Road Running

[pshaw_raven]

Hey everyone! Sorry to keep falling silent over here but there's honestly not much going on in my part of the world. We're currently enjoying a late cold snap, so the house windows are still open and I'm still doing my runs outdoors. I'm currently debating with myself whether to keep running outside and just get out a lot earlier to beat the heat, or treadmill it for the summer.

Pros of outside include scenery, variety, uneven terrain that forces small muscles in my feet and legs to adjust and strengthen, and it feels more mentally/emotionally healing.

Cons of outside include dogs, humans, and insects.

Yesterday I had to unload a can of mace on a couple of toy-to-small size terriers of some sort. They were aggro enough to push under their gate and come after me, and smart enough not to get in kicking range. I don't know why people don't work on aggression problems in small dogs - it's not cute or funny. A lucky bite could damage my ankle muscles and even tendons. My neighbor's pit bull is also getting off his chain more routinely and he is seriously aggressive. He's come at me a couple of times and he clearly means business, but I also routinely carry a large stick when I go to the mailbox or to take the trash out. I had to break my stick the other day but now I have a new one. She says she's buying one of those electric fences, but I was kind of hoping she'd say she was rehoming the dog. He dislikes babies, cats, other dogs, and strangers. Why the fuck would you keep a dog like that.

On top of everything else, my long run got cut short when some dude in a truck decided he was going to holler at me about how he wanted to "check me out," then started making u-turns to try to cut me off. It was kind of scary and I spent a lot of yesterday's longer run examining oncoming vehicles because I was just paranoid. Any run over 3.5 miles takes me to the hardtop, which aside from those stupid terriers, is blissfully dog-free. But anyway, scary guy kept laying on the horn and trying to turn to get ahead of me when I'd change direction and run away from him. It was early enough that there wasn't much traffic out so he had the room to do this shit. It's also very weird, like, what did I do to attract attention?

So - pros of the treadmill - it's in my house. Cons - it's boring.

Although at this point "boring" is sounding like more of a pro than a con.

Should I learn to run with a 9 mil? Learn to be bored? Maybe buy an Audible subscription, I dunno. Today's run is 3.5 miles, so I turn around at the hardtop, it takes a little over half an hour. I'll probably get out as soon as Fox is up and moving around.

In another part of my Agony Column, I get my second Moderna jab next week and I'm a little anxious about it. I definitely going to get it, I just have heard that the second one is worse.

And now for something completely unrelated. Have you guys tried butter coffee? I was deeply skeptical but this stuff is terrific. I'm making it with just regular Publix unsalted butter and Folgers 1850 (or whatever year it's meant to be) Pioneer blend and I'm really sold on it now. Next up, gonna try adding MCT oil. It's supposed to be good for your brain and heaven knows my brain needs all the help it can get.

Comments

[rebeccarobota]

I felt off for about 48 hours after my first shot (which was essentially a second shot, since I've had COVID). It wasn't fun, but I mostly felt tired and a little feverish. I also know folks who had no reaction to shot #2. Hopefully you have an okay experience!

[pshaw_raven]

My sister works in a childrens' hospital and got it early on. She said the second one had her feeling "down" for about a day but then she was fine. It seems like my arm pain experience was kind of unique, but then I've always had a more pronounced soreness response to injections, so eh. *shrugs broadly*

[expandranon]

That's weird. I was going to quote you, but somewhere along the way, they changed this from plain text to some kind of image, so I can't copy-paste. What did you do? You're a "female" and therefore owe that twat some attention. He hollered at you! Ain't that good enough?

I see ads all over for that Peloton thing with the movie screen and terrain simulation. What if you got one of those? Probably still less interesting than your daily run, but maybe less interesting is for the better when the interesting part is the neighbors' dogs continuously trying to eat you.

[pshaw_raven]

That's odd because I can copy-paste just fine? IDK maybe Dreamwidth's having a bad day. :D

I assume that at some point, hollering at a woman out of a car window actually worked for someone. But then I'm also assuming most people are operating with levels of self-awareness that they clearly don't possess. Thus you end up with some dudebro who seems to think that hooting like an orangutan at some random woman who is simply going about her own business is going to have the immediate effect of making her fall passionately, head over heels into lust with you.

I may start confining my runs to the treadmill for now. The hotter weather seems to be bringing more dogs out, and there's the final season of Attack on Titan to be watched. But I do like being outdoors so getting up earlier and running with a can of bear spray is also still an option.

[expandranon]

"Thus you end up with some dudebro who seems to think that hooting like an orangutan at some random woman who is simply going about her own business is going to have the immediate effect of making her fall passionately, head over heels into lust with you."

I'm suddenly reminded of an album cover I saw ages ago that had a slovenly dudebro on the cover. He was pointing at torn-off squirrel head pinched in his thumb and forefinger and had a thought bubble of a shapely, barely dressed woman who had a thought bubble of him and his squirrel head.

[cdayzee]

Wouldn't it be great if you could have a totally suitable & satisfying run every day without all the annoyances & scary situations? I totally understand. That's why I drive to a park that has a dedicated paved path. I know that's not ideal for everyone though.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with the aggressive dogs & then this guy. He clearly lacked any sort of home training on how to treat females specifically. I could probably make a pretty accurate generalization about this guy but I'll refrain. What he did wasn't cool at all. :hugs:

Running with a 9mm sounds interesting! Strap that thing to your thigh. Maybe its presence will be enough to deter idiots.

I tried something a while back; I think it was butter in the coffee thing - but I didn't see what the hype was about. But then again, I prefer my iced coffee concoctions. It's like crack for me.

[pshaw_raven]

I understand that, often, people live out here in order to have the space and stuff to have dogs. I don't necessarily object to it, though I'm not a fan of our Canine Companions. My problem is with humans who have aggressive dogs and don't take steps to confine them to their own yard. And there are some folks I live near to actually maintain their fences, keep their gates closed, and even *gasp!* give their dogs obedience training.

I also considered running with a spear. It's even more obvious than a 9 mil, and I will either look really badass or completely insane.

I can see butter in a cold coffee not working too well - ghee might, though, as I think it tends to stay liquid at colder temperatures. But the MCT oil can easily be emulsified into a cold coffee by using a blender - I'm planning to try it with almond milk and some vanilla extract to see if I can make a sweet-ish cold drink without the loads of sugar Starbucks adds. It might even work with matcha.

Last summer I was really enjoying cold-brew matcha mixed with vanilla soy milk. Though this time around I think I'll ditch the soy and try blending it with Greek yogurt and a dash of vanilla syrup.