I'm training for a marathon. Big whoop, no big deal. Thousands of people do it. However, after having been an uber competitive cyclist for a number of years (and state champ, thanks very much) I find the motivation a little more difficult to muster these days than it used to be. I love the training and used to tell my non-racing friends that I raced to train instead of training to race. My ends justified the means, not the other way around.
Unfortunately, that kind of desire to train doesn't translate to my transition from cycling to running (not that THAT transition will ever be complete). Enter the St. Jude Marathon Expo - my g/f (a fellow dog-lover) and I happened upon a great little booth, Gypsy Runner with dog-related running slogans and I bought a technical tee that says "My running partner has 4 legs." My dog Charlie does have 4 legs after all.
Anyway, I'm digressing. During the first 2.5 weeks of December I'm traveling for work so I started looking for internal motivation to run, as well as the latest issue of Runner's World (January 2010 issue). It's got a great 11 line item about running like a dog that I'd like to share with you and that gets me interested in running most mornings here lately. My dog Charlie doesn't care about mileage, improvements to fitness, PR's, or even whether or not his hamstrings are going to be tired later but instead focuses on the small things - the pee on a post he smells, the new tracks in the mud that weren't there the night before, the bushy-tailed, scurrilous squirrel that's always taunting him, or even just a fresh breeze, which should, for most of us, be motivation enough to get out for a run. I'd like to post that 11 lines from Runner's World (January 2010 issue) for you to read and, if you have/had/want to have pets, to know what it's like to strap that maux faux on a leash and go for a runner:
Run Like a Dog
My dog, a shepherd mix named Cooper, doesn't care where we
are or what time of day it is, or even what the weather is like.
He doesn't know what his resting heart rate is and rarely bothers
to wear a watch. He just loves to run. And every time he does,
his face and his body telegraph one simple mesage: This. Is.
AWESOME. I'm runningrunningrunningrunning!
The "Run Like a Dog" Workout (including Warmup and Cooldown)
Walk 8 seconds. - Trot 4 seconds. - Stop. Sniff. - Sprint 7 seconds. - Freeze. - Walk 5 seconds in any direction but forward. - Stare 9 seconds. - Lunge at rabbit. - Double back, walk 3 seconds. - Urinate. - Repeat six times. - Collapse on rug.
If only we could all look at a run (or exercise) that way. There wouldn't be the need for tee vee shows like The Biggest Loser (which I love, btw).
P.s. - I skipped my run today in favor of a long walk with Charlie where we struggled against the leash for "another 5 feet to get closer to showing those fegging squirrels who's boss and who's tethered." I don't regret that skipped run one single damn bit.
Peace out homeez, it's December and the Christmas months. I hope you and your family enjoys time together in a quiet manner (with dogs and running, of course).
Waitwaitwaitwaitwait, back up: Gf!?? You gots a gf?
Posted by: Broad | December 29, 2009 at 01:37 AM