thank you, captain obvious

I live in a small town on the other side of the river (that would be the Mississippi...the river) from St. Louis. It's kinda of a weird limbo land between suburb and small town. We are a little jaunt away from the city, but it still is an area where you pretty much can't go anywhere in town without running into a familiar face. It's a great town...I'm a fan. Our claim to fame....a giant ketchup bottle.

So, as you can imagine, all those familiar faces see me running...often. I can't go a week without someone saying, "Hey, I saw you running yesterday," or "Was that you I saw the other day on .....street? Wow, that was really far away from your house! You're crazy!" Sometimes people honk and wave, which I appreciate...kinda feels like having my own personal race spectators day in and day out. If it didn't make me look like a huge dork (which I am, but I don't like to advertise), I would wear one of my marathon race bibs with my name on it so they could go one step further and yell, "Go Betsy! You are the Bets!" or "Hey, check Betsy out! What a huge running dork!" I'm sure I may be getting some inapppropriate honking also (the "Hey baby, you runnin' my way?" variety), but I'm usually listening to my ipod, so I can't tell the difference.

The comments that tend to bug me come from people who stop you to tell you stuff. Here are a few examples, feel free to comment if you think I'm being too harsh.

1. I was doing some speed work in my neighborhood. One of the mini-van mavens pulled up beside me and rolled down her window. Not wanting to be rude, I stop and jog in place to see what she wanted...maybe she lost her dog. Nope, she simply stopped me to tell me that she has noticed me running over the past few years and that she admired my dedication. Thanks, great. Tell me that when I'm walking my dogs. Tell me that when you see me at the store. Don't stop me in the middle of an all out sprint.

2. I go to Walgreens, the grocery store, post office, etc. Townie stops me and says with a chuckle, "Hey, Betsy did you run here?" "Why aren't you running?" "Wow, look at you! You are dressed in normal clothes! I didn't know you wore anything besides running gear!" "If I forget something on my list, I'll call ya and you can just run back up here for me, right?" I usually just laugh and say "Ha, ha...good one!" However, this is my internal response when I'm feeling extra snarky....

• I have a life outside of running. I eventually stop and interact with people. I'm not a hamster. Running is not the only thing I do.


• I have a job. I'm not a fast runner and no one is knocking down my door to offer me big money endorsements to run around town. So, yes, I do own "normal" clothes and shower on a very regular basis, thank you.


• No, I will not "run" your errands. I would likely knock myself out with your milk jug and break all of your eggs. I will not pick up your feminine products or hemorrhoid cream and run down the street...I would most definitely ruin my chances with Hot Runner Guy.
  

3. A few weeks ago, some old lady and her husband (not Chicken Lady) were stopped at a light at a busy intersection in our downtown area. She rolled down her window and finger waved at me to come over to her car. Seriously?! You want me to run into the middle of the intersection and risk getting flattened? Ah....no. I like all my appendages right where they're at, thank you.

4. Mile 23 of my last marathon...I'm nearing the beer stop. My legs are shredded. I am feeling EVERY step. I know that if I stop, I'm never going to start again. The beer stop has some very chipper spectators, which I appreciated. One of the spectators saw me, ran across the race field and waved me down, yelling "Stop!" Ah....no Silly Lady, I'm not gonna do it and you can't make me (I think I may have actually said that out loud). So, Silly Lady jogged along next to me and said, "Oh honey, I just had to stop you to tell you that my name is Betsy too! You don't often meet another Betsy!" You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me. Obviously Silly Lady has never run a marathon.