Jay--earlier this week I saw someone wearing last year's Great Bay 5K shirt and asked him if he was running this year.  He said he was and it was a very well organized race. And I hadn't even told him I knew the RD .  So a little positive feedback for you.  Enjoy your own race for a change.

Another brisk morning.  Still haven't seen a frost, but 36° is getting close.  The bedroom was down to its winter level at 59° when the alarm went off and the bed was feeling SO cozy, it was really tough to get going.  We finally had to break down and turn on the heat.  But when I got out and looked up at the half moon and as starry a sky as I have seen in a long time, it was (almost) worth it.  4 sproinky miles made it even better.

Mo boy--anyone that can come up with that challenge list certainly has the chops to hang out here.

Everyone else--run happy wherever you may be.

hey, guys. This is fom yesterday's log. What would you do in this situation?

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I’m standing at the trailhead. It’s in a deserted park just about a mile to the left of the middle of nowhere. But first, a pit stop.

We went for lunch earlier to some place that features a grinning moose. One of the Fundamentals of Running likely is “Never eat at a place featuring a grinning moose an hour before you run you moron.” But I must have missed running class that day. Anyhow, that have a sandwich called the Mo. Who could resist that? I ordered the variation called the Southwest Mo, which apparently means they just add 35 jalapenos and get back to their hipster talk in the back. This is not sitting well, in that “man, I hope I still have TP in the ol’  Nathan sort of way.

The trailhead has two adjacent porta-pots, one for each gender. I, still smarting from the unfortunate Junction McDonald’s incident, choose the men’s room. Therein lies the problem.

As I walk in, I notice a wasp. Mano a waspo. I like my odds. Then I notice his 3,255 friends. I no longer like my odds. I scream like a little girl (sorry, little girls) and run for it. There’s no way I’m going to be the subject of an obituary that starts out “Gary Smith, an idiot who enjoyed eating large sandwiches shortly before running, died Wednesday of wasp stings while sitting on a port-a-pot in a deserted West Texas state park. He is survived by a wife and cat, though neither will admit it.”

Then it hits me. I tiptoe over to the women’s side and peek in. There are no wasps. There IS a comfortable overstuffed couch, a big-screen TV, the light scent of lavender, and a bidet (which is remarkable in that there is no water in these port-a-pots.

Do I dare? Yin says I’m in the middle of nowhere. I’ve got the place to myself and it’s 4 p.m., so things are likely to stay that way. If a car pulls up, I could make an escape quickly. Done.

But then yang shows up. What if a biker or runner comes up on it? The trail runs across the road in both directions, so someone could be on the trail without a car at this trailhead. They would enter to find me inside the ladies’ room. I would mumble and look guilty, they would hit me with the bear spray, the wasps would smell my fear, I would end up with the same obit except for “cyclist heroically kills weird man in port-a-pot” headline.

So I do what any sissy boy would do — I get in the car and drive a couple of miles to the next port-a-pot. Flushies! All is well.

Except.

Nothing happens. The moment has passes. Despite my Bathroom Dance and Positive Potty Thoughts, nothing.

So I get back in the car and drive back to the trailhead.

I start running, and after a mile, of course, I’m in trouble the whole way. I barely make it back to the finish and the trailhead and … the same port-a-pot. And the same wasps. And the same drive to the other joint. And a happy ending. At last.

I hate running.

—

You use the ladies room.  If someone in a car stops by, they likely wouldn't understand anyway, so it doesn't matter--so they can wait.  And if a biker or runner comes by, they'll understand completely and wait patiently for you to finish.  After, runners do what's necessary when and where necessary.  Which in West Tejas, most likely involves cactus in some way.  So enjoy the lavender.  We wouldn't consider you any less manly.

Ha!  Pretty much did the opposite of that. We went to Alaska for our 25th this year...

 

 

Slo - you could take DW to the 50th state for her birthday... Not a close/short trip, but it could be fun.

 

 

Dave -- portapot was bad description. It's a small building divided in two with two stalls each. so although no water or power, it still feels like traditional restroom.

Oh - I was wondering why you couldn't just lock the door, if it was a regular porta-potty.  Did the door to the women's side of the restroom lock?

If it was urgent I would have used the bathroom anyway, or gone outside and used the woods.

Mo boy is good at hijacking threads...

Mobo - I thought it was way TMI at the time but, if it’s any consolation, FOX announcer and Olympic swimmer Amy Van Dyken was mentioning the other day how she doesn’t even bother to hesitate in avoiding long lines on her side and gets in the shorter men’s lines at crowded sports events.. 
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I should have told MikeMP before he went over earlier this week but the men/women sides are very well identified in Japan where my DD was once in line on her side and I on mine at a convenient cinder-block facility in the middle of one of the bigger, very crowded,  slopes at a Japanese ski area, . . . only to find out that, when we entered from our respective, opposite sides, the interior was the same for everybody. Same for the larger, outdoor onsen hot springs where, although there’s separate changing/shower  rooms, it’s all the same once you get outside into the water.   Oh well.  ,
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Good luck to the ancient one in his upcoming half whatever-it-is but I don’t think it counts unless ilene knows it’s a half mary. By coincidence, she's doing her own half mary in CA that Sunday and her Intrepid has milktruck in another one in ME on Saturday..

There was a campus center at a Uni in Canada that had unisex bathrooms.  Probably some leftover hippie idea of total equality.

MikeE, you are too kind.  Not sure I have that much to offer, soon to be unemployed, cash-strapped single mom, with too many running shoes and no time to run.  Gonna have to wing it on charm alone.

Holly, I didn't realize you watched so many porn movies.    But hey, to each his own.

Sorry no run to report, but I had to stop in nonetheless, for a lift.

Thanks folks.

Enke