Even though this winter is less snowy than last winter, I have not been as brave running outside this winter. I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m just more worried about falling and breaking my arm? Or I just like being warm? Who knows.
Anyways, there is only so much treadmill running one can take, so I managed to get outside yesterday. I wore some chains for my shoes so the thin sheet of ice that accumulated overnight posed no problem. Maxi, of course, has four legs, which makes her very stable on the ice (Jeremy called it her four-wheel-drive last night). I took Maxi for the first time in over a year. Poor dogs. As soon as my schedule gets squashed, the dogs are the first to get ignored. Although my excuse for not taking Maxi on my runs is very lame. Mostly she drives me crazy because she wants to pee all the time and she likes to take her time to find the most perfect spot to poop. Come on doggie! I’m training here! I gotta go! No stopping now! And then I have to carry a bag ‘o poop for a couple of miles trying to find a place to throw it away. I’ve been yelled at by neighbors who don’t want a single poop bag at the bottom of their city trash can. So I have to hold onto it until I get to a public trash can or a neighbor who I know would be sympathetic to my cause.
I have not walked Maxi for longer than around the block in over a year. It seemed like a lot to ask her to go on a 45 minute run. I figured that Max would be out of shape. But she held up surprisingly well and during looked at me many times with gratefulness and happiness (tongue just flopping out of her mouth practically saying: I’m running! With you! Yippee!) and I felt guilty that I’d abandoned her for the past year or so.
Sorry Maxi, we’ll hang out more.