2 Strikes of Aggression

Today was unfortunately the 2nd strike against a specific aggressive dog in the past 6 months - I have no patience and I have no apologies for my lack of tolerance.

A few months ago while riding our bikes we had a neighbor walking her dog who took out after me on the bike and she laughed as she said "Lilly, you can't have the biker..."  I stopped and let her have it verbally.  She puller her dog in (flexi lead) and that was that.

This is Sunday, long run day...Dave and I took Mira and Maddie for a mile and half, then I finished three with Mira.  After I dropped her back at the house because it was humid and relatively warm for a Siberian, I took out for three miles solo.

I got winded on my second run  up Inlet and began walking.  I saw a woman walking two dogs ahead of me.  As I always do, I called out to see if the dog were friendly...she said if I were running Lilly, the lab would chase me.  So I took the opposite side of the road and walked slower...  We chatted as she told me about Lilly and how they had her in training because she liked to chase runners and bikes.  As I passed (again, other side of the road and walking slowly), she said "look, she likes you..."

I didn't know the dog was right behind me, apparently moron owner let the flexi extend.  The next thing I hear before I even see the dog (still walking mind you) is a growl, I feel the sting of the bite and hear my shorts rip to almost the waist.  Much cussing from me, apologies from her...and I demand she get the flexi pulled in so I can get the hell away from them.  At that flashing moment, I recognize the eyes of the dog, and remember this is the idiot owner with the dog that chased me on my bike a few months back.  Now I'm boiling mad and as I trot off putting distance between us, I demand to know if the dog is current on shots and she promises she is. I then made her point out her house before I hustled down the road.

Because I'm a typical freak runner, I look at the wound, decide I'm not bleeding much and it's going to be bruised more than anything, so I may as well finish the run rather than turning for home.  I made the turn for my last mile and there's this woman next to me in her vehicle with the receipt and rabies certificate for Lilly...  I slowed down, looked at her and said, "that's fine, but I'm reporting this.";  "why, why would you do that?" she asks.   I muttered "because it's the right thing to do, you know you have an aggression issue"  At which time she says, "they aren't going to do anything with her" and I said, "it doesn't matter, I'm reporting this, she bit me, it cannot go unreported it is aggression".    With that she drove off.

When Animal Control came to the house to take my statement we discussed medical treatment...and I told him I'd already cleaned it up, I've had my Tdap vaccine very recently and we agreed I was good to not seek additional medical care.  He was going to go get Lilly and begin her quarantine this afternoon.  I will get a  call when the quarantine is over to let me know if the dog has been returned...  I expect it will, unless they owner elects to not pay the boarding fees for quarantine.

I know there are risks that I take when I leave for a run or a ride or for that matter a swim.  I understand I may get hurt, maybe badly, but I am unwilling to excuse a true aggression issue.  This was a cheap shot by the dog and the owner didn't have to be so stupid about it.  I have battled the decision to report it all afternoon.  I keep pushing guilt down and fighting it with reason, with my desire to be safe in my neighborhood and for my neighbors and their animals and children to be safe.


 

Blister

A week ago I ran six miles with Mira on Kennesaw Mountain trails.  Much of it is covered with large gravel, and there are portions that have huge ruts from rain washout...  Somewhere during the first three miles I began to feel a stinging sensation and burn on or around the bunion on my right foot.

Assuming I was developing a blister, I tried to compensate as I pushed ahead.  By the start of the third mile I really didn't feel much irritation, so I assumed my sock had twisted and then somehow self corrected.

At the end of the run when I pulled my trail shoes and socks off, this is what I found:



Apparent blister, without a bubble on the edge of my callous under the bunion

 

After cleaning up and tending to the "wound" it appears to be a typical blister

 

It appears to be a blister, but it never drained and once my socks were off and I was cleaned up, it never hurt - all week.  By Tuesday this week, the pink had turned blackish purple.  Still, it never bubbled or broke like a blister does, so I began referring to it as a blood blister.  It wasn't tender to touch and other than being as ugly as the callous it is partially hidden beneath, it was not a concern.

Today I ran four and a half miles.  By the start of mile three I could feel a rub and little stinging sensation in the same spot.  I'm not a heel striker, but I don't really land on the ball of my foot either.  I do however have a degree of roll through the landing and push into the next stride.  On video my right foot lands normally for 4 out of 5 strikes, and occasionally, only occasionally do I overpronate.

Again, there is no bubble and no leak.

