With daylight savings fast approaching and being one of the few runners who does not look forward to it, I have tried to get as many miles in after work as possible.   This can mean shorter than normal runs but I would rather run that than the treadmill sooner.

Tuesday I headed to the lake path on the chance that it was open like last week.   Unlike last week, the signs were out. Waah.  I stood for a few minutes and pondered.   Then I became a lemming and followed the 20 people ignoring the signs.  So bad I know but it was my last time at the path until spring.  I only managed 2.5 miles before I thought it would be too dark to complete another lap.    The path only has two lights- both near the playground.

I was stretching out on the fitness bars when I saw a Chihuahua looking dog coming down the street.  I waited a moment and didn’t see any owners.    This corner of the path can be pretty busy car-wise so I decide to see if I could figure out where the dog lives.  He was having none of that.   His barking made me laugh.  He didn’t sound mean, more like a petulant teenager.  “Leave me alone, mind your own business, what are you looking at”.   While I am trying to decide if I want to force it, I hear a rustling in the bushed across the street.   I looked up to see a chicken walking away from a house and going towards the street.  It’s making a jail break!

So now I don’t know if I should chase the dog or the chicken!  Or do I leave them both and just go back to my car?    A group of people was coming my way and a nice older man told me that the dog wanders on its own all the time.   He also agreed that it wasn’t the friendliest.   So I asked him about the chicken.   While we were chatting the chicken came back down around the house.  It walked to a gate in the fence and tried to squeeze in.  Then it tried to climb the bush running along the fence.  It wasn’t escaping, it was locked out!  Once again, it followed the path around the fence, I think there must have been another gate back there.  The man tried to open the gate but couldn’t get it open.    I was beginning to feel bad for the chicken, all it wanted to do was go home.  It knew exactly what door to go to but couldn’t open it.  So the nice man and I went door knockin’.    We found someone who lived in the same house but didn’t own the chickens.  He called the owner before heading out to try to catch it.

Apparently the chickens roam during the day before going back inside the fence.  I run this path 2x a week and have never seen or heard the chickens before.  Plus it’s a residential area.   After handling that, the man and I parted ways.  So I probably could have finished another lap but I wouldn’t have had the runaway chicken experience.  🙂  Last evening at the path completed.  I work this Saturday, so I was able to get off a little early on Wednesday.  I headed back to town hoping for at least 6 miles but dreaming of more. Ha!  I completed 6 but it was so damn hard.  Nothing hurt, I just had zero energy.   It was also 87º… on October 29.  Ugh, where is fall.   I hit 4 stop lights between mile 2.5 to 3.5.   Then my stomach informed me that 4 miles would have been a better idea at mile 3.75.  I was 2 miles from my car.   There was a bench just past mile 4 and I took a break.  I think I sat for about 10 minutes before finally heading off to finish my run.  6 miles done and I managed to keep my overall average pace at 11:45.  Considering how I felt though, I will call that a win!

What was not a win was the bloody toe I found when taking off my socks.  Boo.

What’s the strangest animal situation you’ve ever run into?

Did you know chickens were so good with direction?  I had no idea. 

Anyone racing this weekend?

• animal encounter
• Run!
• Slacker