My run this morning didn't turn out quite how I'd wanted it to...

Miracle beyond miracles... I lost 8/10ths of a pound this past week!!!

Huh??!!

I debated about weighing in at all. I went to bed Friday night saying, "I'm definitely taking a no-weigh-in-pass tomorrow". After all the cookies and cupcake pops and whatever I wanted to eat for Christmas dinner, there was no way I could face another big gain. I'd gained 3.6 pounds the previous week for eating the exact same way as I did this past week.

And I'd told myself I wasn't going to do this either. I was going to make it through these holidays without gaining... or if I gained, it would only be just a smidge. But here I was, sitting there Friday night looking at my building tummy on the night before weigh in knowing that is exactly what I'd done.

But when I got up Saturday morning, I decided I'd weigh in. I figured, if I gained, I'll surely lose it right back off during the coming week and then I'll have no proof of losing anything. I remember doing that last summer: I gained 7 pounds in one week then I took a no-weigh-in-pass and over the next week was able to get 5 1/2 pounds off but when I weighed in, it showed I'd gained a pound an a half. I didn't want to do that again.

So I weighed in. And lost. Saweet!

I'm thinking it was probably because my 3.6 lb gain last week was really just water gain and then over this past week, I really did gain 3 pounds and it all washed out as an 8/10ths loss.

Well, whatever it was, I was SO stinking surprised and happy for the loss.

So this morning, I got up and headed out for my 12 mile run. I mapped out 2 possible routes last night and when I woke up this morning, I decided to take the more scenic of the two. So, I told hubby my route and headed out the door. I got to the end of the driveway and he popped his head out the door and shouted "be careful". He'd never done that before. It kinda spooked me, like, uh oh, is there something I should be watching out for??

It was cold (50 degrees) and overcast (not a bit of sun)—perfect weather for running! I wore layers and gloves so as I got warmed up, I could peel off the layers and get into the grove.


So after about 3 miles, I turned onto this long, straight stretch of pavement (maybe a half a mile long) that leads from the main thoroughfare to a footbridge that goes over a major interstate and I spotted two hooded individuals almost all the way at the other end of the path. They were walking the same direction as I was running. One was wearing a black hoody with long pants and the other had a gray hoody with long shorts on. I slowed my pace down because I didn't want to catch up with them.

Now walking, I got to the end of the long, straight path and looked up at the roundabout walk way that leads to the interstate overpass and saw the 2 of them trudging along. I stopped and watched them slowly walk across the overpass until they were out of my sight on the other side. Then I started running, very slowly, up the roundabout.

When I got to the end of the overpass, I could see them just every once in a while, but not steady. When I got down the other side of the other roundabout, I saw them at the end of the long pathway that lead to the other thoroughfare on the other side of the interstate and saw that they'd turned right—the exact path I was taking. I started getting real scared because they did not look like they were exercising, in fact they just looked like trouble.

I saw the tops of their hoods cutting through a parking lot to the right, rather than them staying on the sidewalk at the other end of the path. Then I could only see just the gray hood, which was odd because the black hoody was taller than the gray one. Then all of the sudden, the gray hood popped straight down out of sight. Like it was all of the sudden trying to hide from something. THEN, like 5 seconds later, a cop car drove by. Man, that really got me!!

I was walking again because I wanted to stay as far away from them as possible. When I got down to the end of the pathway and was about to turn onto the sidewalk (right where I last spotted them) another runner crossed right in front of me traveling on the sidewalk that I was about to turn onto. Whew! I tucked in behind him and stayed as close as I could to him until I got past the last place I'd seen those hoodys.

But man was I just darn scared.

There was another runner coming up behind him, about 50 feet or so, so I was sandwiched between these 2 male runners and felt somewhat safe. But I was so spooked I didn't think I could go on. The next part of the path was totally secluded and meandered through farm land through a tunnel of beautiful canopy trees. I just didn't think I could feel safe running through that usually beautiful part of the trail.

So I called hubby to come and get me.

I ran towards the closest public area I could find which was a small shopping plaza. He stayed on the phone with me until he got there.

I'm so mad because I felt so strong and so empowered when I started the run, but once I saw those two guys, I felt so helpless and scared. It's a shame our world has come to this. Sad.

So, needless to say, I didn't get to run the full 12 miles. I only ended up running 4 miles. But when I got done, I looked down at my heart monitor and it said I'd burned almost 800 calories. I think it was because my heart rate was up so high during the encounter with those two guys.

Oh, well, I'll just keep on running in the mornings throughout the week. Then next weekend, I'll run the other route. It's a more public the whole way. It follows a major 4-lane road the whole way. So I'll get to smell yummy car exhaust the whole way. Would rather be able to inhale the beautiful smell of trees and flowers, but at least I'll be safe.

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