Be Careful What You Wish For

This afternoon was beautiful and sunny, after a cold gray morning. I decided to run to my yoga class since I wouldn't have time to walk, but didn't want to get back in the car. I ran along the outside path at Greenlake, where there is a little less traffic and a slightly softer running surface. About 1/4 mile into my run, a group of high school boys, presumably track or cross-country team members, came along the path in the opposite direction. The first clump of them were running 3 abreast, and basically didn't budge when our paths crossed, forcing me off the path and onto the grass.

Annoyed, I allowed a few nasty thoughts and unkind words to enter my mind. When the next group approached, I was determined to hold my ground and make clear with eye contact that they needed to share the space. This clump was more like 20 boys, 2 and 3 across, running as a pack. The first few rows moved to the right and we passed without a hitch, but the problem with my plan was that the kids in the middle of the pack were in herd mentality, and were just running along without really looking or thinking. I slowed down and made sure to avoid any collisions, but a couple of them were a little bit startled to see me there.

One of the boys said "oh, sorry ma'am," which I suppose was the polite thing to do. Why then did that feel so much more problematic than the first kid who felt he didn't need to move at all? I guess getting "ma'am'd" was karma for me labeling the first one asshole in my head. Lesson learned.