Just a story.

I went out for a run Saturday morning.
Profound, I know.

Tim was up and at em...his saw fired up, coffee cup an arms reach away, talking to himself and screwing up deck beams by 7am.  I watched him from the couch as I sipped my coffee, and perused all of my social media outlets.

After my second cup, the house was still quiet, and I willed myself up to grab my running gear. It's been steamy hot the last bit, and I'm more of a fairweather type.  I knew if I didn't seize the morning overcast cool, I would regret it later.

I hit the pavement by 7:30am, and chose left at the bottom of the driveway.
It's a big, split second, gut decision.
Left means a 3.66 mile committment around the block. A left means there's no turning back, or you have to face "the hill."  Right is leisure, whatever you want it to be.
Since I had no napping babies, forcing me to stay close and run up and down our road, it was an easy decision.

The run started well.  I was clipping along to Def Leppard, dancing in my head,  when it started to drizzle, and then rain.  It felt good tho.  I felt like a "real" runner out there at 7:30am in the rain on a Saturday morning, because who else does that?

I rounded the corner of the first mile, and entered the section of road that I have deemed "the jungle." (Not to be confused with "the treacherous vastlands" section of roadway).  I suppose it's actually really pretty. Trees canopy the road, a lake in the not too far distance, thick green vegetation all over the place, and wildlife lurking in every crevice.

About 1/4 of the way  through the jungle,  I noticed a deer up ahead, poised on the center line. Standing like a statue, his head cocked, and his beady eyes fixiated on me.

Have I ever told you about my fear of being chased by wild animals?  I suppose it began in first grade when there was a stray dog on the playground at school that chased me.  The dog sensed my anxiety, and I remember being terrified and running away from it...not understanding that I was causing the dog to chase me more.  The fear stuck.  I attract a wild animals like a magnet. They can smell my trepidation...or they are as amused by my startled scream as Tim is, not sure. 

Well, I continued to run forward, and the deer continued to stand there, eyes on me.  Dylan's dream, my nightmare.

I kept running along, sheer panic running through me as I got closer and closer...the deer stayed firmly planted.  His beady little eyes not wavering...I swear I saw him lick his lips as if to say "lunch". 

I didn't know what to do.

I didn't want to run right past it, for fear it would chase me.  What if he had friends and I had a pack of wild rabid deer on my tail?  I can only keep pace for so long.  I didn't want to turn around and run home for the same reason... and have to face "the hill" after my sprint out of the jungle. I didn't want to just stop because fear was oozing out of every pore in my body...and truly I didn't want the deer to own me.  What was I going to do, just stop and stand there and have a staring contest with the deer? Sometimes I wish my Nike app. would take into acount the energy I burn in these situations and give me an extra bonus mile.

The road was quiet, no cars in sight to help scare it away.

So I went with my gut.

I started waving my arms around like a crazy wild woman,  making noises over my cranked ipod to try to scare it off the road.

And it worked. 
The deer scampered across.

I pretended I was an Olympian, and high tailed it through the area before the deer told his friends about me.  Watching over my shoulder the whole time as I ran, making sure there wasn't a stampede on my tail.
When I was certain I wasn't being persued, I began to calm myself and glanced over my shoulder one last time for good measure.

And that's when I tripped over the giant turtle trying to cross the road. 

I once again let out my startled scream and sprinted out of there...until common sense took over me, and I realized I could totally beat a turtle.  And I  slowed my pace back down.

And other than a few pesky squirrels and suspicious looking rocks in the distance, the rest of the run was uneventful.  With my driveway in sight, I finished the leg of my triathalon in Olympic style...and won the gold, naturally :)

Just a quick, little story for today, because I haven't told one in awhile, and this happens to me every.single.time I run.   Horses, coiled snakes, foxes, creepy turkeys, deer... I'm still a city girl at heart.

And I truly need to start taking Dylan along with me.
Happy Wednesday all~