Picked up a Nike+ kit for my new (Outside magazine #1-rated) Adidas Supernova Glides after reading Wired's "The Nike Experiment..." article (how's that for product placement?), and went for the calibration run/walk this evening. It's been so hot here in the corn fields of Illinois that I've had to put off the runs until sunset, but part of the base's path is cushioned and lit, so it shouldn't be too bad, right?
Well...
First, the bugs were bad. Thousands of them, a great cloud of insecty badness that couldn't help but fly into my eyes, my ears, my mouth, you name it. Blech.
I didn't see the second issue coming at all. Here in Illinois it's not uncommon to smell skunk this time of year, since they get hit by cars all the time, leaving that unmistakeable scent to linger for days. So I thought nothing of it as I started my run and entered a mild cloud of skunk. Ran a half mile to calibrate the run pace, then switched to walk a half mile for the walk pace. Set up the iPod for the 1-mile return run to test the calibration (it's a little off, user error). As I turned the final corner around the end of the flightline, I once again entered the skunky cloud. This time though, a car was coming up behind me...and I saw a cobra head rising from the grass off to my right. Only it wasn't a cobra head, it was a skunk's tail, waving ominously and pointed right at me.
I decided I was no longer tired, and evacuated the area quite rapidly. Thankfully, no tomato soup is needed tonight. If that car hadn't been behind me though...
Click below to see how Nike+ captured the moment for posterity: