The Best Coach I've Ever Had...

With the arrival of warmer weather I have been taking my training outside and running with my buddy, our black lab 'Balin'. Balin is a search and rescue dog and classifying him as "high energy" would be a colossal understatement. One of his favorite activities is to come running with me. Unlike other dogs, Balin is totally antisocial. While his older and more sedate brother Bhodi enjoys getting out to frolick in the coulees and sniff other dogs butts, Balin is all business. He rarely runs up to other dogs when we are out together and never ever stops to smell the roses (or dog pee). Balin so loves our runs that he insists that we stay together. For example if I slow down or stop to retie a shoe lace he faithfully comes bounding back and waits for me. Sometimes he gets exasperated with my slow human pace and barks joyfully to egg me on. During our runs together there are two things I try to do; 1) I try to run at least one mile at Balin's super fast doggie pace and 2) I try to give him at least a mile on our route off leash. Recently my runs with him have been leaving me utterly winded and feeling sick. I often have to slow down to a very slow jog or even a walk. Up until last night I have been blaming this on my recent nasty chest cold, but last night something incredible happened. I went to the gym and hopped on the treadmill. My mission was clear; get to the bottom of what's making me feel so icky and sluggish when I'm out with Balin. I had intended to start my run at what I considered a good pace for me, 6.2 mph. Well surprise surprise this felt incredibly easy and dare I say slow. After a mile I upped my speed to 6.7 mph. A little more work, but still totally manageable and fun. I then put on my brave face and upped the pace again to 6.9 mph. After about five minutes of this I was definitely starting to fatigue but still could have kept going. By the end of my run I had completed close to 4 miles in under 30 minutes. I was totally elated and wondered to myself how fast I have been running with Balin. His exuberance and joy while running is hard to resist and I am always sucked into his pace and his world when we are out together. It's because of this incredibly athletic little dog that I have been able to interval train and make significant gains without even noticing. Thanks Balin for making me a better runner. I owe you a belly rub and maybe an extra cookie!

Running Hot & Cold

Today I am thinking a lot about motivation. What makes me tick as a person and "athlete". Since I am one of those people that has been "blessed with the gift of guilt" I use my so called shame to get me out the door on days when I really don't feel like training. Today was a prime example. It is boxing day (the day after Christmas for those of you who don't know) which was the first strike against getting out there. I mean who wants to go for a run after twenty four hours of eating rich but tasty food and lazing about the house? Strike two? I am so tired!! Not only am I waking every three to four hours to feed my new baby at night last night we were treated to a puking two year old. If I wasn't nursing a hungry newborn I was mopping up vomit and consoling a very freaked out toddler. Strike three, you ask? My six year old gave us all the gift of a Christmas cold which she contracted courtesy of her germy peers at school. I have been blowing my nose constantly and feeling a little congested. Not ideal physical conditions for a workout and the final nail in the coffin. Suffice it to say I really did not want to go to the gym today.

So I didn't.....

When my husband came home from enjoying a post Christmas shopping spree at the hardware store he reported that it was absolutely gorgeous outside. No wind and very mild. A rarity in this city. So I opted for a nice outdoor run with my favorite jogging partner; our black lab aka Balin.

The run was to say the least not one of my best. I could feel my nose leaking and with my overly exuberant doggie pulling me along I found I had to do lots of intermittent walking to fend off a stitch. Instead of the 5km I planned on I shaved the run down to a very modest 4km at a VERY slow pace.

So what is the point of this? I guess I am still happy that I went. There are good runs and bad runs. Quick paces and slow days. Workouts when I feel on top of the world and others when I feel like I'm at the bottom of the barrel. But the moral of this happy little tale is that regardless of what kind of run I have it is always better than nothing. So God Bless my guilty conscience. It's kept me going when I have one excuse too many to stay home.