Managing Awkward; July 5, 2017

The bottom line is:  I have no idea how the person that I blocked last week really feels.

The most bizarre thing, however, happened on Monday.

The Monday before I had sent a text to her noting that I had updated her last name in the some of the race's pre-race materials, which recognizes runners who have run the race every year or multiple years.

She also had registered on the Fourth of July last year for this year.  She was still married then.

So the text included a reminder in case she wanted the results to be accurate on race day.

I didn't see or hear anything back.

No "thanks for the reminder" or any indication that she was upset that I reminded her.

I really try to stay out of other's business, but one of the earliest communications in January was a remark about how "her tribe would find her" now in the results with the name change.

So I knew at one point it was on her mind (or she used it for me to flatter her because she knew that for one race director's race I had all of the data).

At 1:50 p.m., I received a "Like" of the text.  (I later learned from my daughter that it is a newer feature of the iPhone - people can just like your text.)

Which with this individual, it seems to be their way of shutting down a conversation.

At 2:02 p.m., my race director received an e-mail from her to have the last name changed in the registration and/or the results.

He forwarded it to me and the timer at 6:50 p.m.

But the fact that a week later you finally decide to like my text ... why?

There was no need to, unless you wanted to get in my head.  And if so, you succeeded.

You could have just come, though, and seen me on race day and said "thanks for the reminder" in person.

Just because I block somebody on social media doesn't mean that I never, ever want to communicate with them.

It is just in matters of the heart, I want it to be in person and I don't want to be confused by other things that I see.

Race day came yesterday.

I didn't expect much.  I figured she's aware of the block on Facebook and she might have stumbled upon the previous entry.

Actually, I don't recall how much communication I had with her before she came up and asked for a picture at races in both October and November.

Must have been some.

I had even seen some pictures here in the last day or two from when she and her now ex-husband were married six years ago.  They ran the race as bride and groom.

I believe my race director pointed them out to announce because I didn't know either of them then.

I was busy, though, before the race, but I still say Hi! to people as much as I can.

When I called for clubs to get their pre-race team photo in front of the finish line, it was then that I saw her go to one of them.  (A later inspection today in somebody's album, I saw that she was standing by her ex-husband.)

The race starts and finishes in different locations.  So as soon as we get started, I have certain equipment to break down and go to the finish line location which is about a half mile away.

I generally know about when she'll finish.

So when her name came up on the screen, it was her former name!  I was thinking, "Crap, they didn't get it changed in time!"

I immediately, thought, "Well, I'm going with the current name."  And I did and I did it as professionally as I had on Saturday and every other time I've called her name.

Who ran her in for the second race in 16 days?  Her ex-husband.

She still had some friends that were going to be finishing behind her.  I wasn't surprised then to see her come back past the finish line to either go help run them in or cheer them on.

She did go down the other side of the street from the side I was announcing from.

There was a couple that I know she knows pretty well that finished, then a gentleman that walks more than he runs, I believe, and the female friend that she went to New Orleans with that one weekend.

I think I told her, "Good job" and said her name and she said, "Thanks, Jon."

The organization that I announce for is a 501(c)(3) and they have a Board of Directors.  One of the Board members relieves me on the microphone when I leave to go and announce the awards.

So she had the friend that was walking in come with her, and with her phone, to get a picture of her and the Board member, who was standing immediately to the left.

I was still working at that point, but, honestly, my awkward flag was flying really, really high in that she would want to get a picture with me.

So I might have turned to the right a little bit towards the laptop that was showing the names of runners on the screen.

But her friend looked at me interestingly when she kind of bolted stage left.

I don't know if he 1.) was surprised that she didn't take a picture with me or all three of us together or 2.) was told that she was also going to take one with me and that changed.

I was going to engage via text yesterday and even today, but I'm deciding not to.

I think my biggest fear is that I misread the whole situation from immediately after the birthday party in February.

However, a responsible adult would have given a clear indication that they weren't interested in anything more than a friendship.

I'll just continue to hope that at a future race where I'm announcing and she's running that there can be a friendly and non-awkward face-to-face conversation.

She's my race director's best customer over the years.  Literally.

Of the five races that he has put on prior to the start of 2017, where he has picked up three new ones, she had run them 32 times.

My race director would literally shoot me if I resigned.

Something will have to be figured out.