Tuesday was a run day, which I was quite excited about, until it was time to run. It always seems like whenever I am ready to go out for a run, the sun which was shining and making everything look warm and inviting, dive bombs behind some clouds. Thus making my run cold and clammy. I decided on a whim to try a trail I knew of nearby my workplace and was sorely disappointed. It was basically just a paved trail behind apartment complexes and chain malls. The other unfortunate part about it was it went from a decent part of town to a more dive-y area.
I almost always run ‘out and back’ loops so that I have enough time to get back to the office/home and don’t get stuck out on the road trying to find a short cut back. The only problem with this logic is when something creepy or unpleasant happens on the “out” part of your loop and you know you’ll have to pass whatever it is on the way "back." Usually I try to run a loop where I know the area and can plan accordingly if I do not want to run the same road/trail back. For example, during the summer, I will occasionally run through the neighborhood and often my neighbors will be having work done on their houses. I often find that if I run any of the hours around lunch time I will inevitably run past a group of men (on break from doing heavy labour) lounging about eating their lunches and staring at the barely clothed sweaty girl running by. Very unpleasant and I have to make a point to come back via other streets.
Yesterday, as I was running behind the apartment complexes feeling just a tad of uneasy because it was so secluded, I noticed ahead that a man was leaning out one of the back doors of the apartment complex smoking a cigarette. While I was moving fast, I could feel him watching me as I passed by and it was a very eerie feeling. I hastened my pace throughout the rest of the run and ended up pulling a ligament in the back of my leg. So what did I learn? That trail is no good and don’t run anywhere that seems (even slightly) secluded. It ruined the run for me. Because the rest of the run, even when I was far from those apartments, I was thinking about being watched. Women runners often have to be more aware of their surrounding when they run than men. I am sure that some people would view this as a pessimistic approach to running, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Today my knee hurt quite badly. I am not sure why, but this week seems to be going just terribly in terms of fitness and exercise. I resisted the temptation to run outside (because today the sun was shining) and instead went to the gym and decided on the stair stepper for a good long workout. Then I did floor calisthenics. While it was nice that my knee did not hurt as much today, I am still generally peeved about it hurting in the first place. I guess old injuries never die and you can’t teach an old knee new tricks. Oh well, we’ll see how I feel tomorrow and if I can go for a run then.
In the meantime, please be careful and run safe.
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