That Time I Thought I Might Become a Missing Person

Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration... 

Every.single.muscle... and I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it. 

My workouts and runs are what keep me sane. Take those away from me, and I become an emotional, moody mess. In other words, I feel bad for all my loved ones that have had to deal with me these past several months. I'm not 100% yet, and won't be for some time, but I'm well on my way and ready to make the second half of 2014 amazing.

I did an hour long full body workout on Tuesday. As a result, I can feel the soreness in my triceps when I pick up a pen. Pathetic, yet so awesome. I burnt over 600 calories, worked up a sweat and felt on top of the world.

While Wyatt was at Brad's last night, I decided to go for a run. I have a lot of miles to make up for Dakota! Before I continue on with this story, let me back track to some local events this week:

I live in Wyoming. Technically, all towns are small here in comparison to what most of you are used to. I grew up in a town of 2,500 people. Where I live now has a population of 33,000 (not counting the University). So, overall, still not a big place. Living in a place where it feels like everyone knows everyone, it's easy to be a little too relaxed. Sure, I lock my car doors and lock up the house at night. But, other than that, safety just hasn't ever been a big concern to me.

With all that said, back to the story. On social media this week, I've seen posts from local friends warning about "salesman" in town claiming to sell cleaner for "inner city kids". Stories have ranged from them pushing through the door way to get into the house after being told they weren't interested. Refusing to leave properties. Getting upset when asked to leave etc... One friend of mine had told them she wasn't interested at her home yesterday morning, that afternoon, they pulled up next to her at an intersection to ask if she'd changed her mind and tried to get her to pull into a parking lot. Another's husband had to pull a gun to get them to leave their house. Police had been notified of these guys, and had spoken to them earlier in the week. 

Even with all that going on, I really didn't give my going for a run a second thought. I was about a mile from Brad's house, in a quiet residential neighborhood, enjoying my run with some Carry On My Wayward Son motivating me on my Ipod. I came to an intersection and stopped as there was a white, unmarked, van coming down the street. He stopped and waved me to cross. As I started to cross the street, he gunned it and parked right in my path. 

I could see him trying to say something to me, so I took my earphones out. He asked me if I'd seen his buddy selling cleaner in the neighborhood. I told him I hadn't and tried to continue on my run. He inched forward blocking my path and asked if I'd be interested in their product. I told him I was trying to run and wasn't interested, tried to get past and he inched forward again. At this point, I was getting pissed off, and a little freaked out. He continued to inch forward every time I tried to get passed him. I noticed a cop car parked at a house about a block ahead. I turned, made a big loop behind him, sprinted to the cop's house and pretended to tie my shoes for a bit until the guy in the creepy van had moved on. 

I'm sure the guy was probably harmless, but the whole situation just gave me a really bad feeling. My original plan was to get at least 3 miles in. Instead, I made it to some busier streets and made my way back to Brad's. 

I'm a firm believer in not living your life in fear. Bad things happen - some unavoidable. You just go out there and live your life. If something happens, it happens. That's just my mentality. The incident last night hasn't discouraged me from continuing to run. Nothing will get in the way of that. But, it did shake me up enough to research some different options for protection while running. I haven't decided what route I'm going to take in that department just yet, but I will start carrying some type of protection with me for solo runs.

Moral of the story: be safe out there. Stay aware on your runs... or walks... or bike rides. Always have a plan in mind and be prepared.