she decided they were just too cute and nobody had to know they were part of the barefoot line. In any case Thom, you give me hope that she may someday change, even if only slightly little by little.
 
Oops...I forgot the original thread.

The answer is...never.

My wife was a dedicated, committed non-runner since forever. No amount of my own enthusiasm for the sport, no amount of her volunteering at races and having fun doing so made her change her mind about wanting to do it herself.

.

This. She certainly is supportive of your passion, though. That's far more important to me. My wife runs, but hates competing in races. She feels too much pressure and compares herself to others. She did the two relays with me this summer and had mixed feelings about it. She shows up (and brings the kids) to most any race I run, unless they aren't really spectator friendly. She's volunteered, too, and i think she enjoyed it more than actually running.

She was totally cool with my barefooting, but my post injury quest for *something* that will keep me running without getting me injured has been a source of constant amusement.
 
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I guess I was lucky my wife started me down this garden path of barefoot running, I never ran before but she found me a running group that likes to drink beer. I was never able to run prior with all my knee issues, but I was determined to find a way, so I did the unspeakable. I LISTENED TO MY WIFE, and I dropped the shoes and here I am not quite 4 years later running, running some more, experiencing awesome things and of course drinking beer. :D
 
That "embellished writing" in non-fiction is what is known as CREATIVE non-fiction. That is what I write. The essence of the story is true, but the finite details are not.
 
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That "embellished writing" in non-fiction is what is known as CREATIVE non-fiction.
An older vocabulary colorfully compared it to the digestive waste of male bovines. More politely, it's called artistic license. As long as that is spelled out clearly, I see no problem with it. Otherwise, although I know it's unfashionable in these postmodern times, I still cling to the idea that there are 'facts' out there worth knowing and worth differentiating from fiction. As long as the embellishment's done with a wink when writing about inconsequential material, I suppose there's no harm done. Unfortunately, particularly in Hollywood historical dramas, you often have no idea if a particular character really existed unless you have intimate knowledge of the events being retold. A lot of room for abuse there, and for misinforming audiences, possibly for more than artistic motives. Plus, for fuddy duddies like me, it kind of takes the pleasure away from the story-telling experience. For me the worst are 'composite' characters. WTF is up with that?
 
If you asked my wife, it was the first and only time that I have listened to her. So I think I am ok here, but you on the other hand, painted toe nails! :eek:
 
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