Saturday, July 7, 2012

A True Five Mile Walk with a Piebald Pit

Last night I threw caution to the wind and had a Diet Coke with dinner. I know better. My system is so wimpy when it comes to caffeine. I know I'm going to pay the price when I drink a DC after, say, 2:00 pm, but I haven't had one in ages, and I was craving one, and so I drank it knowing full well what the consequences would be. Up at 2:00 am, couldn't get back to sleep, finally texted Janette at about 5:00, saying I'm going back to bed, there's no way I can make our planned walk at the trail at 7:00.  I tried to get back to sleep, but it didn't take. At 6:30, I gave up, put the leash on Banks, and off we went to St. Ed's (I'd let Jackson take my car to work so the trail was no longer an option).

I loved every minute of it.  It was early enough that the heat wasn't too bad, and there were mysterious puddles every so often that Banks could drink from.  It helped that we spent about a mile of the walk in the woods.  Lynn has always said that "Walking in the woods makes a dog feel like a dog," and you can see that in Banks.  He just comes alive when confronted with the different smells, sights and sounds. 

So re-dedicated am I to this five-miles-at-a-time thing that I think it rubbed off on Banks.  He did great, and it was only towards the end that he started the rolling in the grass routine.  I loved the "feel" of this walk, juxtaposed with the gym workouts.  At the gym, the miles are compressed into 65 minutes or so; the pace is frantic and competitive, and at the end my muscles are tight and burning. This morning, I walked at my 18 minute mile pace for the full hour and a half, taking medium strides and gentle hills. It was the perfect complement to yesterday's five.  And now I feel a nap coming on.

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that made me smile:  "Make awkward sexual advances, not war."

No comments:

Post a Comment