Birds of a Feather

I finally had a good run today. I got up with the intention of swimming in the morning and running in the evening, but then saw in the weather report that more thunderstorms were expected. I switched my plan and did a 5-mile morning run instead. I felt good right from the start, something that has certainly been elusive lately. I was keeping a decent pace and was not struggling. I was loosely tracking where I was each mile and seemed to be averaging just around 8:30 - a little slower on the first couple and much faster on the final couple. I did my last mile in 8:15 for a 42:03 finish.

I did have a rather comical wildlife encounter along the route. I was passing through an area called South Cove where a group of tourists were strolling slowly and blocking the fairly tight turn. I made it a point to zip past them as fast as possible, hoping to remind them they were in a park with a recreation path. Just as I turned the corner, there was a flock of pigeons hovering kind of low as if they had just taken off. I've seen this sight hundreds of times and the birds usually move out of the way. Usually being the operative word here. As I ran through, a huge pigeon struck me on the head. It was like someone dropped a rock on me and I felt its poky orange feet in my hair. I screamed and then shouted "gross," as I continued to run. So not only did I teach the tourists a valuable lesson in blocking the park path, I showed them what an idiot New Yorker does when a filthy bird lands on their head. At least I gave them a good story to tell.

I'm ashamed to say that my evening swim never happened. I had a busy day and was tired so I bagged it. I have yet to drag myself to the pool at night. I can sit here and make all the excuses in the world, but they will only be excuses so I'll just admit to deciding not to do it and leave it at that. I will try to swim Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday since I'll be in Michigan for six days starting Friday. However, I found a local pool I can visit while there and I'll be doing an open water swim in Lake Michigan this weekend. I'll be sure to watch out for the seagulls.

Sport - Running
Distance - 5 miles
Time - 42:03