Yes it is spring finally. And with spring comes the awakening of all the critters from their winter slumber. I know cougars don't hibernate, but the bears certainly do and now the signs are starting to pop up on my favourite running trails.
Yesterday I went for a leisurely 9 miles on the trails that meander along the perimeter of Hinton. About a mile and a bit into the run I noticed an area ribbonned off and a sign which indicated the presence of a "dangerous bear". Off to the side of the trail was a baited bear trap. Fortunately I wasn't hungry as the trap was loaded with stale donuts from Tim Horton's. It would have been embarrassing making a 911 call from inside a bear trap! But I resisted and continued on. Obviously this bear has been causing some major problems to be labelled a dangerous bear.
After about another 6 miles I came upon another sign behind a lake that advertised a problem cougar in the area. Now if I have my choice I would prefer to come upon a bear. Generally the will take off as soon as they see you. Cougars on the other hand are sneaky buggers and by the time you notice him it will be too late. They are stalkers and opportunists. This trail runs along the backyards of a lot of houses so I suspect that this particular cougar is finding that cats and small dogs are a lot easier to take down then deer and other larger prey. It is also the time of year when the two year old cougars are starting to get chased away by their mothers so they start looking for their own territory. After seeing that sign I did pick up the pace and ran with heightened awareness.
It is eight weeks away from Coeur d'Alene and I feel pretty good. Supposedly the weather is going to change on the weekend and I should be able to start riding outside.
Thus far this week I have run twice for a total of 20 miles, one 10.75 run at 6:54 pace and a 9 miler a more pedestrian 7:30 rate. I also have two swims in, a 2,900 metre swim on Monday and a quick 1,200 metre dip today. Too many boneheads in the pool today to do a longer workout so I will have to try again tomorrow after work. On the bike side I have two rides in a 29 mile ride and a 33 mile ride. So with three days done in the week I am off to a good start.
Hope you are having a great week!
2 comments:
The one advantage of seeing those bear warning signs is that it will make you run faster. I definitely hope that I won't ever run into a bear or a cougar!!
Bears and Cougars. It's not fair your runs are far more exiciting.
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