Freaky People

Yesterday I took a left instead of a right for my hour-long run. I parked at the lot on ocean park and instead of taking off in the less crowded direction towards the pier, which would be my normal choice, I took off towards the Venice Boardwalk.

I have a fear of running outside. It started in my much heavier days towards the end of college when things really got out of control. At about 70 pounds heavier, but really rather in denial about it, I went for a run through the town of Princeton. I remember so clearly that it was a humid spring morning before my first ever real job interview, and I could barely barely squeeze into my size 16 suit that I had bought from Ann Taylor. I was horrified when a truck with a couple guys in it drove by and yelled 'better keep running fatty!'. And run I did....back to my dorm...in tears, and barely able to later suffer through a job interview that needless to say, I did not get.

So fast forward to other brief attempts at running, of which a small percentage included some idiot commenting on some aspect of my physical being...i mean, seriously, who are these people and where do they get the nerve?? But i've spent much of my life since then avoiding running alone outside, particularly being stopped at corners for stop lights where cars can stop and assess you...for some reason running alone, with no headphones, just feels so NAKED...maybe even worse than naked.

So yesterday I went left...through the throngs of people milling during dusk along venice boardwalk. I ran and ran -- about 2.5 miles down to Marina Del Rey and then back. It was hard running by the cafes with people enjoying drinks and just people-watching, worrying what they thought of my spandex-clad ass. I was shocked that throughout the whole run, I wasn't harrassed once, not about my breasts or my booty, or my running style, or my jiggle. No one told me to keep running, leered, or laughed. In fact, I ran by a grungy but delicate-looking panhandling 18-year old boy sitting against a wall with a jar and a sign that said "help me get to Prom" who said on my return trip past him "keep up the good work, hot stuff".

I loved that run yesterday. The beach was on my right the whole time, there was a buzzing energy along the boardwalk, as I passed the cafes, and "muscle beach", and the paddle courts, and all the crazy vendors, and the many varieties of dogs walking their owners. It was lively and colorful and I realized that when you're just one average person going for a run at sunset along one of the most eclectic places in the world, you're safe. I was happy to just be Normal blending in among those wonderful, freaky people.