Coyote Alert

A couple of weeks ago I was running in Golden Gate Park and saw this as I ran by:  

I stopped and took a closer look:

Hmm.  Coyotes do not rank high on my "Things to be afraid of while running" list.  They get beaten out by things like:  Sprained ankles, crazy people, cars, drowning death by sprinklers, etc.  Being in California I've also added mountain lions and snakes to my list, but truth be told I doubt I run anywhere currently where this would be an issue.  

[Begin side-note] I almost stepped on a snake while running in South Dakota, but Boyfriend saved my life.  Here's a picture of said South Dakotan snake:

If he's not poisonous, don't tell me.  I like to think I danced with danger and won.

[End side-note]

I grew up in Hawaii where there isn't any wildlife to be afraid of on a day to day basis.  Rabies doesn't exist in Hawaii, either.  Mongoose could probably be vicious (if you were dumb enough to corner one, pick it up and put it in your pocket like a ferret) and a wild boar could do some serious damage, I suppose, but I'm from the suburbs.  I still get a kick out of seeing a squirrel.  I doubt a healthy coyote would cause a runner any trouble, but it's always good to respect nature.  The signs have been out the last few weeks now.  I bet the Golden Gate Park coyotes are too busy dodging the sprinkler system, anyhow, to care about much else.

The other day I also parked behind a car in the park that had a pretty cool vanity plate.  The car had triathlon and track & field stickers on it, but I'm pretty sure the plate referred to a marathon:

I was planning on running 12 miles today but had a hard time out there.  When I passed by my car at mile 6 I almost threw in the towel but told myself to keep going a little bit more.  At mile 7 I decided to take a cut-off that would bring my run to 10 miles instead of 12.  I started to feel good at about mile 8, but by that time I had mentally thrown in the towel and stopped at 10 instead of pushing onward.  Not sure if it was the sun or the air but I guess 10 miles is better than 6 miles.  There's always next week.