I've fallen in love with Running!
In May I met Melissa. She's a photographer that worked on one of my clients, and messaged me about doing a Boudoir Marthon together. Shortly after that initial message, we've since met for coffee, and message back and forth all day long. One day she asked if I wanted to go running with her. I haven't run in years - so of course I said yes!
Getting closer to the day I was getting more and more nervous - Melissa runs 6k every day, and 20 K on Sundays - there was no way I was going to be able to keep up with her, and I was really worried about going with her because I didn't want to sacrifice her workout to wait for me. On the day of, we met at the top of Victoria Park Road, and took off running (more of a Jog really - I was relieved, I'm not built for speed). I made it down around Victoria Golf Course to River Road before I had to request a walking pace for a while. I was still impressed with how far I went!
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| The Red Dot is where we start and end |
After walking for a while, I decided my legs were feeling better and I could run again - but my lungs had other plans and after just a couple minutes of running I had to walk again.
Melissa was awesome about slowing down, and said that it was a nice change of pace, and that she was still getting a workout. And even though I didn't do as well as I hoped, I was still stoked for the distance that I did run, and was hooked, I wanted to do it again!
Since then, Melissa and I have met up again to run, but life seems to have a way of getting in the way, (as does the weather) and we haven't run together as often as we both would have liked. Last night I decided I was going to run by myself around my new neighborhood, so I strapped on my iPod arm band, dialed in to my RunKeeper app on my phone, and took off running.
I felt amazing, and was loving the cool wind of the evening until I noticed the white Crossfire.
It pulled out of a residential street ahead of me, and turned left to face the same direction I was running, but rather than speeding up once completeing their turn, they slowed down to a crawl, until they were stopped in the middle of the street (forcing a truck behind them to go around them) I thought nothing of it, and figured maybe someone was test driving their friends new car, and kept running past.
Once I passed the Crossfire, it took off down the street, and I continued running. A moment later, it had looped the block, slowed down to pass me again, and stopped just up the block ahead of me. At this point I was thinking that maybe they were lost and were waiting to ask me directions or something, but when I got closer to the car, it drove away again. A few minutes later, it turned around and passed me again, once again slowing down. By now I was severely creeped out, and turned in to a block to get away from it.
I looped the block and as I got back on the same road again, and crossed the crosswalk of the block I had just turned down, the Crossfire was sitting idle in the block facing the crosswalk. Once I crossed the road, the crossfire drove to the main street and turned right to pass me again - once again slowing down and waiting just up the road.
When I got closer, the car pulled away and turned the corner ahead onto my street. As I rounded the corner the Crossfire was sitting a couple houses down, and once again as I neared the car, it took off down the block. By this point, I was conflicted as to whether or not I would run further or turn in, but when I saw the crossfire turn around at the end of my block and come back toward me - I made up my mind and headed inside. And locked the deadbolt.
I know... now the creep knows where I live - but the way I saw it, I would rather he know where I am behind a locked door with my Husband, than be able to get to me defenseless on the street. (if that was his intent)
At the same time, although this does look super sketchy, I have been known to have a very overactive imagination (horror movies are out for me - I live them for days and convince myself someone is in the house at night), so it could be someone was just learning stick, or looking at houses on the block (Ben and I have been known to slowly drive around neighborhoods that we like just to look at the houses), and it might not have a thing to do with me - but my imagination took over and freaked me out to the point where I have already requested that Ben come with me on my run's from now on.
Even just relaying the story to Ben, the first thing he did was go back outside and see if he could see the car to go give it a piece of his mind. The next thing, was take me and go for a walk back up the street to where I first saw the car pull out and see if we can get a licence plate. Unfortunately the car was nowhere to be seen the second time out - but I did get a little longer workout by going back out - so there's that :)
The guy never actually talked to me, and drove away every time I approached, so it could have been harmless enough - maybe he was lost, but figured him sitting on the side of the road as I was getting nearer would creep me out, so he kept driving away, so I wouldn't be nervous of him (it didn't work). I don't know, I'm still going to run in the neighborhood, but Ben is going to come out with me, and ride his bike along side, or run with me, and I'm going to be extra cautious around White Crossfires from now on.
Tonight however, I'll be running with Melissa in the River Valley :)
Ben RAWR!!!