Go red fox

I was really doubting myself.

As I stared at my clock-radio in the dark, it said 5:24 a.m. The urge to roll back over and resume sleeping was strong. Very strong.

Most mornings, I overcome that urge because I have a date with my jogging partners. Whether it's fast Tony, fast Jason, getting faster JV or about-my-speed Eric, I often have guys to meet on weekday mornings.

This morning, being a Tuesday, was a JV and Eric day -- one of my favorites. It's also a Team Minnewaska Day, a day I normally run on the beautiful trails up in the Gunks. So, I could have easily slept in and awakened NOW in preparation for the Minnewaska trip.

Instead, I got up at normal time, drove in the dark to Eric's house, where we did our usual, 55-minute loop through town and Vanderbilt. I'm glad I did.

As we were jogging through the Hudson Drive neighborhood, we saw what initially looked like a cat. It was not. It was a coy and sly red fox -- a beautiful creature with a long tail. We have often encountered red foxes in Vanderbilt, where they must have a den or something.

This was the first time we saw a fox in a residential area. The red fox looked at us for a moment, realized we were slower and not nearly as smart, and dashed into the woods.

So Minnewaska is beautiful, among the best places to run anywhere. We'll be on our way there soon enough. This morning, a slow jog with some friends and a chance encounter with a red fox was good enough for me.