Yankified
My grandmother is constantly telling me that I have been "Yankified" when she asks me to slow down when I talk or complains that I go to work when there is snow in Boston. Normally, I laugh and ignore her. I've run 2 times since I arrived in NC and now, after wilting in the mid-80s heat while running, I believe her.On Thursday, I ran 13 miles in Charlotte's concrete sidewalk jungle (you can't run in the road because of traffic and the fact that Southerner's don't know what to do with runners or bikers except smush them). During the run, I had to stop and refill my waterbottle at a fountain outside of someone's house. It was a lovely setup -- a nice bench in the shade, a dog bowl chained to the water fountain base and a nice faucet for grabbing a drink. It was 82 degrees in full sun on the course and what I really wanted to do was fill the water bottle and take a nap on the bench but I pushed on. I was slow but managed to get the mileage in feeling like I had just completed a marathon and needing a nap.
Today, I didn't fare as well. In fact, after 8 miles I called my partner to say "come pick me up." BONK!! I should have known that the run wasn't going to go well when I stepped out into the 85+ degree sun only to have to run back and get my route map after a mile. Next, in my rush, I closed the screen door on my ankle leaving a nice imprint on the little knobs. Finally, out on the route I started to relax into things trying hard not to think about the sun/heat. After running in the teens and twentys all winter, 80+ is just brutal. About 3 miles in, my digestive system started to threaten rebellion. A mile or so later, I wasn't paying attention to the ground under my feet and stepped onto a very dead and decomposing racoon -- you could only make out the striped tail. At that point, my brain started to join my digestive tracts protest. Finally, after pushing 4 more miles, my digestive system fully rebelled and I gave it up. This one, I'm calling a mid-week run and will do the long run back in Boston later in the week. There are times when you can push through a run -- this clearly was not one of them.
So, yes grandmother, I have been "Yankified" -- I live in a place where I only see raccoons on snowy, very early morning trash day runs when the weather is in the teens. And frankly, I think my running is safer that way. I'll be staying above the Mason-Dixon line with the rest of the folks you think of as a little "off."
posted by Jesse @ 7:09 PM
1 Comments:
As a Southerner and a runner, I find it insulting, stereotypical, ignorant and rude of you to classify Southerners the way you have in your blog. I'm sure you would feel a similar sting if you read negative stereotypes about Jews, women and/or Northerners. Get off of your superiority complex riddled high horse and try being open-minded. Take some time to do some soul searching. Your eagerness to engage in regional bigotry no doubt means that you harbor racist and homophobic attitudes as well, regardless of how well you may think you've repressed your tendencies. I fully support your decision to stay north of the Mason Dixon line; please, for the sake of all of us here in North Carolina, do not come back. I hope your child manages to develop an open mind despite your very poor example as a parent.
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