Tuesday, January 4, 2011

I Aspire to be More Like my Dog

Meet Indy, my faithful chocolate lab aka The Best Dog in the World

This lovely brunette is almost 4, which is 28 in dog years. As the only girls in a house full of boys, we have to stick together, so it is good that we have a lot in common. Besides being close to the same age (I am 31) and brunettes, we are passionate about many of the same things in life and we are both fiercely loyal.

We both love …

1 - Eating
2 - Relaxing lazily in the warm Texas sun
3 - Sleeping for 10+ hours at a time (or more)
4 - Running around like crazy for fun
5 - Playing with and protecting our boys
6 - Hiding from our boys when they are being, well, boys
7 - Cuddling on the couch
8 - Wrapping up in a warm blanket
9 - Attention (unless it is a result of #6)
10 - Being with our family
11 - A good back scratching
12 - Sneaking food from the boys

… just to name a few.

For as much as we have in common though, she has (at least) one quality that I seek to possess…

Sheer excitement to go for a run no matter what time of the day, how hot or cold it is outside or how tired (who am I kidding) she may be. She does not love to swim (hmm, not sure if I do either) and she can’t cycle so I can’t speak to those sports.

Let me paint a picture with words on what I am talking about.

Tuesday morning, 5:25 AM. Bedroom is dark. I am up, have brushed my teeth, put in my contacts and put on my running clothes. I am sitting on the bedroom floor putting on my socks and shoes and I look up at the bed to see Indy staring at me longingly, much like in the photo above.

I get up early often, so I know it is the running shoes that have given me away. I ask her if she wants to come for a run with me and her head perks up. I finish tying my shoes and tell her that she better get off the bed if she is going to come with me. She immediately jumps down and stretches (something I should do more of too).

As I stand up she starts walking circles around me in excitement. When we get to the utility room to grab her leash she starts jumping up and down. She can no longer contain her excitement about what is about to happen. When we get to the street, I barely have time to hit the start button on my Garmin before she is ready to take off.

Her leash is adjustable so I am able to wear it around my waist so that I do not have to hold it while we run. After the initial quarter mile or so, her pace settles in as her excitement becomes pure contentment to simply be running – and you can tell by the smile on her face.

10 comments:

Allie said...

I need to take some notes from Indy as I pysche myself up to start running again!

Cathy Beaudoin, Ph.D., MBA, CPA and Triathlete said...

As a dog lover and triathlete, your post made my day!

Caratunk Girl said...

NICE!! I totally aspire to be more like my dog too!! Awesome picture.

Unknown said...

I feel too much like my dogs - fat and lazy! :) Actually one of my dogs could run circles around anyone and happily will. Maybe I need to take after her more!

Joel said...

What a great looking dog!

Unfortunately, neither of my dogs like to run - they just like to smell everything. Really difficult to keep a good pace when they keep stopping! ;-)

Velma said...

My pups also like to run. Happy New Year!

Relentless Forward Commotion said...

*sigh* I have such puppy fever! Like baby fever, but instead of another kid, I want a dog! Great post!

Kiersten said...

My "boys" are in their 90s in human years, so no running for them. I do have fond memories of days when I could jog with both of them though. She seems like a great pup!

Unknown said...

My pups like to run, unfortunately they can only make it like half a block before I have to carry them home! They are pugs, gotta suck having a smashed in nose!

Your lab is awesome!

jessithompson said...

So great - we have a lab too and I always appreciate how happy go lucky he is. We're lucky to have great companions and reminders about attitude! ;)