 

 



It would appear I have a pronation problem after all.  I thought the week of rest was appropriate and when there was no discomfort whatsoever, I thought I was good to go.  It seems I am sadly mistaken.


 

Race Number D 1286

I went this morning to pickup my race number for the Atlanta Marathon.  The number is D 1286. The bib will forever remain as pristine as the moment they handed it to me.

I knew as I approached the table of volunteers passing out bibs that attempting this race right now would not be in my long term best interest.  I've spent a good deal of time this past week reflecting on my goals and the processes I've chosen to achieve them.  This particular race was never "the" goal, rather it was a means to achieve the goal of qualifying for Boston.  The race tomorrow won't move me toward Boston.  Actually, if I pushed myself to run tomorrow and finish, just for the sake of finishing, I would potentially cost myself  more than I would gain. And so it is, I will take Mira to the mountain in the morning and push myself to "run" more than last week, to drive up the hills that I walked last week and to be pleased with the progress.

I am hanging this race number from my desk as a reminder of where I am going and how far I have come.  I am convinced that the mere act of entering this race has turned my conviction from "wouldn't that be a nice thing to do" to "done, I'm doing that, I'm going there".  I appreciate this bib, perhaps more than any of the other bibs I have collected.

I'm not disappointed, I'm proud of my personal growth and enjoying the evolution of what I'm really capable of.

 

Six Miles with One Dog and Fifteen Deer

Mira impatiently digs at her mat while I change shoes and get ready for our run

 

We did the six mile loop from the Illinois Monument at Chetham Hill, to Kolb Farm this morning.  The weather was perfect, with enough bite in the air to keep my dog comfortable and on task, but not so much so that I was chilled in the heavily forested areas of the trail.

At a large meadow before we reached Kolb Farm, where the grass was tall and the sun was shining brightly through the trees, I paused to look for deer and catch my breath.  There were none, so we plunged back into the woods and began climbing toward the din of traffic on Powder Springs Road.  The three miles on the West trail from the monument to the farm was hard for me today, very hard.  It is obvious I have not been cross training as my hamstrings and quads were crazy tight before we finished the first mile and that wasn't a very difficult stretch.  Then the bunion on my right foot began to burn and sting.  It felt like something had sliced the tender skin under the callous.  I pushed through and slowed to accommodate my short breath more than the foot, but continued to drive on as soon as I thought I could.   I discovered much later, at the end of the run a large, ugly, blister between the callous and bunion.  All in all, we made the three mile mark in thirty-seven minutes.  That is my new personal best for the distance; road or trail. 

Not long after we left Kolb Farm for the return to the Illinois Monument via the East Trail, Mira stopped dead in front of me.  To our side, barely visible through the sun streaked forest stood two deer.  Beautiful, silent with ears flicking this way and that listening in all directions; all the while staring us into submission and breathlessness.




The first of fifteen deer seen on the trail this morning

We were separated by small creek from this one who decided to join our run for a very short distance

And so it continued for the next mile and a half, we'd jog a bit and then come upon more deer, usually spotting two at a time.  Once we came across a foursome.  We saw fifteen deer at final count today.  Interestingly, Mira never made an effort to pull or take on a "chase" attitude.  She has a funny habit of watching them for a moment, but as soon as they turn and leap deeper into the forest out of view, she lunges forward down the trail.  It's at these moments I have come to appreciate the drive of a working dog who has learned well what her job is and gives great commitment to the task!

Mira watching deer, note the slack in the lead - she never pulls to chase a deer

There's no slack in the lead now, the deer has turned to disappear into the forest and she's intent on getting back on the trail and back to work.

The second three miles took forty two minutes, but there were many pauses for deer watching, so it may have been another personal best for three miles without all the stops.  Overall, the run was my best time for a three mile split, and also the six miles total.  Regardless of time, today was a definite personal best in the wildlife category.
 

Weed Wackers That Go Bang In the Night

Mira was on this evening. It was warm and we jogged under cloud cover and elevated humidity compared to the previous run this week, but she was ready to go and kept the lead tight.  I was impressed with her.

After we finished the run, I grabbed a random newspaper that had been tossed into our grass on the way down the driveway.   My truck is parked on the right side of the garage and it's pretty large.  There's a small path between it and Dave's car on the right.  We keep the recycling bin on the passenger rear side of my truck and I rarely leave much clearance between the two.  There's also a small area between the bin and the door that "houses" the various yard tools that we don't have hanging; including the oversisized, "industrial" weed wacker.

