Joggin' with the Dog

Changed my layout again. It just didn't feel right! It may happen one or two more times, but eventually I'll get it!

Today, I went to Reid Park with my mom and the two dogs. I was hoping to run with my pup, Sookie, but since it was 10am it was a little too warm for her (It's Tucson, go figure). So, we ended up running a little up the track and then back to my mom and our other dog, Ellie. We did this around the entire Reid Park, which is roughly about 3.1 miles, but the running ahead and backtracking added a little more.

Miles: 4.19

Time: 1:34

Avg Pace: 22:35

I didn't pause my Nike+ when we took water breaks and when I was walking, so the pace is really slow. We want to try and do this loop once a week. I was trying to talk my mom into running a 5k eventually (hopefully Race for the Cure this April). We'll see. :

After taking Sookie out today, I realized again (for like the 50th bazillion time) how hard it is to run with a dog. Or maybe it's just my dog. Either way, it was tough. She kept zig-zagging across my path, slowing down smell something, speeding up to catch a rollerblader or another dog, and when she got really stubborn/tired, she would just stop and sit down. What a pain!! I hear about all these other dogs and their owners having a great time running! And here I am, with an ADD/world's most stubborn/lazy dog.

After our run

Pooped pup

I read the Runners World section on running with dogs  and took some advice on how to start out running with dogs. I started slow with her, only took her running for about 10-15 minutes a few times a week. And I thought as I worked with her on this, she'd eventually build up endurance. Granted, I don't live with her (yet) which makes it harder to train her, but I thought she'd get the idea.

Well, she hasn't yet, but I'm hoping it won't take too long before I can run a little farther with her. Especially since it's cooling down. I may head up to Mt. Lemmon and go trail running with her sometime. But before we do that, she definitely needs some more training.

And speaking of Mt. Lemmon, tomorrow is the Mt. Lemmon Marathon! I will not be running it, as it's said to be the worlds toughest road marathon. But I will be volunteering. I get to wake up at 2:30am tomorrow morning (hello sleeping pills) and help load the marathoners on the buses. Then, I get to ride up with them to the base of the mountain, change cars, ride up with the event organizer to the top and start handing out t-shirts and medals. Tomorrow should be a very exciting day. Supposedly, Bart Yasso (Runner's World Chief Running Officer) is running it. So, maybe I'll get a chance to meet him and usher him onto the bus. How cool!

Off to get some homework done and then I'm going to sleep at 6pm...oh boy.

Have great rest of your weekend!