Bumpy Ride

Thank goodness I wasn't going for speed.

Tonight, my wife returns from her Business World Traveler adventure, and I know that the dogs are going to be more than a little excited to see her. They like me just fine, but they know who chose them, and my wife is their favorite, hands down. Having not seen her in over a week, I can only imagine the absurdity that will be the reunion. It scares me a little.

In preparation, I decided to tire them out with one last group run. Today being Wednesday, I only had three miles on the schedule. I chose my easy out-and-back course that steers me clear of neighborhoods, keeps me on sidewalks, and minimizes contact with other animals in an effort to make the run as easy as it could be.

Yeah, not so much.

The pups seemed to know something was up, and jumped into the run with more fervor than usual, which naturally meant I was almost taken down three or four times in the first half mile. First Dog kept moving toward the grass, which usually means that she's trying to make a pit stop, but today only signified that she was bored with me. New Dog, meanwhile would run out in the lead, forget what he was doing drift off to one side, searching the air above him for his purpose in life. This drift would move him directly into the path of my feet.

We had no less than 20 pedestrians to avoid, which in most cases meant that I was in the street and the dogs were trying to make friends. The lawn crew for our neighborhood was out, and seemed intent on mowing the sidewalk. The only light on the route was red both coming and going, and we had to wait for passengers to clear from four different bus stops. And finally, the only house that has a dog that might cause problems suddenly had four dogs. And a horse. My pups were interested.

All told, I don't think we ran continuously for more than 3 minutes at a time the entire run, which is fine, because today was intended to be slow. Judging from the (one) giant pile of fur next to me, the plan to tire them out worked like a charm.

It's been a long week. Caring for two dogs by myself would not be my choice, and with all the other business surrounding my life recently, the last eight days have been rather bumpy. Still, whether it meant hurdling horse poo on the sidewalk or getting my run at odd hours, I've managed to conquer every challenge I've faced. It's gotten me off my schedule, but I've done everything I needed to do, above all else, completing every mile I was scheduled to run.

If I can do that when life is crazy... (*glances with trepidation at the 19 listed for Saturday*)

Wednesday's Run:
72 Degrees, gray, windy
3.11 Miles