Well, I just thought I'd regale you with the details of my little sprint this morning. No big deal, really, to anyone else but me, but I thought you might enjoy it.
I know I'm not scheduled to run, but I'm not going to the gym anymore, so I'm filling in with running. Besides, I'm miserable when I don't run (aka, yesterday), so I was definitely running today. Started out uneventfully, happy, even, because when I stepped outside, it was kind of cool-ish, still humid, but less hot than it's been. I know Bucks County has been getting rain, but so far, none here yet this weekend. Walk down my driveway, cross the boulevard and start my watch. Wait for the walkers, runners, strollers and bikes to pass, found my place on Beach Road, and started off.
At the half mile point, I pass a friend's house and I run just a little faster (you never know who's watching!). Check out the runners on the other side of the road, and the not-so-bright ones on MY side of the road (aka, the correct side of the road to be running on!) Give a few waves, a few thumbs up, a few nods. Keep on running. Pass a few walkers (yessss!), and then I come upon this old man running ahead of me. He has a golf hat on with crazy browni-ish gray hair sticking out of it, shoes on that were NOT made for running, and red bermuda shorts. Yes, that's right, with the pockets, cuffs and belt. They could've even had little sailboats on them, I'm not sure. He was running at a slow and steady pace, and I was taking him down (in my mind). I wasn't sure how far I was running this morning, two or three miles, but at that point, I decided I was running three. Passed the old guy, no problem.
My halfway point is the police station and the only stop signs on this particular stretch of road. That is my cue to catch my breath and walk for a minute or so, and head back for the second half of my run. Well, apparently it was Old Man's halfway point also. Doesn't he run past me? So I say, "No big deal, as soon as I start running again, I'll pass him again." And I did, no problem, and I'm like, "That's right, old man, you got nothin' on me." If people knew half the stuff that went on in my head, they'd think I was nuts. Anyway, on I go, sweating now because of the humidity. Passing some walkers, dodging some kids on bikes, the usual.
Up ahead I see some people standing in the road and I'm thinking I definitely have to go around them, into the road a little. Well, when I come up on them, I see why they're standing in the middle of the road. They're watching a house being demolished. I had to stop and watch for a minute, and so I decided to remove the phone from my arm and snap a picture.
At the half mile point, I pass a friend's house and I run just a little faster (you never know who's watching!). Check out the runners on the other side of the road, and the not-so-bright ones on MY side of the road (aka, the correct side of the road to be running on!) Give a few waves, a few thumbs up, a few nods. Keep on running. Pass a few walkers (yessss!), and then I come upon this old man running ahead of me. He has a golf hat on with crazy browni-ish gray hair sticking out of it, shoes on that were NOT made for running, and red bermuda shorts. Yes, that's right, with the pockets, cuffs and belt. They could've even had little sailboats on them, I'm not sure. He was running at a slow and steady pace, and I was taking him down (in my mind). I wasn't sure how far I was running this morning, two or three miles, but at that point, I decided I was running three. Passed the old guy, no problem.
My halfway point is the police station and the only stop signs on this particular stretch of road. That is my cue to catch my breath and walk for a minute or so, and head back for the second half of my run. Well, apparently it was Old Man's halfway point also. Doesn't he run past me? So I say, "No big deal, as soon as I start running again, I'll pass him again." And I did, no problem, and I'm like, "That's right, old man, you got nothin' on me." If people knew half the stuff that went on in my head, they'd think I was nuts. Anyway, on I go, sweating now because of the humidity. Passing some walkers, dodging some kids on bikes, the usual.
Up ahead I see some people standing in the road and I'm thinking I definitely have to go around them, into the road a little. Well, when I come up on them, I see why they're standing in the middle of the road. They're watching a house being demolished. I had to stop and watch for a minute, and so I decided to remove the phone from my arm and snap a picture.
Pretty cool, right? I thought so too. I stood there for a few minutes, watching the backhoe take apart this house. This woman in front of me thought it was pretty cool, too. It was a nice break, to just stand there for a minute, catch my breath. BUT WAIT! I'm now behind again! Oh no, I gotta go! I look over at all the people I've passed, now a few minutes ahead of me again, and of course, Old Man was up there, plodding along in his not running shoes and red bermuda sailboat shorts. At this point, I'm a little more than a half a mile from home, and now I have a goal. I'm taking this guy down, for the third time this morning. I take off from the house wrecking scene, and run ahead. I can see the walker I passed, who is now running, who I also have to pass. No problem, I got this. I can see Old Man up ahead, but I also spot my street. At this point, I am in a full sprint, my only goal being to pass Old Red Shorts before I get to my street. He must've heard me coming because he turned to look and I whizzed right by him, broke the tape and won the race. I make a right, head up my street, practically doubled over, I'm breathing so hard. But totally victorious. Aw yea!!
I'm sure he had no idea he lost anything, and he didn't even realize I was racing him, he was probably just happy to get out and run a few miles in his crazy getup. But in my mind, I beat that guy three times today, and all before 9:00 a.m. on a Monday morning. All I have to do now is stop picking on poor old guys on vacation, who just want to run a few miles. Maybe he forgot his running gear, and that's all he had! At least the guy got out there and ran, even if he did look ridiculous.
I don't begrudge anyone who actually gets their butt out the door, because showing up is the hardest part. Once you're out there, who really cares what you wear, how fast or slow you are, or what the other crazy people think about you? All I know is that the Old Guy in the Red Bermuda Shorts got me to run a little faster, sweat a little more and think of myself as a winner today. That's a pretty big deal in my book. And the reality is, his street was my street, and so we both ran the same amount of miles this morning. Good, bad, ugly or wonderful, a mile is a mile is a mile.
Happy Running,
Robbi
I don't begrudge anyone who actually gets their butt out the door, because showing up is the hardest part. Once you're out there, who really cares what you wear, how fast or slow you are, or what the other crazy people think about you? All I know is that the Old Guy in the Red Bermuda Shorts got me to run a little faster, sweat a little more and think of myself as a winner today. That's a pretty big deal in my book. And the reality is, his street was my street, and so we both ran the same amount of miles this morning. Good, bad, ugly or wonderful, a mile is a mile is a mile.
Happy Running,
Robbi
First of all - great post. I'm a fan. Can't wait for your next post:)) And secondly I think it's cool to see people out running that look like they have no reason to out in the firsts place. Think of the true desire they exhibit. They just want to run, like Forest Gump. They don't care how they look, it may have never crossed their mind. Simply enough, they really just "felt like running" (can you hear the southern twang). Write soon!!!
ReplyDeleteYou have a flare for drawing readers in! Cleverly written capturing the images of your run from the house to the clothes of the man. Awesome blog name, great story title, can't wait to see more!!
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