Throwing Rocks

Above is what I encountered on my 4.2 mile trail run this morning. At the time I didn't know what he was so caution was in order. Because he was taking his nap all stretched out across the trail, I didn't really have enough room to maneuver around him (he was pretty big...about 4 feet). So I did the first thing that came to mind.....start throwing rocks at him. It took a few rounds, but he finally moved out of my way.

I didn't have any fear of the snake--I was more angry that he was in my way, and messing up my timed-run! It was a really strong run today....good pace and not winded and it got me thinking about what my successful actions might have been for feeling so strong. So looking at nutrition from the day before, I had:

Breakfast: cereal with nuts and turkey
Snack: Fruit smoothie
Lunch: Chicken sausage and spinach
Dinner: Chicken salad

Also, I had decent sleep. What I had done the night before to make sure I slept was:

100 air squats
100 sit ups
30 push ups

The 3rd factor could have been all the new tunes I put in my iPod shuffle.... by Rage Against the Machine, the Foo Fighters, Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park, Nickelback, Puddle of Mudd, Buckcherry, Seether, and Finger Eleven.

Oh, turns out the snake is a King Snake, completely harmless. Makes me think I should get educated on snakes and other critters I might encounter. So if I see one of these again, I'll know to just run right over him.