I’ve lived in the same house now for more than 10 years and have used the same jogging path for that time. It’s a perfect 4-mile loop from my house to the end of the marina, with awesome views along the way. I see all kinds of sea birds (pelicans are my faves) and boats, and get good breezes. Running has been a good way for me to get out of my head, breathe and de-stress, and appreciate the moment.
A few years ago I started getting cat-called pretty regularly on my runs, very much breaking up my peaceful time. I started telling D about it every time it happened because it seemed like a lot to me. Yes, it was a lot. I made a mental note of what I was wearing and determined it was just fine for running. I switched up my route. I changed the time of day I ran. I bought a watch with an emergency button. I cranked up the volume in my earbuds. I considered running with mace. I read about the woman who runs with a gun. Finally, I just got sick of coming home from every run feeling bad about the people in the world. I was needing to de-stress after the run, which was the whole point of the run. So I stopped running.
Fast forward a year and I realized that I was really missing being outside, so I asked D to start running with me. So now I have essentially a body guard with me on my runs. Having not run with any partner before is taking some getting used to. But I’m outside again and I can see the sea birds and feel the breezes. And since I’ve been running with D I haven’t gotten one comment from a stranger.
