When I ride, I remain very aware of my surroundings and who is near me. I don't wear headphones and I'm always keeping track of who I passed and who is coming up behind me. I figure if there was a bad person, I could probably outride them unless they did something bad like bash me on the head or make me fall.

At home, when I lived alone, I was also concerned so I made sure I parked my car in view of my house. I also had cats so I figured they'd alert me to strange noises! They did but the noises turned out to be rats

At the mall or anywhere in public, I park my car near smaller cars and NOT near vans or large vehicles that hide my car from view. When I walk to my car, I usually will have my finger near the panic button on my car alarm. If I'm nervous, I'll have my cell phone out. I've been known to "talk on the phone" but not be on the phone if I have to walk by questionable people...ie say something like "oh, I see you! I'll be right there, I'm just walking by <insert landmark here>". Holding your keys between your fingers (ie one key between each finger) could make a marvelous weapon too.

It's all scary stuff. While I'm not living life in fear, I figure it's better to be proactive and lessen the chances of Bad Things happening.

Oh and when I ride alone, someone knows when I left and I'll call to check in periodically.

DH is worried about where I run in the mornings. It isn't a bad neighborhood and it's daylight so I'm ok with it but he'd prefer me to run in an area with less apartment buildings and more older and established homeowners. I might make the switch, it's all a matter of running in a different direction.

I might take a kickboxing/self-defense series of courses. The kickboxing would be for fun but this place also offers martial arts. I think it would be good to have a realistic view of what I can do if I have to.