21 May 2014

Running with dogs

Lets go for a run dad!

Those of you with a keen eye for detail may have seen on my Strava feed that I have been going for occasional runs with my dog Sascha - she's a bitch about 9 months old. She's a cross between a Staffy and a Beagle. A Beagle would make a great running companion but I sense the Staffy in Sasch makes her ask the question 'why are we running and why wont dad let me sniff all the wondrous smells on offer around here?'. She starts off fine, with an incredible bouncy stride, but as soon as we hit the hill she starts lagging somewhat and I'm tugging her along! We are barely going Sub 5 min K pace. She's young and she probably needs more regular training. 
I dream of having a running companion that can run off the lead and 'sit' when we have to cross roads and challenges me to go faster. We had a Lab/Collie cross in the UK called Chester. He was a fantastic runner, he ran about double my distance along the paths and through the woods at Stanmore. If there was fox shite within a 10 mile radius, he'd find it, roll himself in it and then stick to my side! Luckily there was a lake near our home and I'd throw a stick and he'd dive in and take a bath regardless of how cold the water was. He'd fetch when there was ice in the lake! 
He was crazy mad, he once went sprinting off into a really muddy section of bog and did both his knee ligaments in one go - that cost us a few thousand pounds at the vets!
I notice quite a few people take their dog with them on parkrun and I have marveled at some ingenious water bottles with fold down doggy trays. I will take Sasch for a parkrun one of these days when she is more accustomed to passing another dog without a hackle raising barking fest or an arse sniffing getting to  know you (in a doggy way) dance. Surely someone has a record for running 5K with a dog ? Or is that cruel? pushing your bitch too hard? Chester would easily have beaten me if he ran in a straight line over 10 or 12 miles, Sasch is young and has a highly motivated daddy who will train her to run and to be a great running companion for those lonely Roo+Lake runs.
Here is an article on 'rules' for running with dogs
Robot - Pelican - Dog
This morning I got out for 30k on the bike @ just under 30kmph and will run lunchtime.
Don't disturb me - Its a recovery day!
The Corporate Games results are her;
http://www.corporategames.net.au/qld/pdf/results/qcgresults2014.pdf
For the run results scroll to the last page. My victory was about 3mins.

3 comments:

Early morning bike ride said...

The GTrain was out riding his "bike" yesterday when the Pelican came up to him and said ,
" your Lordship how's Sascha , I saw her chasing the Robot yesterday on a bike ? "
"Oh", said the GTrain, " that can't have been Sascha."
The Pelican looked puzzled and said,
" I'm sure it was Sascha ."
" No replied his Lordship , I haven't taught Sascha to ride my bike yet ."

Duathalon world said...

In a wide ranging interview I was able to catch up with Lord Garmin recently at his North Lakes' training grounds to gain some insights into which direction this remarkable athlete now intends to direct his not inconsiderable and garmined energies . I asked him first to elaborate on his new found running companion , Sascha the dog . " yes I picked up Sascha the other day when I was out cycling . I get used to getting 'chicked' all the time and the odd motorised wheel chair whizing past but I was amazed when this pup on a kid's tricycle went peddling past me on one of the steeper inclines on my circuit . It's bad enough with irresponsible owners letting dogs off their leash but this was ridiculous . I mean I was in total shock as the poor thing didn't even have a helmet on . I managed to overtake going down the hill but the little bugger just couldn't be dropped . I was using the big gears and nudging close to 15 kph but she stuck like glue and followed me all the way home . " I asked his Lordship what happened next . " Well the kids were pretty excited when they saw the pup riding in behind me because they knew I was after a dog ." I asked Lord Garmin if this was a security measure as a consequence of his megastardom . " No actually. We've all been a bit shocked lately with this controversy in regards the Robot and the forged birth certificate . We knew he didn't look his age but with Botox and plastic surgery it's amazing what some of these old vain dribblers can get away with in their pathetic attempts to stop looking old . Lucy said it was a bit suspect he didn't even have a wrinkle but we were prepared to give him the benefit of a doubt . I'm old enough to be his father . Obviously he'll end up in court and will have to give back the Easter Bunny he won at the World Park running Championship . But Frank ( alias The Pelican and His Lordship's manager) said we should just humiliate the prick and I'd challenge him to a race and out age grade him running with a dog . So I was looking for a running dog rather than a cycling dog . " Well , not to overstate the obvious , I said to His Lordship that he had obviously kept the cycling pup and asked whether this had been influenced by the kids . " No it was actually Frank's idea again . He knows I've been struggling a bit on the bike and he's desperate to promote Duathlon to a wider market and audience . So he approached me to ask , that seeing as I had championed heaps of hopeless causes , would I give his a bit of a nudge along . He was quite rightly sick about these pathetic jokes regarding Duahletes as simply triathletes who can't swim . But I admit while I'm a champion in park running I struggle on the bike . Frank reckons it's because my bike is crap and with a new set of wheels I can find that extra 20 kph I need to be competitive . But Lucy reckons I'm just a crap cyclist . So Frank said if celebrity won't highlight his sport , meaning me, than maybe we needed cheap publicity meaning , Sascha ." I asked his Lordship to elaborate as I was having trouble following his train of thought . " It's obvious ." he said, but looking at my still puzzled look continued , " well we're going to train Sascha to ride the bike leg for me . Frank's checked the rule book (actually he knows it by heart) and reckons there's no law against it . The media attention would be priceless with Sascha cycling and me running . Duathlon would take off overnight ! " I then asked where would humiliating the Robot fit into this new found promotional scheme of the Pelican's . " I'll take care of him at Gold Coast . I'm going to expose him to the world as the fraud he is and encourage my league of supporters to get out on the day and pelt him with rotten fruit and eggs . Pretending to be an old befuddled geratric . The guy's sick . Frank's been right all along . Time to humiliate him ."

Lusty Lucy said...

David you said I was going to be the only fling in your life and now you've taken up with this new bitch ! It's over with us now . I meant to what I said about your cycling . I'm going out with Frank now . He appreciates me . Plus he can cycle over 40 kph . What a stud !