Fight or Flight?!?

WARNING:  If you visit my blog for pics, this post contains NONE!  You are free to quit reading.  

After moving out of the apartment (June28), I became lax in my running.  Okay, I just quit all together!  It was harder to motivate and time and summer and house stuff...I could keep going with excuses.  July 12 we moved into our house!  Everything unloaded and in it's spot for most part in the same day.  Including the treadmill...hidden nicely in the corner of our bedroom.  In fact you can enter the room and never know it's there!  My excuse now?  I want to get a pad to go under the treadmill so it doesn't damage the hardwood floors! 

Last Monday (Aug 13), I put on my running shoes and hit the pavement!  Scared I wouldn't make it, I only did 2 miles.  It felt great!  Tuesday, I went for three... a little harder, but I attribute some of that to the downpour that came halfway through my run!  Something about soaking wet shoes that make them SO heavy.  I finished the week proud of myself for running M-F!  And this week I've even made it four miles two times!

I know you are starting to wonder about my title...I'm getting there!

I'm normally a treadmill girl with my TV on CC and tunes blasting.  Who knew how enjoyable an outside run could be by yourself!?!  That's always been my excuse (I can find one for anything):  I wanted someone to run with if I was gonna run outside.  But I have throughly enjoyed my tunes and God's creation.  I have found I AM running with someone:  My Heavenly Father is right there beside me.  Cheering me on, encouraging me not to give up and just given me sweet revelation of Him with me.

I have loved seeing all the little things I would have missed on the treadmill!  The bunnies are so adorable, the butterflies and dragonflies are brilliantly colored, and even the creepy crawly things that come out after/during the rain seem so meaningful.  Then there are the smells!  It takes everything I have not to stop and try the honeysuckle!  And there is one spot that every time I close my eyes and am immediately transported to my childhood neighborhood.  I can remember the smells as I would walk down the street to play with the "older" girls!  So very thankful for this new found joy in running with Jesus!

Okay, if you are still reading you are my real friend and I can share openly with you!  Yesterday, I helped out at K's school so my morning run didn't happen.  After spending three hours sorting papers (that's a whole other post), I came home for lunch and devoured more than my fair share of potato chips.  So after the kids were tucked in bed and the hubs was busy in the garage I decided to go for an evening run.

Because of the time I thought I should only do two miles.  Well, at my mile mark I looked at my time, I was doing good so I thought I'd press on.  As I crossed to the other side of the street to run towards traffic, I noticed 4 deer in the thicket area; three does and one small buck.  (This is a regular occurrence since we are so close to Berry College.)  It's normal to see them in the back yard grazing or along the side of the road.  But I'd never come up on them while running...I must say I was a little excited.  Then I noticed the one closest to me was no longer grazing but headed towards me...

Fight or flight?  Well, I wasn't sticking around to see which she was gonna choose, I chose flight!  I turned right around and decided I stick to my two mile plan!  I was pretty sure she could outrun me and I was NOT about to find out for sure.  And I did not want to make headline news: Runner Attacked by Deer!  Google it, it can happen people!