Another Safe Run

Last night I ran Day 2 of Week 4 of C25K and it went well. I did start to feel a little stitch in my right side during the third running interval but it went away before the end of the run.

Earlier in the evening, we were sitting outside having supper with our neighbours and one of them told me that he has heard of a few women having been assaulted recently in our neighbourhood. He said that he noticed me going out to run late at night in my tank top and big earphones and he wondered if he should call me back to warn me. It's true that I run late in the evening (10pm, 11pm, sometimes a bit later) at least twice a week. That's just the way that my schedule works and I'm a night person anyway (to the extent that it's possible to be a night person and mother a toddler!).

Am I naive to feel safe? I thought a lot about my neighbour's caution as I was out running last night and it wasn't the most motivating or pleasant train of thought. I suppose someone could pull me into the park bushes or hustle me into their car, but honestly, I just don't think that will happen. I don't run on particularly secluded streets, and the park is big, relatively well-lit, and surprisingly populated even late at night. There are always a couple other runners, people on the soccer field, and people sitting on the benches around the lake.

Ultimately I think my decision to run in the late evening is part optimism/naivete (I think I'll be okay) and part defiance (these spaces are mine too!).