Day 5, Week 13: Running with the large dog--Another unhelpful FAQ

It's Thursday, people, and that means I have to get up an hour earlier than normal to get to work super early (it's a regular Thursday thing).  Since "an hour earlier" means "3 AM," I wisely schedule a short 3 mile run as a workout on Thursdays.  I got the large dog in his running duds and away we went into the darkness.

Too cool to look at the camera.

Now, I get a lot of questions about running with large dog so I put together this helpful FAQ for everyone, because we all know how helpful my FAQs are.  (Clarification:  They're not.)

Did you have to teach your dog to run with you or did he just, you know, run with you?

I had to teach him how to behave on a leash first.  And by "behave" I mean "walking without having to sniff every piece of gravel and blade of grass while pulling as hard as he can on the leash, almost tearing my arm out of its socket."  After he learned how to behave, we went for longer and longer walks.  And then that progressed to slow runs, and, then, you know, to faster and longer runs.

Why did you want to run with your dog, anyway?

Because I like my drywall and baseboards where they are instead of in his stomach.  Also, the cats don't like being covered in slobber, either.

Does running wear your dog out, then?

Let's just say that after a run, the cats' heads are safe for about 10 minutes.  Then they better take cover.

Does running with a dog affect your pace at all?

Large dog runs like a complete rookie every single time--he starts out too fast and then, just when you need him to pull you through the last few miles of that 10 mile tempo, he bails on you and finally starts running beside you.

Also, him yanking me into ditches for no reason and trying to chase cars by yanking you in the opposite direction does tend to slow your pace.

Does it ever bother you to run with a dog?

Well, besides the aforementioned ditch-yanking and car-chasing, he also constantly turns around to check to see if I'm still behind him.

"Still there?  Good."........"Still there?  Good.".........."Still there?  Good."........ times 3,000,000.

Buh.

Do you take him to races?

Yes.  And everyone cheers him on when they first see him coming.  But then, when they see me attached to him, start half heartedly rooting for me as an afterthought.

Do the cats ever thank you for taking him running and saving their heads?

No.  Because they are cats.  They punish me for the head-eating by touching me with their claws on my face at 2:30 AM.



After the run, small dog kept photobombing my post-run selfie and the phone kept taking pictures as I tried to shoo him out of the selfie area.

I think he just couldn't keep himself away from my running outfit.  I have to admit it was pretty much a train wreck; you just can't look away from something that looks that bad.  But when it's 3:45 AM and you're getting dressed for a run, making sure your clothes coordinate isn't exactly a priority.

Large dog, however, thought my prioritization skills when dressing for work worked out nicely.

Nice outfit.  Now for some cat heads.

This is proof I don't exist entirely in running clothes.  Although that sure would be nice.



From this post we have learned:

• I still suck at writing FAQs.
• That is one of the best night running selfies I've ever taken.
• I think large dog thinks we're training for an obstacle course race with all that ditch-yanking and car chasing.
• Cats.  They never appreciate anything you do for them.
• Those boots make my feet look huge.  Because they are, I guess (9.5).

Tomorrow's workout: My last tempo on the training schedule!  And of course it's at the fastest tempo pace of the plan!