Oh no you didn't!

Sometimes I feel invisible. Invisible that is...not invincible.

For instance, one day when I was out running errands people kept bumping into me or cutting me off while driving. I actually had to look in the mirror to make sure I still existed (and I HATE looking in mirrors). It's happened again several times but this morning something happened that just irked the beejeezus outta me.

I got to Memorial Park a bit later than planned so most of the early risers had already been there and left. There were still a few people out running (and of course Yoga Boi was still there doing his thing) so it's not like it was crowded or anything.

I was a bit over 2 1/2 miles into my 3 mile jaunt, listening to Robin S.'s Midnight on the iPod nano and wondering why I put on the wrong pair of shoes (this pair is a bit worn and I could feel it in my right knee) and a guy decides to try and pass me.

OK. I will say that he did pass on the left so I had no problem with that but what I had a HUGE problem with is that rather than pass me, he ran next to me and then was trying to push me off the trail. His right elbow bumped my left elbow so he knew I was there and he just kept coming over! It was like Zola Budd and Mary Decker all over again!

In a split second I looked back to see if there is anyone behind us that he is trying to get out of their way and the coast is clear. I also look forward and there isn't anyone within foreseeable distance that he would collide with so there was NO reason for him to be in my space and to be elbowing me! So you know what? I elbowed him back and gave him a dirty look...which he didn't see. So he takes his happy @ss, speeds up and gets going.

I had to make a decision. Do I speed up and kick his @ss? Do I just let it go? Do I write about it? Well considering that he was bigger than me and had many more muscles, I figured I would just write about it.

I don't get it! I know that he had to see me because he came from behind which means that before he did the elbow thing, I was in front of him.

URGGHHHHHHH!

However, speaking of invincible...

A year ago today I was at a sales meeting for my former place of employment. On the agenda for the afternoon was "team building." *sigh* I know. There is no "I" in team...blah, blah, blah. So fast forward through the team building and now they tell us that we have to break a board with our hand. At least we didn't have to do it with our head.

Considering that the previous year they had us in the ocean doing things that could get us killed, I guess my anxiety should have been low. After all, a broken hand versus drowning is a small price to pay for being a "team player." Nonetheless, with hundreds of people watching and cheering and clapping you don't want to be the one who can't break the board, right? Plus, I'm not the most butch person around so the odds were not in my favor.

So I get in line and this is when I have to remind myself that it is definitely a case of mind over matter. "If you can dream it, you can achieve it." blah, blah, blah

It is now my turn. There is a guy holding the board. I stare at the board, measure the distance that need for my hand to make contact, step back and...

on the first attempt I broke the board.

This is definitely one of those things I thought I would never be able to do. And yes, I still have the board.

Trust me, there have been times when I have been running when I have thought that I couldn't finish and I have reminded myself that if I can break a board with my hand, I can finish the run.

Now if I could just get that Helen Reddy song outta my head!