The Shaming

Run: 1 mile
Time: 9:50
Mood: Fast!

That's right, kids. A sub-10 mile. I'll sit here and let you read the above stat again. Let it sink on in your noggin'.

......

Did you see?! A 9:50 pace! It was only for a mile but who freaking cares?!

Gunner and I took off flying this morning! I don't know why the pace was so quick, but I felt really good. We had to stop twice for potty breaks, but I managed to remember to pause my Run Keeper.

You're probably wondering why there isn't an image of the Run Keeper screenshot as evidence. Well, there's only really one explanation.

The dog did it.

My little pooch was running right alongside me like a good boy as we hit .9 miles. He was behaving, keeping with the pace, running where he should be...

Until the other dog came along.

And not just any other dog. A police canine. Out for a stroll with what I'm assuming was his police-officer-owner. If there's one thing we all know about police dogs, it's that they're well-trained.

If there's one thing we know about Gunner, it's that he's not.

The police dog trotted by with his owner, and Gunner lost his mind. He ran in front of me, lunging on his leash trying to play with the well-behaved German Shepherd. Which almost toppled me over. Having a dog go a little nuts is usually OK when the other dog is going nuts, too, trying to play.

Having a dog go a little nuts when the other dog is staring back at your dog with that I'm-embarrassed-for-you look, it's a little...well...embarrassing.

It gave me a mental image of myself as the parent with the wild child. While little Timmy Thompson is playing nicely with his GI Joes, my kid is going to be wrecking sandcastles and running around yelling "anarchy!" at the top of his lungs. It's gonna be a blast, I can't wait.

After what we will from now on refer to as The Shaming, I realized my Run Keeper was still going and my split evidence was ruined! Gunner and I walked a little bit further and then turned around to go home. Total walking time was 35 minutes.

Doggy Park!

Run: 1.8 miles run + 1.8 miles walked
Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes - 12 minute pace for run
Mood: Breezy

Gunner and I headed out at around 5:45 this morning for a nice, long run. Or, well, what I consider a "long" run these days.

My goal was to do two miles. I was planning on turning around at the 1.5 mile mark and running another half mile back. But once I saw we were getting close to the park we go to on the weekends, I decided to keep running to Gunner's favorite dog park. Gunner, of course, knew exactly where we were and started running like a husky attached to a dog sled where the dogs are straining against their harnesses trying to pull the sled. We all know who was the sled in this scenario.

The dog park ended up being a little over 1.8 miles from the house. 

Gunner played with his new friends, Milo and Butch, and I got a few dog-training tips from their person, Judy. She gave me a few treats for Gunner and then he and I headed back to the apartment.

I paused my Run Keeper app once we got to the dog park b/c we weren't running anymore. I also managed to remember to pause it when we stopped running for Gunner's bathroom breaks.

I did learn, though, that I need to "end" the workout on Run Keeper when we stop running instead of pausing it. Otherwise, when I "end" the workout once we're back home, Run Keeper thinks I magically made it the almost two miles home by osmosis. It literally tracks the shortest distance between where I paused the workout at the dog park and where I hit "end" back at the apartment - a straight line, over buildings and creeks, etc. However, the app keeps the paused time the same. As you can see in the above photo, it thinks I did 2.88 miles at an 8:40 pace.

In your dreams, Run Keeper. In your dreams.

By the time we got back to the apartment it was exactly 7 a.m. and mommy had to hurry up to get ready for work. Gunner, meanwhile, went right back to bed.

Now I only need to tack on about 4 more miles in time for our 10K in 5 weeks!

I will note that I've stuck with my new morning routine of the 5:30 a.m. wake-up. I get up with Scott and even if I don't get a run in, I make dinner in advance and take Gunner for a nice long walk.

Bad Goggy

I've been getting up at irregular times for the past...oh I don't know...seven years or so? Pretty much since high school. If I'm tired, I sleep in late, if I happen to be up, I get up early. The wake-up time ranges from 5 a.m. to 7:15 a.m.

A 5 a.m. wake-up means a workout, a walked dog, a shower, a packed lunch and an iced coffee.

A 7:15 a.m. wake-up means Gunner gets to pee really quickly and I'm lucky if I manage to walk out the door with my keys in hand and pants on.

I'm finding that the 5:15 a.m. wake-up is what works best for me, and I'm going to make it a goal to get up at the same time every morning. This morning I managed a run with the dog, and to make dinner for tonight.

Our "bad" dog after getting kicked out
of daycare. Looks like a meanie, right?

The sudden need to get up at a regular time is more stemming from the dog than from me. Mr. Gunner got kicked out of doggy daycare yesterday, and Mommy had to leave work in Bethesda to drive back to Crystal City to pick him up. The owner said he had "attacked" the other dogs, but I honestly think she didn't want to deal with a high-energy pup. Basically, if we know we're taking him in for a play day, we won't really run him or try to tire him out, because we know he's going to exhaust himself the next day at daycare.

Welp, Gunner is going to need to be run every morning now. We've got to chip away at his energy daily, so the next place we try won't be so overcome by his rambunctiousness.

We did two miles today and Gunner came home, ate breakfast, and passed back out.