I can remember years ago, when my mom used to go walking in the park across from our house, she would carry what she called a "rape whistle" supposedly to ward off potential attackers by making a noise loud enough so the park rangers would hear. As a young girl it seemed like such a weird thing to do. I mean why do you need to have a whistle on a walk? How do you know someone walking towards you isn't simply going to ask you for directions?
Fast forward to today. I am training for the 3-Day so I have walked alone outside on many occasions. Today, in fact, I took an 8-mile walk from my house, to the park and all around the park. I was alone on my walk so had a lot of time to think. I also watch quite a bit of Investigation Discovery (a channel that only has true crime shows) much to my husband's dismay, it gets me thinking about what can possibly go wrong when outside walking on your own. Even if it is in the middle of the day. And because we can't always walk with a group, I found this helpful article that gives some great tips on how to keep safe when walking outside on your own.
I don't think we should live our lives in fear, but we really need to be aware of our surroundings and that we're not always going to be 100 percent safe, no matter where we are. Even if it's a route we have walked many times before, doesn't mean something bad won't happen. In this age of cell phones and GPS we have more tools to help us stay safe. But still I don't think anything trumps common sense.
Safe travels to all my fellow walkers!
Faith, Hope and Love,
Angela
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