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