To the Guy Running Next to Me...

I like to think of myself as a pretty patient and tolerant person.  My chosen profession requires these qualities on an hourly basis.  However, there are certain things that bother me to the point where I lose all sense of patience and tolerance.  I'm finding the more I go to the gym, the more of these things I discover.

Today was no exception.  I went to the gym early, since I wasn't going to be able to go later like normal.  There were a good amount of people in there, which I don't prefer but it was tolerable.  I hopped on my treadmill, got my music going (it was working today :) ), set my timer for 45 minutes and I was off. 

Within ten minutes of me starting my workout a gentleman, a little older than myself, took the treadmill next to me.  First off, there are 8 treadmills, 7 of which were open.  Why he chose the treadmill directly next to me is beyond me.  It kinda reminded me of that see from Harold and Kumar where the guy pees on the same bush as another guy.  I am assuming he wanted to watch a particular TV, or he was planning on driving me nuts.



The second thing that bothered me about this gentleman was that fact that you could smell him before you saw him.  Within seconds of him entering the gym, the whole place was filled with his nauseating AXE-induced stench to the point that you could taste it.  Having this amount of fragrance eminating from the person next to me made it very hard to breathe.  **Bri's Gym Tip #1 - Don't douse yourself in fragrance before you go to the gym, suffocating those around you helps no one.

Once he got going, I noticed that he was watching me in the mirror, creepy!  Then, he started to copy my moves.  I bumped up my speed, he bumped up his; I slowed down, so did he.  It was to the point that he was matching me, step for step.  This was making me incredibly uncomfortable.  **Bri's Gym Tip #2 - Keep your eyes straight ahead, staring at someone through the mirror is just as creepy as straight on.

Luckily, by the time I could no longer stand it I got to start my cool down. I was quite surprised when he did not start his at the same time.  I saw this as the time to make my escape.  I finished up, switched into my boots and headed home, with the taste of AXE still in my mouth as a reminder of my "treatmill friend" (as Tim referred to him). 

I normally try to keep to myself at the gym, but that's hard to do when people are purposely seeking you out!  Has something similar ever happened to you?