Snakes, I really hate snakes, maybe if they had fur they would be a little less creepy, but most likely not. Snakes (mostly rattle snakes) make me feel like a little sissy school girl. I run about 20 miles a week. I have a few places that I like to run, one of which is a trail at a local state park. This seams to me like a prime place for my slithering adversary to be.
I think that the bugs in the grass next to the trails know that I hate snakes, so they have conspired to freak me out. Some of the bugs have decided that it would be hilarious if they made noises to sound like my beloved rattle snake. I will be running and then these insect with a sick sense of humor make a noise, which to my highly untrained ear, sounds like a rattlesnake.
They most likely radio ahead to their buddies down the trail to tell them to do the same thing. This fun noise causes me to curl up into a fetal position and wet myself… not really but that is what my brain is telling me to do. This is when I have to promptly tell myself to “suck it up Nancy, and stop acting like a little sissy school girl!” Quote from Frank on Everybody loves Raymond.
I finally got smart and decided to pickup a couple rocks to use as weapons. A little primitive, but in my mind seamed like the manly thing to do. I figured that if I so encountered my slithering foe I would toss the first rock toward the snake in hopes of distracting the snake away from me while I run away screaming like a little school girl. Then the other rock is to make me feel like a man, no really. I’m a man and in my little brain more is better, at least as rocks are concerned.
I finally completed my run with my heart beating out of my chest. Not because of the running but because I just spent the last 50 minutes freaking out about snakes, that I have come to realize were not even there.
A few days later I decided to be brave and run the trail again. This time I thought I would be extra smart and find a large stick to run with. I know your not suppose to run with sticks, but being scared of snakes changes all the rules, at least in my head. I looked around the parking area to find my new protection device. There next to a rock was it, the perfect large stick for defending myself against the snakes.
I took a hold of my new stick and started off on my trail run. This time the bug must have been aware of my new plan and decided not to scare the poop out of me. But I know they were still laughing at me over my first run with my rocks.
After the run I left my trusty stick near the parking area for the next person to use as their trusty snake defender. One day I may figure out a better way of running with snakes, but who am I kidding, probably not.