The Empty Trail

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“Raaaahh-byn.”

That’s how my dear, late Uncle Wayne used to say my name. 

He would say my name as a single statement, hands up, palms facing me as he prepared my listening ears for the wisdom he was preparing to bestow.  Serious eyes through thick glasses.

Most of the wisdom my Uncle Wayne saved up for me was given to me in my teenage years.  So, it goes without saying, whenever I heard my name in statement form, I felt this sense of dread.  Oh no, here we go again.

“Raaaaahh-byn.”  On full second of eternity passed before he continued, “You’ve got to be prepared.  You can’t put yourself in a position of vulnerability.”

That was always the theme of my Uncle’s musings.  Don’t let THEM get you, because THEY are always trying to get you.

Be alert.  Be aware.  Know basic car maintenance.  Know how to change a tire.  Never put yourself in an unsafe position.  Know how to take care of things yourself.

These days I miss hearing new bits of wisdom from my dear old Uncle Wayne although he need not worry – his messages have been ingrained in my brain.

So, when I stepped on the trail Saturday for my long run I was dismayed as I looked left, and then right, to see the trail completely empty.

There was a 5K in a nearby neighborhood shutting down all the streets in the vicinity.  I took the super long way around and parked in an alternate parking lot to land myself on the trail.  I guessed not many people knew about those lots.  On Saturdays the trails are usually very full, loaded with multiple sets of people in sight.  It’s then I feel safe listening to music when I run.

But on Saturday, as I looked left and right, I heard him.

“Raaaahh-byn.”

“Alright, fine,” I thought and tucked my music back into my coat pocket.  It would be time with my mind, no distractions.

Is this one of those things that bothers me?  You bet.  One of those things male runners probably never have to worry about.  Being attacked on a run.  For us ladies?  The threat’s always there.

Since that isn’t going to change – be alert, be aware.  Just like my dear old Uncle Wayne taught me.

Having listened to news radio for years, this is how I gauge my choices.

If I were to hear my decision read over the news would I respond with a “Ooooo, that sounds bad.”

“Local runner was attacked while out running.  She didn’t hear her attacker approach as she had headphones on, making her an easy target.”

Not that it would be my fault for being attacked, but the outcome may be different if I were aware of my surroundings.

A friend once told me her thought process was similar, but for her it’s a court room.  She figures if she were to hear two people fighting over her choice that had a negative outcome, would she feel okay with her choice still, or feel like an idiot?

Oh, how our decisions are guided.

I thought about all this while I was running.  At least for the first half and hour or so.  Then I thought about the day and weeks ahead.  I thought about the aches and pains that popped up.  I thought about poor Declan’s face that morning after the elves sat in the same spot, they had been in for two days already.  Turns out remembering to move the elf is a struggle for all four of us, leaving Declan in tears wondering why the elf won’t play hide and seek with him anymore.

Then, I guess, I thought a lot about nothing.  Nothing I can remember at least.

My long runs in the weeks ahead will be during the week as the weekends ahead are stuffed with activities.  The trails are already desolate during the week, so I never expect to listen to music then. 

Instead of music, maybe I’ll just reminisce and think about all the wisdom one dear Uncle made sure to pass on to keep his niece safe…..from THEM.

22 thoughts on “The Empty Trail

  1. I used to work for a government contractor where any expenses we submitted needed to pass “The Washington Post test.” If the Post wrote about it would it seem wasteful to tax payers. I think you process is a good one. It depersonalizes the situation and makes you see it from an objective perspective. Personally, I think you should always run without headphones. It helps you stay in the present and/or meditate. My long run is one of the keys to my happiness because it’s a time of blankness. PS- I just had my worst long run in years on Sunday. The whole time I was thinking “I can’t do this for three hours.” 🙂

    1. Holy moly – I made it to 2:21 when I finally pulled out my Forrest Gump and said, “I don’t feel like running anymore.” Going to keep trying to push the time a little longer with each week. We’ll see what happens! I thought it was going to be rough. I haven’t run that long for a while so I thought music might be a nice distractor. Had to go sans music. Not a big deal, but may have helped quiet the Forrest Gump in me.

      1. If I’m having a normal day I should be able to enjoy the first two hours. After that it will be hell. I used to love that feeling, I’m hoping it comes back like muscle memory. Or I’ll stop cold in the middle of the trail and say – ahm pirty tard now.

        1. I was thinking that myself – before I used to say to myself “the training starts after 10 miles.” On Saturday it was “the training starts after two hours” and boy, that was when it really started to suck. I fought the Forrest, but they were slow ugly miles.

  2. My son barely notices the Christmas tree or lights, so I’ve never bothered with Elf on a Shelf. Heaven help me if cookies don’t happen though. I might actually get a reaction from the boy!

    Be safe, but also let yourself trust that you will make it through the woods unscathed. It’s nice to have faith in happy outcomes while still being prepared for any alternative.

    1. We have 3 elves and 2 elf creatures that need to travel together. I don’t live in a very big house so there isn’t too many shelves for the whole posse. But heaven forbid if they don’t move! Declan has heard someone say that if you put cinnamon on a stagnant elf you can get it to move again. What a mess! But I totally didn’t let anyone forget that night!
      Thank you! Yes, I agree, Stay aware and prepared.

  3. Death Metal or silence… your exercise routines are musically extreme😂
    It is great advice to be aware of our surroundings because there are a LOT of THEM out there. I’ve never been good at following good advice. I’ll see a bird or a flower but be completely unaware of people🤦‍♀️ I guess I’m lucky to be 6′ tall… or just lucky😕

    1. I snort laughed at the musically extreme 🙂 Hahaha….good one!
      I see some ladies out there on relatively empty trails still with their earbuds in. I just don’t think I could. Even if no one was out to get me I would probably jump at every squirrel – maybe that squirrel is one of THEM 🙂

  4. Sadly these days you have to be so careful. As a runner I guess it’s one of the advantages of having a beard. I guess it’s a bit like when I went solo climbing. Very alone, potentially very vulnerable. You end up being so on edge. But is such an important part of you that you need to do it. How far did you go. Did the aches slow you down.

    1. I signed on to do this three hour race/run with Jeff and another blogger will be there, Laurie. It’s not a set distance race, it is just how far can you go in three hours. So, I went for 2:30 hour run and made it 16 ish miles on Saturday. This week I try for 2:45, next week 3:00. I taped my foot up, but still at the end of 2 hours it was pretty achy and I definitely slowed down then. The good news is that when I came home and put on my recovery shoes the pain went away. I am hopeful to just get through the run. But I do need to get out there on the trails to practice. Would have been great to have a little distraction with some music especially after hour 2 – but I guess I am good at amusing myself in my brain 🙂

    1. It is. Sometimes I think I like to run long distances because of another tidbit of wisdom Uncle Wayne gave me. In terms of exercise he was constantly telling me, “Don’t go faster, go longer.” I made Uncle Wayne a category here – I’m thinking his tidbits will pop up again.

  5. I applaud you for listening to your instincts!! Some bad things had to happen before I learned the same. I’d rather be wrong and safe than to not listen and learn, again, that I should have!

    1. Reading the comments, I remembered hearing of a friend who had an instinct to take a little tiny keychain flashlight – a present from his son – when he went on a day hike. Just like you hear on the news, he got lost and was only found because someone saw him flashing the light at night.

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