Tag Archives: ill-educated dog owners

Walk this way (around Burnaby Lake)

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I did one more Big Walk® around Burnaby Lake before my first tentative steps back into running next weekend.

The weather was sunny after several days of monsoon-like weather thanks to the Pineapple Express. I took advantage and found it to be mild, with little wind and most of the big puddles already having dried up along the trail. Even the cyclists and dogs off-leash didn’t bug me. It was a nice hint that spring is on the way after The Rains.

My favorite “rules are not for me!” moment came when crossing north on Roberts Street, near the rowing pavilion. As you approach the resumption of the trail on the other side of the road there is an especially giant sign that states DOGS MUST BE LEASHED AT ALL TIMES. I watched a woman stop and remove the leash from her dog in front of this sign. I don’t know if she was going for bonus irony points or what. At least the dog was well-behaved.

I used the iPod pedometer to track my pace and came in with the following stats:

2:23:53 duration
17.6 km distance
898 calories burned
18,746 steps taken

I was walking fast enough that any faster would have been a light jog. Things seem to have held together nicely both during and after the walk. Next weekend I’m heading to the resplendent gold and blue Mercer Stadium Track to do a simple calibration run fort the new iPod. It will probably be 2-4 laps or 800-1600 meters, enough to get the calibration and see if my Achilles tendon will weep in protest or behave itself. From there I will be doing a few short runs per week, starting with some 2Ks, moving up to 5Ks and finally back to my usual 10-11.5K runs. I don’t have a set schedule in mind, I’ll just ramp things up based on my stamina and pain/discomfort after each run. If all goes well I’m going to aim to beat last year’s mark by running 1,000K. Since I’ve already missed two months, I’l need to hit at least 100K each month going forward. If I stay healthy I can do it. If not, I can always lie lie lie.

The salmonpalooza run

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Average pace: 4:31/km <– new personal record
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 11.41 km
Weather: Variable cloud
Temp: 12ºC
Wind: moderate to strong
Calories burned: 774
Total distance to date: 1985 km

For some reason I was very unmotivated for today’s run. There was a 50% chance of precipitation and the sky did not look threatening but I held off, skipping the morning. I had lunch then finally changed and headed out around 1:15 p.m. It was only 12ºC so I wore my long-sleeved t-shirt, which has been extremely stinky since last Friday’s soggy run–even after being washed. It’s slightly less stinky now, having been aired out for the run.

En route the Brunette River had gone back down after the heavy rain of the weekend and was once more quite shallow in parts. This made for good salmon-spotting and as the title of the post indicates, they were coming upstream in serious numbers. I counted at least a dozen at one point, which more further up. I feel kind of bad for them. They stop eating, struggle upstream, spawn then die. That’s got to be the suckiest reproductive cycle out there.

The first half of the run went fairly well. I could tell I was slightly off my best pace so I stepped up a bit for the second half and was duly rewarded by setting a new personal record of 4:31/km, beating my previous best by two seconds. Woo!

I got a closer look at the new signs put up on Monday:

Canine Code of Conduct

Canine Code of Conduct

It’s interesting that Metro Vancouver specifies fear as one of the reasons to keep dogs leashed. Implicit in this is ‘if your dog is not leashed, you can’t control it and it will go over and terrorize that little kid, whether by design or accident’. Of course, about 100 m after jogging by one of these signs I pass a man with a large German Shepherd mix off-leash. The sign obviously doesn’t apply to his well-behaved canine! Sadly, the fine for an off-leash dog is only $50 so it acts as little incentive to get people to comply. If I was King of All Metro Vancouver Parks, I’d make the fine at least $250 and do a two week enforcement blitz multiple (and variable) times a year. I am 100% confident the fines issued would more than pay for the expenditure of the enforcement.

Back to the run to wrap up. My left foot (the cranky one) felt a bit crankier than normal to start but fortunately it settled down quickly and didn’t have a big effect. What I did notice was that despite my record pace, I only broke my 10K mark, coming in at 45:20. The reason for this is that my first half was good but not great while the second half I was unusually strong for the last two km. Definitely different but ending strong is no bad thing.

