Etiquette continued...

You know, I am really not the most qualified person to be on the World Wide Web writing blogs about etiquette of any kind. Yet, here I find myself at the beginning of my second blog in a row that will address another etiquette faux-pas. And again, I apologize for heading back into the bathroom for this discussion (I swear, I have ALMOST outgrown the phase in my life where a loud fart in a public place (i.e. a crowded elevator) is really funny!)

Now, every guy knows that when you walk into a public restroom you are obliged to scan the wall of urinals and select your position of relief by the following criteria, in order of importance:
1. Proximity to another man, who is already stationed at his urinal
2. Cleanliness - this one is most difficult to determine in public pool bathrooms because the entire floor is wet and it is NOT safe to assume that it is all pool water.
3. Strategic position in case another patron should enter the bathroom during mid-stream. You want to make sure that he has options for when he is mentally scanning this same checklist for his urinal of choice.
4. Catchy advertising or photos strategically placed above the urinal. Sometimes your urinal of choice is based purely on entertainment value.

Violation of any of the first 3 considerations WILL result in an uncomfortable and awkward social situation.

There are a lot of things to consider within a moment's notice, but after ~30 years of practise, I am starting to become fairly skilled with these techniques. Today, after several hours of staying well hydrated I strolled into the men's room. Lucky me, all 4 urinals were free. Perfect - I stroll to the farthest urinal to set up camp. This is a wise decision - most men are too lazy to walk to the farthest urinal, which makes it (generally) cleaner and I have left several choices for the next guy that will walk in.

Sure enough in walks the next guy and what urinal does he choose? He chose the one right next to me!! I know these europeans have a totally different level of personal space (i.e. none) than we North Americans, but I was certain that urinal etiquette was universal code!

Ok fine. I start applying a little extra pressure so I can make a quick exit when suddenly this guy starts talking to me! Everybody knows that you do not talk during this time. You keep your eyes on the road and wait to commence the coversation as your soaping up afterwards. He meant well, he just wanted to know how my day was. Well, it was going quite good until this awkward situation. To top it all of, he violated another rule of urinal etiquette by looking over and trying to make eye contact like you would in a normal conversation! I know that he just wanted to be friendly, but next time he can just buy me a drink!

So after feeling violated from multiple urinal etiquette violations from my co-worker I tried to run it off in the Bois de Boulogne. This really did not work since I saw a record 8 tranny's out tonight - that is 1 tranny for every mile run tonight!

Tonight's run felt so good. The day after a lung-busting workout at the track I always feel like my lungs are wide open and running is not even a challenge (especially when the weather is awesome!). I honestly thought that my first mile would be around 8 min/mile pace. After that I honestly tried to slow down every mile...
7:08/7:04/7:05/6:57/6:59/7:08/7:08/6:58 min/mile

JD - I know, I know, I know. I am a stupid runner. I promise I will follow Jack Daniel's Easy pace tomorrow!! Now stop worrying about me and enjoy your vacation!

Scotty - About your biker situation - I know that in Calgary that if you do NOT give a clear audible signal (preferably in the form of a bell) that you WILL be ticketed ($50 last time I was home). Also, Terry Hershey is the only park in Houston where I actually have seen "police" patrolling for bike violations. So, you are running in an area where the "law" is ever-present...also, for the cyclist who notifies the runner, it is always nice if the runner waves their hand in acknowledgement that they, indeed, heard the cyclist and will continue behaving in a predictable fashion until after the cyclist has passed!

I am on excellent pace to acheive my mileage goal for the week! I just got to keep my eyes on the road ahead!

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