Tortoise or hare?

There is a reason why the popular Ann Arbor running store is named Tortoise and Hare. We all remember hearing the famous Aesop fable when we were children about the lumbering turtle who crosses the finish line while the somnolent hare catches 40.  Are you a tortoise, or a hare?

Are you a tortoise or a hare?

I've always considered myself a tortoise, whatever my fitness level.  Even at my very fastest during my later teens, I've been a distance runner rather than a sprinter.  I am blessed with a pretty high stamina quotient, preferring moderately steady slower pacing to reach my distance goals rather than spurts of speed.  This morning I had the pleasure of visualizing this metaphor in real time during my run.  I could see something in the distance on the road ahead of me.  At first I thought at first that some insensitive litter bug dropped a black trash bag in my neck of the boondocks.  Then I got a little closer and thought, "No, that's a boulder!" How did that boulder get in the middle of the road?  Then, when I was roughly 25 feet away, the boulder sprouted a head, tail, and four legs, and darted to the side of the road at breakneck speed, diving into the swamp with a huge spash!   

Michigan snapping turtle -- up to 20" long -- and FAST!!

I'm pretty famous for being able to see the fine print at long distances with my high powered (and high priced) glasses, but the sudden view of this "rock" coming to life caught me by surprise.  Whew!  Don't believe any fables you hear about turtles being slow.  Those beasts can hustle when they have the motivation, and they are not small.  The largest sample of a Michigan turtle topped the scales at 86 pounds.  What's even more frightening is to think about turtle jaws, knowing how fast they can move.  According to the Critterguy at MSU*, "These turtles are particularly aggressive when out of water, not hesitating to strike out at humans or any other potential enemy."  I will definitely keep that in mind the next time I see a rock on the road.

So, back to our original question:  tortoise or hare?  I've seen bunnies darting out of the way, and now, I've seen tortoises, and frankly, I'd bank on the tortoise just about every time.  Bigger, stronger, and a lot longer-lived:  snapping turtles can live more than 50 years!  Out of the way, rabbits of the world, make way for turtles.

Até amanhã... 
7/11/11 - 2.0 miles | 23 mins | 5.1 mph | 214 kcal

*MSU is good for study of critters...