So, I get up to run at 6:30. It’s gotten to the point where it is dark for the first half of my run. The other day I was running and a guy ran onto the trail in front of me. I was slowly gaining on him, and I figured he could hear me behind him. He had headphones on, but I can hear myself running with headphones so I figured he could hear me too. Running on crushed granite is not exactly the quietest mode of transportation.
After tailing him for about 1/4 mile and right when I was about to pass him a deer startled off the path to the left of us. He looked to the left, startled by the deer and noticed me in his peripheral vision. I think he nearly lost it completely. I apologized rather profusely for startling him and went on my way.
I felt horrible for doing it. I sort of knew it was going to happen, but what do you do? Do you yell out, “Hello there! Just wanted to let you know that I’m running behind you, and I’m not a serial killer or anything trying to sneak up on you, so, uh…, carry on!”
I really hope that doesn’t happen to me. I’m already on edge on that trail. All the stumps seem to be moving out of the corner of my eyes, tree branches jump out at me, and I’m constantly inhaling partially digested insects that spiders have carefully hung in webs stretched taught across the path to be exactly at my mouth level. I have visions of having to hobble back out onto Manchaca trying to keep from bleeding to death after being attacked by a hockey masked killer in the woods, and trying to flag down one of the speeding motorists who are late for work and don’t have time to help the guy bleeding on the side of the road, And is that a man in a hockey mask coming up behind him with a knife to finish him off- oh, hey the light turned green. I wonder how my Dell stock is doing today?
I watch too many horror movies to go running in heavily wooded areas. But, I’m working on my irrational fears. I’ve got to get over them before Stella starts trying to convince me there are monsters in her closet. Otherwise, we’ll both be sitting on her bed, covered in a blanket (up to our necks, because monsters can’t attack you if you’re covered up to your neck), cowered in fear, looking at the closet door, praying it doesn’t open.
Today, I became convinced that my iPod is trying to slow me down. I started running the trail counter-clockwise rather than clockwise, and my run that was 5k just a week ago is now 4.1k. Counter-clockwise makes the trail almost completely downhill and has shaved about 6 minutes off my time. But who knew it could shave off .9k too?
2007-10-05T03:39:33.000Z
Perhaps you should just say, turn down the iPod, nimrod? If he can’t hear you coming up on him, he should seriously consider why he’s so distracted. I get scared of the dark, still. When I read something scary, I have to fall asleep to my nightlight, aka, TV on the sleep setting. If I’m lucky, I fall asleep before it goes off. I realize it’s sad. And even though I know that the shadow on the wall is just the coatrack, it still terrifies me.
2007-10-05T04:46:57.000Z
You’re right and wrong there Tim. See you have to cover your nose, mouth and ears so that the bugs can’t crawl in while you sleep. This of course means that you’re covered up to your neck so that you’re mostly safe from monsters, but there’s still one trap. You also have to keep all your bits in the bed. If any toes or fingers go past the edge of the mattress then all bets are off and the monsters can grab you and drag you under the bed. … Just so you know.
2007-10-05T05:23:47.000Z
I’m really glad that I was able to keep my neurosis at bay enough to be able to breath comfortably at night. Obviously, there’s a rational piece to my irrational fears. My body parts do not leave the bed, except while wrapped in a sheet. The vampires hate the sheet.
I agree with a lot of people that $15-20 for a reusable bag is way too expensive. That’s $45-60 just to get all your groceries home. Walmart’s going to be having these reusable bags for $1. No excuses now.
