Training With Resistance

At least once a week I have on really bad training day.  So far, this day has always landed on Thursdays.  Last week, Thursday and Friday were kind of awful, but Thursday was by far the worst.  This week, without fail, I had a not-so-great day...but for different reasons.

First, I woke up feeling not-so-great.  My stomach was achy, and I just felt kind of drained (I'm blaming hormones for this one).  I thought about canceling / postponing my run, but I knew how I'd feel if I didn't go out.  Plus, I had a dog who needed some exercise.  So, I laced up my shoes, and went on out.

Second, I ran with more than just Cody.  I have a dog staying with me for the week who is very sweet but is also very hyper.  Her issue as always been that she has a lot of energy, and I knew a run would help her out.  Since she knows a good heel command, I figured she'd be OK.

What I never figured is that I'd outrun her!  We hadn't even gone two miles when she started to fall behind.  At first I thought Cody was just in her way, so I gave her a little slack in the lead, and I had Cody switch sides.  Then she fell back more.  Then I heard her feet starting to drag the ground.  Yep, it was just about time to stop.  I struggled to finish the block with her, and then I slowed things down to a walk.

At first I was really disappointed.  I mean, these are my training runs.  I'm trying to work on speed and distance and endurance, and the last thing I need is to be slowed down by a dog.  However, I realized something, besides the fact that I felt kind of poopers to begin with, the thing that had made this run so difficult was her pulling me back.  She was acting as resistance.  On top of that, even with her resistance, I was able to keep a desired pace.  That's all good news.  Of course, there's the added bonus that this hyper dog is now tired.  Not passed-out-on-the-floor tired, but she's calmed down considerably.

I know I won't take her on my long run on Saturday.  That day will be reserved for Cody and me time.  I'm not even sure I'll take her for a run next week, since I really don't like working a dog that hard when they're not used to it.  Still, though, it was nice to know that I could push myself that hard.  It's nice to realize that runs are becoming easier for me.  It's nice to look in the future and see more running.  I like these thoughts.  I like them a lot.