Walkers vs. Runners; Plus: Too Much Chipotle

Yesterday’s little car incident has kept me thinking. I’m grateful for everyone’s comments and really wanted to share my scoop to make the thought of car awareness (and, when you’re driving, of pedestrian awareness) top of mind.

I laughed the hardest when I read Jen C’s comment:

My husband got into an argument when he was crossing in a crosswalk while running and a car got pissed about it. The next day, he made a sign with the driver-pedestrian rules to post on that corner […]

Which sounds precisely like something I would do (and, I’ll admit, it was something that crossed my mind yesterday!).

But doesn’t it seems that the car-pedestrian relationship is most strained with runners? After work today, I walked about 1.5 miles to meet Neil at Starbucks and then crossed the street to eat too much at Chipotle. On more than one occasion, I had to cross the street in front of cars (no, no one hit me today) that willingly yielded for me. It was a nice change of pace.

I initially thought it was a conditioned response—I was on a college campus where students run rampant, defying the laws of traffic and sense; people are used to yielding on a dime. And then I saw a runner.

The guy ran past me and seemed to encounter troublesome cars at every turn. Sure, he was moving faster than I was walking, but he wasn’t Michael Johnson! Lucky for him (and for my sanity), he didn’t get hit… within my eyeshot at least.

What is it about runners and drivers? On one hand, I think it’s just rude people who have lost touch with any trace of civility. Everyone seems to want to bull through everything in an SUV. On the other hand, I wonder if there isn’t a tinge of entitlement (over every piece of land) mixed with jealousy in the rude driver. How many times have you, as a runner, had someone like that say something nasty like, “I wish I had time to run” or “I would run if I didn’t have to [insert excuse here]”? They imply that somehow, by running, you have fewer things to do, an easier life or fewer responsibilities. But I think we all know the truth on that front.

I can admit it: I’m still angry (it’s not obvious, is it?) and as I went out for a loose and relaxing late-evening run (around 8:30 p.m.) for 2.52 miles I was hoping to see Mr. Cadillac and his dented hood. But it was pretty desolate on my neighborhood loop today and pretty difficult for me to get going. Perhaps everyone else ate too much at Chipotle (vegetarian tacos) like I did. It was that overeating (or thinking about it), however, that pushed me over the edge to just put on my shoes and hit the road. With that much food in me, I thought, how could I truly lack energy?

While I’ve enjoyed running in the evening, I’ve been skipping lunch runs lately for this or that reason. And, of course, the rec. center is closed for the week, so running during the day has a bit of a stink factor weighing against it. I had considered rigging up our water cooler (it has hot and cold water) to the office bathroom wall to shower after a midday run this week, but I thought my co-workers might find me less bizarre if I were stinky than destroying the bathroom and the water cooler.

More bright ideas to come…

So, today was supposed to be a resting day, but I took the brief run and did some weight training. I quipped for a while because it was the perfect night (mentally, physically and weather-wise) for a bike ride… but I still have a flat! One of these days I need to get to the bike shop to get a tune-up, a pump and a patch kit. In other words: I need to get on the ball and get cycling.