i mostly enjoy our by dawn’s early light jaunts - or try not to think about it - i just wake up & run. my mantra is: it’s just another part of my day, like brushing my teeth (a huge thank you to kate for getting me off on the right foot with this!)
on days that we have to be at work, chris & i and get up at 0500; that’s 5 am for you non-military types, [beep beep beeeeeep ...pet peeve alert] aka “5 am in the morning.” [silly syllable wasters, you don’t have to say both “a.m.” AND “in the morning” - the definition of “a.m.” is amante meridiem: before noon] not one of our 5 dogs will get up with us at this way ridiculous hour. it’s just me & my guy huffing & puffing through our neighborhood.
weekends have risen to a new level of happy for us. we don’t get up until 6 am (yes, in the morning), the latest the dogs will let us sleep. (as you know & the dogs clearly realize, there’s a long long hour & a lot of sleep to be had between 5 am & 6 am). then it's coffee, newspaper, & out for our run by 0700. at this time of day, every one of our fur kids is begging to accompany us on our exercise expedition.
i love running with one of my dogs by my side; two is usually too much for me to think about - i’m busy concentrating on breathing & remaining upright. chris & i just circle around the block and swap them out. the little loop is for mojo (too much fur and mild hip dysplasia to go an entire mile) and lucas (not quite 2 years old, and a bit thick over the ribs.) the other 3 dogs can go on the big loop (2.3 miles), each of us taking one.
when we’re finished, chris and i are ready to relax and thankfully, so are the dogs. there is nothing better than a tired dog, unless, of course, it’s 5 tired dogs. an exhausted, happy dog has few requests & sleeps like a sweet little baby. they’re so relaxed i can clean teeth, cut nails & even eat a snack without being “hounded.” [that’s funny - i've never used HOUNDED when talking about my dogs - i love that!!]
i hope you have a way to keep your dog busy & tired. if you can’t run, walk or skip! if you don’t have time for activity with your pooch today, think about taking them to mojo’s backyard to play. get out early, get back home & enjoy the rest of your day with a calm canine.
don't tell the dogs their dad used to run without them.
good job on the running! i'm thinking of going early am too because the heat it oppressive in the pm :p
ReplyDeletemy blog may be a little late tonight because i went home for father's day. but i'm working on it right now :)
so ,heard you did some independant running over the weekend of the 26th, dawn?? you * ditto.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see someone taking their dogs along on their exercise runs. I see so many of my neighbors out walking and running without the dogs I know they have tucked away in their backyards. A walk without my dog is so boring!
ReplyDeleteJane Rice