Cougar Too Close To Home!

What was I doingat 6 am on Thursday last week?  I was running.  Just finishing a run, actually, rounding the last bit of my short run.  What was a cougar doing right near where I was running?  KILLING a deer!  I am talking probably 100 feet from me.  The weird thing is that I had talked about the cougar later at about 630 am about were it might be, what they eat etc.  YIKES!  Little did I know how close that cat was to me. My moms firend spotted it right below her house.  I still think it probably wouldn't attack me as a running, but would that be just the way it goes to have me be the first one?  I am glad the days are getting longer so Ican keep running in the mornings.

Olympic Fever!

The Olympiansof the 2010 games have hooked me on an emotional rollercoaster!  I think it is partly due to my own involvment in  long distance sport.  Speed skating for example at the 5000 meter length, I actually relate now to the anticipation, staying in the moment and of all the training required for this calibre of sport.  I am glued!!!  CBC has done a terrific job of broadcasting a very personal story of these games.

I have found myself for  the first time in my life welling up with tears as athletes a rewarded or disappointed.  I think of Kristi Richards from Summerland BC, a place I work in, who fell during the women's moguls.  Or our Euphoric first gold for our Men's mogul event from Alexandre Bilodeau.  I feel so anxious watching the short track speed skating, where one slip, as the Korean atheletes went through on the last stretch took them out of contending for the podium.

I relate to the jitters they must have to fight, the elements of the day which may throw their time, their psyche off, such as the tragedy of the luge accident in which   Nodar Kumaritashvili lost his life.  Or the swift change in weather, which is a day to day, moment to moment thing winter athletes must contend with anywhere in the world.  This is where all that hard training, the commitment comes down to the moment, the last second decisions and the instinct ingrained int hose who must up their ante like never before to strive to be better.

How inspiring!  How thrilling!  I officially an Olympic sucker.  Go Team Canada!

No Magic, Just Run, let it Become What It Will Today

Running first thingthis morning, without music in the pitch black, I realized that as many things, my reasons for this morning's run has changed, and has been changing.  In fact, the reasons either grow or they shift over the time since I started.  Today, I ran 10 k(ish) and it was slow.  My mind drifted to family issues, work stuff, my body, praying about nothing, and music was running through my head.  By km 5, I made a realization.  I was running for different reasons than I use to.  Perhaps its that it has become less an option, more of a staple, but my run was purely for getting ready for my day today.  Like washing or brushing my teeth or eating.  

This has little to do with bigger goals, we all need those and they stay pretty consistent day to day, but it was more about the immediate reason to get out of bed, to put on my gear and get out the door.  Today was not my greatest run, I ran it in just under an hour, which is deadly slow.  I have a feeling it is my asthma from a dog I was around that triggered my chest to be irritated.  Slow going.  But the run was solid.  

This was not a throw away run.  It was what it was, and that was just fine with me. 

Cougar Alert!

Recent Cougar Sightings! In A recent article and through our children's school, we have been alerted to a cougar in the area.  This is where I would usually breakout the jokes about my wife wearing spandex leopard print tights out in public again, but with running it really has changed a lot mentally for me.  A-la-Jack Tripper's neighbor Lana, or AL Bundy's Wife.

I think it is the time lately where I thought, "What would I do if a cougar attacked me?".  Someone told me, I wouldn't know it was stalking me, since they do it on nervous forest creatures all the time.  In my head, I think I truly believed there would be background stalking music or something, so I would steel myself to be in fight mode.  What  I learned was that its the back of the neck which would be its favorite spot to attack.  I did imagine myself grabbing a sharp stick and gouging its eyes out, or choking it to death.  A good kick to the head would also do it, in my mind.  But lets be honest, I would probably panic and flail around till I bled out and had my throat ripped out.

So what to do?  They are nocturnal creatures, with an affinity for stalking animals, with deer around here being the meal of choice.  Joggers would most likely scare them, but what if not???  I usually have run along our water channel along a hike bike path, A perfect place for a carnivore picnic.  Im not stopping running, but now I am unsettled in my mental space, which I need!

Facts about cougars:

• The cougar, also called mountain lion or panther, is Canada's largest cat. Cougars have long tails which may be one-third of their total body length.
• An adult male cougar weighs between 63 and 90 kg (140-200 lbs), and a female cougar, between 40 and 50 kg (90-120 lbs). The biggest cougars are found in the interior and the Kootenays.
• The cougar's primary prey is deer. It will also feed on wild sheep, elk, rabbits, beaver, raccoons, grouse, and occasionally livestock.
• Cougars are most active at dusk and dawn. However, they will roam and hunt at any time of the day or night and in all seasons.
• During late spring and summer, one to two-year old cougars become independent of their mothers. While attempting to find a home range, these young cougars may roam widely in search of unoccupied territory. This is when cougars are most likely to conflict with humans.

Do I take a knife with me?  Mace?

Some tips I have gleaned:

• Never approach a cougar. Although cougars will normally avoid a confrontation, all cougars are unpredictable. Cougars feeding on a kill may be dangerous.
• Always give a cougar an avenue of escape.
• Stay calm. Talk to the cougar in a confident voice.
• Pick all children up off the ground immediately. Children frighten easily and their rapid movements may provoke an attack.
• Do not run. Try to back away from the cougar slowly. Sudden movement or flight may trigger an instinctive attack.
• Do not turn your back on the cougar. Face the cougar and remain upright.
• Do all you can to enlarge your image. Don't crouch down or try to hide. Pick up sticks or branches and wave them about.

If a cougar behaves aggressively:

• Arm yourself with a large stick, throw rocks, speak loudly and firmly. Convince the cougar that you are a threat not prey.
• If a cougar attacks, fight back! Many people have survived cougar attacks by fighting back with anything, including rocks, sticks, bare fists, and fishing poles. 

For now, I will run on the highways, where it is better lit, running on the hike bike only when it is int he daylight hours, Today, It started dark, so I started ont he highway and came home on the hike bike trail. Safety first that way.  
Have you come across some potential threats to your safety?  

New route, or just lost!

Took the hilly lost route!This Route made me go twice as far as I intended, as I was admittedly lost.  At almost 19 km on mapmyrun.com, which is  guessing as I am not sure which roads I was actually turned around on, I was feeling  the muscle pain later on the next couple of days.  I went from an expected 45 minute run to 1.5 hours!   I actually enjoyed running in the rain, through the misty hills of Mission rural.  I am not accustomed however, to hills.  My butt was especially sore the next day.