Nature Hates Me

Okay, to be fair, lately nature has been hating ALL of us.  But this week in particular, it felt personal.  Today's workout seemed to be the cherry on top of an already crappy winter.

In light of the...ahem...abundant snowfall and poor road conditions on Thursday, I was forced to move my speed run (also called the let's-see-how-close-I-can-come-to-puking run) to Friday, the day before today's long spin and running brick workout.  So I already knew today's brick run would suffer.  The negativity begins.

I am officially over the indoor spin bike.  I told the poor bike repair guy so at great lengths yesterday (by the way, Victory Cycle Works in Burnt Hills is great -- totally recommended for your tune-ups and repair needs).  It was a disheartening experience to pick up my bike, all tuned up for the season, only to put it back in the garage for another two, three, ten weeks?  ARG!

Anyway, 2 hours and 15 minutes of spinning to nowhere later, I was ready to begin my 4.5-mile run.  The roads, thankfully, were relatively clear.  But the wind!  Holy crap, there were times I felt like I was running on an outdoor treadmill.  At one point, I audibly said, "Really, wind?  Really?"

Between the snow, the wind, and the general pessimism associated with this winter, I didn't think nature could make it any worse.  Enter the near-animal attack.

At about the two-mile mark, I heard this strange, persistent chirping.  I didn't know what it was until a red squirrel, who obviously was high on PCP, dove at me from a bush on the road shoulder.  If you want mental imagery, picture the scene from Christmas Vacation when the squirrel leaps out of the Christmas tree.  Luckily, he didn't make contact with me.  And I am trained in Israeli Special Forces Krav Maga, so naturally I ran away at top speed, arms flailing like a five-year-old, saying, "omigod-omigod-omigod-omigod."

I didn't break any speed records today (save for the squirrel attack), but I finished the workout.  All I can hope for is that this week brings better weather and better karma.