Do you listen to your Spidey Sense?

This past Wednesday I was scheduled to run 5 miles so I crawled out of bed while it was still dark and stumbled out the door at around 5:30.  I live in the boonies and don't have tons of options for running near my house so I've run on pretty much the same roads for the last year.

That may seem boring to some but the roads are hilly and they offer a nice challenge. Plus I have come to know what to expect in terms of traffic and the morning habits of my neighbors - like the newspaper guy is usually on our road around 6 and he reads while he drives so I pay extra close attention then.

Wednesday morning started a little differently because my reflective sleeves from Nathan Sports came the day before so I was  fiddling with them while running. In the midst of my fiddling I noticed my flashlight hit something that reflected back.

Typically my objective is to be seen by cars and schoolbuses and not necessarily for me to see details so my flashlight isn't super bright.

So I ran a few more steps forward and froze-briefly.  Parked on the side of the road was a windowless van. There are no houses nearby. No streetlights. No nothin' but the road, the trees and a bunch of corn fields. And there have never been cars or vans parked along this particular road in the morning.  I turned around and high-tailed it home. 

As soon as I got home I told Bill what I saw thinking he'd be impressed by my street smarts. He was still half asleep as he rolled over and said, "It's the first day of bow season. It was probably just some hunters."

After he woke up he agreed that I did the right thing. Though I didn't doubt for a moment that I made the right choice. After reading Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (and Parents Sane) I don't ignore when my Spidey Senses start tingling.

The van could have just as easily been home to a bad guy as to a harmless hunter hoping to fill his freezer. As great as 5 miles feels, it wouldn't be worth it to end up the lead story on the evening  news.

I waited until the sun came up and then headed out again to finish my run. The van was still there, and no one was in it so it probably was just a hunter. Which is a good thing. I hate to think bad guys decided to start parking on my running route. But I think I'll add pepper spray to my Christmas list just in case...