Teach a Dog to Run

Day 3. (Yes, I'm aware I missed blogging about Day 2!)
We're slowly progressing. Today we ran 3x 10 minutes. The first 3 minutes in were a disaster. Brizzy was so over-joyed at being out running he was leaping and biting and tugging at his leash in his exuberance. Running is not for the exuberant! At least, it's not for exuberant dogs.
But after the first three minutes he really settled in. I was glad there weren't too many other runners out in the morning, as I was constantly saying, "Good jog, Brizzy! Good jog." Sometimes followed by "No!" and "Drop it!".
I think he's starting to get the concept, and we had a nice run after those first few minutes of frustration on both sides.

I still take 3 minute breaks in between my running sets to let him sniff and do doggy things. We're progressing fairly well, and my next step may be to move to 2x 15 minutes. I admit I'm also enjoying it more and more. The only thing that is still hard on me is how cold it is. I learned to run in the heat of Brisbane, and I really miss it on these cold Calgary days. This morning my thermometer read -2C. Brrr! I know some runners who thrive on cold weather running (and wouldn't even call this 'cold'). But I prefer my balmy 15C+. Bring on summer!

"Jog!"

This is it. Day 1 of officially teaching the pup how to run with me. As in really run with me. Right now he thinks running = bite on the leash and wrestle it in exuberance. Or chasing things. Like a ball or a rabbit. Or running away because he knows I saw he has a sock in his mouth and darned if he’s going to give such a delectable delight up so easily!

This morning I brought with me a pocket full of treats. We started with a nice easy walk, then I gave the command “Jog!” and set off. Having never heard that command from me before, I wasn’t expecting much.

I broke down the run into 3x 5 minutes, allowing walk breaks in between for him to be a dog and sniff out the p-mail. While Brizzy has boundless energy, normally he associates running with chasing things, or play, and has not had much opportunity in trotting beside me on a short leash. The first 5 minutes were a disaster, with me constantly saying, “No!” and making various loud angry noises to interrupt his violent mauling of the leash. Then we’d stop, I’d make him sit, say “Jog!”, and off we’d go. At least for another 2 seconds before the whole thing started again.

 "Yes, Mom! I'd LOVE to come for a run! I'm vibrating with energy at the thought!"

The second 5 minutes were much better! We got through the entire thing without a hitch, and it gave me hope. He was bright and attentive. It might have helped that I had shown him the treats in my hand and was occasionally reaching down to give him a little treat as we ran.

False hope. The third set of 5 minutes proved too much, between rabbits and other dogs and the tempting leash dangling before his mouth, I can’t say I got any quality running in. But here’s hoping I’ll make a running dog out of him yet! With all the energy he has, I’m seeing some 5k’s coming down the pipes. But not tomorrow, and not next week. I didn’t learn to run 5k in one go, so I can’t exactly have the same expectations for him.

Still, I have the warm fuzzy feeling that this is going to be the start of a beautiful new running friendship. Kind of like the feeling I get when I buy a new pair of running shoes.

29 and under 29

Good thing for friends! As the running season wound down, my friend Steph tried to convince me to join her in the MEC Race 7 Half Marathon. Ha! For those who have been reading these (rare) blog entries, you'll know why I immediately declined.
But maybe... I thought. Maybe a 10k is a good goal. THAT will get me out training more.
Only it didn't. I sat inside and ate chocolate and thought a lot about going out for a run, but the thought never seemed to transfer to reality.

Along came a blessing in the form of another friend, Leslie, who happened to invite me to run in the 5k distance of the same race.

At first we negotiated between the 10k or the 5k, but in the end I was happier to run the shorter distance with her. Thank goodness!

It was a gorgeous day. I sent the champion Steph off on her half marathon with a cheer, then lined up for the 5k with Leslie.


We chatted happily the first half of the race. Unfortunately, in my over-exuberance of wanting to catch up with Leslie, I also got a bad stitch. Rats! While I kept up the conversation, I also focused on breathing deeply to try and break up the stitch. No go.

By 3k I stopped chatting altogether, and I'm happy to say my stitch started to disappear. Unfortunately, I was doing my typical wheezy breathing that stems from my [exercise-induced] asthma. It was par-for-the-course for me, but I'm pretty sure I started to frighten my poor friend. She diplomatically suggested we slowed down. Slow down? Ha! I was in my wheezing glory! This was the grit of the run, where I buckled down and huffed my way to the finish line. Slow down, my foot!
"I'm...fine!" I rasped. "This...is how...I sound...when...I run."

Leslie didn't seem reassured. She politely asked if it would be okay to run ahead of me.

In the true spirit of running, I never hold a grudge for those who want to speed on ahead. I will admit to just a little jealous that she was going to kick my butt in the race, but then, most people do!
Instead, I focused on my A-Goal, which was sub-28.30 (this A-Goal was developed during the course of the race...I was hoping for sub-27 or sub-29, and settled for a middleish ground).

