Plan B

Before the title concerns you, I DID manage to get my running in this week. It wasn't pretty for a number of reasons, but it happened.

One of the reasons would be my canine companions, Jake and Stella. Running with them can be a real chore! Stella hates the heat and by mile three I'm having to PULL her. Jake just wants to mark EVERYTHING along the route, so we "stop" far too often. I'm getting pretty frustrated. I long for the days when Zoe couldn't wait to get out the door and would run and run and run, usually off leash. She was just the BEST running partner.

So, on to Plan B. I'm actually not even sure I know what Plan B is yet. I may try running with just Jake on my next long run (5 miles - yes, only 5 - it's still early in the training, folks). I now leash him with a Gentle Leader and that has helped his pulling and stopping some . . . and he's seems good for the distance, even in the heat.

Of course, I leave next Saturday for four weeks, so Plan B may be discovered while I'm away and dogless. I will get to run with my brother at the beach so that will be good. And my ensemble theatre company (The Misa Table)'s producer is now training for his first half marathon, so I'll have some running company when we're in workshop in NH (of course, he's like 6'2'' so I'm not sure how that's going to work exactly). But the rest of the time I'll be on my own.

After one doggie-difficult run, I posted on my FB page I was looking for a human running partner. I didn't get any volunteers, but my Pace Group Leader for Galloway Group all those years ago said he wished he was closer so he could join me (he lives in Boston). So there is the possibility of cyber-training with him and another friend. I'm going to check out my Pace Group Leader's online training site to see if it's something that interests me.

Now, as I mentioned, I did get my running in last week. I haven't been as diligent about cross-training (unless you can count walking 5 dogs at a time or mowing the lawn cross training). That really MUST change. And I haven't been able to track my time on my runs even remotely. I did look at some good training watches at WalMart the other day. I may just have to splurge and get one. Oh, and I need new shoes. Yup. Time for that expense. Still, running is pretty cheap by fitness standards.

So I haven't given up. Just moving on to a new plan . . .