Ant-Icks!

So what's up with all this warm weather?  It seems that it's cooling down a bit back to normal, in the 60 degree range today, but not without ramifications.  I went out with the intention of getting in a good 6 miles but found it hard to run.  It's very misty, slight drizzle, 100% humidity.  My glasses steamed up to the point where I couldn't see well, such that I nearly stepped on snake #3 for the season. The first two were garter snakes, in the 18" - 24" range (I never stop to check too closely).  This one looked like a 2' - 3' fat blue racer, almost exactly at the 3 mile mark. Aaaaah!  Yes, I screamed, as always, and jumped about 3 feet in the air, also as always. Sigh. That's when I decided to call it quits for the day, and try for a 6-miler tomorrow.

When I got back home I noticed another feature of an early spring:  a little line of ants is marching up the window sill on the inside.  Ick!  Normally the annual ant march begins towards the end of April, not March.  But there they were.  An hour's worth of cornstarch and dishwashing liquid later, and I think I've won the first battle of what looks like it's going to be a very long spring.  Snakes in March, ants in March... I love the warm weather, but I'm not sure I'm loving all the other consequences.

3/24/12 - 3.0 miles | 36 min | 5.0 mph | 328 kcal  

Why do I really want to run faster than 5 miles per hour?

I can think of more than one reason, but when I read that the fastest snake in Michigan crawls at 4 mph I knew I had all the inspiration I need to make sure to pick up the pace.  I had the opportunity to practice jumping high and dashing away twice on the course this afternoon, when I inadvertently nearly stepped on two different snakes sunning themselves in the warmth of the last day of winter.  Geesh!  If there are this many snakes this early in the year, what will it be like by September??

3/19/12 - 3.0 miles | 35 min | 5.1 mph | 335 kcal