5 Juicy Tales from the Trails

I know, I know...today's Friday 5 topic is post-race treats. I'm sort of going along with the theme, but the treats I'm going to talk about are of a different kind. I'm talking juicy sights seen on the run--you know, the kind of things you see that make you go hmmm. Drama. Soap opera material. Hear me when I say that running, particularly long solo running, can be kind of boring. The mind can wander. The eyes take in the surroundings. The runner sees things that can't go unseen and the wheels of the mind begin to spin. A story unfolds. At least for this runner, it does.

Does this happen to you? I don't mind running alone because I'm able to entertain myself with the things I observe while out on the trails. So instead of talking food, I'm going to share 5 stories about interesting things I've seen while out on the run. Sort of "sole food", if you will.

The idea for this post came to me, like most of them do, while I was out for my run yesterday at the retention pond. The path at this park is a 2 mile loop around the "lake" and it's very popular with the local folks. Yesterday, I did some speedwork and walked down to the beach to work on my handstand. I saw a couple making out under the deck. They were wearing running clothes. Ok, then! I heard the woman squealing and I fell out of my handstand as I looked over to see what they were doing--let's just say he was stretching her out. It was really distracting and I can only speculate what was really going on, you know, behind the scenes. Handstand practice was over.

"Squeeee!"

You may have read my story last week about my adventure at the pond. As I ran my loops around the lake, drama unfolded with a rescue effort to find a missing woman whose dog was found running on the beach. Multiple towns from the area sent boats and divers. Helicopters flew overhead. People on the path gathered to share what they had heard about the woman. I left before the woman was found, but eventually, I learned that she was found alive and hiding under the pier. Obviously, there were some mental health issues and this story only received a small blurb in the local paper.

she was under that pier the whole time!

A few years ago, I was running on the limestone path when I approached a woman running towards me. She was wearing full makeup and her hair was perfectly styled. Except that the closer I got, the more I realized that it wasn't a woman, but a man dressed as a woman. I had all kinds of thoughts about this. Mostly that it was really hot and I'm sure that he was uncomfortable wearing that wig and makeup. I don't wear makeup when I run! Thinking about him occupied my mind for the rest of my run.

am I right?

Also on this path, about a month ago, I encountered a pair of men I nicknamed "Hans and Franz". You might recall my story about me stopping to ask Hans, who was doing push ups next to the water pump, if the water was safe to drink. Hans commanded me to drink the water. Franz, who was watching Hans work out, piped in that he was drinking the water and it was delicious! Anyways, when Steph and I ran the 10k last weekend, which took us on the limestone path, I saw Hans walking his dog. No Franz. So were they together that day? Or was Franz just watching Hans? Inquiring minds want to know...

This gives me another idea...Holly?

I've written in the past about the legend of the Cook County Forest Preserves' parking "system". Certain parking lots have a system to indicate why you're there. If you park normally, pulling your car in head first but you stay in the car, it, means you're looking to purchase mind-altering substances. If you are a male and you back your car in, also staying in the car, I am told this means you are looking for a hookup. Where these hookups occur is a matter of speculation. Running or riding my bike through these parking lots, I have seen men stumbling out of the woods more than once. One guy was red-faced and sweaty. Another time, a guy came whistling out of the woods. Over the past couple of years, the CCFPD has been sprucing up the preserves and I haven't noticed as much of this activity as I used to. I'm sure it still goes on. Food for thought.

I'll just leave this here...

You think living in the suburbs is dull? Who says running has to be boring? Do you see interesting things on your runs? Or are you just focused on the task at hand? 

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for the Friday Five!