The fast run home, and race pack: wtf?

I haven’t been running a lot lately. I feel like I’m making a confession at a Lazy Bitches Anonymous meeting, but I have an excuse, don’t I? I’m tapering. I ran home once last week, and I ran home once this week. No long run, too much on. Last night’s run was fast, though. Really, really fast. I left work late, maybe twenty past five, and I got home early. Five to six, or thereabouts. I know I took a walk break or two during the run so when I was running I must have been running fast.

My race pack for the marathon was here when I got home last night, also. My race number is ’64’, which looks entirely odd on my bib. I’ve never had a race number as low, even in races with two hundred or so participants. There’s these strange hard plastic strips on the back of the bib, and I’m not sure if they have something to do with the timing tag, or what. The runner’s guide doesn’t mention. The runner’s guide does, however, have one of my least favourite sentences written in it, in the ‘Runner’s Etiquette’ section:

Refrain from using iPods or other music devices

Sadface.

I know, I’m a selfish cow. I race with an iPod. There’s a special circle of hell devoted to self-centered freaks just like me. Where we can trip over each other and cut each other off at water stops and ignore the marshals for all eternity.

Look, I’ve already gotten as much criticism of iPods as I can handle from the Coolrunning forum. Because iPods are EVIL. And why can’t you just enjoy the ATMOSPHERE, and make CONVERSATION, and enjoy the SCENERY, and listen to the BIRDS. If you need an iPod, you OBVIOUSLY don’t like running at all. Funnily enough, nobody ever seems to want to make conversation with me in a race, even when I’m not wearing the iPod. I just like music. I like running, but it’s tough. It’s always going to be tough. If the iPod gets me through the toughest spots, then I’m going to keep on using it, even if I get shunned by all the ‘real’ runners.

I wrote an email to Fairfax asking if it’s a ‘ban’ or a ‘guideline’, and whether disqualification will be on the cards if I bring the demonic music machine along. Because if it isn’t? I will bring the iPod. I will listen to it on low low volume (as I always do in races) mostly with one earpiece out (as I always do in races) and if you feel the need to swear, slap, scream at me because you think I’m selfish, then that’s your prerogative.