1. A Moon/Venus False Start
The thinest possible slice of moon was hanging in the western sky next to the brightly shimmering light of Venus. Both were shrouded in a foggy mist, and the black sky of night was glowing with globular halos around both…
Wait. You don’t want to hear about this. This is the kind of wannabe-romantic mother-nature la-la served up so often here, so let’s talk about something else, shall we?
Rewind a week or so…
2. Good Job
It was a Saturday morning. The weather was frighteningly warm for February. We were running in shorts and short-sleeved shirts. The water stops every two or three miles were important. It was an out-and-back route, and I was on my way back.
As I ran south on Jefferson heading back downtown enjoying the downhill slope, I heard some runners behind me — footfalls of three or four runners. They were talking to each other, and as they approached their voices got louder. (I have never quite understood this talking-while-running thing. I don’t enjoy it as much as I enjoy the soothing silence of being by myself. But… whatever.)
Their voices got louder, and I could now hear one of them complaining.
“The thing I hate,” he said, “is when you’re three miles from the finish line and someone on the curb shouts out, Good job! Good job!”
“I just hate that,” he said, “I just want to yell back at them, Shut up!”
And at that moment they passed me, the footfalls of their feet getting quieter as they quickly pulled away.
I waited for a moment. And then (having little self control in these things) I shouted out, Good job! Good job!
A couple of them laughed, but (perhaps unsurprisingly) there was no reaction from the guy.
3. At the Water Stop
As it turned out, we were less than a quarter mile from the last water stop. And when I got there, the four of them were still hanging around, drinking from paper cups and chatting with the guy who was taking care of the Gatorade.
I walked up and got some water, walking around the guy who had been complaining.
“So, I’m sorry about that Good Job!,” I said to all of them. “That was obnoxious.”
They all laughed out loud, including the complaining guy.
“No it wasn’t,” they said. “That was great.”
Score one for Mr. Loudmouth.