the heebie jeebies

So the biggest negative for me thus far with nursing has been the fact that I need to be readily available to feed the babe (obviously), and fitting in a workout in the morning while taking that into consideration can be a pain in the ass.  Yes I could pump and try and 'schedule' it a little more, but quite frankly I hate pumping (and more than anything washing pump parts, dumb I know), so in theory it is just easier for me to feed her.  Sometimes that means my runs happen before 6am.  Lame sauce for sure, but I like to just get it done.

That was all fine and dandy in the middle of summer when it got light out at 5:45am.  Now it is freaking D-A-R-K until at least 6:20am, later than that really.  I dislike running in the dark for a variety of reasons.  I can barely see my feet and the sidewalks in our neighborhood are crap.  There is probably some creepy man lurking in the bushes.  Cars might not see me.  But one of the reasons I hate running in the dark the most?  All of the critters haven't hid themselves from the day yet.  I don't do critters.  I don't care how big or small the bug or little animal is, no thanks.  They gross me out.  And the freaking cicadas scare the crap out of me, plus you can never tell which ones are dead and which ones are alive until you run by and it goes all buzz crazy on you.

Keeping that in mind, Saturday morning at 5:45am Jenny (who is apparently just as nuts as I am and likes to get her run out of the way early) and I set off on a little nine mile adventure.  It was, as expected, DARK, but for the most part we run on the main road so not too scary, right?  Well less than two miles in we're just trucking along when a freaking SNAKE is in the sidewalk.  #$%&!%&^!  Of all the creepy crawlies that could be out there a snake is what I'd like to run in to the least thank you very much.  I'm pretty sure anyone in the vicinity thought we were being murdered with the shrill blood curdling screams we both let out.  I swear I high stepped it for at least another mile after that.  And that sudden burst of adrenaline really sucks the life out of you quickly.  The rest of that run was hard.

I still had the heebie jeebies when I set out at 6am this morning.  Half sprinting and jumping over every freaking stick on the sidewalk.  I hate it.  I  need the weather to cool down so I can try the jogging stroller with the girls.  And so it isn't a not so lovely 77 degrees when I set out in the pitch black.  That is extra not cool.

I've got six miles on my schedule this weekend, but currently don't have high hopes of getting it done.  We are going to a wedding in Colorado on Friday, which means I'll be busy, tired, and honestly scared of what it feels like to run in Colorado :o).  But hopefully if nothing else I'll convince myself to do a few miles in the hotel fitness center.  We shall see.

What is the scariest thing you've ever encountered on a run?

 

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