After running for years in the same neighborhoods, you're bound to be noticed. This, I didn't realize until my fourth or fifth year.
My dad told me about a customer that came in one day. He recognized me in a picture on my dad's desk, but couldn't remember from where. Sketchy? That was my first thought (my dad's, too, I'm sure). They conversed, trying to figure out where this creep might have seen me. I suppose, thinking this guy might have seen me at a track or cross country meet sometime, my dad pointed out that I run for my high school. That's all it took.
I had been running the same route on average once a week, sometimes more, since my freshman year of high school. Little did I know, a family who lived on that route kept an eye out for me. The customer (not a creep after all, as far as I know) and his kids had nicknamed me the Runner Girl (or something to that effect).
That day I realized something very important: eyes are on all of us. Even when you're doing the most mundane thing--working out, shopping, taking your dog for a walk, having dinner with that special someone, searching for a parking space--someone sees you. Unless you are in the comfort of your own home, you never know who is learning from your mistakes, or being inspired, or following your example, or praying that their kids don't turn out like you.
To this day, I do not know which house belongs to the family that watched out for me. To this day, I do not know if they ever saw me trip on a curb, blow my nose on my shirt, stop to stretch or secretly catch my breath because I was out of shape. I do know this: they are not the only family that lived on that route. Or any other of the hundreds of routes I've ever run.
Lesson: don't make ugly faces unless you don't mind others taking mental pictures of you.
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