It was early evening. Six inches of snow had just fallen, and
I was annoyed. I was fully dressed in winter wear, a down-filled coat, Sorel boots,
wool hat and gloves. I rushed down the barely visible sidewalk, stressed that I
was going to miss yet another bootcamp class. Determined to lose the cruel mid-life weight that was making
an early (haha) appearance, I had joined a local women’s-only club several
months before. Tonight, however,
the newly-adopted creature on the other end of the leash was demanding my precious
time.
I was not in a regretful mood. I loved the new addition to
our family. Our American-born son had been jailed in Texas for 3 years, his
only crime being that he resembled a wolf. It was little more than a miracle
that our family, north of the 49th, adopted him. But this night, I was running
late, and he was the cause. I quickened our pace and, as we neared the end of
our street a mere 400 meters from where we started, our walk turned into a jog.
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As we reached the next side street, I told myself: This will shave off a few minutes. Maybe I will make my class on time
after all. We rounded the corner, I was amazed that I was not gasping for
air. I had not run in decades, and
the few times I did, it did not go well. With each step, the expectation that
pain was imminent, grew in me. We circled the next block and, amazingly, we
were still jogging – my toes slamming into the tops of my boots, my body overheating
under my heavy coat. I was in shock. Why did this feel so good?
That was the night my dog turned me into a runner. Since
then, Yogi and I have rounded many corners together – the husky half-breed
pulling me to go faster and faster. His frequent need to mark his territory
gave me the necessary breaks to catch my breath and rebuild my strength. I have
never had a more determined trainer. To this day, two and a half years later, the original dog with a bone, still demands that we train together for a joyful 30 minutes a day.
Puppyyyyyyy, what a good boy! Amazing what a great training partner a pet can be. W2G!
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