Saturday we headed up north for a fun filled weekend of painting at my mother in law's cabin. I was a little stressed out about squeezing in my 20 mile run without seeming like a nutcase to all of dh's family and more importantly trying to figure out how to get it done in a less familiar area without any disruptions or interuptions. Twenty mile runs are nerve wracking enough on their own without any added obstacles. I worried about everything from getting in and out of the bathroom without having one of my children, nieces, nephews, cousins, or other inlaws being in the bathroom. (Did I mention that oh about 20 people were probably there total?) That and they all like to sleep until 10 or 11 so trying to figure out how to get my morning coffee prerun as well.
Well, everything went off without a hitch. I got out got running and felt good. I got rained on, really rained on about third mile in. Rain was pouring for a good while and then it stopped and I dried up. Came back at mile 6, potty break. Things still going smooth. I'm thinking this isn't going to be so bad after all.
Around the lake is 3.75 miles so I decided the next time around to add in a stretch down this dirt road and back so that I'd be closer to 5 mile loops. I don't know the idea of running around the lake more than 4 times just was not appealing to me. I don't mind loops, but not that many of them 3 or 4 is my usual limit. So about mile 9 I'm honestly feeling a little tired and heading down this dirt road when Mr. Creepy Old guy pulls up alongside me. The guy has oxygen tubes in his nose and he rolls his window down and says something, but I didn't quite hear him. I then acknowledge him and try to figure out what he said and he says "Not wise". It through me off guard and I respond with "I have my cellphone on me" and he then says "Still not wise". At this point the guy is pissing me off and I seriously thought about saying "maybe if you ran a little more when you were younger you wouldn't have oxygen up your nose", but I'm not a mean spirited person so just responded with "Thanks for your opinion." With that he drove off.
I spent the next two miles fuming. I mean I was really pissed. I sat there grumbling with thoughts of "What am I supposed to run with a dog and 2 men by my side?", followed by "what does he expect me to lock myself in my house and run on the treadmill", followed by I could be killed in car accident tomorrow you can't predict life and I refuse to live in fear of it.
After being pissed off for a few miles, then it started to shake me up. It occurred to me that creepy old guy could have been creepy young guy that dragged me into his pick up truck, raped me, and murdered me. I got a big family to think about. I honestly never put much thought into personal safety while running. I assumed if I wasn't running in ghettoville and if I ran during daylight hours and had my cellphone on me I was relatively safe. The truth of the matter is we live in a crappy world. A world where people do bad things and whether I liked what creepy old guy had to say maybe he had a point. I still refuse to live in fear, but I am going to think a little harder about where I run and am considering purchasing a personal alarm to run with.
As for the 20 miles. I finished and that's all that matters! It definitely kicked my butt, but happy to say I've completed one of three of planned 20 mile runs for this training cycle.
I wouldn't be concerned about your safety. People really really really like to give their unsolicited opinions on other peoples' behavior. I don't wear a helmet on my commuter bike when I go to work (its half a mile). I probably get a comment a week out of cars or in the parking lot at my store. It makes me angry but I've learned that the best response is, "My personal safety is my responsibility and none of your business. Thank you."
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