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FLRC Newsletter - May 2003 |
| The Squirrel Played Opossum | |
The weather has finally changed and with it so have the clothes that I get to run in; shorts and short sleeves are back making my protective armor less. The new season also brings a change in the perils that I encounter during my runs. Looking out for ice patches that will slip me up now changes to watching the ground for road kill.
Call me paranoid, but I think the wildlife is out to get me. I hear the birds laughing at me as they fly effortlessly overhead and I heave and struggle up the long, steep hills. Maybe I'm crazy, but I enjoy running uphill. Anyone who enjoys the masochism of uphill running must be introduced (if not already familiar with) Cass Hill in Watkins Glen. This marks the peak of one of my favorite road runs. Last week Joe and I went out confident that we would conquer the hill. As we ascended "Cass Cardiac" (as Joe affectionately calls it), we noticed a squirrel on the side of the road who was not fortunate enough to make it across the road, let alone up the hill. At least there is someone I would beat up this hill. At the top of Cass there is just under a mile of mild upgrade running before being able to relax mind and body with the gravity-pull down Jolly Road. After moving at only a shuffling gate during the climb, it was such a relief to finally get to Jolly and head down the hill, now getting to stride out and move much faster. Looking ahead of me I saw another squirrel laying on its side near the edge of the road. Here is where a good run goes bad. Now many of you have probably seen that GEICO car insurance commercial where the squirrels run out in the road making the car swerve and crash and the squirrels high-five each other. Well, this came to my mind and I remember thinking "this is the GEICO commercial gone wrong". Little did I suspect that it would be me that was going to go wrong. As we got closer to the road kill, I started to veer right. Joe chose to run up closer to it before veering left. As Joe got closer his footsteps woke the dazed squirrel, which made him (Joe, not the squirrel) scream. The noise and the movement of the squirrel startled me; it was supposed to be dead. The squirrel lunged toward me as I veered right. I was watching the squirrel, sure it was going straight for my jugular. I lost my balance and crashed. Not one of my more graceful moments. As I got up, my knee and elbow scraped up and full of dirt, I was sure I had just encountered the squirrel from the commercial, only he was practicing on me (probably after an unsuccessful attempt with a car). And he just stood there on the side of the road watching Joe help me hobble away. I'm sure that once our backs were to him one of his squirrel-friends came out and they high-fived each other.
So now I watch the road kill a little more closely. And I think there is a moral to this story: be aware and beware of road kill. Don't assume it is just another dead squirrel. I now know that squirrels play opossum. And they are out to get us.
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