Oh Rats!
On my run last night I realized I’ve seen some interesting things in nature over a quarter century of running. There are the highlights – rainbows, sunrised and sunsets. And the images I’d rather forget – “roadkill” being the worst. I’ve seen turtles, caterpillars, llamas, a hogwart on a run in Africa, and I even brought a stray kitten home from a run when I was 12. But this week, I had a one of a kind run. A stare down, a real face off. It was a “your path or mine,” kind of duel. And the battle was with a New York City rat. A very stubborn rat.
This 8 mile training run took me and my training partner Curt (thank heavens I have a witness to this story!) We ran along the Hudson River from Midtown to West Harlem for about 8 miles round trip. Granted, our run was at dusk when rodents like to prowel… but we saw 4 rats cross the path in the first four miles! I was still shreaking when we met up with Rat #5… he was in the middle of the path and the middle of dinner. He didn’t flinch as we approached. And he had no plans to move. We stared. He stared, and stayed firm. I stomped. And stomped again…. he wasn’t about to give up his spot. I have no idea why it is so terrifying to be so close to a rat, but I wasn’t gonna pass until he cleared the road. Finally, a twig tossed in his direction was enough for him to scoot to the grass… we passed… but I looked back. Would a rat so bold be willing to chase us down after we bumped him from the path?
Even for NYC I felt like this was unusual so I did a bit of research… rats are being spotted above ground more following NYC’s WETTEST summer in history. There have been reports of huge rats, rats taking over playgrounds, and in one case, a woman being bitten by a rat. I’m still a scaredy cat and leaped about 3 feet when I saw the 6th, 7th, 8th and yes, 9th rat! NINE Rats, not a misprint. And I have a witness. Good thing I can run fast…faster than a NYC rat. Here’s are some fast rat facts and recent rat reports.
#WeekendWorkout for NYC
I’ll be doing my 20 miles this weekend for my ING NYC Marathon Training… (I’ll be the one with the Rats or BUST t-shirt) I’m joining the Hole in the Wall Gang and American Record Holder Josh Cox for Poland Spring Water. I’ve been following a MAP MY RUN training schedule put together by the NYRR. WATER
Saturday Muggy and Cloudy with a shower in spots, not soakers but the threat of rain off and on during the day High of 75
Sunday (the drier day of the weekend) A brief morning shower then clouds to sunshine High of 73
http://wabc.typepad.com/freezefront/
Meteorlogist Amy Freeze
On the Freeze Front 