... but I took it like a champ. I ran a northeast 8.5 followed by an Earnhardt and a campus loop. I was approaching the 2 mile mark near the Grinnell heritage farm and as soon as I approached that little pond a small bird popped out. He was pretty vicious and I tapped out after a couple dive bombs. I'm now 0 for 3 in my summer fights with birds. I hear you're pretty good with bird fighting @AidanHealy, you tips or exercises I can do to up my game?
Aidan Roo (7/15/2019 11:27:22 AM)
I'm assuming these are blackbirds you're talking about; they're the ones that'll most often dive at you as you run by. Male birds (with the red wings) defend their territory against each other, as well as from anything else that looks like a threat - including runners. But their dangerous appearance is a mere facade to us humans. Let's consider the average Iowa blackbird to be pretty well fed, which for a male blackbird puts it at about 65 grams. That's tiny. In fact, it would take around 1,100 blackbirds to have the same total mass as one approximately Aidan Roo-sized person. One bird protecting its individual territory can't do that much damage, and if you were to come across 1,100 birds together they'd be flocking and not acting territorially, so they wouldn't be a danger either.
O'Reilly Auto Parts (7/15/2019 12:41:36 PM)
Could I recommend bringing a tennis racket on your next run?
Ooblack (7/16/2019 3:23:26 PM)
jesus christ o'reilly