"Say hello to my little friend ..."

My little friend: Mr. Squirrel
(Courtesy RonaldWong @ Flickr)

Scarface may have made that particular quote famous, but it's still apropos for the timelapserunner to echo the phrase. Not too far from the completion of this Tuesday's run, we chanced across one Mr. Squirrel hopping down S. Lakeshore Drive. In his little squirrel mouth were a cluster of two pecans, protective casings still intact. Mr. Squirrel would hop about four steps, then come to a stop, hop another four steps and come to a stop once more. This he did several times until we caught up with him - at which point he seemed a bit perplexed. "What am I to do?," he thought. "What am I to do?" (Spoken in my best squirrel-imitating voice.)

Usually all the Mr. or Mrs. Squirrels we run into around the Lakes take off running when you get anywhere near. But I'm thinking that there's something different when food is at stake. He seemed far more focused on NOT losing those two morsels. I got to within 2 or 3 feet of him when he stopped once more. "What do I do?," he thought, concentrating squarely on the pecans whilst eyeballing me. The timelapserunner kept his current jogging pace going but likewise kept an eye on Mr. Squirrel. Finally, when it became apparent that I would no longer challenge him for the pecans, Mr. Squirrel cut through a neighbor's lawn on the way to his deluxe tree apartment in the sky, nuts intact.

You meet all kinds of interesting people - and critters - when you run the Lakes. Some bid you good morning. Others are simply taking care of business, getting breakfast for the family. The Lakes belong to no one in particular. The Lakes belong to all of us - whether we run or shop, hop and stop.

---------

YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT: 3 miler at 15:46. Went out a bit fast, slowed after mile 1. Nothing more to report.

TODAY'S WORKOUT: 4 miler, planned for 11:08 but run at 11:00, using 2:16 / 1:00 with nominal running pace of 9:49 per mile. Again found this pace a little hard to settle in on, what with the watch indicating highly variable speeds. The run felt like work - can't imagine doing 10 or 20 miles like that; but then I have to realize that it's still warmer than it should be. A little knot in the left ham developed during the first two miles but disappeared after that. Both groin muscles were noticing the pace during the last two miles. Felt fine after showering and breakfast, however.