I tend to think in probabilities. Perhaps this has something to do with my line of work, or perhaps this is just my make-up. I have always been a bit of a skeptic, always looking for the evidence, always challenging my intuitions and looking for proof. This has served me well, I believe, in that I don't nurse any fears that are not justified (and when I do, I challenge them). I know, for example, that my chances of dieing of colon cancer are very high (since everyone on my mom's side seems to get it sooner or later), much higher than, dieing in a train car on the red line, going from Charles MGH to Alewife (since I take the train 3 times/week, and really, when did you last hear of someone dieing due to a malfunction on the red line?). Today, though, the probabilities turned on me. I was in the last car of the train and after one stop, I start smelling gas. I look around and see others getting a bit impatient. The smell starts getting stronger and stronger, and the fumes are making it harder and harder to see and breath. The train keeps going. I feel trapped and start thinking about, well, what if we don't make it to the station. People start standing up and looking around. Noone says anything, though, which strikes me as unusual, since in moments of fear I tend to want to connect. Some people even keep on reading (????). The train enters Central square, and while I get out, I see flames in a car ahead. I jot out of the train station while the conductor starts screaming :"I don't know what the hell is wrong".
I still don't know what the hell was wrong. Perhaps on the news tonight I will hear some version of what happened. I hope everyone on the train was OK. It's situations like this where you wonder about things like fate (or shall we call it, chance). Sometimes a small probability can get you quicker than a big one. But of course it does not help anyone to think this way. I should just tell myself that my chances of getting into any issues on the red line are getting very close to 0 after this incident. And that would be true, and even enough in a day or so.
So I did go for the run. 9 miles on sore quads, with 2x1600m @ 6:18 and 6:15, and 2X800m @ 6:04 and 6:01. Not to bad for having raced on Sunday. Then I played all evening with my boys!
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13 comments:
Wow, that's kind of freaky. Glad you're okay. i can't believe how fast you've gotten. Your mile repeats are smoking.
Wow! So glad you safe. Scary stuff. Thanks for sharing your perspective on it all.
Glad you're safe! Did you ever find out what caused the fire?
I did some fast stuff today too--but not as fast as you... My legs are TRASHED, too! I think that's how we know the course is a hard one... the damage done to the old legs!
That is a scary story and it's a good think everyone stayed so calm! Nice job on your repeats, you're getting SO fast!
Ahhh! Freaky! Not bad for having raced on Sunday?? More like freakin' awesome!! Great paces! Wave at me when you pass me in Boston!!
Man that is scary. I'm sorry you had to go through that and I'm glad you're okay.
That is a crazy morining. So glad your alright. I hope everyone else was ok too. I couldn't imagine being able to read a book while my eyes were burning up from gasoline fumes...weird!
Great job on the speedwork. Your such a quick recoverer (word?). Must be all the cross training!
Glad you are okay. I wonder what heppened? I remember riding on the L and smoke and coming into the train and we sat on the tracks for ever and I got off and walked to work expecting to be able to find out what went on - and nothing in the news. The L is such a crappy line that unless it's something truly horrible it doesn't make the news.
And that is some impressive running after the half.
Wow! That sounds like quite an exciting morning. I'm glad you're ok! I think about probabilities a lot too. It's funny how they work. For instance, I can say a particular communication system has will lose 1 bit out of every 1000 based on it's Bit Error Rate (calculated via probability theory), but cannot predict which bit will be lost. It's just crazy how probability can accurately predict the behavior of a system over a large sample space, but can't really say anything about a single sample. Can you tell I think about it a lot?
Nice run BTW!
Holy smokes, look at you with the fast times! So glad you are okay!
Crikey, that is one heck of a train ride! Far more exciting than anyone would hope for. Glad you (and hopefully all others) are ok and all you have is a strange story to tell. Paul :-)
you are a speed freak!! nice job woman!
Yikes, glad it all worked out. And my Lord, if only I could run a fraction of that pace. Keep it going, girl!!! Woohooo!
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