YIKES!

Well, new experience this last Saturday. I went up on the Virgin Mountains (south of Mesquite, NV) to repeat my run from August 12. I had it planned out much better than the August 12th run, and it mostly went according to plan and I ran 7 miles in one hour and 10 minutes. I wasn't in much pain at the end of the run, and I was able to stay pretty hydrated even though the temperature was 90 degrees.

What made the run interesting was at mile 1.17 of the run. I was running along, and noticed something move near my feet. I quickly looked down and there was a two foot long diamond back rattlesnake all nice and coiled up. I did the Texas two step, some break dancing moves, and my best attempt at a Michael Jackson moonwalk I could. My adrenaline spiked and wow, I freaked out. I was lucky. He ended up going his way, I ended up going mine. Reminded me of Indiana Jones: "Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"

I have never liked snakes. I add spiders, scorpions, sharks, and skunks to the list. Notice the common thread? Yep. They all start with s. Why didn't Noah leave the s grouping of critters off the ark? I guess in the case of sharks, he should have brought them on board.

Anyway, my lesson learned is that when trail running...unplug. Pay attention to your path way. Use all of your senses and stay focused. If you don't, you never know what will be sneaking up on you...or right underneath you. Until next time, happy (and safe) trails to you.

Here is a nice picture of my new friend.