You're hiking, and you see a snake - nature's motivation for interval training

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mariv0
mariv0 Posts: 45 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey guys. Newish around here. I started my weight loss journey on indoor equipment, and despite being in Texas, decided that I would start going outdoors. So for the past few weeks, on my days off, I've been hiking through nearby nature preserves.

Now, I'm well-aware of the benefits of interval training, but sometimes, it's tough to even want to keep going when you're tired, stress, blah blah., let alone interval train. So I've found that being out in nature is terrific motivation, if you're generally as scared of everything as I am.

Today, I saw three snakes. I'm not sure if they were poisonous (but my friend tells me no), and I don't think they gave a crap I was there, but my heart rate spiked, and I rock climbed a steep cliff in a way that I didn't know I was capable of, ran uphill through tall grass (I'm basically a Pokemon master now), and used a tree branch to help me swing down a muddy cliffside, like freaking Tarzan.

Thinking I would rest in the shade of a forested area near a lake, I was gravely mistaken as I was accosted by a goose who had three of his adorably awkward children nearby. Once more, I was up and away, but not before I obtained battle scars on my legs, and a bump on my head from a tree branch which I SWEAR wasn't there when I was planning my escape route.

Nevertheless, I will be going back this Saturday, just like the Saturday and Tuesday before that. And I recommend the same for you all! Just bring a lot of water, a first aid kit, and some meditation CDs for the drive back.

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Replies

  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Welcome to the Great Outdoors!


    P.S. You should probably never go camping. :) lol
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    lol. If I saw a snake, my reaction would be the same. There was a little garter snack in our backyard and I was like "Hell No I aint going out there...Ever again."
  • wolfgirl78
    wolfgirl78 Posts: 56 Member
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    Hey Mariv0! I'm in Louisiana and go hiking on the weekends and also run into snakes
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,972 Member
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    Geese are mean. And just for the record, if a snake has a triangle shaped head it is venomous. If it has a rounded head it is not. I tend not to stick around long enough to look that closely at their heads, but my son assures me that it is easy to see if they are venomous or not. I live in Texas too and I walk outdoors at a park but I usually only see squirrels and grackles. Although the other day I did see a skunk.
  • mariv0
    mariv0 Posts: 45 Member
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    Ninkyou wrote: »
    Welcome to the Great Outdoors!


    P.S. You should probably never go camping. :) lol

    lol I've actually been camping several times, although the areas which I go are usually more dry than wooded. It's a weird combination of spring protective animals, it being weirdly muddy/rainy, and me venturing into areas to which I'm not used that's terrifying. But also sooooooooooooo fun. Today was a particularly bad day! I've been going 2-3 times a week for about a month and have never encountered a snake before or had a goose aggressor! Although, to be perfectly honest, I have a bad history with geese anyway. My dog tried to kill a goose a few years back, and I freed it, only for it to attack me. So I'm holding back my 85lb dog so that he doesn't kill the mother goose that charged at us, and while both my hands are around him pulling him back, the goose is nipping at my knees until I start bleeding.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,972 Member
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    Geese are mean. And just for the record, if a snake has a triangle shaped head it is venomous. If it has a rounded head it is not. I tend not to stick around long enough to look that closely at their heads, but my son assures me that it is easy to see if they are venomous or not. I live in Texas too and I walk outdoors at a park but I usually only see squirrels and grackles. Although the other day I did see a skunk.
  • rabblescum
    rabblescum Posts: 78 Member
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    I feel you. I was in a preserve in Michigan and had a garter snake slitter across my shoe. The logical part of my mind knew it wouldn't hurt me. That is not however the part of my mind that controls screaming like a *kitten* and running like a serial killer was after me.
  • mariv0
    mariv0 Posts: 45 Member
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    I was telling one of the other nurses today about what happened, and how some of my friends were telling me how to identify snakes, and the medical rep overheard and asked, "but was it poisonous?" And upon the look I gave him amended, "sorry, I realize now that was a stupid question. You obviously didn't stick around long enough to find out."

    I feel like everyone in the world is either terrified of snakes or is suddenly an expert about them!
  • shank35l
    shank35l Posts: 102 Member
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    Should have killed snake and used the protein for workout fuel.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
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    Good for you for going hiking! I find it much more satisfying and enjoyable than doing indoor cardio. Sounds like you got a great workout and a few battle scars :)

    I would highly recommend looking up information on wildlife in your area. It is important to not only be able to recognize them, but also know how to react when you see them in order to best protect yourself and others around you. It's really hard to stay calm around some wildlife like snakes but can actually be important not to startle them. I live in New Mexico, so we have some of the same critters.
  • JJordon
    JJordon Posts: 857 Member
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    See snake, aim gun, loaded with "snake shot" (a type of personal defense round), blow away. Crisis averted. Resume hiking.
  • BethAnnieT
    BethAnnieT Posts: 263 Member
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    LOL I love the spiking heart rate image. :) I wrote a little something about this, sorta, on my blog a while back. We have rattlesnakes all over the damn place here in New Mexico, and once you see one, every single thing looks like a snake for a while. I now call it "Everything is a Snake Syndrome" Everything Is a Snake
  • mariv0
    mariv0 Posts: 45 Member
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    JJordon wrote: »
    See snake, aim gun, loaded with "snake shot" (a type of personal defense round), blow away. Crisis averted. Resume hiking.

    LOL so I actually was thinking of finding some sort of protection after I heard some bobcats killed deer not too long ago.
  • Mnaminal
    Mnaminal Posts: 90 Member
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    I was on a work trip once and went for an early run on a forest trail near the hotel. It was rainy and my glasses fogged up, but the trail was easy to see and paved so I kept plodding along. About a mile in, while contemplating that I hadn't seen anyone else, including cars, for some time, I hear the rustling of something very large running toward me from the woods and see a blur of motion out of the corner of my eye. My first reaction: "Eek! PsychokillerRapist! Prepare for battle!" It was a deer. To my credit, it was a large buck that could have been a psycho. I think he was full from eating other runners.
  • mariv0
    mariv0 Posts: 45 Member
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    Mnaminal wrote: »
    I was on a work trip once and went for an early run on a forest trail near the hotel. It was rainy and my glasses fogged up, but the trail was easy to see and paved so I kept plodding along. About a mile in, while contemplating that I hadn't seen anyone else, including cars, for some time, I hear the rustling of something very large running toward me from the woods and see a blur of motion out of the corner of my eye. My first reaction: "Eek! PsychokillerRapist! Prepare for battle!" It was a deer. To my credit, it was a large buck that could have been a psycho. I think he was full from eating other runners.

    I don't see deer on this spot. The reason why is more concerning. There was a news article last year that said they had found two deer dead, dragged down the trails, and the people in charge were like, "well, we didn't know we had deer, but we sure do have bobcats!"

    WELL, WHAT ARE THEY EATING NOW?
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    Thanks for sharing this with us. Amusing and motivating. Now that the weather is better around here I need to remember to get out into nature more often. As to snakes, I can't say I have the same reactions. There was a time when I would actually pick them up and marvel at them but now I tend to just stay still and stare. A day with three sightings would fill me with joy. We agree on geese though. Mean birds.
  • Zombella
    Zombella Posts: 490 Member
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    That is really funny. I would be the same way. I don't care how small or innocent a snake may be, I do not want it near me! Even legless lizards gross me out.

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