Melissa's Place

This is the Peterpatch Mid-Week Run

I'm in P-patch mid-week for my dad's retirement.
This is the part where I venture out to Jackson Park for a "long" run.

This the part where I realize I have to carry a bottle of Gatorade for an hour and a half in my right hand because if I switch it to my left, I get off-balance.

This is the part where I say hello to all of the happy dog-walkers. And they all say good morning and I already feel so tired it should be afternoon.

This is the part where the really intense runners don't say hello back.

This is the part where I hear a cow mooing like it's having its stomach removed through its nostrils. Then I swear the sound metamorphoses into a wooden flute.

This is the part where the forest of wet cedars smells like pee.

This is the part where I wonder if I should have worn my rings because maybe I will be mugged. Perhaps I should have told someone where I am going.

This is the part where I speculate about, if I sprained my ankle, how long would it take someone to find me. I wonder who would be the person who knows me well enough to figure out where I am.

This is the part where I think about how to make a crutch out of a crooked stick and my shirt.

This is the part where it starts to get very gray and rainy. Immediately it's sunny again.

This is the part where a woman has a really nervous and big dog and I'm glad she's holding it, but I wish she looked stronger.

This is the part where I wonder if I could out-run a Lion. I wonder if I acted alpha-enough, whether I could get it to run away from me. I imagine that as soon as I turned my back it would chase me. I wonder how quickly I could get up that tree nearby. I'm pretty sure Lions can climb trees too.

This is the part where I wonder if I scream with my hands cupping my voice, if the farmer in that house could hear me.

This is the part where I see horse poop and I look around for Menonites.

This is the part where a very hard-core running man is happy I have asked him advice about how far the path goes on for and he prides himself in the fact that he knows it goes on for another 14 kilometres.

This is the part where a turtle crosses the path and at first I think it is an aardvark, even though I don't think I've ever seen an aardvark.

This is the pee-smelling cedars again.

This is the part where I hear the cow/flute again.

This is the part where I meet Kris Atkinson going for a walk and we have a funny staring moment before we're sure we know each other.

This is the part where I recline my seat and lean forward in the car to try to keep sweat off it while I drive home.

Who would ever believe the adventures I imagine I have when I run in Peterpatch Mid-Week?