Homeless GU

Z – “Are you selling the GU?”

H – “Yes.”

Z – “Am I reading this right? 26pks for $3?”

H – “Yes.”

Z – “So if I give you 3 $1 bills… you’re going to give me 26pks of GU?”

H – “Yes. Meet me at the MacDonald’s by St. Vincent’s at 6:30p.”

Z – “I’ll be the one in the lime green Element.”

H – “I’ll be walking my dog.”

I started debating whether or not this was a scam. I’ve been pretty fortunate with my Craigslist ventures. I’ve bought and sold plenty of items, but this seemed too good to be true. If you know me by now… you know that I oftentimes find myself in sketchy situations… ie: not so pleasant hotel/motel rooms, sleeping in shopping center parking lots, roaming remote back country trails in the wee morning hours… so of course… my curious side got the better of me. I know, I know… “curiosity killed the cat” but… cats also have 9 lives! So with that theory going for me… I was going to be fiiiiiine.

As I made my way to University Blvd I turned up the radio… excuse me… I “turnt” up the jamz. No… like for realz tho. Any time I go downtown Birmingham or Atlanta… the rap MUST come out. So there I was… stopped at a red light, seat leaned back, gently bobbing my head to the smooth sounds of Young Jeezy. Ok, so maybe the lime green Element isn’t a “Caddie with diamonds in the back”… I do have a Black Diamond headlamp in the back seat… that counts as a diamond in the back right?

I pulled into the MacDonald’s parking lot and immediately saw the seller. The girl was in a dirty pair of blue jeans, a hoodie, a black backpack slung over her shoulder, and of course… she was walking her dog.

Z – “Do you have the GU?”

H – “Yes.”

She unzipped her backpack where I could inspect her stash. I only had a $20, so I had to go make change. I offered to buy her some coffee or some food… she declined. I like this chicka. Strictly business. 

As I walked into the golden arches for some coffee, I noticed two nurses across the street smoking cigarettes. They were staring intensely. Have I been set up? Is this a sting operation? Could these two blondes be narcs? I shrugged it off and purchased my coffee. I walked back out to meet my seller… I handed her a $5 bill… she handed me a box.

Z – “Keep the change."

I turned up Young Buck, took my first hit from my newly acquired stash, and drove into the sunset.

The transaction itself… looked sketchy as hell. I’m semi-surprised someone didn’t call the cops on us. I’m almost 100% positive this chicka picked up a half a box of GU’s left over from the Mercedes Marathon weekend... but who am I to judge? I'm a GU junkie and needed my fix... 

Craziness. Have I hit a new low? Maybe. I’m buying GUs from homeless folk off the streets of Birmingham for Pete’s sake!!!  I think it’s because I haven’t really pushed myself in a few months. I’ve been battling a nagging plantar fasciitis spout for a little while, but I’m thankful for the break.

Let me catch you up…

I bought a mountain bike. On ride #2... Althea fed me some humble pie. About halfway down “Blood Rock” my senses kicked in… “hey bro… what the hell are you doing?!”

I picked myself up, wiped the blood from my knee and continued down the mountain. A few miles later… I clipped a tree, flipped over the handle bars, drilled the back of my legs on something, and slid down a hill… only to be stopped by my head… against a log. Yep. I’m still paying for that one. I still have swelling/bruising on the back of my legs! So much for the healing aspect…

I’ve also had the opportunity to run with some really great people. 

I’ve started doing a lot of training with Sunny since we are running an event later this summer together. It’s been a blast bouncing around the trails with her!

I am also trying to be more social within the BUTS (Birmingham Ultra Trail Society) group. I unfortunately live a little further from Birmingham, so I rarely get to catch group runs and fun outings… but I did get a chance to share a few local brews at Cahaba Brewing with the group during the new shirt release party. It was fun catching up, meeting new people, and being talked into a certain epic overnight race this summer that the BUTS are putting on (thanks Kyle…). 

I’ve spent a lot of time taking in some really relaxed running...

 

Catching some sunsets…

Celebrating St. Patty’s Day on one of my favorite overlooks...

 

You know… the norm! ;) 

 

But thanks to some friendly discussions, a link being sent to me, and maybe a few too many brews… a seed has been planted… so now... it's time to plan an adventure... 

 

Till tomorrow…