Craziest thing that's ever happened while training?

That's a tough one its gotta be between

- Some lady hitting a guy (I think her husband) repeatedly in the face. 
- Two owls taking turns dive bombing at me during a run.
- Startling a Coyote and 'racing' him on my bike (It won).

I love training!

I had a barracuda pace me for about 300 meters last week during an OWS. He was about 3 feet long and stayed the same distance from me the whole time, maybe 6 feet away. I don't think he was too impressed with my form though.

I have seen some HUGE tarpon (175-200lbs) also.

Almost getting hit by a drunk in a pickup, or the numerous times I've fallen over on my bike while still clipped in.

Edited by 1stTimeTri 2010-05-24 9:03 PM

WOW.  They should clean you pool more often!

I was on a training ride, riding the course for Ironman 70.3 Texas in Galveston a few months ago. I was in aero just cruising at about 21-22 when a cars pulls right next me, rolls down their window, and asks me for directions to Moody Gardens. Caught me totally off guard.  But I still gave them directions.

I was on a training ride and had to stop at a light, unclipped my right foot and put it down....too bad the road was slanted to the left.  I fell over right in front of a car.  he just laughed.

Today was "animals in the road" day for me.

1) Pack of dogs.  Well used route, dogs were expected and showed up like they always do.

2) I stopped to pick up and move a small snapping turtle out of the road.

3)A rabbit shoots out of the bushes to my right headed full speed towards the path, sees me and does an amazing 180 before it ends up a speed bump.

4)A few seconds later a frog goes hopping across the path ahead of me. I warn a family coming the other way to "watch out for the frog."  I wonder what they thought I said....

-eric 

\

Nailed it! 

A fish tried to eat my nipple ring like a fishing lure.

A fox once ran with me for about a half a mile on a remote dirt road. He came out of the woods and paced me, running about 10 yards ahead of me. At first I thought it was cool, but eventually it kind of spooked me, so I stopped. He stopped. I looked at him. He looked at me like he was waiting for me to start up again. He seemed friendly enough but it seemed like abnormal behavior for a wild animal, so I decided to run back the way I had come. He didn't follow me, just sat in the road looking sadly back at me, then went into the woods.

One time, on a trail in the park, I was adjusting the gearing on my road bike... cruising along at a peppy 7mph... hit a pot hole. The next day, I was in surgery getting a metal plate put around my collarbone. That was pretty crazy.

Squirrel got caught in my spokes, got flinged onto my foot, he ran up my leg, looked at me, jumped off, and I did not crash.

Now that is impressive.

I was out on a mtn bike ride and there were two high school kids doing the nasty on a big rock only about 5 feet off the trail.  I could see the startled look on the girls face as I was going by and the boy just pulled the sleeping bag over their heads and kept on going.

Cruising on a local paved trail when I went around a corner to find a few runners stopped and a big black bear walking across the path about 20 feet from us. I was thankful I was the only one on a bike!

This morning during my run I saw someone running wearing a baggy rubber suit and carrying a giant bottle of water.  I wonder what they were trying to accomplish.

Those suits seem borderline suicidal to me, especially the people who are 30 pounds overweight and running in the middle of the day with them on.

On three seperate occasions I've had a huge black snake dart across the side walk inches in front of me. Bastard scared the crap out of me and gave passing traffic a laugh each time.

Lately I keep seeing huge turtles. I don't know if someone is trying to tell me something or what.

A Bald Eagle with about a 6' wingspan dove right in front of me, probably 2' max in front of me, while I was doing about 30. The eagle apparently wanted the little furry thing that was in the street beside me. That was weird and I think it scared the eagle as much as it did me.

On our run Sun morning, we stopped at the gas station to get water at the halfway point (the attendant puts it out every morning for us). The bad thing is that there is a bird house on one of the posts just to the side of the water. I have never noticed it until Sunday.

Just after filling the cup, the bird comes flying out of the house right at my head, squaking. I believe I said every foul word possible, and then threw my cup of water at it. All this before realizing it was a bird.

I believe my HR shot to 300!

I clearly need to get out more.
I did see someone pass out due to heat exhaustion while they were riding. I was running by and saw the muscles go slack. That was wild. 
Got hit by a car when I was a teenager (I was riding 40+ miles a day). Bounced off, got up, rode my bike home. the steel frame had a little dent. LBS said it wasn't an issue and I rode that bike for another year or so.
One day at the end of a run, my wife and I saw a crushed snake on the road. She wanted to touch it. I made sure she used a stick. Sure enough, it tried to snap at her with whatever life it had left. Scared the Cr*p out of her. I had to laugh....
 

I hit a baby deer once when I was a teenager.  I think it was rabid...

riding in a neighborhood one time a squirrel came running out into the street, ran between my tires and contiuned on his/her way.
 I was running down my street and a truck passes with dogs in the back, one jumped out, hit the road, bounced and did a 720 into the ditch, got up and started running after the truck again..
I saw a stray dog on a ride one time, he looked really hungry so i gave him my clif bar, hopefuly that got him by for an extra day.

I got "Beared" on my run at the track last night.  Big Black bear was running along side of me,  on the opposite side of the fence thank god, and he was humming, making a beeline for the woods. Easily at a 6:00 pace! 

In a span of 48hrs, I've been chicked, geezered, and beared.  I love Tri's

a few weeks ago, while on a run, i encountered a 3 legged dog...who didn't like me running so close to his master's driveway....

also, there's a woods trail around where i live that has a gravel 1/2 mile circle w/ military stations...2 high school kids were making out on a blanket in the infield as i ran...don't even know if they i knew i was there...not sure they cared.