Man vs. Wild

Okay, so this past summer I am out on my favorite run. My Griffy Lake out and back 10 miler. It has everything. Running out 46 gives me a variety of experiences. I get the usual comments from drivers about how short my shorts are or how skinny i am. Sometimes on very special days i hear questions about my sexual preferences or i am told to go home and put on some clothes. It is heart-warming to know that so many people care about my well-being to let me know their thoughts and concerns without me even asking. After all I don't want to catch cold or get badly sunburned. I also do get some beeps of the horn or thumbs up which usually results in me picking up the pace and even trying to keep up with those who are encouraging me. Soon I realize that 45 mph is not possible even with the speedwork on the track. I also love running to the lake, especially when it has water. If it is snowing all the better. It is so beautiful to run to Griffy during a snowstorm. Of course coming back up Griffy hill is tough. But after doing that every week other hills seem like bumps. I need that! There are also other runners and cyclists too on this route which is always fun and encouraging. The last two miles is mostly downhill and I can let it fly. These two plus miles when I am tired is good for me. Maybe if I did more of that I would be stronger at the end of races? So I am on this run this past summer minding my own business, nearing mile 6.5 when I see an animal up ahead in the road. I think nothing of it and keep running, getting closer. I assume this thing will scamper into the bushes and cause me no worry but as I get about 20 feet away this groundhog does an about-face and stares at me. I quickly notice it's mouth is open and I can see teeth. I think to myself, why is this thing showing me teeth and standing it's ground in the road. I want to go around but I am not sure what a groundhog is capable of. I must have missed that episode on Animal Planet. So if it is a bear make yourself big and noisy? That is all I could think of. Where is a bear when you need one? But this as a football with teeth and fur. What do I do? I could maybe punt the thing but what if I miss and it bites my foot off? So I decide instead of taking a chance on being bitten and ending up with a series of painful rabie shots, the best I could come up with is to pretend I am going the other way. I am of course counting on the fact that the groundhog is smart enough to watch me getting further away and assuming I am no threat. It worked. It disappeared in the bushes and I very quickly run past. I did look about to see if anyone is seeing this or even worse taking video to quickly post on Youtube. I have not seen or heard about it so far. Obviously were it not for my superior intellect I would not have survived to be telling this story. I still love the Griffy run but I do run a bit faster on that section of road each time. You take motivation wherever you can get it to run fast.  Oh I ran the Towpath half this past weekend and I do have a funny story that goes with that and I will write about that later.