IPods=Damn Shame

Technology is great, and I'm not sure how I would get through any of my training runs if I wasn't pumping tunes into my ears when running by myself. But one place where I think ipods are a damn shame is on race day. My most recent experience is at one of my favorite running races , the Santa Barbara Half Marathon, which is a beautiful race held along the coast of Santa Barbara the first week in November. This is my 4th year doing it, and my second year running it by myself.

One of my favorite things about organized races is the sense of comradarie I get with my fellow runners. No one on my pace is necessarily trying to win their age group (trust me on this one...) so it's easy to encourage the people around me, and for a little thing like a "looking good" comment to go a long way to pushing me towards the finish. But probably what I enjoy most is when it gets towards the latter part of a race, and I'm hurting and wanting the race to be over. When I come across someone who looks like I feel I really enjoy the satisfaction of being able to tell them to 'keep going' and that they're "looking good, almost there." It helps me probably more than it helps them.

This year I realized what was different when I passed a woman at mile 9 who looked to be not having fun, and when I passed I told her "almost there, you're doing great" with no response. So I looked over and noticed she had her headphones in. As I ran the last 4 miles I observed that almost all of the people running had ipods in, and in turn seemed to be in their own little world.

Now, I know the race organizers "strongly discourage" wearing ipods for safety reasons, but really shouldn't the people running want to set the tunes aside for a few hours and just soak up the atmosphere around them? Sadly, I think running is changing like the rest of the world where each individual wants to 'create' their own atmosphere that's not to be shared with anyone else.

I for one, thing this is a change for the worse.

Another ride...another fall. Sheesh.

I took a spill on my bike this past Tuesday during the morning group ride, it was real disheartening. The roads were slick due to the fog out here, and I happened to be at the front of about 40 riders, as we went around a turn, and the minute I hit the painted part of the road my tires slipped out like I was ice skating. To add insult to injury, no one stopped; basically everyone just rode around me and took off up the road. I had to bend my rear derailler into place in order to ride home.

I limped into the office later, and I got a call from a guy named 'Stu.' Turns out Stu was the guy I was riding next to when I went down. He's a partner at a firm here in L.A. and all I got out was that my name was Mitch and I'm a recruiter before I hit the deck. Stu had his secretary google-track me down. He told me he felt real bad about my fall and wanted to see if I was alright, etc etc. A pretty nice gesture I thought.

So, I'm feeling a little better about things; but then I walk out of the office and hear a bunch of noise from the recruiters...you guessed it...his secretary knew one of the recruiters here so she called her to ask about how I was doing since I was in an accident. Keep in mind that I was supposed to be 'at a meeting' not out riding the bike. Sweet times....