Date Average Pace
October 17 4:31 (11K)
October 15 4:36 (11K)
October 12 4:38 (11K)
October 10 4:37 (11K)
October 8 4:53 (11K)
October 2 4:33 (9K)

The windy and warm run with bonus dog incident

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Average pace: 4:50/km

Location: Burnaby Lake, CW
Distance: 11.84 km
Weather: Sunny, warm
Temp: 22-24ºC
Wind: light to strong
Calories burned: 840
Total distance to date: 1648 km

Ran: Piper Mill Trail, Conifer and Spruce Loops.

It started out warm and clear for today’s run but an unusually strong breeze kept things more than manageable for the duration. I opted to go clockwise and started right from the faucet near the dam to squeeze as much distance out as I could. My goal was to improve on Monday’s decidedly average pace and I accomplished that with room to spare, coming in a full seven seconds faster with an average pace of 4:50/km.

I was helped by having the issues on Monday not crop up again: no stomach weirdness, no right elbow hurting to distract me and an overall improved energy level that was more than sufficient to overcome the heat.

The branches were still on the trail for the third consecutive run but park workers were out trimming and clipping so I expect they’ll be cleaned up for Friday. I did take a closer look as I ran by and it does appear the branches either came down on their own or someone tried to murder the tree, as the limbs were twisted and broken off, not cut.

The one slightly weird notable part of the run was having three different bugs slam into my head. It’s odd to have it happen at all but three times and it was starting to get a little annoying. Don’t flies have compound eyes? How can they not see me? Stupid bugs.

The most interesting part of the run came after it ended. I was walking back along the Brunette River trail, listening to music on the iPod as I typically do after a run. Activity on the Highway 1 overpass has picked up this week so I had to carefully thread my way around construction vehicles and crew that were working on the overpass expansion. I moved onto one of the long straight stretches of the trail and walked by a woman with a dog. As usual the dog was not on a leash. This no longer gets much of a reaction from me, as nearly every dog owner ignores the leash laws.

But then I caught a glimpse of activity to my right and suddenly the dog appeared in front of me, barking, baring its teeth and acting like it was going to attack. It happened so swiftly I barely had time to form a reaction before the dog suddenly turned back, probably because the owner had called it off. With the music still playing and the woman far enough back I wasn’t able to hear her voice, if she had in fact said anything.

I turned around to see her standing there, the dog standing at her side and sniffing about indifferently. The woman said nothing, did nothing. Her face was expressionless. My face, however, was not. I had just finished a nearly 12K run and it didn’t take much to fire the adrenaline back up. I said to her in a firm, loud voice, “Put your dog on a leash.” Preferably the leash she was holding in one of her freaking hands. The woman offered no reaction. “Put your dog on a leash like it’s supposed to be,” I said in that same angry-but-in-control voice. Again, no reaction. I started back at her. By this point the dog was laying down in front of its owner, fully mellowed out after the unprovoked outburst.

I gave up and started walking. After a few paces I turned and repeated my directive yet again. Still no reaction from the woman, who could have been a literal statue at this point for all her non-movement.

I resumed walking and for good measure shouted out the need to leash the dog again, at full volume. As I moved out of hearing range I switched briefly to a litany of well-chosen curses and other invective, which made me feel a little better. I stopped once more and turned back. The woman, now a tiny figure in the distance, had still not budged.

I am not an intimidating figure. In my jogging shorts and shirt I am thin and sweaty, so it was hard to believe the woman was actually afraid of me. She was the one with the would-be killer dog, after all. More likely she didn’t like being yelled at (almost as much as she didn’t like putting her dog on a leash) and was giving me sufficient space so she could resume her walk without being told what to do by some uppity jogger.

I walked until I got to where the trail curved around a corner and took one final look. The woman was moving in some way, but only in place. Maybe adjusting a shoe or something. Or whispering new commands to her devil-dog. I shrugged and continued the walk home without further incident.

