A New Outlook

Ive been in a running rut since I got sick a month ago. Almost no run has been "good", and I have had a huge amount of self doubt lately. I have found it difficult to run the planned distances, even with Matthew by my side. We havent ran the whole planned distance since our first half marathon and I have been extremely disappointed in my mental, and physical, performance.

Matthew is gone for the next two weeks, and it gets dark around 5pm now. I get home from work around 330, so that doesnt leave much time to run after work. I do get in a run, or at least a workout, at lunch everyday, but there is no way to get in my planned mileage.......or is there?

We have three dogs, Zolten, Storm, and Dakota. I decided to try running with them...but dont ask me why. Our dogs are "leash trained", aka they will allow us to put the leash on them before taking off pulling as hard as they can, usually for the whole walk. So I am not sure what I was thinking when I decided I would take them running with me!!!

I needed to get in 3 more miles to keep my sanity yesterday, and it just so happens I have three wild and crazy dogs who love walks. So I took each dog out for 1 mile each.

First up was Zolten, our 60 pound 6.5 year old german shorthaired pointer. She is our biggest, and oldest dog...but the most hyper. I have a heavy duty leash for her since she has a pulling problem, and has failed doggy obedience class. Surprisingly she did amazing on the run! After she figured out what was going on, she got her little doggy legs moving in cadence with mine, and we completed the mile in 9:02. Not bad for her first time running. And I was happy.

Next up was Storm. She is our most well behaved polite mannered dog. She is approximately 3 years old and 50 pounds. She is the biggest cuddle bug dog I have ever met and is usually fairly well behaved on the leash. I dont think she really understands running on a leash. She kept trying to sprint across streets then slow down on the sidewalks. She would swerve right in front of me then turn around and sit. Maybe she doesnt like running...yet. But she made it the full mile as well, in 9:04. Not too bad of a time...now to fix that behavior!

Last, but certainly not least is our newest addition to the family, Dakota. Shes about 3 years old and 50 pounds like Storm is. However, she is completely opposite of Storm behavior-wise. She is a punk, there is nothing else to say. She wasnt sure about going with me since the other girls had to stay behind, but once she realized it was ok, her ears perked up and she seemed fine. We were going at a pretty good pace and she was actually behaving really well...until 0.6 miles in. She started running into my legs every few steps, she would try to stop and walk, she even tried to sit MID RUN. I ended up having to encourage her quite a bit to finish out the mile, and we came in at 9:11. She needs some remedial running training as well...maybe a Couch 2 5K for dogs. 

I had been in a rut. Nothing felt good about running and my motivated was squashed. But running with the dogs was a very enjoyable experience, despite the small issues we had together. While Matt is gone for the next two weeks, I plan on running with them more often. Its fun and different, and I feel safe running alone with three cute and cuddly dogs. But the best part of running with the dogs..........bed time!