Reminder

    This morning was a great reminder of why I trail run.  I met my friend Leah for a quick loop on Animas Mountain, one of my favorite trails near town.  As usual we talked much of the time about races, training methods, injuries, and all the normal ultra-geek stuff we usually talk about.
     As we were descending to the west I see a cute, furry brown thing ambling up the trail towards us.  We stopped, got quiet, I pulled out my camera, and we walked slowly towards it.  It caught wind of us pretty quick, so I didn't get the great photo, framed with the LaPlata Mountains in the background, that I had hoped for. We did, however, get to enjoy watching the little furball moving away from us. Good bear, humans are scary.  I know that here in Durango one is more  likely to see a bear rummaging through your trash can than anywhere else, but I still enjoy seeing them any time I get the chance.  There is something about animals that are as big or bigger than humans, with the capability to inflict harm, that puts the awe and respect of nature in me.  I knew the bear was just going to walk away. After all, it has better things to do, like eat and eat and eat some more before hibernating.  I just like knowing it could mess me up if I got out of line. As it was, we went our separate ways, trying to get what we needed from the landscape.  I hope the bear got what it needed. I did.
    After that I came home and took the dogs out for another run near the house.  We've been up that trail countless times, but the dogs never seem to tire of it. Neither do I.  It just feels like surveying our territory.  The dogs check out the smells, and I look at the footprints.  We check out the squirrels and birds rustling the leaves.  There is something comforting to me about watching the same piece of land go through subtle changes day after day, year after year. 
    I dropped the dogs off at the house, and went to the end of our road and back for another forty-five minutes of running. I was mainly trying to get some turnover going on tired legs, which is good training for my race in two weeks, but I was also trying to make the most of a beautiful day before I had to go to the dentist and get a tooth pulled.  I knew I'd spend the evening sitting around reading and surfing the net while I cursed my sore jaw.  Which is exactly what I'm doing right now as write this.  I'm hungry as hell, and I can't eat much of anything until tomorrow.  But if I start to feel too sorry for myself, I just think of that bear, and how hungry it must be trying to find anything good to eat after such a long, dry summer.  Imagine trying to go to bed hungry... for a few months.  Hopefully next season will be full of ripe berries.
Sleep well, little one.