No escape

After a hot minute in Chicago, I am back in ChUrbana for the final week of my intensive course. Needless to say, after getting to sleep in my own bed with my damaged spouse, I'd much rather be there than here. It sucked having to leave him the day after he got injured, and it sucked even more knowing, last night, that he'd needed me while I was gone, and that I was having to leave him again. At least I'm more than halfway through now, and he definitely is looking a lot better than he did when I first left him (though he's really not feeling much better).

I also have to admit that this trip is wreaking havoc on my training. Due to the fact that this is an intensive, my nights have been spent reading, and my early evenings with meetings with my project group. There really hasn't been much time to do my running, and I know it's only going to get worse. I guess my only hope is to keep an eye on what I eat more than ever, and to attempt to get some exercise in at least a little bit, every night. Thing is, campus doesn't seem like the most friendly place to be running around in skimpy running gear after dark, judging by the emails I've received to my Illinois account at least five times since I got here that warned females about recent sexual assaults. I have to admit that it really takes all desire to fit that workout in in the evenings if running for fun could potentially turn into running for safety. I'd like to say I'm exaggerating, but it seems like every time I log in there's a new warning for a completely different location - not really reassuring. Funny how I can feel completely safe at home, but completely unsafe in such a wholesome-looking rural town like this. In the end it all comes down to familiarity - the known evils of a place. I'm sure Urbana/Champaign is no more dangerous to the intelligent local, than Chicago is to me - avoid parking lots if you're a lone, drunk female at 330am, and so on - but gaining that familiarity and comfort takes time.. I guess I'm not willing to take the time to learn, as my time here is short, but I must find something that works for me in the meantime.