Today’s run ramped up to 90 second running segments and conditions were pretty lousy for late April. It was raining, which in itself is not too unusual, but it was also unseasonably cool — only 6ºC. We donned our jogging jackets and set off for the muddy mire of China Creek Park.
I actually found myself not exactly struggling but definitely feeling the short distances more than I should have. I chalk it up to my energy level still being lower than normal after recovering from the flu bug yesterday. Jeff managed to keep up a decent pace and for some parts was able to keep ahead of me. My competitive side rose up just enough for me to not let him get ahead for long. He still beats me on the walking segments, though. He cheats by having longer legs.
And at long last I finally took a picture of the COYOTE ALERT sign (click image to enlarge). I cheated because the photo was taken with my phone when I was not actually running. Since mentioning the sign about two years ago the Parks Board has since added a no-smoking sign below it. On our run we did encounter one smoker — an older man with a large belly who stood out of the rain under the shelter of a pine tree just on the park’s edge. He knows how many cigarettes that $250 fine would buy (six or seven, I think)!
As you can see, years of weather or possibly coyote sabotage have left the alert sign largely unreadable. Since the photo has been sized down a bit, I can confirm that the instructions regarding coyote interaction include:
- Shout in a deep and loud voice
- Throw objects at the coyote
- Do not maintain eye contact
- Something else unintelligible but hopefully not critical to know, like ‘spraying a coyote with water will enlarge it to 5x normal size’
There’s also a short bit on how they moved into Vancouver in the late 1980s, no doubt as part of the big post-Expo boom. They’re probably living in condos on False Creek now.
I did actually see a coyote once, in an alley somewhere around West 10th Avenue, not too far from City Hall, now that I think about it. Maybe they came to lobby as official mascots for the city, trying to displace whatever it is we have now (an orca? black squirrel? Inukshuk?)
Anyhoo, back to running. Week 2 wraps up on Friday. Here’s hoping for the return of spring!
