He happily wagged his tail, "Yes, please!"
I don't take Scooter running with me very frequently, and for good reason. For one thing, he can't do distance, but hey, if your legs were only this big --
-- you probably couldn't go all that far either. But also, Scooter's running is mostly limited to fetching small, rubber toys of this variety:
so he only really knows one speed: full throttle.Knowing that I couldn't even get him to last for a full 3 miles, I adjusted my plan and decided to do two with the dog, and I wouldn't take the Garmin, I would just run for fun with him. This method has actually worked many times in the past to restore my waning mojo; there's something about that dog's love of running that helps to bring back my own love of running. I mean, when Scooter's running he just thinks it's dang fun; he doesn't know shit about distance or time; he just knows that running rocks.
Thus, running with him helps remind me how much I too love to run, and dangit, it is fun.
So, we set our sights on 2 miles: 1 mile out and 1 mile back. And right out the door, we hit the pavement at a sprint. He lagged a bit in the middle and we slowed some, but when we turned around, he got a fresh burst of speed (the turn around is a powerful mental advantage for him as well, I guess), and as we got in sight of home, he had a cute moment where he turned to look back at me -- ears were flapping, tongue was hanging out the side of his mouth -- and I swear his look said, "Are you ready for this?" And then he hit the gas.
In the end, it wasn't a lot of distance tonight, but a few times, I was running fast enough to nearly reach my "puke-threshold" and those last two blocks when he gunned it, I was sprinting like I haven't done in months. Therefore, despite the lack of distance, I still feel like I got good speedwork in, and even more importantly, I had fun. Especially when I've had such a busy race calendar in the past two months, I need to be reminded of that "f" word!
35 comments:
Fun stuff.
Bandit runs with Husband now - and does 1.5-2 miles fairly fast. I think it's good for both of them!
ohhh i love this post :) i never thought about it that way when i take my girls out for a run. definitely changed my viewpoint!!
What a great speed workout! You made that sound like a lot of fun.
That's awesome! I can see that look he gave you...he's so irresistable.
AWWW! I love Scooter posts :-). I'm such a puppy groupie.
Great run!
I wish I had a dog to run with. I have an I-pod to keep me company and it doesn't S#@t on the floor.
Found your bloggy.....Howdy from the Old Dominion.
Great workout! Scooter is such a cutie ;)
To answer you Q re: reports, we write about 1800 words on each kid (checklists followed by narrative). They contain personal anecdotes (quoting their comments in discussion or something they wrote) plus lots of observations on their progress with specific examples. A lot of time is spent looking over my notes and figuring out the "right" way to word something. I've gotten much better at it, but it still takes a long time and is mentally draining. Apparently, it is one of the best things a parent can receive about his/her kid, so I guess it's worth it. Hope that answers your question and gives you more of an idea of why I mention it so much twice a year ;)
Hey great! Just what I said a few blogs back...take the dog for a run...he will love it and stop chewing his foot. Good job.
Sounds like a great run! Nice!
YAY! That's so awesome. It's always good to get out the dog out for a run, it's true how they LOVE IT! My dog has one speed as well, but it's "PULL!" And away I go. Great post.
Your Scoots is sooo cute! How could you ever turn down that face? Good way to speed train as well!
Scooter loves love and running.
God bless dogs
I've got a Dalmation that has run EVERY mile (vice 13.1 a few weeks ago) with me this year. I know you love your dog, but he's missing out! He's looks SO fun!
Fun!
This post was a fantastic description of a run with a dog. I look forward to runs with Parsenn like no other runs. Thanks for inspiring me to run also!
Awww Jess I love this post!
I have a feeling I will be thinking of Scooter when I reach mile 25 on Sunday. His happy attitude is just what I need to get me going at the end.
I am sure Scooter appreciated the outing.
I was chased by the cutest puppy tonight...so tempting!
That is so fun! :>)
It sounds like you had great f&% on the run believe me that is so much better than the other "f" word for not having f&%. If you can't find the F&% in the run then you mostly likely are just F$%@ed anyway. I'm glad you and Scooter were able to feed off of each other for your energy, he sounds like quite the personal trainer.
Awwwww Scooter has a big smile on his face. I wish my "sporting" dog would run with me. She is La-zy.
I think the most important thing is that you had fun and Scooter too. The pictures of Scooter are cute as always.
AH AWESOME!
I can't run with my dog--he gets too distracted by people and cars and squirells and birds.
Great speedwork
Getting in miles with your faithful running partner is always an adventure. I haven't reached my 'puke threshold' in years.......Maybe I need to bump up my training?
Speed coach Scooter! I love it :-)
Are you suggesting the we use "chasing rubber dog toys" as the new speed work technique?
Aw...I love it. I can't wait to someday have a dog to run with!
How fun! Any doggie races in your area. I bet Scooter would LOVE it!
Up that "F" word seems to be "f"orgotten a lot.
Glad Scooter got you out and pouding the pavement!
Awwwhhh how cute! Nothing like a little speedwork before the Turkey Trot, eh? (You are doing a Turkey Trot this year right? Didn't you do one last year? It's by your house or something? I swear I'm not a stalker I just remember weird shiz LOL)
That's my kind of running partner.
Glad you found the 'f' again.
That's so awesome! Sounds like fun (for both of you).
Dontcha love a dog's carefree way?
Awesome !!!! Scooter must have loved every minute of it. Terrific post !!! They say dog can be your best friend!
That sounds like a fun speedwork session especially if you almost got a puke feeling. I needs me a lil Scooter.
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