One of my favorite things about running is some of the people I chit-chat with. There was a time in my life when I never would have stopped. Too important to improve my pace, My time is too precious, blah, blah, blah. The little old ladies who walk on the path in their big rain hats and their trench coats from the 40's and 50's...they are so sweet, and so anxious to have someone to visit with. Gibson is a natural conversation starter, and I've never left one of these encounters wishing I'd just kept running. So what if my average pace today was 13'26"! One of my miles was a sub 7, and we shared a chuckle with a little old lady about her toy poodle that she had for 18 years.
Gibson is a blessing and a curse on my runs. I love that he is another impetus that drags me out there, but I hate running with him. He is squirrly, and altogether too sociable. Today I at least partially resolved the problem. I wore a belt, to which I secured the end of his leash. At least he wasn't pulling my arm off, and he learned very quickly that if he was going to stop, he had to start again before the slack picked up. When Lily ran with me, she was so all about pleasing me. She stuck right by my side, never wavered, never sniffed another dog-butt, never begged from attention from all the other pedestrians...she just wanted to be by me. Not so with Gibson. Today I could not shake the feeling of being a skip-it but I think with time he will get better about tagging along. He keeps up very well, and today, he loved being out in the rain, and was still going strong after 3 miles. I think it's time to increase our distance. Tomorrow he is going to give my 4 mile loop a try.
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