The Temptation of Disintegrating Boundaries

I took my run out of the usual training grounds today. I started off training at the local train-station. As my training became increasingly focused on conditioning I included the local park as well as the running circuit of my urban block. Today I though I’d see what else my immediate surroundings offered.

I had the St Kilda junction pedestrian underpass in mind for some wall-run practice. A lit underground tunnel - broken up by a series of narrow valleys - the graffiti covered walls, in the sections that aren't cut off by ceiling, offer a steadily rising gradient of heights to challenge a wall-runner of all levels. However, when I got there other things commanded my attention.

A transformer building had a ledge that called out to me. Easy grip, a textured wall that offered good traction for an experienced foot. Getting to the roof would have been easy. And I would have succumbed to the temptation if not for a noisy road-crew, working just a few meters away. I turned around to head home, but discovered the route back to my familiar training grounds suddenly littered with temptation.

Every fence struck me as a challenge. Each reachable ledge promised something exciting. I sought routes that might take me home, not via accepted roads, but along ledges, rooftops. I wanted to explore, forge my own way. I didn’t dare. This time. I did, however, find myself poised on the verge of a climb or jump that would take me across that imaginary boundary. As my training pushes my physical boundaries it seems like a natural progression to push the boundaries of society. When a fence no longer holds the power to contain, or close off, allowing it to block your explorations seems like a lame excuse.

I do some more ‘safe’ exercises to clear my head. The curiosity doesn’t fade. On my way home I see a car with spotlights sweep across a street up ahead. They must have seen me because seconds later the same car came back, lights glaring, and slowly cruised past me. The police: a reminder that social boundaries are not without guardians. Were they looking for me? Did someone see me sitting on the fence, contemplating taking the next step? Maybe… but that makes it all the more exciting.