This morning I got up early to do my long run for the week. I didn’t do one last week so I was looking forward to today’s run. I had figured I would do 8 miles. I’m still trying to determine what my schedule for the next several months is going to be, so that seemed like a good enough distance to qualify as the long run for the week.
The run felt awesome, I took a nice, easy LSD pace and listened to the book Twilight on my iPhone.* I tried a new pair of headphones, don’t remember what brand they were and I’m super glad that I only paid about $5 for them because they went straight into the trash when I got home. They kept falling out of my ear because the microphone on the cord was bulky and heavy and I had to work it under my bra so it wouldn’t weigh down the earpiece. Annoying! But other than that frustration, I ended up covering 9 miles… and it felt really easy.
Okay, so the really exciting thing about today’s run… or not really exciting, but the potential excitement…
I’ve had my fair share of animal encounters while running (chihuahuas, poodles and ostriches). But yesterday I heard on the local news that some people who have a magic show here in Vegas lost their tiger.
Let me just repeat that… LOST their TIGER!
That’s right, they owned a tiger and it escaped. And the kicker? The tiger was found yesterday…. about a block away from one of the intersections where I frequently run on long run days.
Seriously, what the hell? I mean, having a dog rip a hole in my shorts while running was traumatizing enough, but encountering a tiger? I can’t even imagine!
Only in Vegas could I run through an area where I have to avoid horse crap on sidewalks and have the potential to run into an exotic big cat. **
*Yes, I’ve read the book. And then I watched the movie recently and I HATED the movie. So I decided to go through the book again to see if it was a fluke that I enjoyed it the first time around. But I’m enjoying the audiobook so far. It kind of makes for nice long run material.
** If the tiger hadn’t been caught, there is no way I would have run. I just felt the need to add this addendum. I wasn’t running when the tiger was loose… just to clarify.
Jill Will Run 
WTH??? A TIGER????? I think that would be the scariest thing to find during a run! Good thing you didn’t go near it on your run.
…still can’t believe it, how can someone loose A TIGER!!?!?!?
umm wow. i would have stayed inside!!! i’m glad you didn’t find it / it didn’t find you out on the run.
I heard about that on the news. Insane!
Also, these are the only headphones I’ve ever found that stay comfortably on my head: http://www.target.com/Nike-Vapor-Sport-Headphones-Black/dp/B000UP840S/sr=1-1/qid=1249358024/ref=sr_1_1/191-4360492-4503462?ie=UTF8&search-alias=tgt-index&frombrowse=0&index=target&field-original-keywords=nike%20sport%20hadphones&rh=k%3Anike%20sport%20headphones&page=1
Thanks for the headphone recommendation. I’ll have to take a look at those!
A tiger? You’re right…only in Vegas (although the San Diego Zoo used to have an ape that was an escape artist!)
I have some headphones that I got at Costco…I can’t remember the brand name and it’s not on them, but they come with a great little case, different size ear buds, are super comfortable. I think they were around $25,but they’ve lasted (and I used to go through earphones like toilet paper (I know…ewwww))
You know, I’ve never even thought to look at headphones at Costco. I’m always too busy buying vitamins in bulk, giant bags of carrots and batteries (or other strange combos like that).
Hi Jill! I actually saw your blog just a few days ago too – I was so excited to see someone else who ran the Bryce Canyon Half. Congrats on your great time!
Can’t believe that the tiger was loose that long – really scary! I usually do my morning runs just outside the Phoenix Zoo, and it’s crossed my mind a few times that if a lion or something were to get out, I’d probably be the first person it would see in the morning. Right by the only water source around, alone, without watching the news first, I’d gone in a heart beat!
Oooh… running past the Zoo… I could make up all sorts of crazy scenarios in my head while running past a place like that! And the way I’m going, I may actually have an encounter with a weird animal!
[…] I have and I don’t want to look like I’m missing from a safari. Granted, there was an escaped tiger wandering about Vegas in my neighborhood exactly where I ran one […]