Time Flies!

Our third long run was scheduled for today.

We've had bad dust/sand storms here in Arizona, so I had to make use of the gym. 5 miles on a treadmill is not fun. Especially since my only scenery was the mirror in front of me, and I don't like looking at myself while I run.

It was one of my worse runs. Last week, 5 miles was enjoyable. This week, painful and slow.

Madeline has said that her run wasn't much fun, either. She didn't have a lot of sugar in her tank, and thinks that was slowing her down.

Madeline is our little cheerleader. Once in a while, she keeps me and Alicia cheerful with a few well-chosen words of encouragement. I'd like to share this week's Madeline-ness:

“Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.” (Famous running quote)

Alicia is feeling better! I'm hoping to hear some more updates from her soon. She's discovered that Royal Flush (her black lab) is quite the enthusiastic runner, and is teaching her, run after run, that running can bring a little extra happiness to the day!

Dog Days

Today ended week 1 of training. We've all been pre-training, but Monday was the first day of the 26 week running program we're using.

My dog, Dax, has a big need for exercise. Daily long walks aren't enough. Today I decided to test him on a 3-mile run.

He handled the distance like a champ. He was eager to kill a few ground hogs and show off for a pack of stray dogs, so I had to let him off the leash. Pacing myself for 1/2 a mile with a dog who is a naturally fast runner was exhausting, but I made it, after slowing down for the next 2.5 miles.

I'm not entirely sure I'll keep up the habit of taking him on the weekend runs. I think Alicia lucked out with Royal; Dax prefers to do his own thing. This was a good running lesson for me: 1) set your own pace! don't try to pace yourself with an animal capable of going a suburban speed limit, or anyone who's much faster than me. 2) running in solitude isn't so bad, after all.

--Natalie