Takin' It to the Streets

Today is another day of me feeling cautiously optimistic about the fact that my knee isn't hurting.

Cautious.

So in my efforts to not put on a ton of weight whilst I'm not running, and am exotic fish-sitting for my aunt and uncle (they have not heard of "light" or "low-calorie" in their lives...fine for my aunt since she's a postal worker and walks about 10 miles per day, not-so-fine for my uncle, who does not), I am walking more.

I get off the bus a stop early. I don't transfer trains for work in the morning, and instead take the Blue line to Clark & Lake, and then walk to work from there. And of course, I haven't met a set of stairs that I didn't like. Sometimes this extra walking becomes difficult with the weather. It's weird, I'm usually over the moon about having to run in crappy weather, but walking in it, in my civilian clothes, is a different story.

This is made even more difficult by the fact that walking is a competitive sport in the city of Chicago. And I'm competitive in ways that I have no right to be. If you've lived in Chicago, or visited, you'll notice that Chicagoans do not wait for the light to change. Nor do they stand on the curb, preferring to stand in the middle of the street waiting for the light to change. Usually, I wait on the curb because I value my life, but if the street is clear, I will cross. I don't trust cars to stop just because the light turned red. Please.

However, when I do wait patiently on the curb, someone inevitably comes up next to me, and then stands in front of me. On the street. I take this to be a personal challenge. This other pedestrian is clearly trying to beat me across the street. And I just can't let that happen. Nor can I allow someone with loud shoes behind me, huffing and puffing, to beat me to the elevator, corner, L car, whatever.

Do not start. You will not win.

I'm silly, I know. And probably a little foolhardy, what with the ice on the ground, but I can't help myself! It really feels like a little bit of I'm-crossing-before-you're-crossing-because-I'm-better-than-you syndrome. Is that a syndrome? Maybe it's a syndrome in my mind.

And hey, you've got to give me some competitive outlet, since I still can't run right now.