Deer

Another late day at work. I didn't get home until 6:00, and then I had a number of errands to run afterward. Too late for a row, so go for a run instead.

I left the house and started running up towards the elementary school. I jogged behind the school, to the little league baseball diamond and a trail to the side roads.

I crested the hill and stopped. Standing on the pitcher's mound was a doe. A gorgeous animal, munching on the grass in between the mound and first. It saw me as I started approaching, slowly. Equally slowly, it ambled away towards the first plate dugout, where two more does I hadn't noticed waited.

Two of the three deers seemed skittish and wouldn't let me approach more than thirty feet. But the third alternated between staring at me and grazing as I stepped closer and closer. Finally, when I got within ten feet of her, she started moving away like the others.

We played this cat and mouse game for about half an hour, her trotting away and me following slowly after her. All the while, night started to fall, the sky darkened, and a thundershower rolled overhead. I only wanted to touch her, to befriend her, but at the same time, I felt primal, stalking, trying to outwit her.

She tired of the game before I did, finally running off towards the woods. I headed back to the trail and finished my run.

So often, we focus on splits and times and other factors of performance when we train. After rowing for so long, you fail to appreciate the beauty of the river: the hawk flying overhead, or the sight of a fish leaping out of the water near your boat. But sport is supposed to be fun. It is necessary to train with focus and seriousness, but every once in a while, it's nice to have a reminder of what sports, what life is about.