Thinking On The Run

I've noticed recently that my posts tend to be shapeless in their subject matter. That is, I tend to not have a plan for what I want to post about and end up blathering on and boring even myself. So, I'm going to make a concerted effort to post only when I have something worth writing about and to try some structured posts. By structured, I mean posts with specific topics in mind.

My first stab at this will be a series called "Thinking On the Run" mainly because I didn't want to spend 20 minutes trying to think of a more clever title. I occasionally have interesting (well, I consider them interesting at least) thoughts or small soliloquies with myself about a particular topic. Even though I didn't run this morning, this post is running-inspired, and that's close enough for a first try.

I was walking to work, as I do most mornings when it isn't pouring down rain or so bitter cold it's painful. With the recent spate of fall-like weather, I've seen more people out running in the mornings, although I've yet to see many runners out at 6 AM yet. THey're usually out around 7:30 when I head to the office. Anyway, today was no different. I was walking and saw a young woman running towards me on my side of the street. She passed me by but a few seconds later I heard a guy who must have been across the street behind me call out to her saying something like, "Hey, you enjoyin' yo run, sweetie?" or something like that. I presume she kept on running or maybe didn't even hear him if she was listening to music.

Nonetheless, cat calling women seems to be a past time of lots of guys in Baltimore and with women who are running, it always seems even more foolish/desperate. I'm never sure if those guys think women will stop and talk to them or what...maybe they do, maybe they just want a reaction out of her. I've yet to experience any female runner respond to a cat call, though. It just seems like a complete waste of time because what woman in her right mind would hear a strange guy call after her, stop her workout, turn around, and end up striking up a conversation with him? In Baltimore, no less, where we've had somewhere around 200 homicides this year thus far.

There's also no consideration for how it makes someone feel to know that whenever they go out for a run in their neighborhood they'll likely be accosted at least once. But in Baltimore, it's expected, unfortunately.

I put cat calling a female runner up there with taxi drivers honking their horns at attractive women as they drive by as two of the most non-sensical things that I see routinely in Baltimore. There are others like walking out into traffic no matter what's coming at you (literally daring the cars to hit you), traffic cops refusing to penalize drivers blocking intersections while getting angry at pedestrians crossing at proper times, and taxi drivers who ask you for directions when you get in the cab.

On another note, I found out today that my company will again be sponsoring the Baltimore Running Festival and that I managed to score a sponsor's registration for the 5K. So, I'll get to run the race for free and participate in the festival for the third year in a row. Sweet! In a recession, saving that $45 registration fee is key.