I remain baffled as to why the woman adamantly refused to leash her dog after it very nearly attacked me. She had directly witnessed the dog’s unpredictable and potentially dangerous behavior but was unmoved by it. Weird and annoying.

Still, good run!

Chart

Date Average Pace
August 1 4:50
July 30 4:57

The after five run

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Distance: 11.15 km
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 17ºC
Wind: light
Calories burned: 779
Average pace: 5:10/km
Total distance to date: 922 km

After 5 p.m. and after five days off, to be exact.

I hadn’t planned on five days off but my shins were feeling tender (though it’s never hurt for walking or post-run) so when my schedule didn’t line up for a run at the usual time I decided to give myself a little extra recovery time.

I returned to Burnaby Lake under a dreary gray sky (standard fare this summer). There was some slight humidity but nothing like the last run. My legs felt a big creaky, I had some light, persistent cramping but stamina was not an issue and overall I did about as expected given the time off, finishing with a 5:10/km pace — my second best time overall.

Prior to the run I had received two new mosquito bites on my left calf. I think these were from Amazonian mosquitoes or something because these suckers (ho ho) itched like nobody’s business.  Jeff slathered the bites with calamine and then dusted both legs with some Off to insure further bites would not occur. The good news is the number of bites did indeed remain constant. The bad news is each step taken with my left foot jarred the calf and the bites and was a source of irritation. Now imagine how many times you step over the course of 11.15 km. Yeah.

The trail was sparsely populated, no surprise given the weather. I had one encounter with an IEDO (ill-educated dog owner). Ahead of me was a couple with their dog — unleashed (bad!) on their left. Normally I pass on the non-dog side but this time there was more room on the left and the dog seemed to be moving on a steady, predictable course. As I got close the woman turned to the dog and, seeing me, suddenly called its name. The dog immediately froze in place, which happened to be directly in front of me. I nearly ran into it but managed to nimbly skirt to the left just in time. Had the woman said nothing I would have passed without incident. Had the dog been properly leashed nothing would have happened. People!

Chart (blue indicates the run was done clockwise; purple = Burnaby Lake):

km Jul 27 Jul 20 Jul 17 Jul 14 Jul 11 Jul 9 Jul 6 Jul 4 Jul 1
1 km 4:56 4:53 4:56 4:45 4:54 4:58 5:08 4:58 5:04
2 km 4:54 4:56 4:54 4:47 4:56 4:58 5:11 5:02 5:06
3 km 4:55 4:58 4:56 4:51 4:58 5:03 5:14 5:08 5:07
4 km 4:56 5:00 4:58 4:54 5:01 5:07 5:17 5:12 5:09
5 km 5:00 5:01 5:00 4:54 5:03 5:10 5:20 5:14 5:11
6 km 5:02 5:02 5:02 4:59 5:03 5:12 5:22 5:15 5:12
7 km 5:04 5:03 5:04 5:00 5:04 5:15 5:25 5:17 5:14
8 km 5:06 5:05 5:06 5:02 5:06 5:17 5:27 5:19 5:16
9 km 5:07 5:06 5:08 5:04 5:08 5:19 5:30 5:21 5:17
10 km 5:09 5:06 5:09 5:06 5:10 5:20 5:31 5:21 5:17
11 km 5:10 – 5:10 5:01 4:59 – – – 5:19

 

 

The 180 degree run

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Distance: 10.02 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 18-22ºC
Wind: light breeze
Calories burned: 700
Average pace: 5:21/km
Total distance to date: 847 km

Tonight’s run was frustrating for several reasons.

On the plus side, there were two ball games in progress and I did not get bonked by a baseball at any point. Yay! I also finished with a pace of 5:21/km, a time that a few weeks ago I would have considered awesome and now think of as merely good (it’s still my fourth fastest for a 10K and only four seconds off my previous — and fastest — run).

