On The Road Again and A Show

After a few days away from running (I was shoveling snow and x-c skiing), I got back on the roads this morning. I ran about 5 miles, trying to move briskly, in part to atone for my day off yesterday. The snow melt had progressed to a point where there were virtually no challenges from snow or ice along the route.

Part of the route I ran passes through a predominately Black area. (I elect to use the term Black as opposed to the more PC, but less rational African-American...we don't call people Oriental Americans...frankly, the very old, usually regarded as pejorative term "colored" is probably truly the right term, but it carries too much baggage. Sorry for the big digression here.) As I was passing the McDonald's (yes, it sounds almost like I'm trying to work in all the stereotypes here, but it is the absolute truth), a mini-SUV pulled out of the parking lot into my path. Two guys were walking on the sidewalk, and when the driver realized he'd gotten into my path, he panicked and froze, rather than getting out of my way. I ran into his vehicle, hitting it with two open hands as I veered behind it. The sound of my striking it caught the attention of the pedestrians. One said something like the street equivalent of "watch out." (I apologize, I was starting to lay out this post and failed to commit his precise term to memory.) Since the driver was a young male, I was a bit concerned he was going to come after me. He stopped after the thump, while in the traffic lane, and I wasn't sure if it was to see if I was OK or from being pissed off. I just kept running, though listening very carefully for the next half-mile or so for anyone driving aggressively. The rest of my run was incident free.