amish running woman

This morning I woke up at 6:20 and decided to go for my run. I never have run this early before and thought it would be a cool way to get my exercise in. However I wondered what might be different running early in the morning. Car & truck traffic? School busses? Perhaps nothing.

About a quarter of a mile down the road I noticed a woman in a long black dress and bonnet running or walking very fast with her arms pumping coming toward me on the other side of the road. Hrm? Do amish run? Would they need to? I watched her for a few hundred feet and wondered. Between us and to the left was another road. I was just hoping to get to that road before her. I hate competitions espescially physical competitions. And I could already invision in my head getting to the road first but slowly and steadily she would keep her pace and eventually overtake me. Amish women are bred to be work horses and surely she would overtake me.

This set my mind spinning, perhaps I should slow down and let her get to the road first and if she turns I could stay a safe distance behind her, but what if she is slow and I have to pass her. This could be awkward. NO time for thought, the road was only a few feet ahead and I needed to act.

'Go straight,' my brain urged. 'NO, I never went straight. I do not know my distances going straight, that could throw off my whole mojo.' 'No I need to turn.' Well I got to the road before her and turned. What would happen when she got to the road? Perhaps I was making too much out of this. Perhaps she would go straight past the road.

'Look over your shoulder,' my brain urged. 'NO WAY,' said my pride. I do not want her to know that I know she exists. Perhaps she will go away or being an Amish woman she will stay behind me and refuse to get close to me.

'perhaps she is not even there,' came another thought. 'Just don't think about it, keep a good pace, you can beat her,' 'This is crazy, you are crazy,' 'just look.' These thoughts ran through my mind for another mile as I made my way to the next road. As I turned the corner I casually glanced back and saw . . . .

No one.

3.6m 46m -57.1t