Encounter with a Buck

I ran a very easy 7 on Monday evening with Dusen and Hanson. The neighborhoods are getting dark earlier and earlier so we are forced to run where there is light.

The next morning I ran an easy 8 with the same duo.

On Wednesday I ran solo. My plan was to get off the asphalt and run some trails. I started out on the Fox and Deer Trail that meanders along Rock Creek. I hadn’t run the trail in forever so I wasn’t surprised to find myself negotiating my way around clumps of branches et cetera as a result of the recent rains. While cutting around one of these clumps, I came face to face with an 8-point buck. The sky had not quite dawned so at first he was hard to see in the early morning grey. We stood there and watched each other just a yard or so apart. I was ready to bolt through the forest in a moments notice, but the deer didn’t budge. I slowly crept backwards until I was out of “range” then continued on my jaunt. I felt sluggish for the rest of my 9 mile run, but finally warmed up by the time I was done.

I took Thursday off, again, and ran an easy 7.5 miles with Luff, Koonce and Dusen on Friday morning. All of them are racing this weekend so the pace was pedestrian.

Tonight, Mr. Dusen heads to the Windy City in an attempt to qualify for the US Olympic Marathon Trials. It’s quite a privilege to be able to live a quarter mile from and train with someone like Karl and I wish him everything. The entire Georgetown Running Company Race Team will be running alongside him in spirit.