It takes a while to get there but I promise this picture is relevant.

This is about as real-time a post as you’re going to get in 2025.

And since I am running out of posts after using up what I had lined up and ready to go for the busy travel week last week, I might as well tell you this quick story:

First of all, the title of this post is wordplay.

Because, even though it’s titled “A Near Disaster” it could be called “An Ear Disaster.” You’ll see why.

And, as I sit here in my compression boots recovering from my interval run on Tuesday evening, I might as well keep up with my marathon training updates and give you more details on that run.

The interval runs are getting long. They’ve been more than an hour for a few weeks, and this week’s was an hour and 39 minutes. 8.88 miles. I’ve never run this much mid-week in marathon training.

If I achieve my sub-5 goal, it will certainly be thanks to this work I’m putting in on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, depending on the week.

This week’s run called for a mile at about 9:30, then a half mile recovery, then a half mile at about 4:40, with a quarter mile recovery, then a quarter mile at about 2:20, with a 0.13 mile recovery (eighth of a mile?), and then doing the mile and half mile over again all sandwiched between 2 miles warming up and cooling down.

OK. Got that?

So first of all, the speed portions of the runs went well - I felt strong for the first four, at least.

I ran a neighborhood route for the first three miles of the workout, and then I strayed a different way than I usually do for the next 3/4 of a mile to a mile, and then returned to the middle school track where I do most of these workouts. (Oh - this was smart - I should add that I started my run by running past the track, and I dropped off a dry shirt, energy gel, and a bottle of water to have for the latter half of my workout.)

It was hot out, but not the kind of humid that’s made these runs super uncomfortable in the past.

So, I wasn’t the stickiest when I got back to the track, but I still decided I’d be more comfortable if I ditched the wet, sweaty shirt I had on.

So I start taking off my shirt and it gets caught on my left earbud, as will happen once in a while. Once I adjusted the left earbud on a run through the Newton Hills and the little rubber part on the end came loose (see picture above) and I lost it. I searched and searched but it was yet another way the Newton Hills defeated me over the years.

Anyway, on Tuesday evening I never saw the rubber part fall to the ground but it wasn’t on the earphone itself and I was in the middle of an interval workout so I didn’t want to stop and mess around so I figured it was probably lost forever.

As I recovered after another lap around the track I slowed to a walk and searched around for the rubber part real quick.

Nothing.

I finished my workout, resigned myself to the rubber part being lost.

I switched my listening to the Mets game, which had just started as my workout was ending and started my 2 miles recovery.

While I was putting my shirt back on I realized I was hearing in my left ear which didn’t usually happen after losing the rubber part.

So I examined the ear phone and then touched my ear and the rubber part WAS IN MY EAR.

I panicked slightly because I couldn’t get it out. I nearly called Kathy to meet me at the track with some tweezers because even though it had been maybe 45 minutes I had already survived this, I was convinced now that I knew it was there I was going to lost the rubber part permanently in my ear.

But I managed to squeeze it out. Then I finished my cool down.

So, two morals of this story.

The first is, I don’t know - don’t put small stuff in your ears? It’s scary.

But also, I’ve jogged recoveries, I’ve walked recoveries…but when I stopped completely to look for the rubber thing and then tried to run again, it kind of hurt to run again. That last set of intervals was harder than the rest, and it was definitely because I stopped my momentum.

It took longer for me to get going again. Which is kind of like how I feel in a marathon. Sometimes when you shut it down it’s hard to pick it up again.

So I guess it’s better to just keep moving. I’ll try to remember that when the going gets rough.

And I guess it’s a good thing I don’t like wearing my ear buds during a marathon.