Snow!
Yesterday in the late morning snow started falling pretty heavily by New York City standards. But it was Tuesday, and that meant one thing for certain: Running Class. It feels good to be back coaching after that unfortunate NO RUNNING hiatus of the fall. Even when I’m assigned to a slower group that doesn't give me such a hard workout, I love leading that running class more than anything else I do. And Coach B, the ruler supreme of running class, doesn’t cancel for anything short of a national incident. What's a teeny bit of driving snow and sleet and below-freezing temperatures?
My runners were skeptical in the beginning that we could even get through our Cat Hill repeats, but I tried as hard as I could to keep their spirits and energy level high with lots of “You guys are doing great!” cheers. Despite the treacherous weather we had a good workout and it was one of my favorite practices ever, but then again I’m just crazy enough to enjoy running in tough conditions. Thursday’s class falls on Valentine’s Day (and right during prime dinner time), so I joked to the group that class will be like a singles' night because only people without dates will show up. Another runner joked back that the proportions won’t work for the girls' favor because there are far more women than men in the class. Hear that, boys? Forget fitness dating sites – try fitness classes instead!
Well. Through a rather impressive feat of rumor mongering, my “singles' night at running class” comment got misconstrued into “Jackie is recruiting students for a singles' mixer at Tavern on the Green after running class on Thursday.”
Yesterday in the late morning snow started falling pretty heavily by New York City standards. But it was Tuesday, and that meant one thing for certain: Running Class. It feels good to be back coaching after that unfortunate NO RUNNING hiatus of the fall. Even when I’m assigned to a slower group that doesn't give me such a hard workout, I love leading that running class more than anything else I do. And Coach B, the ruler supreme of running class, doesn’t cancel for anything short of a national incident. What's a teeny bit of driving snow and sleet and below-freezing temperatures?
My runners were skeptical in the beginning that we could even get through our Cat Hill repeats, but I tried as hard as I could to keep their spirits and energy level high with lots of “You guys are doing great!” cheers. Despite the treacherous weather we had a good workout and it was one of my favorite practices ever, but then again I’m just crazy enough to enjoy running in tough conditions. Thursday’s class falls on Valentine’s Day (and right during prime dinner time), so I joked to the group that class will be like a singles' night because only people without dates will show up. Another runner joked back that the proportions won’t work for the girls' favor because there are far more women than men in the class. Hear that, boys? Forget fitness dating sites – try fitness classes instead!
Well. Through a rather impressive feat of rumor mongering, my “singles' night at running class” comment got misconstrued into “Jackie is recruiting students for a singles' mixer at Tavern on the Green after running class on Thursday.”
Um, WTF?
I don’t even know how that happened. I only know about the rumor because someone felt that I excluded him or her from this fabricated singles' mixer and reported it to Coach B, who sent me an admonishing email. It’s against class policy to promote personal events without clearing it with the head coaches first, and I know that. We got it straightened out after a couple messages back and forth – it was just a bizarre game of telephone until someone thought they weren’t invited and complained – but I was really upset by the ordeal. The actual miscommunication is pretty funny – it’s ridiculous that my joke (and not even a good joke at that, but it was cold and we were running and I was trying to be positive, okay?) morphed into a specific, exclusive party of which I was the unwitting host! And it kind of sounds like a fun idea, right? Tavern is so pretty! But! I felt hurt because there I was busting my ASS in the snow and sleet to encourage the class and keep things happy and still some sour puss reported me as a singles-recruiting-elitist to my boss! And he believed him/her, although he admitted that it sounded strange! That’s messed up.
It left a sour taste in my mouth. I’m afraid to have any fun in class on Thursday for fear that the same idiot will report me for only talking to the runners who are near me and thus excluding those in the back or some moronic shit like that. You know that line in that weird Baz Luhrman spoken word song that was all the rage in like, 1999? About how you should live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard? This is one of those moments when that lyric, however prosaic it seems now or then, rings clear and true. Sure, I could go into class on Thursday and be all business – no funny storytelling, no cheering, no friendly banter, but where’s the fun in that?
Instead of giving in, I'm baking five dozen heart-shaped sugar cookies for my co-workers and picking out which of my many red or pink clothing items to wear tomorrow. I know, I know, commericialized holiday of obligatory, over-priced romantic expression blah blah...I still love Valentine's Day. I am nostalgic for the Valentine's Day of my childhood when every kid in class exchanged cards and you ended the day with a whole shoebox full of hearts and cards and candy.
1 comment:
You need a new hobby. Reading? Maybe?
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