Another Exciting Run

I haven't figured out how to do it yet, but I want to give a few links to some of my previous posts. As soon as I figure it out, I will post them. A lot of interesting things have happened to me on my regular runs, and I think they are worth another read.

As for my most recent run, it may be one to add to the list. I finished work for the day and was finally able to squeeze a run in before getting ready for a meeting (H.B.B.C Graduation Preaching Conference) at church. I had just enough time to run my 14-mile course I love to run (4.5 miles at Hefner Lake, down the back hill to run 4 miles on the Bluff Creek trails, and then up the hill and 5 miles to finish the rest of Hefner lake).

The weather men had been predicting tornadoes and heavy rain for the last couple days, but I couldn't find anything on the radio and the sky looked pretty clear, so I went for it. A nice steady pace felt great all the way to Bluff Creek. Apparently it's the time of year for snakes because before going down the hill, another runner told me to watch for the snake that was on the road (don't ask me how it got way up there), so I thought, "I wonder what I will see on the trail."

Sure enough, I saw a few snakes on the trail. One snake I almost missed, but I barely caught a glimpse of his head poking out onto the trail. I didn't want to get close enough to take a picture with my phone, but his body was off into the grass and he was at least three-feet long--to me that is big enough! For the next couple miles, I was paranoid. Every time a passed a root or a stick I was startled and cautious. But after a while I had seen a few more slither off into the grass, and by that time my legs were getting a little tired so I could care less--wherever my feet landed, they landed.

I was still feeling okay, just a little bit tired, when I climbed up the hill. My wife called and I told her I would be home in about an hour--everything seemed to be going fine. But around the 5.5 mile marker on Hefner (about 10 miles into my run), the wind was so strong I didn't seem to be moving forward. I suffered through it, thinking it was probably good training, but then it started to rain...sideways. It stung a little bit, but I pressed on. What else was there to do?

Then came lightning, then tornado sirens, and then finally I got some hail--great! Along the golf course people were honking at me and motioning me to leave (yeah, where do you recommend I go?). One lady offered me a ride and said there were tornadoes being spotted. "No thanks, I'm just around the corner," I told her.

So I made it, obviously. Everyone is okay. There has been considerable damage done in Oklahoma, but we didn't see any damage around our neighborhood...or at lake Hefner that I am aware of. But there is nothing better than a little adrenaline rush to help you through your run.