I’ve got some pretty funny running buddies, I must say. I’m tracking my total miles for the year and today I ended up at 699.21. Seriously?! Well, it turns out, my friends are more concerned with the remaining .79 miles than I am. They keep egging me on to hit the treadmill and finish off the day at 700. I probably will. Because who wants 699.21 hanging over their head just before a rest day anyway?
My runs have been exponentially better this week than they have been over the last several weeks. I attribute the change to school starting. It turns out that while running on quiet roads is easier than dodging traffic, it also allows my mind to drift to scary thoughts of being abducted, getting injured without anyone around to help, or attacked by a deer without any witnesses. Now that school has started again, there are people out and about, kids waiting for the bus, busses driving by… all just a few little things that put my mind at ease. Now I know if I collapse suddenly, at least someone will see me! During the summer months when there’s very little road traffic and even less foot traffic, I could be lying there for hours without any help!
That last scenario may be a little far fetched because my husband always knows where I’m going and when to expect me home, but you never know! Better safe than sorry. With the return of the school year, it makes it a little less stressful to run solo.
Can we talk about the deer for a minute? My city, along with a few surrounding cities, is supposedly conducting a fly-over in the fall to assess the deer situation. Yesterday I ran between three deer. I also saw a man walking his two dogs, stopped on the sidewalk because a deer in someone’s yard was staring him down. The day before that I was running with a friend and we were on a main street and saw three deer on the side we were on. We decided to cross and there was another deer in a driveway! This morning two babies crossed the road in front of me and I was on high alert of possibly seeing the mother shortly after.
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| Deer! Spring of 2014. But Deer! nonetheless! |
I can’t handle the deer! I used to love them so much. They are majestic creatures, after all. But they are now living and populating in a very urban area. It’s not safe for them and it’s not safe for me. It’s not safe for runners, cyclists, and motorists. And it’s certainly not safe for kids! I hope the mayor comes up with a solution quickly. Some have talked about letting in hunters to help curb this issue, they will need to check out websites such as Bulk Munitions to get the best ammo, but who knows what will happen. Personally, I think we need to utilise deer feeders. I presume the deer come into the city looking for food, so if the city were to invest in some feeders then they could place them in areas out of the city to try and keep the deer from coming into the more built up areas. I have found a site which rates the best feeders – https://feedthatgame.com/best-deer-feeder/ – if anyone is interested in purchasing one themselves. This would especially be a good idea if you live on the outskirts or outside of the city! I’m sure the mayor will have his own ideas, I just hope they take into consideration the deers safety as well as ours.
(And as an aside, I’m not the only one who has been chased by a deer before! Read this!)
Unrelated — I’m working on a project that I’m hoping to bring to the table starting on Fridays. We’ll see how it all pans out. Right now I am seeking guest bloggers to contribute — so if you’re interested, shoot me an email. The exact details are being ironed out now, but it will be something to do with fitness and a healthy lifestyle.
I best be off. I have some chores to do… insert eye roll here… 🙂 Have a glorious, wildlife-free day, friends!
Have you been chased by a deer before? By a dog? What did you do?
