Monday, June 16, 2008

A new running partner?....NOT!

Saturday morning I got up at 6:00 am for my run. I was only going to run 6 miles because we had to drive to my sister's house in the morning and we had a party that night, so there was a ton of stuff to do around the house....I felt really good during the run and said, "What the heck, I'll just go ahead and run 9 and be done with it". I was plugging away, running my usual loops-when I turned the corner and saw what I believed to be a rubber tire in the middle of the street. I thought, "Hey, that's weird, but oh well". As I got closer "the tire" moved. Well, it wasn't a tire, but an ALLIGATOR people. That's right...I panicked! I was about 6 feet away from it (it was about 6-7 feet long)when I screamed and quickly turned around and ran back the other way. I was looking for someone to tell, but couldn't find anyone. At this point I was running so fast I couldn't catch my breath. My Garmin said I was running at 4:58mm. When I felt it was safe to slow down I did...but at this point I was done. I ran home and clocked in at 7.2 miles. We have alligators all over the ponds around here, but this is the first time I've ever seen one on the street before. I was a little freaked to say the least. My neighbor and I ran down that same street this morning and I have to say I was a little scared, but Mr. Alligator was no where to be seen. Hopefully, he will stay in his little pond and will not want to greet me on the street ever again.

11 comments:

Deep in the Heart said...

I usually just run into a frog or two and once a bat. Cannot imagine an alligator!!!! Did you run home in a zig zag pattern?

marathon mom said...

That would freak me out!!!!

justme said...

holy cow. that is so scary !!!!

what is this garmen thing you have ???

Slacker Mama said...

I second Deep in the Heart...run in zig-zags! Alligators can only run fast in a straight line so the zig-zags will allow you to get away.

Either that, or the alligator will be laughing to hard at you to eat you.

One Little Brownie said...

Bless it's bones!!! It was probably like, "Where the heck am I?"
I don't know where you are, but when my parents moved to Charleston they were told to keep and eye on their dog at all times due to gators. My mom was from Maryland and my dad was from OHIO. Needless to say, they were TERRIFIED!!!
I can't IMAGINE how spooky that must have been for you!!!

kolls said...

OMG. OMG. I would FREAK OUT if I ever saw a gator or crocodile or whatever!!!

Jennifer said...

Oh my stars, alligators in Charleston! I wouldn't have guessed that in a million years. Here in central Florida we have them all over as well. One night my hubby walked thru the front yard to put some mail in the mailbox and thought he saw something move in the yard. So he pulled out his flashlight and midway thru our yard was an alligator! I couldn't believe it. We called the police and they came out and said they saw it enter the other pond. Scary for sure!

Suburban prep said...

Oh how frightening. I'd be running in the the other direction, too.

Sweet Pea Chef said...

Yikes! I get startled sometimes by the sweet, sweet chipmunks in our yard when they move around so fast. I would have PASSED OUT.

Unsweet T said...

Wow, I bet your adrenaline was pumping! I grew up in Charleston and have never seen a gator there.

I have been reading your blog for several months and I enjoy it! Plus I love your Tillman Hall pic!

PaperCourt said...

I like Deep in the Heart's comment. It's exactly what I was thinking when I read your post.