Thursday, April 3, 2008

My 4-legged running partner

I'm dedicating this post to Wiley because he is such a dedicated running partner. At 9 years old, he was putting on some belly fat and acting very lazy at home. During our 5-day backpacking trip a couple of weeks ago he started out full of energy, but by day 3 he was clearly sore. After the trip it took him two days to recuperate before he was excited to go for walks again. We only did about 6 miles/day on that backpacking trip which is far less than normal. So I was a bit concerned that my little running buddy was no longer up for the hiking and running he used to love so much.

Yesterday, as I was getting ready for a 5-mile run, Wiley would not let me leave the house without him. He knew I was going running and he demanded to be a part of it. I haven't been taking him with me for the past few months, but he seems rather invigorated and back to a lean, healthy weight since that backpacking trip. So, I took him on the 5-mile run and he did just fine. He wasn't sore later in the day either, so I guess my running buddy is back! Now if he'd just stop howling at hot-air balloons, I could take him running more often. Nothing ruins a beautiful, sunny morning with balloons in the air like a barking dog running along side.

By the way, my 10k training is going great. I even bumped up to the "advanced beginner" training schedule a few weeks ago (it was from running.about.com, but they no longer have this schedule up). The Run for the Zoo is just a few weeks away. I'm on Week 4 of this schedule, but I do the longest runs on my own during the week.

Advanced Beginner 10k Training Program

Week Run/Walk 5 min/1 min Fartlek Long Run Run/Walk 3 min/1 min (optional)
1 4 mi 2 mi 3 mi 3 mi
2 5 mi 3 mi 4 mi 3 mi
3 6 mi 4 mi 5 mi Rest
4 5 mi 2 mi 6 mi 3 mi
5 4 mi 3 mi 5 mi 3 mi
6 3 mi 4 mi 6 mi 3 mi
7 4 mi 3 mi 4 mi 3 mi
8 3 mi 2 mi Race Rest

2 comments:

  1. Your running partner sure is cute. I admire your dedication with your running, I'm doing a basic 10k training program right now and it could be going a bit better.

    ReplyDelete
  2. what is "fartlek"?
    Oh, and running is the devil's tool to convince me that hell really does exist...however, if I had a dog, I might actually get out of the house. Damn cats!

    ReplyDelete