(Mis)Adventures in Running

I had quite the misadventure on my 4-miler this morning. Correction: 4 miler that wound up being 5.36 miles.

My run started with an encounter with an aggressive dog...... OWNER. I was semi-happily jogging along at my new 11 to 12-minute pace when a medium-sized dog comes barrelling out from behind a house barking at me in what appeared to be an aggressive manner. My immediate reaction was to say "Go Home!" in a firm voice. Ok, I kind of yelled it (twice), but I was slightly panicked. He was about 2 feet away from me before he stopped. I slowed to a walk and kept going, but kept him in my peripheral vision. I was already a house away when I hear, "Ma-am! Ma-am!" I turned around and saw a woman emerging from behind the house of the dog.
"Yes?"
"He's wearing a shock collar. He won't hurt you."
"Oh, ok, thank you! He just scared me for a minute. Thanks for letting me know!" and I begin to move on thinking, "Wow, the people are SO NICE here!"
"Yes, I heard you YELLING at him." This time her voice had changed a bit.
"Well, whenever a dog comes at me, I always say 'Go home' and it works every time."
(in a really snotty voice) She replied, "He WAS HOME!" Ouch.

I'm thinking: Oh, so this is how you want to play it. I have offended you and your lovely animal. How dare I run on this public street and how dare I yell at your precious mongrel who was running at approximately 100 mph toward me while greeting me with loud, vicious barking!

So I said, "I'm sorry if I inconvenienced you in any way" in a rather snotty, sarcastic tone (I'm not proud of it---not my best moment!) forever coloring her judgement of runners everywhere. (Sorry, guys!)

She said, "I KNOW," in an equally snotty tone.

Good stuff. I could have just apologized for offending her doggy, I guess, with ACTUAL SINCERITY. But, I don't feel totally in the wrong. If she had been out front, I wouldn't have spoken so sharply to the dog.

I spent the next several miles thinking about her. Maybe God was working on my heart because I felt bad. Where did I get off being rude to her, even if she started it? "Turn the other cheek," hel--lo?? She was probably feeling like I accosted her "baby." I suppose if my children were in my own front yard and someone yelled at them to "Go home," I might take it badly, too. Of course people generally wouldn't feel threatened by my children playing in the yard. (Well, maybe the 9-year old. Especially if he had a big stick....) So I prayed for her. (I probably should have prayed for me, too, to know when to keep my BIG mouth shut!)

Then I got lost. I have run in this neighborhood behind my daughter's preschool for the past 3 years. I guess I was so deep in thought that I lost my bearings. I finished my 4 miles and thought I was near the car. Then I looked up at street signs with unfamiliar names. Hmmmm.... I was out of water and needed to hurry home to start on some chores, but I had only a vague idea where I was. This is a neighborhood with no less than 20 side streets. I kept dead-ending or running into a busy road with no potential for running on. I kind of knew where I was and where I needed to be, just not how to combine the two. So I called my friend Amy. No answer. Left her a fun message: "Hey, Amy. I'm freaking lost. Talk to you later!" Then I called my husband. No answer: "Hi, Honey. I'm out on a run and I'm lost and out of water. Bye." (A little more dramatic.) Finally, after a mile of wandering around, I finally recognized where I was. My four-mile run had a nice little 1.36 mile cool down. It's all good.

P.S. I'm renaming my blog with this entry's title. I never write about my kiddos on here anyway! For my running right now, "(Mis)Adventures" fits!