Opening Statement
The one thing about running in Memorial Park is that you never know who you are going to run into. Sometimes it's a good thing; other times not so much.
This morning while running around the park I ran into Carolyn. Well, not literally, but I did see a pink streak moving toward me and once you see the pink hat, well, you pretty much know it's Carolyn. She sure likes her pink (although her towel is not pink, hmmmm). And by the way, running into Carolyn is a good thing.
Anyway, since I was just over 2.5 miles into my four mile run, I opted to turn around and run the opposite direction and Carolyn and I caught up. And somehow I think she modified her pace to enable me to keep up, if you know what I mean. Regardless, her conversation made a nice run a fabulous run.
I would like to tell you time and distance but apparently there was a user error in the operation of the Garmin - doh! I can only assume there are ghosts at Memorial Park going to great lengths to funk with me because, well, I don't make erorz.
Tard-nation
I understand that there are stupid people everywhere and that entire industries are built on the premise that stupid people walk this earth by the millions. But seriously, I thought that all the stupid people would still be dreaming about giant ice cream cones and automatic dog washers at 5:30 AM. Apparently not.
Let me be fair and say that the following is not a knock on walkers per se, just stupid people - because the same damn thing happens with runners too.
There are a few spots in Memorial Park where the running/walking trail narrows. This morning a blob of walkers were approaching one of the narrow portions of the trail. I have to say, they were all walking two-by-two, which is sort of a tribute to them because it proves they can read the posted signs. It became apparent that this blob of three sets of two-by-two was not a singular blob, but three separate mini blobs as the two trailing blobs opted to pass the lead blob - at the narrowest point in the course. With several runners bearing down on them. With several runners, including myself, behind them.
Let me ask you, do you think any of the two groups of two opting to pass at the narrowest part of the trail (which by the way can accomodate 3-4 wide) opted to look and see what was coming toward them before making their move? I presume you answered "no" so stick a Gold Star on your blog or your refridgerator.
The approaching runners had two options: 1) climb a tree or 2) jump into the road. At any other time of day option two is not a wise decision unless you have a desire to join your small furry animal friends as road kill. And further, to be honest, I don't think Tarzan was out running this morning, so option one was kind of a throwaway.
Hence, several runners had to jump into the street to avoid having to stop and wait for the mini blobs to go by. No harm, no foul - right? Except I was soon to be involved in this mess. We have reached the point where the blobage is infringing on my right to exude awesomeness, because now there are several runners backed up behind the blobs, walking, because in order for us to pass we either need to be Transformers that can turn into an oversized Self-Propelled DR Field and Brush Mower or Chinese acrobats. And well, I'm not Chinese, nor am I an acrobat.
Eventually the pass was made and the trail widened and after a few not-quite-inaudible cuss words, everything was back to normal.
There are two sad things about this story and neither has anything to do with the momentum several runners lost, the safety concern over forcing runners into the street or the rising hate for clueless people. First, at 5:30 in the morning there are roughly 1/10th the number of people using Memorial Park than there are at 5:30 PM. So something like this should not really happen. Second, if the blobage had just looked and waited 10-15 seconds before passing, none of this would have happened.
People, don't join the legions of stupid folk. If you must pass on a narrow course, have the courtesy to check and see if it will effect oncoming runners. Also, it would be pretty keen if you could also glance over your shoulder, if you know what I mean.
Listening to: Technologic - Daft Punk
Closing Argument: I'm making a beer run tomorrow - does anybody need anything?
