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June 9, 2006
Really Now
I'm pathetic. Truly, utterly pathetic. I have been running past a particular location near my house for over a year now (This is currently my one year anniversary of moving to Yellowstone! Sweet!). In any case, I have strung together a series of sidewalk-trail-back road-dirt road stuff that allows me to run about 8 miles at a time with only brief exposure to the crazy tourists. One of those brief exposures to tourists occurs along a patch of road directly below a switchback, and it's occasionally a life-and-death experience along that stretch of road when an inattentive tourist comes screaming through the curves.
Today I discovered a connector trail that eliminates the potential for those scary moments. It's well-marked with a sign saying "Trail." And somehow, I've never noticed it. How's that for pathetic? It's a beautiful trail. It ducks about 50 feet or so below that road, and rolls along through groves of aspen trees and tall green grass for a mile or so. The trail ends about 100 safe yards from where the next car-less dirt road begins. What a discovery, though I feel like an idiot for not ever having noticed the trail or the very obvious sign stating "Trail." Hah!
Today was 6 miles easy in between thunderstorms. It was tricky, to know when to dash out there. I missed the rain, but that didn't matter because I was fully soaked when I got home, from the humidity. Not accustomed to such a high dew point, I felt all wilty! How do you people handle the combined heat and humidity? I used to know how, I'm a Midwesterner at heart, but I think my body has since forgotten.
Yesterday I did a mile repeat workout. My times were horrible, and I didn't feel good doing the repeats either. They're too embarassing to print here. On the bright side, I finished with 2x400 "hard," and they felt fabulous and looked fabulous on my watch afterwards (That is, the temporary watch I've been using for my runs, found in the back of a drawer. It's awful, I can't figure out how to set its time. The only thing I know how to do is to start, stop, and reset its timer. Thank goodness I could figure that out. I have to wait until I go to a real town to buy a new one.). I feel horrible, like death after 2x400 "hard," I guess anyone should, but I love it.
EDIT: Tonight I had a phone date with a friend. No, nothing that exciting folks, not a real date date. More like, a scheduled window of conversation and wine with a good friend who lives thousands of miles away. I think it's kind of pathetic when two people are busy enough that they have to actually schedule such things. In any case, I told her about my ridiculous trail discovery today, and she reminded me of many quite obvious things that I have failed to observe in years past. Darn friends and their memories of me. I also have a terrible memory, to my friend's delight because she can tease me about it all over and over. I've just added to her arsenal of information about me, it seems.
Other obvious things that I've failed to observe at various points in life:
1) The time I went on a downhill skiing date, and I went into the bathroom after a morning of skiing only to find dried snot on my face, which my date had oh-so-kindly not pointed out.
2) When I somehow failed to notice that I was low on gas on a long drive, and I ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere, and the only place within walking distance to ask for help was a place called "Triple XXX Books and Movies."
3) The time I was having a bathroom emergency out in the Wisconsin countryside on a long run, and I ducked into some trees next to an electrical sub-station which I thought was deserted, and I solved my bathroom emergency in front of 2 men working at the sub-station.
And last but not least, and my friend's favorite:
4) When I walked out of a bar restroom, all lit up on cheap tequila, with the back of my sundress tucked into my underwear.
Really now, this is all true.
Posted by Meghan at June 9, 2006 5:50 PM
Comments
I don't wear sundresses, but I have been lit up on cheap tequilla and have you beat so don't worry about your lack of observation on things--it's a sign of genius. For all your stories, I have similar ones that involve me forgetting things in my life. I'll post those at some point to make you feel better.
Posted by: duncan at June 10, 2006 10:34 AM
I have walked out of the bathroom *at work* (i.e., not lit up on anything) with my dress tucked into my underwear. I got all the way back to my cube before I noticed the breeze.
Posted by: joe positive at June 10, 2006 4:07 PM