January | 2017 | Tigger Mania

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We’re in full taper mode so I’m taking my time heading out the door in the morning to grab my miles. When I rush around to get out the door, I burn a lot of energy. These days I’m in energy conservation mode so everything is scaled back quite a bit.

I got a later start than usual today seeing as #1 Son called to chat. It’s always nice to talk with him! The phone call bumped my 8:30 starting time for my run to a little after 10:00! I finally got those proverbial ducks of mine in their row and headed out the door.

I was scheduled for 10 easy miles today. No worries! A nice run!

Even though it was later in the morning, it was still a little chilly by Mississippi standards. We were at 59* but had a 15MPH wind from the north. I decided on a long sleeved tech shirt and a buff over my visor to keep the wind out of my ears.

After 3-ish miles, I headed down Robinson Road towards Highway 45S. I had decided to run over the Schaeffer’s Chapel. Doing some #runnersmath, I had figured out a pretty easy 10 miler.

I ran across the highway and was running against traffic when I heard loud rifle repeats! I mean LOUD! I looked around towards the sound of the rifle and there, sure enough, was the pickup truck that belongs to the “grouchy farmer.”

It was at this point I was very glad I had grabbed my bright orange shirt! That shirt is loud and I, quite frankly, don’t have a great deal of confidence in the combination of the “grouchy farmer” and a rifle.

He was parked on the shoulder of the highway shooting! There’s laws about shooting along the roads, etc. This guy has a tendency to create his own versions of laws so suffice it to say, I was a nervous nellie. I consoled myself in the fact that with the bright orange shirt, odds were he wouldn’t intentionally shoot me.

I ran south on highway 45S a half mile, crossed the highway and started up Schaeffer’s Chapel Road. A mile up this road sits the Chapel.

I reached the Chapel, added an extra .50 mile (because I do things like that) and then headed on back towards the Highway.

Heading north on Highway 45S, the first thing I did was look for the “grouchy farmer.” His truck was gone and I didn’t hear anymore gunfire. Whew! Then I got to wondering, “What was he shooting at?” Then just shrugged the whole thing off.

It didn’t take to long before I found out what he had been shooting because BAM! The smell hit me like a ton of bricks!!! Skunks!

The only thing I can figure is he had been doing some trapping and caught himself some skunks!

Heading back towards the house, I decided to take a little detour to add an extra mile onto the run so I wouldn’t have to run a few laps on the cul de sac to finish up my run. While on this little detour, I met today’s new running buddy!