Tuesday, June 18, 2013

To Wave or Not to Wave

I'm sure you have seen it before...waves on the road. A motorcycle doing the "low five" wave to another, a Jeep driver nodding and steering wheel waving at other Jeeps. There are these little "cliques" on the road, but one that relates more closely to home....the running/cycling wave.

Every morning I get into work with my coffee, grab The Wall Street Journal off the ground and mosey inside. Usually take a quick peek for a few minutes through the paper for any headlines, then toss it on my bosses desk. Today there was an article that caught my eye.


Some wave, some nod, some smile and some just don't acknowledge you at all. Now let me say I am guilty of all of these. Sometimes I wave, many times I will smile and nod as people pass by, and others I am just to damn zoned out to notice what is going on. I have always had a "poker face" when it comes to running, the kind that Heath Ledger would have said "Why so serious" to.

I know that I am more guilty of the "poker face" during races, but I have been trying to be better about it. It has nothing to do with not enjoying what I'm doing (I love running, no dispute there), I just get crazy focused and driven, and I'm honestly okay with that. BUT I am trying to smile more while running, take the time to look around see the sights and the passerbys...I love competing, I love this sport, I love the running/cycling community-- and I want others to see that too.

Last night running on the canal path, I went by quite a few different people and got about 50% waves/nods/smiles which is probably my normal percentage. Some sort of acknowledgement is nice, after all we are out there doing the same thing at the same time....but to each his own. Like I said, I know I don't do it 100% of the time and I don't expect everyone else to either.

There are times (more often with cycling than running) that waving isn't exactly feasible (flying down a hill, dealing with traffic, etc.), and you most likely wont see someone wave while they're in the middle of a hard interval/tempo or hill repeat workout while running. But other times, maybe nod or smile or even muster up the courage to wave, I promise it won't kill you.

Acknowledging another runner/cyclist may seem small but it might be just the boost they (or you) need. In races we have signs and crowd support which help us push when we get tired and lack motivation, but what about training runs? We spend 90% of our time training and 10% racing, yet all of the attention gets put on the racing support. This is where sites like DailyMile are nice, because you get feedback on training (and racing) from fellow athletes which can reinforce all that training and hard work you are doing. Think of smiling/nodding/waving on the roads like your training cheer squad, your in person DailyMile "motivation".

Where do you stand on the waving spectrum? 
Do you smile and nod (I do this much more than waving)? 
Or do you do nothing at all?

Thoughts?

18 comments:

  1. I love waving and smiling, even when I'm dying. It helps to have support from others and to see a a smile when you aren't feeling so hot!

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    1. Exactly, it's the support you get from racing, but on a training run!

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  2. I always wave, smile and say good morning or hi. I like to think that I may be making their day, even if they don't do it back and look at me like I am crazy.

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    1. Sometimes the crazy looks I get from people are 100% worth it!

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  3. I like to acknowledge others with a smile or "good morning". When I'm racing, I like to tell the volunteers or police blocking roads and intersections thank you.

    My husband is a newer Mini owner, and there's a code that they wave at each other. I think it's silly but he enjoys it.

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    1. I love thanking volunteers and such, it keeps me occupied and I also want to make sure they know I appreciate it. My favorite was when I did Marshall University Marathon in WV last fall, they had military service personnel blocking side roads for a stretch of a few miles (probably 20-30 side roads) and I made sure to thank each and every one!

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  4. I usually acknowledge others during a run unless I'm completely zoned out or in a race. Obviously not in a race, I don't think anyone would even expect that. If I'm on a training run though, it's not going to slow me down to say hi, good job, etc, and will most likely encourage the person a lot.

    I don't think the cycle wave is a good thing, considering you might want to keep both hands on the handbars there, so I wouldn't even expect it... but it's nice to be acknowledged by bikers when you're running!

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    1. Exactly, it doesn't slow you down to be courteous! But sometimes when I am in the zone, it's just not happening!

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  5. I usually try to smile or nod as I meet people but if you can tell they are in a serious zone and flying I usually don't. Doubt they notice much when they are focusing on pace and breathing.
    Knew about the motorcylce wave but hadn't ever seen or heard of the jeep one I will have to keep my eye out for that.

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    1. I grew up around motorcycles so I knew at a young age about all that. It was second nature when I was on the bike with my dad, to low wave when we passed people. As for the Jeep, I didn't really know this until recently when my fiance was talking about when he had a jeep.

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  6. I definitely nod/smile or do a little wave where I just raise my hand. I think it's nice to acknowledge fellow runners/cyclists because we're all out there doing what we LOVE. Actually, I do find the smallest little smile from a fellow runner can totally lift your spirits especially on the days you have a bad run! I understand, though, if they are absolutely sweating it out because they are doing a tough workout and usually you can see the pain on their face haha!

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  7. I try and smile/wave ect as much as possible. I actually really struggle with this during races in out and back courses. There will be points where I'm very far up in the pack (like my last half marathon) and countless people will tell me...great job...nice..ect. Do I say thank you to every single person? I don't know.

    As far as running around town...I don't see a terribly large amount of runners so I try and say hello, save, smile ect to each. I do recognize as you said, some can't talk when they are doing tempo...and some are just not chatty people. LOL

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  8. I pretty much wave anytime I see another runner, a nod/wave to a biker. Most bikers wont acknowledge me even tho I usually get over for them. Some runners (like the one in my neighborhood) will not wave to me no matter what which I hate. A little wave is all I ask!

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  9. I always wave/smile to runners or cyclists. I seem to get more of the cold shoulder from runners. What's up with that? Just this morning in the wee morning hours, I passed quite a few runners and only 1 person made eye contact and said hi. I was deeply hurt! ;)

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  10. Im guilty of the poker face during races. Unless Im running with someone, Im 100% focused. I ran on the canal path last night too! I definitely don't wave, unless it's someone I know. I usually smile or gasp out a "hi".

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  11. I love waving when I'm on the bike or running. Sometimes it ends up being just a head nod, but there's is almost always an acknowledgment to the other athlete somehow. It makes me feel connected to the other runners/cyclists out there, even if I don't know them personally. It makes me feel like we're one big family.

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  12. Typically I smile. I wave when I recognize a jersey of the club my bf is a part of :)

    I don't always get a smile bike lol

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