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Journey to the Half - Week 3

My week three running experience was pretty good. Each run this week ended with me feeling good, both physically and aerobically. It was also a week filled with some pretty neat sights, too, but we’ll get into that in a bit.

As the case is each week, I ran all four of my training days at night. It’s the easiest time for me to grab a run due to family and work, which is fine. I think the past few years of squatching have gotten me used to being in the dark. Also, the things you see at night are pretty interesting. For instance, I finished this week seeing three large deer, two Draconid meteors and an armadillo near a pear tree. (Admit it. You were singing it by the end of that sentence.)

Meteors are always a neat thing to see, and to see two in one run was fantastic. If you missed the Draconid meteors, which peaked on October 11, don’t worry, as October has another meteor shower you can view: the Orionids. The Orionids peak October 21-22 and, according to NASA, are best viewed pre-dawn, offering early risers a great opportunity to view a few streaking across the sky.

Something exciting did happen during my long run, this week. I was finishing up my last half mile and had entered a darker area of my run when I heard a scuffling noise to my left. I stopped and almost fell flat on my face due to wobbly legs and heard the commotion drawing closer and faster to me. Heart rate already increased and legs burning from an increased run distance, I began to weigh my options and none looked promising. I could attempt to outrun the behemoth, but with tired legs and lungs, I was probably more likely of tripping over my own feet or pulling a hammy. My remaining options were to stand and fight or to play dead, none of which appealed to me.

The beast grew closer and ran onto the pavement mere feet from me. I braced myself for an attack as I saw what it was: the dreaded neighborhood armadillo.

I began to think about being the first, and possibly last, person in history to meet their demise from an armadillo. A vision of my tombstone flashed through my mind. Inscribed on it right below my name and years lived was the phrase, “Death By ‘Dillo”. Humiliation would be synonymous with my family name for centuries to come. All this and more flashed through my thoughts in the blink of an eye.

And then the armadillo ran right past me.

Phew! Crisis averted.

In the end, all went well. I got a pretty good scare from a silly armadillo, finished my long run and capping the end of a successful training week.

Week totals were the following:

Days ran: 4 days

Total distance: 13.84 miles ran

Longest distance: 5.90 miles

Journey to the Half - Week 2  |  Journey to the Half - Week 4


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