"hey, you run track?"
after finishing up a nice 4 mile run today (again, in the 42ยบ rain), i walked over to the walgreens to stretch my legs when a friendly streets and san worker stopped me.
"hey, you run track?" he inquired.
"yeah, uh, no, uh, i used to," i stammered.
"well your legs sure look like it!"
i laughed uncomfortably, thanked him, and ducked into the walgreens.
now i'm not so naive as to think that his comment was utterly innocent, and yet he seemed to be sincere. so i'll be honest - i was pleased. as i float somewhere between my "runner" and "non-runner" identities, there was something reassuring about being outed by a complete stranger. as bridget would say, our bodies are "marked" by certain discourses and no matter what else my body says, someone on the street was reading my body as "runner."
when i walked out of the walgreens 15 minutes later, the streets and san worker was still outisde, pouring concrete. as i walked by him he said,
"hey! someday, you and me are gonna race."
i laughed again and as i walked away i turned around for a moment.
"okay," i replied.
"but i'm gonna win."
"hey, you run track?" he inquired.
"yeah, uh, no, uh, i used to," i stammered.
"well your legs sure look like it!"
i laughed uncomfortably, thanked him, and ducked into the walgreens.
now i'm not so naive as to think that his comment was utterly innocent, and yet he seemed to be sincere. so i'll be honest - i was pleased. as i float somewhere between my "runner" and "non-runner" identities, there was something reassuring about being outed by a complete stranger. as bridget would say, our bodies are "marked" by certain discourses and no matter what else my body says, someone on the street was reading my body as "runner."
when i walked out of the walgreens 15 minutes later, the streets and san worker was still outisde, pouring concrete. as i walked by him he said,
"hey! someday, you and me are gonna race."
i laughed again and as i walked away i turned around for a moment.
"okay," i replied.
"but i'm gonna win."
posted by carrie g. at 12:15 PM
2 Comments:
BEST POST EVER! your blog just motivated me to hop on the treadmill at 9:00PM on a Friday night. I like being read as "runner" so I mise well work to keep up the identity :)
Your are Excellent. And so is your site! Keep up the good work. Bookmarked.
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