On the not-as-positive side I developed some cramping early on that really threw off my pace. It lasted for a few km and if you look at the chart below it’s remarkably clear where they hit. For the first 2 km my pace was actually better than my previous run but then I drop by a huge six seconds going into the third km. I drop another four seconds after that and it’s only after the cramps ease off midway through that I find my natural rhythm and finish stronger than I would have otherwise. I knew I’d regret eating those chicken samosas.

This was one of my clockwise runs but I didn’t actually run clockwise the entire way due to the heavy traffic on the trail tonight. There were people walking, people walking with dogs (on and off leash), people jogging, people jogging with dogs (on and off leash), a mother and her wee son, the latter of which was wobbly riding a similarly wee bike, plus a few bonus dogs just generally running about all dog-like.

None of this would normally be a problem, but in running clockwise I was heading toward the majority of them and nearly every one seemed baffled as to how to share the path with someone moving in the opposite direction. They would drift across the path, making it hard to pass. They would move directly into my way, they would stop for no apparent reason, they would toss balls across the path so their dogs could become tripping hazards. Shortly after the 5K mark and with the cramps cleared up, I pivoted around and changed direction, doing the second half counter-clockwise. It was a lot more relaxing. By coincidence, or perhaps feeling that they had won, most of the people disappeared at the same time.

My knee was a bit cranky but is fine now and my legs likewise felt a bit tired but seem to be recovering normally afterward.

Chart (blue indicates the run was done clockwise):

km Jul 4 Jul 1 Jun 28 Jun 26 Jun 23 Jun 21 Jun 18 Jun 16 Jun 13
1 km 4:58 5:04 4:58 4:59 4:59 5:00 4:53 5:05 5:02
2 km 5:02 5:06 5:03 5:05 5:05 5:04 5:01 5:09 5:07
3 km 5:08 5:07 5:05 5:10 5:09 5:07 5:04 5:13 5:10
4 km 5:12 5:09 5:08 5:13 5:12 5:11 5:09 5:16 5:14
5 km 5:14 5:11 5:11 5:15 5:15 5:14 5:13 5:19 5:18
6 km 5:15 5:12 5:13 5:19 – 5:15 5:15 – 5:20
7 km 5:17 5:14 5:15 5:21 – 5:17 5:18 – 5:21
8 km 5:19 5:16 5:16 5:23 – 5:19 5:21 – 5:22
9 km 5:21 5:17 5:18 5:25 – 5:20 5:23 – 5:24
10 km 5:21 5:17 5:19 5:27 – 5:21 5:24 – 5:25
11 km – – 5:19

The triumphant return of port-o-potty! Plus more annoying dog owners!

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Distance: 10.03 km
Weather: Mainly cloudy
Temp: 17-19ºC
Wind: strong gusts at times
Calories burned: 680
Average pace: 5:25/km
Total distance to date: 776 km

Two of my least favorite running conditions converged today as I prepared for my first 10K of the year: wind and dogs.

The wind was quite strong for the start of the run but settled down before the midway point and I managed to avoid an SLC (sudden loss of cap). I did, however, encounter a ULI (untied lace incident). This one was notable in that instead of feeling loose over a period of laps and then coming unwound, it pretty much spontaneously untied itself. I regained my rhythm quickly after pausing to re-tie.

My pace up to the 8K mark was actually ahead of my previous run but moving out beyond that I began to tucker a bit and ultimately finished with a still-respectable pace of 5:25/km. Body-wise my left knee was hurting not in an injured way but more in ‘that darned possibly arthritic knee’ way. I may investigate ways to minimize the discomfort during runs, though so far it hasn’t proven to be a problem with the actual end result.

The combination of warm temperature and wind left me fairly patched by the end and fortunately the fountain was both working and not filled with bees. I hate bee-filled fountains (see previous entries from last summer). The port-o-potty also returned after being hauled away last fall. It’s now positioned next to the trail alongside 7th Avenue and is also across from a construction site which also has port-o-potties. I’m assuming it’s intended for park users despite no signs because the door is facing toward the field. And it’s hard to imagine a port-o-potty going rogue, even if only across a street. I shall make use of it should I forget to go before a run and my world’s tiniest bladder calls out for relief.

