I ran 6.2 miles this morning. My watch read 51:56; I’ll update after the official ChampionChip time is posted. That’s all good, but I’m pissed.
In the final stretch of the race, a guy appeared next to me. I kept pace with him and had a brief conversation.
“Don’t let me pass you. That’s how we both run faster,” I panted.
He chuckled. “OK. Sounds good to me.”
And we both trucked into the finish at a much quicker pace than we would have without each other. But after about 5 or 6 pumps, my left arm caught the wire of my headphones, pulling the ‘phones out of my Shuffle, bringing Ben Folds’s “Rockin’ The Suburbs” to an abrupt stop, and sending that Shuffle all the way over to the other lane, the one walkers were finishing the 5K walk in. It distracted me enough that I didn’t run as fast as I could have and that guy beat me through the gate. Just barely, but he beat me.
He probably would have anyway. I’m not a fast runner and never have been, but I’m pissed because I feel like I could have shaved off a second or so. To top off the feeling that I didn’t throw everything into the end of an otherwise successful run, I lost my $50 investment in a refurbished iPod Shuffle. I feel like I just threw a $50 bill on the ground and stomped all over it before I let someone else pick it up and spend it on whatever they want. A woman (“Blonde, pony tail, white shirt, pushing a blue stroller,” an appreciated description that didn’t narrow things down too much) apparently picked up the Shuffle, but I didn’t find her. The lost-and-found didn’t have a Shuffle. They now have my name and number scrawled on a random piece of scratch paper, but I only have the smallest sliver of hope that I’ll see that thing again.
I lost my Shuffle on the morning of my favorite of the holidays. Hope yours goes better than mine’s starting.
Happy Thanksgiving.
7 comments
2. Damian Bariexca says:
For under $40 you can get a Sansa Clip – it’s SanDisk’s version of the Shuffle, only with an FM tuner, voice recorder, and a screen. 1 Gb and about the same size as the Shuffle.
Oh, and next time, thread your headphones down the back of your shirt like I do.
I ran my local Turkey Trot this a.m., too – my first 5K in a coupla years. Neither as fast as I’d have liked nor as slow as I feared, but getting out and having a day at the races again felt really, really good.
My soundtrack this morning was Before & After by The Wannadies. I had some hardcore drum n’ bass mixes lined up, but between the sun and 60 degree weather, energetic, happy guitar pop just felt a better fit.
3. Todd says:
Damian, glad to read that you ran! It’s a nice way to start a day like Thanksgiving. I actually did have my headphones threaded down my shirt. The front, not the back, but either way it was that spot right near the iPod itself where the slack of the cord falls, so that probably wouldn’t have made a difference. It’s the clip. It isn’t as tight as it should be and it creeps up until the Shuffle’s just barely clipped in place. That’s probably what happened and I just didn’t check.
I’ve been running for years with some kind of music device and I’ve never had a problem like this. Since I’m a Mac user, that Sansa Clip is out. That’s too bad because it looks like a good replacement.
J.D., I’m lucky enough to have an iPhone, so I pretty much have an iPod Touch. And I would never, ever, ever bring that out on a run. But yeah, it’s too cool. Fun to scan through your music looking at the album covers. Still, not quite easy enough to operate while running. That’s what I like about the Shuffle.
4. Paul Phuoc says:
Sansa Clip 2Gb model. Buy now!
http://tinyurl.com/2vq7sb
[I changed the URL so it wouldn’t break my layout. -ts]
5. Todd says:
Did you not read what I just wrote?
Since I’m a Mac user, that Sansa Clip is out.
Seriously, Phuoc, give me an alternative that I can use on a Mac and I’m all for buying it from a crappy place like Best Buy.
6. Paul Phuoc says:
Oh really? I read that the other Sansa models were compatible with Mac. Plus I did some research and there were people who got their Sansa clip working with OSX. Some guys broke their Sansa plugging it into their Mac. Bummer? Fine don’t risk it.
AND I sent you the link as a great gift idea for your girlfriend/loved ones–for only 35 bucks. Now they jacked up the price…
7. Todd says:
I read on the SanDisk site (and on the Best Buy site) that both the 1Gb and 2Gb models of the Sansa Clip are PC only. It doesn’t look like there’s a Shuffle alternative for the Mac. For those who “broke” their Sansa by plugging it into their Mac, there is a way to fix that.
Still, I wish I would have risked it when it was only $35.
1. J.D. Williams says:
[11/22/2007 - 4:54 pm]
Go get an Ipod Touch. I got one yesterday. I didn’t put it down until eating today. It’s just fun to play with and the touch screen part is great. I think my mom would be able to figure out how to use it and just a few years ago I had to explain to her how to use a mouse.