Off sped Leslie, with me labouring behind her.

 No, the clock ticking 1:48 is not actually for my 5k race time! That's the marathon timekeeper.

Final Time: 28.28min

I hung around for a bit after the race to cheer on Steph, and was delighted to run into Rachel and Tucker who had also come as support (Rachel having run a PB in the half marathon the week before!).
Steph finished with her own amazing PB.

Among all these speedy champions, I still felt pretty happy. I may have been a good 5min off my own PB in the 5k, but hey, I did complete my last 5k as a 29 year old in under 29 minutes. It has a nice ring to it. I'll take it!
Sounds like a podium finish to me...for all involved.

 Steph, myself, Rachel and Tucker celebrating the day

Divine Intervention (of the Sisterly Sort)

I'm going to go for a run today. I told myself. Right after work. Boom! Done.

I sat down on the couch.

I'm going to go for a run...after I eat...and digest...

A short time later...

I'm going to go for a run. By 6.30pm I will definitely be on my way out the door. Or if not then, by 7pm. Yep, 7pm at the latest I will be out on my run.

I cracked open some chocolate.

And then the phone rang. It was my sister, surprisingly enough.
"What are you up to right tonight?" She asked.
I sighed and confessed: "I'm sitting on the couch eating chocolate and trying to motivate myself to go for a run."
"Oh, because I was just calling to see if you wanted to join me for a run. I thought you'd be busy, but I really wanted to run with you so phoned on a whim."

Cha-ching!

And out we went.

The Stitch Came Back, The Very Next Day...

The Stitch came back!
I'd hoped it was a gonner but
The Stitch came back.
It just couldn't stay away...

My little pup Brizzy can no longer use the excuse as being a puppy to avoid running with me...or is that the other way around?
I finally came to the decision that I could safely start taking him for runs with me without risk to injury...so long as I approached it gently!
And what better day than on a morning where I woke up...and could still feel That Darn Stitch.

Off we went for a very easy jog. I kept the pace below Stitch-level, which was quite slow. We did 2x 10 minutes with a 1 minute walking break in the middle. He did really well.
There was a bit of leash yanking when he saw rabbits, and towards the end where he felt that sniff was more exciting than keeping up with me.
There was a bit of shoelace chomping and leg jumping at the beginning when he felt this was a great game of chase he could play and - Tag! I was "It"!
But for the most part, he kept up just fine. Maybe he will be a great running companion.

Philosophy of Life

Three years - almost to the day - I ran the Whitsunday Trail Race. Officially "28 to 29k" of creeks, rocks, roots, and hills. I ran it with my most awesome trail running mentor, Barry, who pushed me through the whole race until the last few kms where he got a stitch so bad that he could still feel it the next day. Of course, he self-sacrificially encouraged me to go ahead. But how could I leave him? We started together, we ran together, and we finished together, which was what mattered most.

I've had many a stitch before (mostly during races! Siiigh...), but not many could compare with the pain Barry went to on that race day. However, I think this one may have come close!
I started out with good intentions. I really, really did!
The goal: run 10k, in a pattern of 2k warm-up, 5k tempo, 3k cool down.
But less than 4 minutes into my [very slow] warm-up, I had to stop when a sharp pain in my side made breathing difficult and moving less than desirable.
I tried to shake it over the next 15 minutes...I'd walk until the pain stopped, then run a few steps before I felt it slice back into me.
This was rather disappointing! I know I haven't been running very much this summer, but still.
Fortunately, I found that sprints weren't so bad on me. That is, I could run my little heart out for a good 20 seconds and then recover without seeming to Wake the Stitch.
Sprint training it was! I was in a more rural area and used driveways or street lamps as my markers. Run one, walk one, run one, walk one...And on and on and on for the next 30 minutes.

In the end, the run ended up being a little bit like my life philosophy: I had made a plan I was looking forward to, and something changed. It wasn't my ideal situation, but I made the best of it.

As my friend Steph would say, I achieved a B+.

Of Friends and Dogs

I met up with a high school friend (whom I don't believe I've actually seen since High School, but thanks to social media we'd kept in touch). We thought, what better way to catch up than over a run? Because isn't that what most people think, after all?

I took my dog, which was a great excuse to not push too hard. We met at Eau Claire - familiar ground for me now! - and did a pretty little 5.5k(ish) loop around the river over some bridges.
The goal was 5min run, 5min walk all along. This had the double benefit of giving Brizzy the chance to sniff and my friend and I more chance to hang out. Although who were we kidding? We weren't going to let a run stop us from talking! There is a different purpose to a training run vs a social run, and this was definitely of the latter variety.