6 mile tempo but I stopped in my tracks on this one

Few things will bring me to halt and make me start back peddling, but during yesterday's tempo run that is exactly what happened.

But let me back up for just a second and start from the beginning.

On Thursday evening, I looked at my Friday schedule and realized it was going to be a very busy day. Rather than try to squeeze in an evening workout, I opted to go for extra early run. Just "getter done" as the Larry the Cable guys says.

So on Thursday afternoon, Nathan emailed me about his workout. He was going a little longer and a little slower, but at least I would be starting out with someone. This makes me get out bed on time and get my "but" in gear.

We met up at the Huntersville business park. 5:15 came and we were off and running. Between the darkness and the fog/heavy moisture, my headlamp wasn't beaming at its brightest. Two miles in, we started increasing the pace.

Mile one was covered on Stumptown Road. Dodging cars made for an adventure as I either headed for the side of the road or moved across into the other lane. To the credit of the oncoming drivers, they couldn't see any better than me and were on top me before realizing it.

Mile two came just after the turn off on 115. Two 630 miles down and my body was starting to settle into a good rhythm.

Mile three took me along the Main Street in Huntersville and then back out on 115 again. Main Street Huntersville is quiet in the predawn hours, but route 115 has a study flow of traffic.

Up comes a right turn and I am headed down by the Huntersville aquatic center. I am just passing by the front of their building when through the fog I see what appears to be a black and white cat crossing the road. Something here struck me as odd because cats don't usually run across the road with the tails up in the air. The yards between us began to disappear and when I was maybe 10 yards away, my brain suddenly recognize what it was and sent signal out to my entire body "STOP"!!!!!!. I totally put on the brakes and came to a complete halt. I even started to back pedal away. This was no cat but a real live ready to shoot "skunk". The tail and body appeared to be in prime firing position.

Back way my brain was telling me no uncertain terms. Give him as much room as he or she needs. Tempo runs sometimes need a break in the center anyway. This is especially true if there is a chance of getting sprayed by skunk.

May be he was just giving me a break or maybe he just didn't consider me worth the effort. Either way, I am very grateful.

The rest of the run was not quite as fast as the first four miles. It seems that once you see a skunk then you start seeing them everywhere. My brain was being a little to vigilant.

Anyway, I still mustered a pretty decent 6 mile tempo with a 2 mile warm up and 2 mile warm down. A big thanks goes out to Nathan for helping me getting the first 2 miles rolling.

 

 

Sharing one thought at time,

 

The Cool Down Runner