The Earphone Dilemma

A couple of days ago after a short run, I was stretching happily to the dulcet tones of Evanescence (don’t judge me!) in my local park when a couple of guys approached me. I was in a sort of ungainly squat, about to belt out the talky section of ‘Wake me up’ as they did so, and I could see one of them was talking to me. I pulled one earphone out to make out what he was saying.

“That’s right” he said, nudging his companion as though they had discovered a dog walking on his hind legs and talking. “You warm up”

“Oh” I said. “No, i’m cooling down”.

Now i’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t blessed with the world’s best social skills, but it didn’t seem like there was much more to say that than. So as I replaced my earphone and began to squat back down, I was surprised to see he was still talking to me.  I took my earphone out again.

“Oh you’re cooling down, are you?” He said with some apparent irritation.

“Um, yes?..”

“Well.” He said “Don’t mind me. Didn’t mean to offend you.”

At this point I am so bewildered, his response such as if I said “No, you fucking moron, can’t you see i’m COOLING DOWN!? Jesus!” I take a clear look and see they both have open cans of lager and I wonder if this has something to do with it.

“That’s ok. You didn’t offend me, just sort of in a rhythm. “ I try to smile, although i’m thinking about the heartfelt ballad that i’m missing out on. I also become aware that i’m still in a semi squat, which must be rendering the situation extremely odd to the casual onlooker. The men start muttering to each other, and finally move off.

This is not the same thing as a friendly greeting from other runners. They don’t want to dilly dally around and talk either. A nod and a breathless “Morning!” is all anyone expects whether running or stretching. I have to say when I first began running, I couldn’t have responded to any greetings. I was so gripped in a hot head fog of pounding heart and dying lungs I could barely even hear them. But as I became fitter, not only did I return passing greetings or acknowledgments, but I instigated them. Even with headphones on, you can flash a quick smile and greeting. Some people respond to you, and some don’t.  I don’t expect a conversation and I certainly am not going to make someone stop what they’re doing to explain to me why they didn’t answer me! I think this is a sort of universal understanding amongst those who go out to train with earphones in, and something not understood by anyone who spends every Wednesday afternoon wandering around their local park trying to find someone to mock.

So here’s the thing. I love training socially. I go to classes and I run with friends. If i’m running a race, I chat to those running around me, and love the camaraderie of helping each other the obstacles and motivating anyone who may need it (which oftentimes is me!). But if i’m out on my own, and I have my music cranked up to the max in my ears, it means please leave me alone! I’m doing my own thing, i’m in my own zone, and I really don’t want to have to interrupt what i’m doing just to feed your slight amusement that i’m training! Although please tell me if I dropped my hat. I love my hat.

Flatt7