Saturday, March 8, 2014

I Smile, I Wave, I Thank [And the Art of Anticipation]



No, not that.


That's more like it.

When I see another runner, especially out in the icy snow and cold, I smile and wave.  In Texas, I rarely encountered runners that acknowledged a wave or smile, which I don't mind.  In Chicago, though, it seems like runners really feel each other.  I came across five or six runners this morning, all smiles and waving.  One even cheered me on with an "ALLRIGHT!  WOOOO!" as we passed each other.  WOOOO!

It wasn't particularly cold this morning; though it wasn't warm by any stretch of the imagination.  Harry mentioned that it was "bad cold", the kind of cold that seems more cold than it should.  Meh.  What do I know?  I only went 10 miles, and he did 14.  It was BREEZY, so breezy that my brand new ponytail (my hair was so long, I usually sported a messy bun) whipped around like nobody's business.  It was different.

I love snow, but seriously, I'm ready to see some color other than gray!





Around mile 7.  RUNGRY.  FOR THAT.


As you can see, the sidewalks weren't exactly clear yet.  Although, the weather is warming up, leaving huge slush puddles.  I thanked every single person I saw clearing their sidewalks.  They deserve a pat on the back for, what I consider, trying to keep *ME* from falling down on my butt.  People were out and about today, too...people who would stare me dead in the eyes and walk on the cleared part of the sidewalk in their waterproof boots and make me run on the icy, unstable parts of the sidewalk.  To quote Harry (in jest, of course), "Why is life so hard?!".  Running in this city has taught me about the art of anticipation regarding other humans and their paths.

Do you call out to people when you're about to pass them, just to give them a heads up?  I do, but it only seems to cause drama.  I have to rely on my super agility to spring to the other side of where I called because 98% of people I pass think "On your left" means "I want you to move to the left so I can pass you on the right."  No clue why, but that's okay!  It's only less okay when the place I'm bouncing to is icy and slick, which causes me to use my backup super agility.  Boing, boing, boing...  I try very hard not to get frustrated.  It's not like everyone has to get out of my way, and I certainly don't want to scare people by alerting them that I'm trying to run around them.  I just don't want to fall.  Ever.

So a little over 10 miles at a very easy 9:44 pace over the ice, snow, and slush, and around a whole bunch of people.  :)  Those miles go toward my FitFluential #FFMarchMiles.

These challenges are really going well!  Today's #SweatHappyWithYoga was this:


 And ZOOMA + Altra Running's ZOOMAPhotoADay was "Shadow".  Last year, Harry visited me for my birthday when I still lived in San Antonio.  It was his first trip to Texas, so I had to show him my hometown of Austin!  I took him to the house I grew up in, which backs up to the Greenbelt, where Barton Creek runs.  I showed him the creek I used to go to all of the time, to do my homework, to go read, to just listen to music.  It was my hangout.  He adored it, and had the brilliant idea of taking this photo.


So an oldie, but a goodie.  :)

We just inhaled enjoyed some ice cream and are spending the rest of our Saturday evening watching "Lost".  I got him hooked on this show!  <3

----------------------------------------

Do you have a peaceful Sunday lined up, or do you have chores and errands?


Do you alert people you're attempting to pass on trails or sidewalks when riding your bike or running?  What's the most productive way you can do this?


Are you looking forward to the new week?  FRESH START!  

3 comments:

  1. I understand the concern about calling to people when you're running, not from a runner's standpoint but the opposite. I feel like every time someone yells something like "on your left" I do kind of lean to the left because it startles and confuses me! This happened while I was hiking yesterday. I always feel so bad! I guess I'm just not very quick on my feet. Looks like it's starting to warm up a little....yayyy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I once got a high five from a group of cross country school kids for moving off the sidewalk to let them pass.

    I only alert my presence if there will be no room to comfortably pass, otherwise I give them as wide a berth as possible and pass without saying anything.

    Occasionally I acknowledge other runners if we catch each others' eye. I primarily run on a bike path, so I pass a whole lotta people.

    Good work on the challenges!

    ReplyDelete
  3. One time when Ben and I were running together on a trail there was another runner coming towards us so I wanted to greet him. Ben still to this day makes fun of me for how obnoxious I was... apparently my HI was so loud the deer could hear us. Oops. Now I let him say hi and I just wave. :)

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Blog Archive