I scared Linda, my wife, half to death on Saturday -- not because I ran 11+ miles, though.
We have a small whiteboard on the fridge where, every morning, I write down the time I leave, the time I expect to be back, and a list of the streets that I'll run. Saturday, she was up earlier than normal getting ready to go to an ESL (English as a Second Language) training session and realized that I was not back even though it was 30 minutes after I said I would be back. After another 15 minutes, she hopped in the car and went to see what ditch I was lying in and trying to figure out what hospital the EMT's would have taken me to. She couldn't follow the route so came home, hoping I was back. I wasn't and, to make things worse, she had seen that I had my route up on my laptop screen when she left but, while she was gone, the screen saver had kicked in and she didn't know the password to get back to the route (gMap Pedometer). Now, in her mind I'm badly hurt or dead, she can't find me, and she can't even get into my computer. That wasn't the most comforting thought she could have had. So, she left again to try to follow my route from the end back toward the beginning.
Well, I was within about 0.4 miles of the end of my run when I see this car stop at a very odd place in the road. Now, at this point, I'm oxygen-deprived, glycogen-deprived, probably slightly dehydrated and didn't recognize the car. But, I'm thinking, "Why is this lady parking there and blocking my way? She's going to make me run around her? Come on!" About the time I got to the car, I realized it was Linda but I thought she had decided to head to the training early and was just coming by to tell me "Good-bye".
Then, when I stopped, I saw she was upset about something. She asked me if I was OK. I said, "Yes" but thought I must really look awful for her to be upset and to ask me that. Then, she held up the whiteboard, pointing to the time I said I would be back. Now, at this point, it's about 8:05 and I'm about 5 minutes earlier than I thought I might be. But, I had written 7:15. Whoa! I was in the dog box for a bit, there -- somehow my breathless and energy-less "I'm sorry" wasn't really adequate. She knew I was OK and, because I had just stopped dead, I needed get moving before something bad happened to my body, so off I went to finish the last of the run. (I'm really not completely heartless but just stopping dead still after running can do bad things to one's body.)
After her adrenaline levels went back to normal, we were able to laugh about this. But, I guarantee you that I'll double-check the times I write down. Putting down 45 minutes when I mean to put down 1 hour and 45 minutes isn't the best way to make one's wife happy. Also, she now knows my computer password (I can no longer hide the account where my million dollars are stashed). Further, she knows that I have both our house phone and **her** cell phone numbers on the Smart ID on my shoe. Hopefully there will never be a reason for her to worry again.
Run well -- and smart -- y'all,
Bob
Richmond
3 comments:
poor mom! :(
That's a good idea, to write down the route and time you're running...I may have to borrow that one!
It has helped my wife not worry about whether I'm OK or not -- as long as I put down the right time. :) Because I run pre-dawn much of the year, she was concerned that I wouldn't be seen and get hit. I also wear a reflective vest when I run in the dark and have the Smart ID tag on my shoe.
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