The Funny, Stupid Things That Go Through Your Head During a Run

I swear sometimes the strangest things come to mind while running. The other day I was running on one of my usual trails, and in one section there are usually a LOT of geese just grazing and watching over the goslings, which I’ve had the pleasure of watching them grow from little balls of yellow fluff to awkward adolescent geese, fluffy and not quite fully grown.

                        Yeah you’re cute for now…

So I’ll admit, I really dislike geese. Dislike is a kind way to put it. I find geese to be MEAN and very overprotective of their young to the point of neuroticism. Plenty of stories have circulated about geese attacking a hapless passerby with their strong wings to keep them from getting too close to a nest or their hatched young. Or they are just being mean for fun.

The other day I was running through the usual trail section when I saw probably around 50 geese surrounding the trail, and they looked menacing. Instantly my blood ran cold, and I knew I would have to run, and run quickly through the herd. What immediately flashed into my mind is the scene in The Neverending Story where Atryeu has to run through the first trial (the Riddle Gate, or Sphinxes) in order to reach the Southern Oracle without being obliterated by the bolts of energy that shoot from their half-lidded eyes once the wayfarer’s self-doubts are detected; they are no longer worthy of the quest and must be destroyed.

I approached the geese with trepidation, and they were all frozen in place and watching warily, beady eyes zeroing in on me.

So unassuming…

There was NO getting around this flock and I knew I had to just pass through with fingers crossed and my breath held.

As I got closer, one opened its beak in a menacing hiss, then another, and another, and they started to shamble toward me…

Enough to make your blood run cold isn’t it?

and I ran as fast as I could through the throng of creatures as they hissed and lunged forward…managed to bolt through, and wasn’t incinerated by lightning…errr, angry geese ready to give chase in full attack mode. I’m surprised I didn’t do a tuck and roll like Atreyu but I don’t think it would have been so pleasant on asphalt.

Whew. It was a teeny tiny little adventure that made me laugh in hindsight. The things that go through one’s mind on a run…it can ramble endlessly and who knows where the mind will lead while your legs take you elsewhere. I was in Atreyu’s moccasins for 7 seconds… I managed to feel my own worth, and pass through The Gate unscathed.

That is, until next time!  Let’s hope my first trail ultra doesn’t bring the Swamps of Sadness to mind…