Running is for the dogs.

The pup and I ran 3.5 miles tonight.  She is such a good girl running next to me, keeping my morale and pace up.  Tonight we made it in 32:48.  We survived two dog attacks (one looked a wolf) and almost getting ran down by a Ford Escape. 

Pretty exciting stuff...

if you are into that kind of thing.

There are pros and cons to running with the pup.

On the upside, her pace stays constant, so when we get to hills she pushes (or rather pulls) me to keep my pace up.  The downside is I feel like I'm going to DIE when I finally reach the top.  (Where did all the oxygen go?!)

Another perk is she keeps me entertained/distracted.  Let's face it...running can be boring.  This is why I hated track and loved cross country.  I am not a sprinter, but running around the track 12 times was an absolute BORE.  With the dog, I can focus on what she's doing rather than the constant thump, thump, thump of my feet. 

But the downside of the dog is she loves birds...Robins in particular, who seem to have an understanding that she loves them.  These birds fly up ahead 100 feet and wait until Zoe gets 10 feet from it just to fly up ahead again.  They seem to enjoy this little game more than I do.

While this keeps our pace going, I also have to keep a tight hold on her leash, which sometimes gives me shoulder cramps while trying to keep her from making the bird pillow stuffing.

I can hear you:  Why don't you leave the dog home?  You'd get a better run and not have a shoulder ache at the end. 

Well, I'll tell you.  When I get back from a run without the pup.  A 45 pound mass of pissed-off pup charges at me and pushes me into a corner, giving me the what-for for not taking her.  So...the dog comes.  And will continue to come for as long as  she I can keep up.  

Or else, I will have to face this look every day:

And who can say no to that pouty lip?!