Go Anyway

Do you know how many times I told myself I should just go back to bed this morning? My dreams were weird. I didn't sleep well. I left the lid off my contacts, so they were dried up. I was dropping things. I didn't really feel the best. It was awful. I was so afraid that this run was going to be bad.

After a week of rest (rest as in only the runs on the training plan and no strength training - just for this week), I had hoped my body would feel so much better than it does. Maybe I shouldn't have cut the strength training this week. I don't know, but my muscles do not feel very rested. So, as we pushed off from the start, my body started to cry.

It wasn't awful and, thankfully, all of the bad omens as we prepared to run faded away. The mental game was still very much in play though. It was a little more humid, so Henri was dragging behind a little. That's okay. It forced me to slow down a little and take it easy, spreading out my energy, which I probably needed. See, this is why I run with him.

Every time I'm out for my long runs, someone goes by and comments on the fact that Henri is not with me. Every time. It's not even the same people. The 16 mile run, every person made a comment. Maybe it was because it was Friday morning and more people were out than during my early morning Saturday runs, but every person! Thanks for rubbing it in, guys! I know I'm missing my dog. And trust me, I'm missing him.

Because Henri didn't seem to enjoy the heat of our run on Monday, nor today, I might cut his run short this Monday. It's supposed to be 8 miles, which I barely have time to squeeze in before work as it is. So, either I run 4 or 5 miles with Henri in the morning and run the rest in the afternoon or we run 4 or 5 miles, I drop him off at home and finish the remainder of the miles. I don't think he'll like it and I wouldn't want to stop long enough to feed him before I went back out and I hate not being with him for awhile after we run in the heat, just to make sure he drinks water and cools down. I suppose the fact that he's bringing me toys to throw down the hall within ten minutes of our return should mean he feels fine.