[Pet Photo Challenge] Week 17: Silly

For a dog that's so serious, Henri is awful silly! I say it almost daily. Sometimes, I just don't know what he's thinking. We're on a run and we see something move out of the corner of our eye. It's coming towards us. Henri stops. I don't blame him. We've been attacked enough, but guess what it was. A rabbit. He was scared of a rabbit! We went for a walk. We're practicing our loose leash walking. Someone just didn't want to slow down. We go the whole walk, at least two miles of it struggling to get him to slow down. The first thing he does when we get home? Run to the back door to be let out to poop. What? You rushed to get home to go to the bathroom when you could have done that at any point on the walk? 

He cracks me up. All I can do is shake my head and laugh at his antics. One minute he's Mr. Serious, the next a big clown. He's got some crazy stuff going on in his head and it all adds up to adorable!

What is going on in your pet's head? Is your pet a joker? Do they have silly game that they like to play? Do they make silly faces? Do you think they know what they are doing is silly? Maybe they are trying to make us laugh. Mission accomplished, Pup. Mission accomplished.

Heating Up

Today was our first run in a week, thanks to rain, heat, an overnight work night for me and some sickness for Henri. I was about to break down and switch to early mornings to get our run in when a storm front brought a cloudy day and slightly cooler temperatures.

Thunderstorms are a coming (supposedly) and while the radar showed storms right when we'd be running, I took a chance as I didn't see any dark clouds. It was still 72 degrees, which felt great when you're just outside, but it was still a little warm when running. We've been hitting the pavement in a slower form every day, but Henri was ready to run today. I'm glad he's feeling better most of all, but it was also good to be back out there. We ran at a decent pace, despite the heat. We even got back right before it started to pour.

I'm still not looking forward to early mornings, and I'm trying to figure out if I can switch up when I eat dinner so we can run later. I still think mornings will be cooler, but maybe I can prolong the switch for a little while longer.

[Pet Photo Challenge] Week 16: Art

This week I chose to do a double exposure project with a picture of Henri. I chose a picture of the woods, similar to those that Henri and I run in. It really plays to Henri's "wolf-like" appearance.

What inspires you and your pet? Is your pet the artist or the work of art?

Looking for Some Shade

I really wanted to sleep in this morning.  I knew it was going to be warm again, but I just wanted to sleep in. Henri got me up at 7:30 for breakfast and I should have stayed up and we should have gone for a run then, but I wanted to go back to bed. It didn't work. I finally just got up an hour later, but it was already heating up outside. We were just going to take a quick spin around the neighborhood, but that didn't really sound very fun and there is no shade anywhere. I decided to head out to the woods, even though I knew we'd be battling the hills, thus working harder, I thought there might be a bit more break from the sun.

There wasn't as much shade as I'd hoped for, but it wasn't too hot yet. It was beautiful and scenic. We hadn't been out there yet this spring. I used the heat as an excuse to keep it slow, even though it was probably more the hills. Our pace was actually a little better than yesterday. It could have been because Henri started mushing at one point, spooked by the sound of a car going over the bridge. So much for slow and steady! I kept up as best I could. I mean, he was attached to me. I didn't have much of a choice. He finally calmed down and we finished our run, cooling off under a blooming tree. Not a bad way to start a Sunday.

Runs this year: 52
Miles run this year: 147

Run Dog Run Virtual 5k

Today, Henri and I participated in Gone For a Run's Run Dog Run Virtual 5k. Of course I could run any virtual 5k with Henri, but one especially for you and your dog? Yes, please! We got a cute shirt, a race bib and a medal. Henri got his own medal, too!

The forecast was sunny with a high in the seventies. You know how Henri is with heat, so we got up early to head out before the sun heat things up too much. There's a marathon next weekend, so we joined all the other runners getting their miles in at the park. It did heat up real quick, so we made it an easy 5k, just enjoying each others company. We enjoyed the gentle breeze, the 'hellos' from the other runners, we pushed on our way whenever another dog came by and we even saw some deer romping around. It was a nice morning, despite the heat, a great way to start the day.

Here is our finishers shot! Note Henri's 5k charm to celebrate his completing this virtual 5k! So cute!

"I love running with my hoo-mom! Look at how cute I am!"

Runs this year: 51

Miles run this year: 144

[Pet Photo Challenge] Week 15: Bath

Spring means many things. Trees and budding. Flowers are coming up from the earth. The lawn needs to be mowed! The snow has melted, leaving behind a not so frozen ground. Between the snow melting and the precipitation that makes all these things grow, it's inevitable...it's bath time!

It will happen at some point. You turn your back for one second and here comes your beloved friend, covered in mud. What have you been doing? Where did you even find that? How did it happen so fast? Where do you think you are going!? Get back here! 

