Running away from danger

Off and on over the past couple weeks, and frequently over the past few days, I have had an urge to go running. I often get such an urge around this time of year... Why, back in 2000, before I had even heard about Body for Life or had any commitment whatsoever to fitness, I remember getting a hankering to run when we had the first nice spring evening. And I did run. I put on my running shoes, stepped out my front door, and jogged through my student neighborhood in fair Ann Arbor. I didn't run far, but the point is I ran. Why? Because the neighborhood was right in front of me, and nothing stood between idea and action.

Fast forward to 2005. I (somewhat unexpectedly) find myself in our Nation's Capital, literally a few blocks from the Capitol Dome. Now, I usually have urges to jog in the evening. But living in this urban environment, where news of evening muggings is commonplace, I simply cannot go jogging when I want to. Between idea and action stands a touch of danger, and so I stay in.

I know the "danger" is likely not all that great. I know I could probably jog to the Mall (5 blocks away), to the Washington Monument and back, and run into no one but some harmless vagrants. And yet the threat of harm is there, and that is enough. When it comes to Exercise, if anything stands in my way, odds are I won't do it. I need instancy. I need to live in a residential neighborhood.

When I live in a residential -- or at least semi-residential -- neighborhood, I will not face the threat of danger. The only thing standing between me and running will be the sidewalk. And that's not so scary.