An eventful little plod.

23^rd November 2012

Training properly started today; I went for a run.  I know.  Gasp.

Just 3.2 miles around the village.  The village isn’t that big, it was two 1.6 mile loops around the village, stopping in the middle to swap dogs.  Oh yes, the dogs came with me too.  Taking a dog running on a waist lead is a little bit of a cheat because there tends to be some “spaniel assistance” in places.  However I’ve reasoned that I also need to get used to running attached to a dog because they will need to go on the lead for parts of Trailtrekker – if I’m knackered I don’t want to have to be being hyper-vigilant for sheep etc.  And THEY need to get used to “forced running” or Pace of Death running as well.

I have to say though that Oscar, the older dog, is much more sensible and hardly offers and spaniel assistance at all – at least not around the boring old village.  Hugo, who is just over a year old, is still under the illusion that he can make his mum run faster if he only puts his back into it.  Oscar has given up on that idea and has accepted the plod, it gives him chance to sniff anyway.

So today was just supposed to be a low key plod round the village to help me find my legs again and see how much fitness I’ve lost, and whet the appetite for more running.  It ended up being quite eventful and although I felt like I was running well it took me 40 minutes to run those 3.2 miles!

First off there was plenty of pit-stops, wasn’t there Hugo?

Sorry lad!  Actually I only have to stop running to pick up so that doesn’t account for that much time.

We also met The Lady With All The Dogs, not just once but THREE times.  The thing about The Lady With All The Dogs is that her dogs go bonkers when they see another dog so I don’t feel right approaching them at “speed” and then running past and away and leaving the poor woman trying to hold on to three big dogs in my wake.  So I stop running and let her do her running away and hiding thing or the careful passing on either side of a parked car... it takes time.  And when I saw her when on the Hugo loop one of the dogs slipped its collar came bounding over at full pelt (across the road! :-/ )... Fortunately it was actually just friendly and Hugo was un-phased by the, ehem, enthusiastic approach!  But I did have to wait until it had lost interest before moving off – I didn’t want to carry on running and gain a Golden Retriever!  So three meetings with them did take up some time!  My boys were good though, despite three big dogs staring at them and bouncing they just stay calm and ignore them.

While I was out on the Hugo loop I saw a flash on the side of a cottage, not lightening?  Surely.  It doesn’t feel like thunderstorm weather.  But a few seconds later three loud rumbles of thunder.  Blimey.  When I got a view of the sky to the north I could see the storm sweeping in.

 Best hurry up then.

A quick swap for Oscar and back out again, I left the camera at home because I felt we might be in for a soaking and the light was fading anyway.  I got most of the way round the Oscar loop with just one stop to avoid the Lady With All The Dogs and was feeling quite optimistic about getting back before it rained.  But then a car that had been driving up and down the village stopped to ask for directions to a holiday cottage I didn’t know existed.  The conversation took a while because I got confused due to there being two pink houses in the village.  And then just as I set off running again the rain, actually the hail, arrived!  It wasn’t long until we got home but both myself and Oscar were soaked (and sporting matching hair-dos as my hair had gone a bit spaniel in the rain!)

Hugo was smug because he had missed the rain/hail.

Quite an eventful run for a quick plod round the village!  I was pleased though because it felt ok, I didn’t feel massively unfit or wobbly bellied/bummed.  I did get that awful stingy-itching one my sides and stomach which is just capillaries near the skin opening up after being out of use for a while – blergh – it usually stops after a couple of runs though thankfully.  And I felt reasonably fit and like I was running well.  Good, good.

As I ran round I was thinking it might be interesting to actually record how far I go on my feet every day – not just running distances.  Because I could quite easily walk 2-3 miles a day just taking the boys out for toilet walks!  And then they usually get another walk where they go off-lead which will be around 3 miles as well.  So I’m probably walking about 4-6 miles a day without realising and that is just through the week, they get a longer walk at weekends!  If I can build that up to a consistent 6 miles plus a day through the week just mooching with the dogs then that is all good training.

The dogs are completely flat out now.  1.6 miles was clearly enough for them today.  They best get used to the idea of a bit more though!