My favourite running partner

Being part Husky, Odin loves to run and jump and frolic. And he also needs to do it often. So running together satisfies two needs - his for exercise and mine for fitting in another run. But it is also more than that. As I gather up my running gear, I glance over and see Odin sitting in his bed, staring out the window at the world outside. And then he sighs and lies down, as if giving up on ever leaving the condo again.

Finally dressed and ready to go, I grab the leash, open the door, and he is barging out ahead of me, free at last. His pure enthusiasm for anything athletic is so inspiring that it lifts my spirits at the beginning of the run, instead of the feelings of dread that I usually have when starting a solo run. Other than the occasional bathroom break and doggy sniff, we run as a team, gathering focus, until on the last leg of the run when we have the same stride, both looking straight ahead, caught in the moment. Odin is my pet and companion. But he is also my running coach, urging me to go further and faster, growling when I let up on my pace. And I couldn't ask for a better friend to run with.

Lessons from running

On June 4th, I ran the Whistler Half Marathon. It was the first race I had run in over five years. And two weeks later, I ran the Johnny Miles 10k with my Dad. Or rather, we started together and he was waiting, cheering me on, at the finish line.

I've also been listening to Neil Firore's audiobook, "The Now Habit". At one point, he talks about how his clients have taken huge learnings from their athletic endeavours, and then been able to apply what they have learned to the rest of their lives. So far, I've learned two big lessons.

Number 1 - Goal setting

In January, when I decided to sign up for the half, my goal was to finish the race. All through my eight weeks of training (because I procrastinated and didn't start training until March), I had the same goal. Based on my progress, I figured it would take me 2 1/2 hours. And then two days before the event, with no time left to train, I decided to change the goal. Now I wanted to finish in 2 hours. Just like that. And you know how long it took me? Two hours and 29 minutes. Lesson learned? Goals need to be realistic and attainable.

Number 2 - People can change

As you can probably tell from my half marathon time, I am a slow runner. Seriously slow. My sister looked at my race photos & said I looked like a speed walker. All through my training for the half, I ran painfully slow, with everyone else on the trail zipping by me. "It's okay", I would tell myself. "You're just a slow runner."

And then, two days after the half, I flew to Nova Scotia to visit with my family, already signed up for the 10k. With two weeks to train, and a previous 10k race time of 1:10, I decided that I could change. I could be a faster runner. I could run in under an hour. So I actually did two speed training sessions, one each week. I still went for slow 5k runs, but they were faster than I was used to. And on the day of the race, on the hottest and muggiest day I had experienced in all of 2011, I ran the first 5k in 29 minutes and the whole 10k in 1:03. No, I didn't break an hour. But I came close. And more importantly, I changed.

So lesson learned? Change is possible. I can be faster, stronger, fitter. But I can also change in other areas of my life. I can also be louder, bolder, fiercer. For the first time ever, I look forward to change.

I can hear spring coming

I took O for a cross country ski last week, maybe our last for the season. It was early morning and no one else was around. The snow was hard, frozen over from the afternoon freeze the day before. Still, I went as fast as I could, slowing down every so often when the track disappeared. Finally, we reached Rainbow Park and I stopped to take off my skis and run around with O for a little break.

It was a beautiful morning, with the sun not quite rising over the mountains on the left and the ski hill on the right empty of skiers. And for the first time all season, I was not surrounded by silence. Instead, I could hear birds chirping, water running, spring coming at last.
Photo credits: me

Setting Them Up for Success - Make Plans for Humping Time

This winter, I bought a whole classic ski setup so that O and I can have something to do outside together besides walking (boring for him) and going to the dog park (boring for me). We started off slowly, because it took me a few times to get the hang of it and stop falling on my ass every ten minutes. And there was a particularly bad outing where O just plain ran away and spent the whole afternoon playing outside of our old house. while I skied back to the car and drove home alone, calling the muni on the way to once again report my missing dog.

But gradually we got the hang of it and I started to enjoy these short 3km skis together. And then my parents came to visit for a week. My dad is allergic to dogs and neither he nor my mom are big dog kind of people (O weighs 70 lbs; their dog weighs 10 lbs), so I pretty much ignored O for an entire week.

After a fantastic visit, my parents left and I attempted to get back into my normal routine. I took O for a ski. And it was awful. Terrible. Not fun at all. He charged at people, ran way ahead of me, and adopted a group of 20-somethings as his new family, playing with them on the frozen lake and ignoring me completely as I called after him and waved treats in the air, to no avail. I put on his leash and slowly wiggled my skis along the track, all the while cursing O and feeling frustrated and angry.

And then it dawned on me - I wasn't setting him up for success. I was simply expecting him to be good and then getting mad when he wasn't. And the solution? So simple! Now I take him to the dog park first, let him run off all his craziness and hump other dogs, and then we head out for a ski together. We've been three times since my 'ah-ha' moment and every time has been great. Now he trots along beside me like a well-behaved dog and plays with me on the lake instead of running after other people. And all it took was some well-planned humping time.