Apparently, in Texas, yes. Or no. Or, yes if you have been drugged up on NyQuil all week (allegedly).

I FINALLY, finally felt better this morning. Or so I thought. So, I went out for a quick 10 miler on the river. It was a beautiful morning and my goal was just to give it a good effort, check the lungs, and if I felt good at 10 miles, go ahead and finish the 20 that I originally planned.

I was a little slow at the start. The junk mileage I had put in during the week had done little more than keep me from turning into a garden gnome. But, after an easy warm-up mile, I found my groove and settled into a good clip. I spent the run just enjoying the wide open space of my hometown, such a different view than that of LA.

(But it’s also possible that LA looks exactly like this but I just don’t know because I can’t see it through the smog.)

I hit the 5 mile turnaround and headed back, No dogs (or cats) chased me. The sun was now out and shining brightly. It was quiet – something I’ve also missed since living in the big city.

And then there it was.

Flying above my head. In the middle of nowhere.

In case you have a hard time seeing it, this is what it was:

Only sideways (tilt your ear to your shoulder… a little more… a little more. There. Now you will see they are EXACTLY the same).

A “Despicable Me” blimp flying over West Texas/Mexico/New Mexico?

Frankly, I wasn’t convinced it was real. I thought I was having a delayed NyQuil hallucination. Or a 10-mile-after-you’ve-had-the-plague hallucination.

I kept running, and when I was almost home, I glanced down and saw this:

 

which seemed super creepy to me. I mean what kind of self-respecting panda wears a red and white polka dot scarf with a striped sweater?

A creepy, evil, hex-putter-on panda. that’s what kind.

At the first pole I found, I laid it on top. There was no way I was going to be like the Brady Bunch and remove some sort of jinxed charm from it’s resting place. Who knows what kind of power a wackadoo cartoon panda has.

When I got home and told Hubz about it, he told me I was hallucinating. That there was no way I saw a Despicable Me blimp and a satanic panda charm.

Maybe he’s right. Or maybe I’m just so used to seeing weird stuff in LA that my brain made them up for fun.

Or maybe I’m still under the influence of NyQuil.

Hubz said it didn’t matter. That either way it was just further evidence I was crazy.

Whatever the reason, I wasn’t taking any chances. I’ll finish the other 10 later. On the treadmill where I’m (hopefully) safe from cartoon blimps and evil pandas.

Happy Running!

 

 

Tagged as: curses, despicable me, evil pandas, hallucinations, NyQuil