The other day I struggled with the motivation to get my butt out the door and across the street in order to do my run. I put it off for so long that Grace had given up staring at me with her puppy eyes and seemed to accept that I was boring.
Instead I girded my loins with some running tights, to protect against the slight chill in the air and suited up with my Garmin and a new workout shirt that clashed fantastically with my new shoes (florescent orange is hard to match).
I asked Jason to go with me but his throat hurt which somehow rendered his legs useless :)
Once I got to the trail I was getting Grace's leash situated when I heard someone ask what kind of dog Grace was. Hey, I love "dog talk"! and it gave me an excuse to not start running for a few minutes- even better!
The man asking seemed nice. Based solely on a first impression that didn't include any obvious signs of ickiness.
That would come about 30 seconds later.
He asked my name and shook my hand...holding it a bit to long, while giving a slight smile when I tried to subtly retrieve it.
He asked me if I was a "runner", I said I was trying to be, and that I was training for the St. George Marathon.
He claimed that he could out run me...um, doubtful, very doubtful.
Oh, no, he was "very fast" he said. Even though he smokes he could definitely out run me.
I conceded that he probably could in a sprint, since it was starting to become clear he wasn't giving friendly "smack talk".
He was adamant that he could run any distance I could fast than I could and then keep going.
At this point I am starting to suspect he might be a bit buzzed, or maybe stoned.
I also am starting to look forward to running if only because it will take me away from this guy who is starting to creep me out. ( Did I mention he offered to give me singing lessons?)
It's the first time in my life that I started worrying if I was going to be followed and harassed while running.
I made my excuse to run "oh, I better start before it starts raining on us" never have I been so glad to have that handy excuse) and headed down the trail.
I was also REALLY glad to see that the trail was chalk full of bikers, runners, and walkers. I was never out of line of sight from someone on the trail, but kept hearing my Nana gripe about my solo runs.
Won't that teach Jason to leave me to run by myself!
Turns out that having a weirdo behind you puts wings on your feet.
That day I took 30 seconds off my time- 23:55min 3.12 miles
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