September 24, 2014

Unusual items seen on a run

Today was a rest day, but I didn't really want to completely rest, because we are having this iFit competition with the Runner's World Half bloggers. I decided that I'd go for a long walk today. After I got the kids off to school, I answered some email, and then spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to decide where and how far to walk. I was using Garmin Connect to map out spots to walk, and feeling really ambitious (mapping out 10-ish miles).

Finally, I just got annoyed that I was wasting so much time, so I threw on my shoes and headed out the door. Because I was walking, and not running, I brought along my iPod to listen to podcasts. I felt like I was walking FOREVER when I finally reached what I knew as the one-mile mark from home. I'd only walked a mile, but it felt like slow motion, and my thoughts of an 8-10 mile walk were gone. I was tempted to either break into a run, or turn around and head back home, but I kept going.

There are some weird things on the side of the road:

Lace panties

Naked Barbies

Mattresses

It's kind of funny, but out of the unusual items I see along the side of the road, underwear is probably what I see the most of. I see men's and women's underwear all the time--so weird!

Actually, maybe it's not that weird... remember the incident with my purple thong? ;)

Other unusual things I've seen on a walk or run: someone's iPhone; condoms (used--gross!); hypodermic needles; an entire McDonald's meal that looked untouched; at Easter time, there was a dead rabbit on the road--and someone had laid out Easter grass and candy Easter eggs out behind it; and I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Toward the end of my walk (which ended up being 5.5 miles), I was starving for lunch, and all I could think about was an antipasto salad. I am not a salad-person, so this was a strange craving that came out of nowhere, but in the spirit of intuitive eating, I decided to get one for lunch. I was so hungry by the time I got home that I didn't even want to go very far to buy one, so I hoped that the local pizza place would have them. I was pretty impressed at how good it looked!


It tasted okay (I added Italian dressing after I took the photo), but I don't think I'd ever order one again. I still feel like I'm in the "doughnuts and Doritos phase" of intuitive eating, and I keep waiting for when I'll stop craving junk and start craving veggies or fruit. The salad was a start, I guess. When I think about it, my diet is gradually getting a little healthier than it was on August 1st, when I first started intuitive eating.

My weight today was exactly the same as it was on August 1st--I'll consider that a good thing. Like I mentioned yesterday, I tend to lose weight during the week, and then go overboard and gain it back on the weekends. I keep hoping that once I start to crave healthier foods, my weight will drop. But when I look at the fact that I've eaten whatever I've wanted, without measuring or counting anything, and my weight is the same--I'm happy about that!

So out of curiosity: What's the most unusual thing you've ever come across while out for a run, walk, or bike ride?

11 comments:

  1. The Easter rabbit you saw is kind of funny, but I can't imagine anyone going to the trouble of doing that for roadkill! Once on Halloween, I left candy on my front porch in a Halloween bowl while we were gone. When we got home, the bowl was missing. A few days later, I found it along a nearby busy street while I was walking (I'm still kind of mad about it!)

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  2. LOL I laughed SO HARD at this post. Right from the beginning where you were like, "I'm going to walk 10 miles.... ehhhhhhhh, welll.... actually.... HAS IT BEEN A MILE YET?!" LOL And the underwear. And the dead rabbit. OH MY GOD. LOL. THis might be one of my favorite posts ever- it's just so real. LMAO I can just literally feel how hard you were trying to entertain yourself those 5.5 miles through the computer screen.

    I've seen lots of underwear over time and I always wonder how it gets there. Also weird, shoes, especially adult shoes. Kids shoes I understand- especially babies- they fall off, you don't notice, or kids take them off playing and can't find them. ADULT shoes however I don't understand. I think the best story I've heard though is my mom used to do long walks every morning at sunrise- so in summer, as early as 5am. She'd listen to taped sermons from our old church on her walkman. ("Dating" [as in age] both of us here. lol) She's walking down a street a couple miles from our house and see's a paper blowing down the middle of the road. It's a kid's homework, so she chases it to pick it up. It's mine. Yep, mine. Miles from home. No idea how it got there. I got a huge eye roll when she got home as I am not the cleanest or most organized person... Ahem.

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    Replies
    1. The shoe thing always confuses me too! How do you lose a shoe???

      My father in law lost an armchair out of the back of his truck, somewhere between SC and NC. I'm not sure how a person loses an entire armchair without noticing, but I'm sure that was a sight to behold...

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  3. There's a park that I frequently run to and then run around several laps. There is a bench in one corner of the park with a tiny tree near it. The bench and tree are almost always decorated, and the decorations change throughout the year, about every few weeks. It looks like stuff someone bought at the dollar store. There are sometimes mylar balloons, sparkly butterflies in the tree, Easter eggs hanging, little ghosts around Halloween, fake flowers, etc. I always wonder who puts them there and why!

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  4. Do you ever wonder how these things got there? Severe case of author's brain...

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  5. On my first 5k (through downtown Minneapolis) I saw a women doing the walk of shame without shoes from an apartment building we were running past. She was begging the volunteers to let her drive out of parking lot that was blocked off for the course. A few blocks later I saw a bum clipping his toenails in the bushes. The first herd of runners must have woken him up and he must have decided to clean himself up for the rest of us! Common items include shoes, underwear, golf balls and condoms.

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  6. I have found an iPod, random single adult shoes and $10 once!

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  7. Hi Katie - I'm a new reader, and I just wanted to say that I love your blog and your story. You are so inspirational. I found your blog because I have recently embraced intuitive eating, and I was searching for guidance and support. I was a normal to slightly overweight child and teen who fell into a bad habit of extreme dieting and disordered eating causing weight fluctuations and it really took over my life. I am a normal weight now with hopes to lose a few pounds to get back to a more slender weight for my wedding, but I have been only maintaining with intuitive eating and I'm just now starting to lose slowly as I get better at listening to my body's needs. Even if I don't reach my goal, I agree that it is such a relief to not have to obsess, count every morsel and feel deprived. I am amazed that I really can just eat normally (which I believed I never could). I also am starting to enjoy exercise more because I am not starving and actually have energy for a good workout. Keep up the good work!

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  8. Thanks for the chuckle this morning. I enjoyed your post!

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  9. Clearly I don't pay close enough attention to my surroundings to see weird things. I tend to run near parks/trails that must be kept fairly clean. I can't say I have ever seen underwear on a run!
    Regarding the craving fruits/vegetables thing... I recently went on a business trip for a week, and of course all I did was eat out, because I didn't have a whole lot of other options. When I got home, all I wanted was fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, because I had been missing them the whole time I was gone!

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  10. I've been running for almost 20 years and I have NEVER seen underwear by the side of the road! Are you serious?! I think the "weirdest" thing that I see on my runs is moose. It's not actually that weird to me because I see them all. the. time. But it probably sounds weird to others.

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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