Dog Running in the old ‘hood

Yesterday was one of those days where I had my afternoon workout planned out in my head, but the weather outside dictated a change in plans. As I was driving home from work, the temperature gauge in my car read that it was 54 degrees outside. It was windy, but the sun was out. My original plan was to do the same work out I did last Friday with Bob (the one that left me sore for three days), but ditched that idea and went for a run instead.

I quickly changed, grabbed Jackson, and headed out the door. He was happy to be out with me (though Lance was not happy to have to stay home with Greg) because that boy loves to run.

I would love to be able to take both of the dogs running at the same time, but it’s impossible. Maybe when they’re a little older and more mature I’ll be able to, but for now- it’s not happening (unless I want to be dragged across the pavement when they see a squirrel or bunny). Back when they were little, and only weighed about 30 lbs a piece, I could take the two of them out for a walk together all the time. They were SO cute walking side-by-side, and people would swoon over them when we walked by. Now that they are 70+ lbs. a piece, it’s a different story.

I had actually planned on doing a fast walk, and maybe a little running, because my route has a lot of hills, and just walking up them gets your heart rate up. I figured I would just go with it, and when I felt like running, I would run (and when I wanted to walk, I would walk). In the end, it felt pretty good to run, so we only walked about 10-15% of the time. (I actually prefer to trail run more than anything, but it’s so easy to just walk out the door and be able to do it, rather than drive to the trailhead.)

Jackson is a control freak, just like his mama, so this what he looks like when he runs:

Yes, Jackson has to hold his own leash.

My neighborhood is very small, but if you cross this tiny little stream, it links up to my old neighborhood, which is huge and full of hills (and just great for running in general).

The old neighborhood has a little shopping center, an elementary school and a small lake

It’s full of condos, townhouses and single family homes. We lived in a townhouse, and still own it (due to the wonderful housing market), but rent it out for now.

This hill is my favorite. It’s incredibly steep and you can only see a section of it here. (And it is impossible to show just how steep it is in a photograph!)

I like to charge up it to see how quickly I can get to the top. Jackson and I needed a little breather after that!

From the top, you can see for miles and miles- it’s really a cool view of Frederick (we always come here to see fireworks on July 4th). You can also see both of our houses from a section a little lower from the top (which are really about 2 miles apart):

When we headed back to the house, I accidentally stepped right into the creek. I probably would have stretched out our run a little bit longer if it wasn’t for a completely soggy foot. Yuck.

There were a few attempts at taking a self portrait with Jackson in our driveway afterwards… all were unsuccessful.

Oh well.

I didn’t look at how far we had gone until we got home… the OCD in me would have liked to round out that number to an even 6 miles.

I usually run a comfortable 8.5 – 9 min mile outside, but considering how many times we stopped (and how much we walked) I guess this wasn’t too bad. (The max speed was definitely when we were running back down the super steep hill.)

So, yeah- this is what I look like when I run.

Don’t you like how the dogs are sitting like they’re expecting a treat or something? They always do this when I take self-timer self-portraits. 🙂

I know it’s dorky, but I wear (a super cool The North Face) fanny pack when I run. When you’re running with dogs, you’ve got to carry certain things with you! Here’s what was in my fanny pack:

Doggie cookies (which are handmade locally and gluten free), poop bags (which I did get to use, yay), sunglasses (I started off wearing these, but then didn’t need them at the end), and my phone (for taking pictures and using My Tracks).

I stretched a for a bit (and should have foam-rolled) and then re-fueled with a blend of Vega Vanilla Chai Health Optimizer (protein powder), strawberries, spinach, ice + water.

Oh, and look what came in the mail (finally):

(That’s my homemade wine cork board in the back. I’m very proud of it.)

Remember when I did my Body Pump training MONTHS ago? Well, the whole process of becoming an instructor is a very long one, and you can’t get the next release sent to you until after they have gotten your video assessment. So, even though already certified instructors got this one months ago, I’m just now getting it. I have a feeling that I’ll be getting the release for 81 any day now also (but don’t know when the mailing date is for that). But, at least now I can finally learn (and teach) 80. So, this DVD will be my life for the next few weeks.

And for the record- I got an email last week saying that I would hear back about the results of my video assessment in 6-8 weeks. Could this process take any longer?? At least it’s worth it- very worth it!!

Hope you have a great Friday- hooray for the weekend!!

Do you run in your own neighborhood? Ever run with a dog? and- Do you like to “round out” numbers when you exercise (like have a round number for the mileage, time, etc.)?

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