Hump Day. I don't think I've ever truly understood until I tried running 5 consecutive days. I remember from the last week that Wednesday was the hardest run. Adding in T25 workouts in the afternoons didn't make this Wednesday any easier.
The one thing that I love most about running with Henri is this: the bond that it creates between us. Yes, I love Henri. He loves me. Sure, but from my point of view, who he really loves is my husband. This is probably because someone just flashes his puppy dog eyes and suddenly there is food in his mouth. This food is not coming from me, thus I am not the one he truly loves.
No, I'm talking about a different bond. It wasn't there until we started running together. It's the same bond that dogs and their handlers have when they run agility. They understand each other. They are in sync, on and off the course. It's like I can just think something and Henri is already responding. He listens better to what I want him to do, even when it's not something he wants to do. He follows me from room to room. He cuddles up next to me, on the couch, in bed and often times there is no food involved! When we are at the dog park, he looks to me to see if he's allowed to join a certain game. When he does the right thing, he comes to me as if to say, "Did you see that? I was good!"
It's not just all about him doing what I want. He is now one of those dogs that know how you're feeling and does something about it. After one of our first runs, I was severely dehydrated. I felt like I was going to be sick and my entire body hurt. I could hardly move. I ended up sleeping most of the day, and he stayed in the bed with me. He either had his paw on top of my hand or his head rested on my legs.
Henri knew I was struggling this morning. I wasn't really in pain, I was just moving at a much slower pace. He was by my side this run more than any run before. He kept looking up at me, to my confirmation that he was a good boy.
Maybe I'm actually just getting faster. Maybe that's why he seems to be by my side more. Yeah. Uh huh. Sure.
I did do something that one of my friends taught me when she used to try to get me to run with her. She told me, "When you are near the end of your run, sprint to the end." I've never been able to muster up enough energy to do that before. I thought I was going at my top speed, or at least that I didn't have enough juice left. Maybe it was just because I was running at a slower pace today, but I pushed to a little sprint at the end. I think she would be proud. Henri seemed to be. I'm sure he would love it if I would run faster!
For the record, I still think Henri loves my husband more, but he does have a special place in his heart for me!
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