Ok, so there’s joking about the dangers of running in our neighborhood, and then there’s being chased all the way home by the god damn fox. I wish I was kidding. I woke up at 5am, got dressed, opened the door, checked for other signs of wildlife and started my warm-up walk. I believe I was listening to the melodic sounds of one of Tina Turner’s early pieces. It was pitch black out, and the air felt cold for the first time in a few weeks. I barely crested the three-minute mark when I noticed two figures crossing the street in front of me. My eyes focused in on them, and the streetlight revealed they were indeed two foxes. So much for “the sole neighborhood fox” theory. They have multiplied. And there’s no telling how many of them are out there. I immediately stopped walking and froze. Both foxes noticed me, stopped and stared right back. After a few seconds, the first fox continued to cross the street. I took a step forward, figuring the sound of my footsteps would scare the second one into the woods too. But no. I took two steps. And he held his ground. After the third step, he started to walk in my direction. My heart has never beat that fast (well, at 5am anyway). I inched forward again, which only caused him to walk faster in my direction. I wish upon all wishes that I was making this up. Needless to say, completely freaked out and bearing no confidence that I could take down a pack of foxes should there be more lurking in the shadows, I quickly turned around and mustered my best Flo Jo. It took me about one minute to sprint home. The fox followed me for about half a block. I know this because I turned around once. After that one glimpse, though, it was just about survival. I made it home safely, and rabies-free, thank god. And the gym got an unexpected visit after work. At this point, I’m honestly not sure I can make it out there tomorrow morning. Part of me says, don’t let him defeat you, you are a lot bigger than him. But the other part of me is thinking, I aint messin’ with Cujo.

Total distance: 3.2 miles
Total time with warm-up: 37:00 minutes

 

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