If you by chance read my wife's blog, you realize we just returned from our summer vacation in Hilton Head, after the Vermilion race.
So after the race we took off for South Carolina and I had decided that we were going to drive to Rock Hill, SC for Day One. On the way, I declared I was taking the day off the following morning, considering the race that day and the drive. Well, the drive was going well and I was a little wired, so we hit Rock Hill and decided to push a little further, making it to Blythville, SC - just short of Columbia, SC - which left us about 3 hours of driving the next day.
As we were pulling into the hotel, I told Anna that I was wired and that I was running in the morning before we left...it is an illness.
Alarm goes off at 6:00 and I throw on some running clothes and take off into Blytheville. Generally, I love going for runs in new towns for the obvious reasons that there is new stuff to look at and the general thought that there is some adventure in getting lost in a new town.
About a mile into the run, two dogs come running out of what I thought was their yard into the street and start barking. Now the one dog doing all the barking was a small mixed breed that reminded me of the little dog from the Tom & Jerry Cartoon and just behind him was the enforcer a much larger dog. They gave chase to the property line and then backed off. A little rise in my blood pressure.
I thought nothing of it and kept running through some nicer neighborhoods for another 5 miles and headed back to the street where all the hotels were located and decided to run the access road that was behind the hotel and gas stations between all the businesses.
As I am headed back towards our hotel I hear a bark from the gas station and think a dog in a car must see me and is barking. So I keep running, iPod going the whole time, and realize the barking is not going away. I now look behind me and that same T&J dog is now chasing me with four other dogs through the parking lots. Blood pressure spikes quite a bit.
At this point, other than terror, I was remembering a story I had read about a women in Georgia who was mauled by stray dogs who held up in a foreclosed home and when she ran past the house the dogs came out and attacked her, biting her to death.
Suffice it to say, this horse picked up his pace, but the little dog starting chasing harder and so did the rest of the pack. Now I am getting a little more than worried, so I pick up the pace a little more. So does the T&J dog and it is clear this is going to end badly, if something doesn't change quickly. I mean, I'll take my chances with one small dog, but 5 dogs I have no chance.
So the picture is now: me - at pretty much a dead sprint - through this hillbilly town with 5 dogs coming down on me and I luckily see a guy pulling into a bank for work and I decide I am going to sprint for him as he gets out of his car. I can only imagine what he was thinking when he stepped out his car and saw me sprinting at him through a parking lot with 5 dogs in tow.
I got to within about 15 feet of the guy and looked back one last time as if to say to the dogs "look there is two of us now." T&J dog pulled up and just kept barking with his gang.
I now graciously thank the man and sneak around the bank and haul ass for my hotel, where I walk in and regale Anna with my morning run. I proclaim that I will be calling the Bytheville City Hall, which has yet to happen.
On the training side on things, I am officially registered for the REV 3 Full and had a great last week of heavy training. It culminated this weekend with a 3 mile swim on Friday, 20 mile run on Saturday, 102 mile bike on Sunday followed by a short run. It is time to TAPER.
Editor's Note: Wow, wasn't aware that Scott knew the meaning of the word TAPER.
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