Sunday Six

I got in a six miler on Sunday afternoon, which was a feat considering the day consisted of the following:
2 donuts and 2 coffees for breakfast
post-donut waterskiing
2 hotdogs with chips for lunch
sailing with requisite beer

I felt surprisingly good on the run, but mainly just felt good that I made it out after a busy day.

My observations during the run were all about the other folks I saw along the way. I encountered about 4 cyclists, 3 runners and 2 sets of people just out for a walk, and only 1 runner and 1 cyclist even made eye contact with me, never mind waving. I was pretty shocked at that. I always feel some level of kinship with others on the road, whether they're running, riding, walking, whatever. Yesterday, no one shared this idea.

It got to the point where I thought the lack of friendliness had something to do with what I was wearing. Due to the heat, I ran without a shirt and added a wristband to take care of the sweat. It just so happens that my only wristband is a pink number that was a freebie from my Gravis days. I also wore new shades for the first time, realized I didn't like them, and had them perched on top of my head. I pictured myself shirtless, with the pink wristband and shades as a fashion-accessory and got the idea that these Vermonters might be turned off by that particular look, so I ditched the wristband for the second half of the run. Well, it didn't make a difference, which was actually reassuring to me. I'd rather think that people were just plain unfriendly than think they were unfriendly specifically because they thought I was treading too lightly.

Of course, all of these folks were probably simply typical, keep-to-yourself New Englanders with absolutely no ill-will and no agendas. I, on the other hand, needed and enjoyed the shadey sub-plot (as ridiculous as it was) to keep my mind off the run. Isn't it crazy where your mind will take you when you're out there on the roads?