So I hope you guys got a chance to get out and run in the past few days. At least, in my neck of the woods, the weather has been pretty beautiful, and the humidity has been bearable, which I need to hang onto, because eventually the heat and humidity here in Raleigh become wholly unbearable. I can literally recount dozens of times that I’ve felt nauseous and drippy in the heat.
I managed to squeeze in a very quick 3 miles after a long day at work (can you make some noise if your Monday freakin BLEW) and check out that pace. For exactly 1/100th of a miles, I ran a 5:27 pace. I felt like I wanted to die approximately, so I won’t be breaking any world records anytime soon 🙂
I copped a squat on the sidewalk after, and let Coco run around and get a really good poop in because she told me she was lacking in good poop that day.
So, let’s chat about something really really terrible and awful I ran into her the other day.
SO I was taking a little walk on a rest day last week when I literally ran smack dab into a snake.
I wasn’t at all interested in sticking around to see what he looked like or what he wanted to eat for dinner, but Austin, being a dude, was interested and made me look, with my poor eyes at him. He was a little baby copperhead, just laying around, looking dangerous, and seemed to be getting more and more agitated at the fact that we were staring at him.
“Babe, we should move him so he doesn’t get run over!” <-Austin
Please guys, I love my animals, but I had no interest in helping a baby copperhead cross the street, but Austin, being the sweet pea that he is, let the baby climb up onto a stick, and then kindly escorted him into the grass where he wouldn’t get run over. Blech, but I get it.
So my runner ladies and gents that do a good bit of running on trails, in grass, or on cool pavement where snakes may like to chill, please, keep your eyeballs open for these guys, because a bite can be an ugly ugly time. I’m not a snake specialist, but from what I understood from Austin (through my hysterics), your best bet if you get bitten by one of these suckers is to remain really calm (don’t go doing anything to get your heart rate up), and call 911 because they’ll probably get you where you need to go a smidge faster that you can (with your now injured appendage).
Seriously guys, chime in. Any other tips for beating dangerous critters on your summer runs?
Overactive Blogger 
Snakes are definitely a fear of mine. I like them from a distance, but seriously, I don’t ever want to step on one! I think the stay calm thing is really 100% your best bet. Do not run back to where you started. Get somewhere with cell service and call 911!
The baby looked pretty harmless, but then he went to strike the stick Austin was moving him with. I was like noooooo this is the worst thing ever!
Snakes are my biggest fear. I commend Austin on his love for all animals but noooo way would I help a snake or even get near it (on purpose)! Just reading this my throat dried up and I got a little dizzy and nautious!
And I have to tell you, when I say I was ON TOP of this snake, that is the truth. He looked sort of like a brown stick on the path and then he just WASN’T. I wanted to book it out of there, but Austin wanted to use it as a teaching moment. NO thanks!
Snakes are scary. Back-up slowly, remain calm (hah..not happening for me), and turn your back at an appropriate distance (500-800 yards?). Yeah, so getting my glance at a rattlesnake when I was, um 6?, in barefeet kind of killed my fascination with them. Stay safe!
Ugh bare feet! I would have died!
Terrifying! A poisonous sea snake once swam right by me. I managed to stay calm and then completely freak out once it was gone. The scariest thing I’ve come across on a run was a large bobcat directly in my path. I was alone. Thankfully I spotted it up ahead. Stopped, backed away slowly and once it was out of site, ran back to where I came from. Yikes!
OH my gosh! A bobcat! I am not sure I’d be able to hold it together!
I’ve had black come up to my kitchen window and walk through my yard and they usually walk off when you shout at them to leave — but snakes are a different story because you can’t see them so quickly.. today my son’s dog started pawing at the grass near my car and my son bent down to see what it was and it was a baby copperhead…looking as innocent as can be…I would never have seen it if the dog hadn’t spotted it in the grass right next to the flower bed where I had been weeding just hours earlier….give me a big black bear any day because at least you can see them….
Eek – snakes and spiders – two things I don’t think I do well with at all!