Ran the Kelso, Torreys, Grays loop on Monday. Pretty straight forward except for being attacked by a ptarmigan on the summit of Kelso. I was busy trying to eat a bar and all of a sudden this thing came at my ankles with a weird hissing noise. Startled, I took a few steps back and it took me a second or two before I could focus my attention on what was going on. The ptarmigan was buzzing right at me about six inches off the ground, all puffed up with it's wings slightly extended. I couldn't figure out what was going on until I saw and heard the baby chicks chirping. I backed away, but the mom just kept coming at me, so I raised my arms and made a loud guttural sound. She backed off for a second or two, but then came at me again. It was fairly funny, but I was pushed off the summit by a little bird! The rest of the run went well, and I completed the roundtrip in 3:58 total time from Bakerville. Only four more times to reach the full year. (side note: why does Strava and the other sites separate moving time from elapsed time, and then highlight moving time. Elapsed time is all that matters, at least in a race or FKT, and if I was concerned about my workout time, I still would count elapsed, not moving.)
Apparently the birds are on the attack this year ...
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