The Pace Dog

Wednesday evening we took the dogs for our routine jog/walk/run.  Dave took Maddie back to the house after a mile and a half.  He was pretty worn out from his trip back to Atlanta from Omaha earlier that day, and she was looking a little stiff at that point, so they decided to call it finished for the evening.

I wanted to get another mile or so in, so I headed back up the hill with Mira.  We slowed our pace as we turned the corner and I decided I needed to take a walk break.  The hill proved more than I could handle the second time around.  It was the last true walk break I'd get that evening.

I measure the success of my runs by the number of mailboxes and speed humps I pass before I have to take a walk break.  I keep mental track of my fitness progression based on these visuals and have become adept as using them as my reference points for measuring improvement, or on a less than stellar outing, fatigue.  As I stepped off the first speed hump I collected the slack in the leash with my free hand and moved into a nice jog.

Things were going well, Mira was on her preferred "edge" (the very top of the curb that begins to bend toward the street).  This is her favorite spot on the road.  I don't know how she maintains this position, but she rarely lets a foot land on grass or the curb - she really walks a fine line so to speak.  I took a minute to admire her grace and realized that I was heading right up to the first stop sign.  Based on my breathy state I assumed I was in mid-range zone 3. I was really wishing I had taken the time to strap on the monitor so I could truly track what felt like great progress.

About 2 speed humps and a few mailboxes later, I became pretty short of breath, probably 2 words between breaths so I decided to back off.  I took a few quick walking steps when Mira extended, thus removing the slack from the line.  She didn't pull, but the line was taunt.  Impressed by her determination to keep at a nice trotting pace at 70+ degrees, I picked myself back up to a jog.  I figured if my Siberian Husky can trot in this temp, so could I.

After a short but steep incline, I was completely winded so I dropped to a walk.  This time it was a slower walk.  Just as the first time I began to walk, Mira took an extra pace and moved to the end of the lead taking all the slack out.  There was a gentle tug this time, never a hard pull, but definitely a noticeable communication that "somebody" wasn't moving fast enough.  Again, I brought myself back to a jog and the remainder of my outing was a nice steady jog.  Each of the times I picked up to a jog, she dropped back to hang in closer to me and gave a little slack.  I know not everyone would notice the suttle movement and feel of slight tension between the harness and hand, but I somehow always have.  I've always felt any difference in stride before I saw a limp or heard a misstep.  I think it is a gift and I'm grateful for it because I've caught some "issues" before they became problems in the past.

I cannot wait to run the next time, I look forward to this communication and partnership between us on our next outing.  Having a canine pacer is great!  A dog as pacer is so much more pleasant than having to chat with a human; when all I really want to do is watch the trees, sky and of course, my dog.  She is such a good dog - with much emphasis on good dog.