My Knight in Shining Versa

Polo and I went out for a run on Saturday afternoon. I knew there was a chance of thunderstorms, so I planned to go out for four miles, beat the storm, and finish with three more miles on the treadmill, which is about as much as I can handle indoors. With a gray, cloudy sky above, Polo and I ran down to the Scioto river in the slightly chilly air. I love running along the river and looking out at the gently flowing muddy water and the towering trees lining the banks. At the end of the west side trail, we crossed over the bridge and ran up the east side of the river. As we reached our turn-around point, I spotted numerous small, round white specks hitting the ground and realized it had started to hail. Fortunately, the hail was not coming down fast or hard, so we picked up our speed and headed back to the bridge. In my mind, I kept thinking about various scenarios and what I would do if the storm got bad.


Should I wait it out under the bridge? Should I flag down a stranger and ask for a ride? It would have to be a pick-up truck because no one wants a wet dog in their car. That's probably not safe. Should I run back through the neighborhood instead of by the river so that I can knock on someone's door and ask to borrow their phone and have Michael pick us up? Should I just say 'what the heck' and get soaked?


I did start running through the neighborhood after crossing back over the bridge, though I couldn't really imagine knocking on anyone's door for help. I'm not afraid of getting wet or anything, but last time I got soaked through in a sudden downpour, my Nike+ chip short-circuited, and I had to buy a new one. I also know that though Polo loves the water, he's not a huge fan of being rained on. With about a mile to go, the light hail had turned to a drizzle. We turned left onto the main street that leads into our neighborhood, and I spotted a black Nissan Versa driving toward us. Could it be Michael? He's slowing down. It is! He rolled down his window, and I said, "Hey, can we get a ride?" He was on his way to rent a video for us to watch that night. I put Polo in the back, hopped in the front, and we drove away. Less than a minute later, the sky unleashed a torrent that surely would have drenched us in seconds, but I had been saved by my husband, my knight.