Back in 2003 while stationed in Portsmouth, VA I was going through a divorce and as such, had moved back into the barracks. Reeling from the stress of the divorce, I had trouble sleeping and would go for a run at all hours. One such morning around 4:00AM I took off for quick 5 miler. Portsmouth has some pretty dodgy areas and my run took me straight through one of them. As I got to the top of a bridge I saw someone standing on the side of the road. It was odd but not completely unheard of that I would see a non-runner standing somewhere other than a bus stop. Anyhow, he watched me the entire time I ran closer to him and as I got closer he turned his back to me but continued to watch me over his shoulder. Since I tend to become more friendly in awkward situations I said hi as I ran past him but I picked up my pace.
After a couple minutes I had pretty much forgotten about the encounter. As I continued my run there was a bridge that went over an interstate. After I crossed the bridge, I about shit myself as I saw the same guy standing on the side of the road again. No cars passed me and there was no way he could have gotten from where we first met to here in that amount of time without driving past me. Again, being nervous all I could say, was "Man, you're fast." I'm pretty sure I broke personal speed records after that.