Mira rarely waits for the door to go up before pulling to get into the garage, there are cookies and a good massage waiting for her on the other side of the door after all!  Tonight was no exception and as I dodged right to toss the paper, she charged forward between the car and truck.  I missed the bin, the paper bounced between the tools and eventually the weed wacker lost it's fight to remain upright and slid down the wall dragging two shovels with it under the truck.

I'm 5 feet 2 inches tall - the truck is approximately 79 inches wide.  Somehow, some way I managed to wrap myself around the back side of that truck with one arm flailing to try and save the weed wacker and the other arm (with the help of a 6 foot leash) trying to keep Mira from charging ahead fully spooked.

Yikes!  I never did like yard work...



 

The Start of A New Season

We had cool weather this morning!  It is amazing how 55 degrees in October feels fresh and crisp, compared to 55 degrees in April that feels dingy and humid.  But it's October and I am happy with mornings in the 50's!

We did an out and back on Kennesaw Mountain this morning.  Starting at Burnt Hickory Road to the Illinois Monument and back, all in all just over 5 miles.  I've been working on obedience with Mira with the intention showing in AKC obedience and earning a BN title.  I had proof today that the effort and focus on "stay" was paying off.  The picture below was taken during our rest at the top of the run.  I dropped the lead and stepped away from her while I poured some water and took her picture (I acknowledge my timing is off since I caught her blinking).  There were a pair of Golden's just above us who were having a jolly good time with their owner, and she didn't once bother to get nosey about it.  Huge strides for us :)  Consistency is paying off!

 

 

She took a minute to pose for me at the monument before we started back down the trail...

 

 

I also made some progress in the "confidence department" this morning running downhill on the trail.  I have far more confidence and trust in Mira as a running partner than I would be able to place in any of my other dogs, even my nearly 13 year old Maddie.  Mira is calm, she's not so full of prey drive that every squirrel looks like the perfect chase, and most of all she seems to care that I'm on the other end of the leash.  There was only one part of the trail today that I didn't trust myself enough to keep up a jog with her.  Near the bottom, there is a serpentine that is pretty narrow.  There's lots of loose rock/gravel and ruts from rain washout.  I just can't bring myself to jog that small stretch with a dog on lead yet.  Someday, Mira, someday we'll get to chase the trail all the way to the bottom, I promise.

 



 

Brick with Mira

Our intention was to head out to the Silver Comet today and take a long training ride early.  We'd be home by 9ish and ready to wash the RV and take care of the other household maintenance that needed to be wrapped up for the weekend.

At 4 am, I woke to horrible pain in my neck.  I've been nursing a sore and mis-aligned neck for several days, often unable to turn my head without moving my entire upper body.  I was up and loaded with Ibuprofen but not really able to move my head much.  Seeing the darkness descend on the end of my tunnel, I woke Dave and told him I'd turned my 5:30 am alarm off - we'd have to ride another day.

Around 7:50 I woke to the clanging of dog bowls in the kitchen.  Dave was preparing breakfast for the girls and I could hear the dancing of 8 feet across the hardwoods in anticipation of their morning fruit, veggies and cereal.  I drug myself out of bed and sat with the dogs while they ate.  Dave and I chatted while I put on a pot of decaf.  I began to stretch myself a little while working around in the kitchen and began to get really frustrated because I didn't really feel very bad now, certainly it was nothing like I had faced at 4 am.  After some discussion, I decided I'd rather get a little accomplished today instead of nothing toward training, so we agreed to ride close to home for a short time and then I'd come back, pick up the dogs and run with them.  At least I'd get a short bike/run brick in and the dogs would get their exercise too.

It worked out great! I knew I'd be over an hour since the dogs ate before I was ready to run and if I took it easy (which I was pretty much forced to do physically), it wouldn't tax them into a potentially harmful stress situation and create a fear of bloating.  So off Dave and I went on the bikes.

The ride was good.  Relatively uneventful in comparison to having had the dog attack problem earlier in the week.  It was chilly, only 59 degrees, when we started and I had on a summer cycle top.  But it didn't take too long to warm up and forget my arms were exposed.  I was feeling good about the decision to make some lemonade from my lemons.  Once we dismounted and put the bikes back in their racks, I grabbed harnesses and leads and we were out the door within a relatively short time for an abbreviated run.

I got a couple of miles in with Mira on the run portion of the brick.  I'm afraid I'm spoiled now, running with a dog is far more enjoyable than running alone!


Glad to have been able to turn this adversity into a good opportunity today!



Fed, exercised and hoping we'll leave soon so they can sleep!