- I like running in the dark at this time of year. Everything is starting to grow and wildlife is really active in the several hours before the sun comes up.
- I come up with lots of random thoughts while I am on my long runs but only remember a few of them because I don't save them anywhere and I forget many of them before I finish.
- How did people share this much information before social media? I don't remember people sharing extremely personal things face to face back in the 90's but maybe I was not included in these discussions?
- Women wear yoga pants everywhere now so now men are countering by wearing sweatpants?!: http://www.npr.org/2015/04/08/397138654/for-the-modern-man-the-sweatpant-moves-out-of-the-gym Sorry but no matter how nice they look you are still wearing sweatpants!
- I passed 6,000 runstreak miles earlier this week on runstreak day 1221.
- I'm still fighting the censor in my head that keeps me from commenting on certain things on social media platforms.
- It bugs me when I am out for a run and I say "hi", "good morning" or even give a head nod to someone and they don't acknowledge it in some way. Most people respond in some way but when they don't I wonder if they are just naturally angry or didn't hear me.
- 18 more days until the next marathon.
- If get injured all the time from running then there is something wrong with your form, the distances you are trying to go or you have some sort of muscular weakness. If you don't change something then how can you expect that you won't get hurt again?
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Running with dogs
One of the things I wanted to do more this year is volunteer at organizations that I support. The main place I volunteer is the local Humane Society near me, specifically working in the dog training area. I used to have a hard time doing this because I felt sorry for the dogs and wanted to take them all home but I have changed my view after working with the trainer at the HS. The more people the dogs are around and better trained they are the more likely they will be adopted. A few months ago the trainer asked for volunteers to run with certain dogs who are energetic, need to lose weight or need to get out and run. I thought this would be a great way to run more and do something for them so I jumped at the opportunity. Since then I go a couple times a week and run with several different dogs each time. The Humane Society is right near some trails that go along the river so it is an ideal route to run and to get them used to being around people, dogs, wildlife and bicyclists.
Note: I have a dog that is a former police K-9 (Kiya), I have tried running with her but she is trained to track people and alert on drugs so she is not a good runner because you stop all the time to smell anything she detects. This is her:
We get lots of pit bull and pit bull mixes at the Humane Society because we are one of the municipalities in the area that does not have a ban on them (Denver and Aurora do). After working with several of them I can tell you they are great dogs and don't deserve the bad reputation they have.
This is the primary dog I run with named Lollipop after one of our runs:
Lollipop has loads of energy and is much stronger than she looks. There are signs on her kennel warning volunteers to talk to the manager before walking her because she can pull very hard on her leash. After running with for several weeks now I can definitely say she is improving. I walk in and when she sees me she will start jumping around and barking because she knows it means she gets to go out and run! When I first started running with her it took a fair amount of strength to hold on to her leash while running until she started tiring out. Yesterday as soon as we started running she didn't yank on the leash and was pacing herself (we usually go 3-4 miles). After she is done running we get her some water and walk around a bit to cool down. Several times the trainer has worked with her shortly after a run and she seems to respond better than when she doesn't run. Now if I can only get her to quit wanting to lunge at wildlife along the trail!
I also ran with a new German Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix named Karma (I never realized how often you could say "Good Karma!" until I ran with him). Karma runs like a deer with a very easy looking trot and is very responsive to any leash commands. He is dark colored and looks like a thin wolf but is very social.
The last dog I ran with is named Klutch and is some sort of hound mix who is just out of puppy age. He runs like he can't control all of his legs so it is this spastic run/jumping thing and he sniffs everything he comes across. If I didn't have a leash on him he would jump into the river and chase geese.
One of best moments of the month of February was assisting in finding Jackson here a new home:
In February I was in a training class where a variety of shelter dogs were present. Jackson here was the star of the class in that he obeys commands and doesn't react to any of the dogs around him. Jackson had been at the shelter for awhile, most likely because he is intimidating looking (he is a pit bull/rottweiler mix) and he has a loud bark. If you came around the corner near his kennel and he barked most people would jump and back away. I took this picture of him and showed it to a friend of mine who has a several dogs and told him this dog was perfect for him. He is used to bigger dogs like him and knows how to work with them. I persuaded him enough that he took a look at him the next day. He even brought his other dogs down later on to do a meet and greet (a way for people to see that their current pets would get along with a new pet) and two days later Jackson had a new home! He even kept the same name which is great because many people change their kennel name after they adopt them. I have to say that this made my month!
Note: I have a dog that is a former police K-9 (Kiya), I have tried running with her but she is trained to track people and alert on drugs so she is not a good runner because you stop all the time to smell anything she detects. This is her:
We get lots of pit bull and pit bull mixes at the Humane Society because we are one of the municipalities in the area that does not have a ban on them (Denver and Aurora do). After working with several of them I can tell you they are great dogs and don't deserve the bad reputation they have.
This is the primary dog I run with named Lollipop after one of our runs:
Lollipop has loads of energy and is much stronger than she looks. There are signs on her kennel warning volunteers to talk to the manager before walking her because she can pull very hard on her leash. After running with for several weeks now I can definitely say she is improving. I walk in and when she sees me she will start jumping around and barking because she knows it means she gets to go out and run! When I first started running with her it took a fair amount of strength to hold on to her leash while running until she started tiring out. Yesterday as soon as we started running she didn't yank on the leash and was pacing herself (we usually go 3-4 miles). After she is done running we get her some water and walk around a bit to cool down. Several times the trainer has worked with her shortly after a run and she seems to respond better than when she doesn't run. Now if I can only get her to quit wanting to lunge at wildlife along the trail!
I also ran with a new German Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix named Karma (I never realized how often you could say "Good Karma!" until I ran with him). Karma runs like a deer with a very easy looking trot and is very responsive to any leash commands. He is dark colored and looks like a thin wolf but is very social.
The last dog I ran with is named Klutch and is some sort of hound mix who is just out of puppy age. He runs like he can't control all of his legs so it is this spastic run/jumping thing and he sniffs everything he comes across. If I didn't have a leash on him he would jump into the river and chase geese.
One of best moments of the month of February was assisting in finding Jackson here a new home:
In February I was in a training class where a variety of shelter dogs were present. Jackson here was the star of the class in that he obeys commands and doesn't react to any of the dogs around him. Jackson had been at the shelter for awhile, most likely because he is intimidating looking (he is a pit bull/rottweiler mix) and he has a loud bark. If you came around the corner near his kennel and he barked most people would jump and back away. I took this picture of him and showed it to a friend of mine who has a several dogs and told him this dog was perfect for him. He is used to bigger dogs like him and knows how to work with them. I persuaded him enough that he took a look at him the next day. He even brought his other dogs down later on to do a meet and greet (a way for people to see that their current pets would get along with a new pet) and two days later Jackson had a new home! He even kept the same name which is great because many people change their kennel name after they adopt them. I have to say that this made my month!
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