I haven't run since last Friday.
Not because I'm injured (the small blisters from Friday are completely
healed), and not because I don't want to run -- I'm just putting more
emphasis on my bike riding now, and I didn't run on Monday because a
work friend inviting me to go on a mountain bike ride.
So today the weather gods decided
to smile on the Pacific Northwest (which is nice, because my daughter is
at 5th grade school camp right now), and I felt good starting out the
run.
Most of my lunchtime run routes
take me quickly into forested service roads and wide trails, all within a
large parcel of fenced-in company property. Several hundred acres
worth. Sightings of deer, coyote and rabbits, are common, with an
occasional raccoon to round it out. And I see ravens here as well -- one
of only two areas in Western Washington that I've spotted them. Anyway...
Today was no different. About 1.5
miles into my run, there were two deer on the gravel road in front of me
-- one facing away from me, one facing towards me. The one facing me
looked up, saw me, and froze. The one facing away looked up (at the
other deer), and just stood there. I kept my pace even, and got closer.
They didn't move. Closer...
Finally, when I was about 20 feet
away, I gave a low whistle, which startled the nearest deer (the one
facing away from me), and it finally looked my direction, then sprinted
off the road with the other close behind.
I didn't think I was being all
that quiet. I was wearing my New Balance Minimus Roads, running at a
relaxed 8:15 pace... Certainly other shoes I have are quieter,
especially one of the test models I recently got from Skechers (one of
the quietest shoes I've ever run in). I was quite surprised that I got
that close to the deer, who are usually much more skittish.
I kind of laughed about it, and just kept on going.
Deer are the scourge of
motorcyclists, many people being injured every year due to (or is that
doe to?) Bambi making their way onto the road with that little vehicle
approaching. And I remember a bike team ride where a team mate was taken down by a deer crossing the road in front of a fast-moving group. We joked about adding deer whistles to his bike...
About a mile and a half later, I'm chugging my way up a rocky hill, minding my footing and just being in the zone.
Whoa!
About 15 feet in front of me, a
deer charges out onto the road from my right, then jumps past and
continues on by, up the opposite bank. To say I got a good adrenaline
rush out of that would be putting it mildly. There have been cougar
sightings out here...
It definitely got me out of my zone. But I laughed about it, and got back to the business of running.
But it made me think -- do these
deer have some kind of collective mind, where one could seek revenge on
me for startling one of their brethren? Or was I just the victim of
instant karma?
Definitely a good run today. And I'll whistle sooner next time.
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