Saturday mornings I go on long runs. At this point in time until about February, because I'm bored with no company lately and currently not training, means anything over 6 miles for me. Today I ran a little over 7. The cold air was invigorating and I'm glad I chose the trails over running in town. Running around town is boring, and people tend to stare. Nothing worse than a starer when you're trying to focus or just trying to zone out and you know someone is watching. Creeeeep!
So today I went to George Wyth and hopped on and off the paved trail. Mostly I chose to run through the woods. I have 2 mud runs coming up back to back weekends in November (one is 5k, one is 7 miles), and I've been spending my long runs getting used to cross-country and mud and grade changes. Anywho, I was flying along through the forest, having a blast, when I came upon a bright yellow sign. It stood out, because all the other signs in the park are lame-o brown and oh, the word "hunting" seemed to be illuminated...so ya, I stopped to read it.
Caution: This area subject to open bow hunting for deer from October 2012 to (something like) Feb 2012. Whhhaaaaaaaaa?!?!?! I froze. Like a ____ in headlights. Bad joke, I know, couldn't help it. All of a sudden my mortality smacked me in the face and I nearly expected an arrow to breeze past my face. All my clothing was dark except my purple shirt. My pasty white legs couldn't even reflect the sunlight to save me because I had knee high Army socks on the color of poop. After the small freak-out, I read the smaller print. Hunters must shoot from a stand at least 25 yards from marked trails. OK cool. As long as someone is a bad shot, I'm good. You'll want to lecture me on safety, but I kept going. I stayed on the trails, let go of my apprehensions, and continued to enjoy all 7 miles of my time. 7 miles of my life I am glad to have spent the way I did.
I will, however, be investing in a hunter's orange hat (and maybe knee socks) for the future bow hunting season. The end.