There were two exercise groups out today and at several points I had as many as three people jogging ahead of me. One of them was a younger kid when I was about 3 km in. I slowly gained on him in that classic tortoise and the hare thing and for about half a lap had left him behind. Suddenly he darts past me on the left and when he’s gotten far enough ahead to be fully in my point of view, the little bastard raises his arms in triumph, Rocky-style. I knew better than to try to catch him, though. He was sprinting and before reaching the next curve had stopped altogether.

And it seems a jog doesn’t go by now without an annoying dog owner being present. I’m not referring here to the guy who walked into the park and lit a cigarette (no smoking) and immediately let his dog off leash (not an off-leash park) as he stayed in the field and out of my way. Instead a pair of down owners took up spots on the path near the fountain and chatted water cooler-style. The woman was on one side of the path, her dog on the other, the leash strung between them like a tripwire. She made some desultory effort to reel the dog in, something that clearly wasn’t going to happen in time given my velocity and for the second time in the same run I came to a complete stop to avoid landing on my face. I ignored the owners and grumbled under my breath as I proceeded on. They eventually moved farther along the path but I lapped them two more times before they actually moved off the path to continue their conversation about whatever it is annoying dog owners talk about (“You know, Fred, why do these annoying joggers have to jog here when there’s plenty of street right over there?”). I offer a small but what I like to think is a handy tip for dog owners bringing their dogs to a park with a designated jogging path: If you are walking on the path, do not block it in its entirety. And if you’re going to stop walking, move off the path into the other 95% of the park that is available to you instead of GETTING IN MY DAMN WAY. Okay, technically that’s two tips.

Chart (blue indicates the run was done clockwise):

km Jun 13 Jun 11 Jun 8 Jun 6 Jun 2 May 31
1 km 5:02 4:59 5:04 5:05 5:00 5:05
2 km 5:07 5:05 5:10 5:13 5:10 5:13
3 km 5:10 5:10 5:14 5:20 5:16 5:18
4 km 5:14 5:14 5:16 5:25 5:20 5:22
5 km 5:18 5:18 5:18 – 5:23 5:25
6 km 5:20 5:21 5:20 – 5:26 5:29
7 km 5:21 5:23 5:21 – 5:28 5:31
8 km 5:22
9 km 5:24
10 km 5:25

The ‘Should I be annoyed at this?’ run

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Distance: 7.45 km
Weather: Mix of sun and cloud
Temp: 18ºC
Wind: breezy at times
Calories burned: 506
Average pace: 5:23/km

I had a better-than-expected start to the run, coming in at under 5 minutes for the first km in a long time (4:59/km, to be exact). This is never an official goal for me but it is a nice psychological boost when it happens, so yay! I also had a strong finish with the final 450m clocking at a relatively brisk 5:10/km. My pace in the middle did slow a little vs. the previous run and I chalk that mostly to the sun coming out. I swear that thing is like a vampire to my energy level. I don’t swear enough to wish it gone, however. Please don’t go, sun! You have been precious and rare this spring!

I think it’s also safe to say now that running clockwise (reverse) is not affecting me in any material way, except to hopefully reduce the chance of injury.

The ‘should I be annoyed by this?’ part: A couple were at the park with two dogs, one was a large adult that looked like some kind of Doberman mix, the other a tiny and adorable Malamute puppy. Neither were on leash (can you see where this is heading?) A young woman was jogging counter-clockwise on the trail and we had passed several times. As I jogged up the southern stretch of the trail from the east, she came along from the west, the couple and their dogs between us, in the field just on the edge of the trail. Suddenly the puppy runs after the jogger and manages to get right into her feet, causing her to fall down — not hard and not totally, as she managed to stay partly upright. She took a few moments to play with the puppy (it was adorable, after all), then went on her way, all smiles — as was the owner.

On the next lap the incident repeated itself, though the jogger was more aware this time and stopped before the dog could get underfoot. After this the jogger disappeared and the puppy was briefly put on a leash.

