Workout, interrupted.

So I made arrangements to go into work late to allow myself time to sleep in AND do a morning workout. This morning around 9 a.m. I’m at Sports and Fitness Edge 10 minutes into my workout and the fire alarm goes off. WTF. Here is what I observed about crowd behavior in a potential emergency:

1. Lots of questioning if we really have to evacuate.

2. Lots of rolling eyes about going the motions of emergency procedures.

3. Lots of murmured regrets about not going to locker room first to retrieve one’s belongings.

Once outside, everyone huddled near the front door, which is frankly not the place to be if the building really is in danger. When I overheard the staff saying the fire department has to clear the building before we could be let in, I decided to go for a run. I was supposed to be doing cross-training, but if we’re going to standing outside, I may as well keep moving and get in some exercise. Thankfully, it’s sunny and 40 degrees out and I had on long-sleeved shirt.

Afterward my workout, I struck up a conversation with an elderly man who had been a firefighter for 25 years, and he was interested to know how the evacuation went. He told me that he’s traveled all over Europe and everywhere he goes he visits a local fire department. When he asked me how my running is going I told him I felt more tired than I should. “Wait till you’re 80!” he told me. Point taken.