It's bathtime.

Henri does not like being wet. He doesn't like the rain. He doesn't like the dewy grass. He certainly does not like getting a bath. He does his best not to get dirty, but he might just get excited and run through a spot that is not as solid as once thought and mud splatters up beneath him and onto his rear. He knows when it's time. He starts sulking, trying to play cute and rolling over, only revealing just how dirty he actually is. Yes, Sir. It is time for a bath.

I'll try my puppy dog eyes.

I know he must suffer through a bath, but I don't make him do it alone. Misery loves company and thus, I am in the tub with him, needing a bath of my own once I'm done with him. One thing he does love about bath time? Being dried off with a towel afterwards. He goes nuts! It just might be worth it to him...maybe...might be...

The mud has to go somewhere, why not on our friends? Who loves a bath? Who loves a mud bath? Who just jumps in a lake and takes care of it themselves?

Can I get out of the tub now?

Need For Speed

We had another good, fast run today. Not quite as fast as yesterday, but close. That makes sense as it felt a little easier, so I didn't push as hard. Or it felt easier because I wasn't pushing as hard. Oops! I guess I could have pushed a little more...maybe.

Actually, it was a little warmer, so I think Henri was pretty happy with the pace we were at. It looks to be an amazing week, with temps increasing all week to the seventies this weekend. That sounds exhausting! I don't know how many days we can go in a row, but we will see!

Runs this year: 48

Miles run this year: 135

A Good Start

Today was a good run. I still had to push, but the speed was there. I believe both Henri and I were lacking motivation, but it felt good as we pushed through some wind and jumped over some puddles. We start the week off in a good place, hoping that this is the starting point for many more fast paced runs.

Runs this year: 47

Miles run this year: 132

[Pet Photo Challenge] Week 14: Tail

Henri's tail, a lot of people think it's a Husky tail, and it might be. All I know is it's Henri tail. It twists up over his back and stays there most of the time. Even when it comes down, it curls up at the end, just a bit. He wraps it up around him when he curls into a ball and when he's happy it swings side to side over his back, along with his butt. I don't know where it comes from, but it's one of the things that make Henri so unique and I love it!

What does your pet's tail look like? What does it say? 

Monday Push

Will this wind ever stop!? It was another windy day in Central Illinois and I'm over it. I really did not want to run today. I could have talked myself out of it really easily, but it's Monday. You don't start off the new week with a pass on your run unless you have to and I did not have to. At least the wind wasn't blowing in the direction that we have the longest stretch to run against. We did that yesterday. Like I said, over it!

It was one of those days that you don't know how to dress because you know it's going to be cold, but once you get going, you'll warm up, but how much will you warm up? That wind was cold and depending on how it hit you, you could be cold for awhile! It was like a nice winter day, but in the spring. It actually turned out to be a pretty decent run. I probably could have gone a little faster, but some aches and pains made me slow down a tad. 

Then Henri looks up at me from by my feet, panting and smiling, and I'm really glad we went on a run today.

Runs this year: 43

Miles run this year: 122

Windy City

No, we didn't go to the Windy City, the Windy City came to us. 

Henri woke me up at 6:30 to eat. I decided to appease him, then try to go back to bed. He decided that another thirty to forty-five minutes was enough and asked to go on a run. (Yes, he said he wanted to go on a run. What? You don't speak dog?) That's okay, I wasn't falling back to sleep anyway. So, here we were, pretty early on a Saturday, getting ready for a run. I checked the weather, even though I remember the weatherman saying this weekend was going to be nice. Oh, look! It's going to be 30-40 mph winds starting in about an hour. I guess it's a good thing we were getting our run done early.

I'm not quite ready for early morning runs yet, but it was a nice reminder of the quiet that is mornings. Less traffic, both on the roads and on the sidewalks. The skateboarders are still asleep, so Henri doesn't have to worry about them making all kinds of racket as we run by. It was really nice, so we took a little extra time before heading home and cooled down by the lake.

Now, the winds are here and I'm glad Henri woke me up early. I definitely would have passed on a battle against the wind today and I would have been disappointed in not getting to run. 

April Showers

After two days of rain, we were able to get back out today. While it was still windy, the temps were in the low fifties. With a thirty percent chance of rain, we took a chance, despite the rapidly changing sunny to stormy weather the past few days.

Henri was excited to get out again. With two days off, he had some energy to expend. I did my best, despite the wind. After a few days of T25 workouts, I was afraid I would be sore, hindering the run. I had some back pain towards the end, so I slowed down a little (I didn't want to quit). Even then, we still had a pretty good pace. I was pleasantly surprised, as I'm sure Henri was. Though I didn't run fast enough as we passed the houses with the barking dogs for his taste :)