I found the behavior of the couple annoying. After their dog had knocked the person down the first time they should have a) moved away from the trail or b) put the dog on the leash immediately. The park isn’t off-leash, anyway. In either case, it strikes me as odd that a puppy knocking down a jogger is somehow amusing. I guess it’s like what Mel Brooks once said: Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.

Or something like that. I gave the puppy a seriously wide berth.

I am tentatively planning my first full 10K of the year on Monday. Here’s hoping it goes well.

Chart (blue indicates the run was done clockwise):

km Jun 11 Jun 8 Jun 6 Jun 2 May 31
1 km 4:59 5:04 5:05 5:00 5:05
2 km 5:05 5:10 5:13 5:10 5:13
3 km 5:10 5:14 5:20 5:16 5:18
4 km 5:14 5:16 5:25 5:20 5:22
5 km 5:18 5:18 – 5:23 5:25
6 km 5:21 5:20 – 5:26 5:29
7 km 5:23 5:21 – 5:28 5:31

Dogged run

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Tonight’s run was done under pleasant conditions: 21ºC, sunny and a light breeze.

Little did I know the four-legged doom to come!

The first thing I notice when I get to the park is a lot more dogs than usual, most of them gathered in the southeast corner of the field. It looks like some kind of training event. I am a bit wary at the sheer number of our canine friends. I don’t worry about being attacked by dogs or anything like that, but in the park they tend to run and play and not pay attention to where they are going, much like little kids.

I set off. My starting km is average but I seem to be clicking along fine. Around the 4K mark I hear something above the ELO playing on my iPod and a guy goes jogging past me on my right. The nerve! He also has silver hair. I don’t care if he’s only 22, it rankles me. I make a mild effort to catch up but he keeps inching ahead. I opt to bide my time and merely keep pace until I can pull the ol’ tortoise and the hare routine.

At just under 5K I am coming out of the southwest corner of the path. I spot a pair of small dogs playing just off the path to my left. That’s fine. They’re not in my way. I jog by them and think nothing more of it. A few moments later I glance down and spot fur at my feet. This isn’t good. There is no time to register anything else over the next couple of seconds, the events just happen and my body reacts automatically. My feet catch on the dogs and I tumble forward, my hands going out to catch my fall. I hit the ground with both palms and my left knee. I get partway up and look back to the dogs, which are already off playing elsewhere, oblivious to the events. “Stupid dogs,” I mutter, but what I’m really thinking is “stupid dog owner” and then my eyes meet with one of them. He stands there and looks at me blankly. I am still hearing ELO but his lips aren’t moving.

I decide the run is more important and get back up, resuming my pace without even stopping to brush the dirt away.

A short time later I see a little kid on a bike ahead of me, standing squarely in the middle of the path. He looks to be making a wobbly attempt to move forward. I can see where this is heading, especially as the front wheel of the bike starts turning in my direction. I shout, “Look out, kid!” as I give him a wide berth. My run is being partly fueled by anger at this point.

Later still a woman is crossing from the field, across the path, to the street. We are on a direct collision course. She remains utterly oblivious to my approach. If I had been inclined to, I could have easily blindsided her and knocked her down flat. Instead, I loop around her and mutter something about paying attention. Original I am not.

I finish with a time of 54:29 and an average pace of 5:26 — my best 10K since April! The extra zest of being miffed has clearly given me an extra boost. Despite this, I am hoping I do not trip over any more dogs in the future. I’d rather get my extra boosts through things like inspiration or divine providence or something.

Chart (red denotes running in especially warm conditions, green denotes cramps during run):

km Aug 11 Aug 7 Aug 4
1 km 5:07 5:04 5:02
2 km 5:09 5:08 5:08
3 km 5:13 5:12 5:15
4 km 5:16 5:16 5:19
5 km 5:18 5:19 5:23
6 km 5:20 5:21 5:26
7 km 5:22 5:23 5:29
8 km 5:24 5:26 5:32
9 km 5:26 5:27 5:35
10 km 5:26 5:27 5:37

Bonus shot of my grubby hands after the run: