My Running Buddy

My favourite running buddy joined me for a quick pre-dinner run this evening. Todd and I had a lazy day doing chores and watching movies, so the gym was a last minute task and we had to cut our cardio short (Only 20mins on the X-trainer & 4 of 3 x 10 on resistance). Still hungry for more cardio after we got home, I put a leash on Bronson and took him out to hit the pavement.

Bronson loves to run, absolutely loves it. Unfortunately our schedules don't leave a lot of time for his favourite activity. While I run several times a week, for the most part Bronson's exercise is a couple of laps of the block post-run because I just can't rely on him to set a steady pace, so as a running partner he's less than ideal. Today was no exception.

The second my feet left the driveway Bronson was off and away, and for 10mins straight he powered along, setting a cracking pace, with me struggling to keep up. Around the 10min 10sec mark though, that all changed. In an instant his pace had halved and his breathing rate had doubled.

Bronson is quite funny when he gets tired, suddenly he develops a fascination with marking every letter box as his own, and sniffing each and every plant we pass as if it were the most incredible thing he had ever encountered. I took the hint and slowed to a walk for two minutes - you have to remember the poor puppy is a little overweight... I didn't want him to have a heart attack! Almost to the second, two minutes after slowing down he was off and racing again like he'd just been given an adrenaline shot. Five minutes later and we were back to the peeing on letterboxes and smelling the roses routine.

I was a little frustrated as I had really wanted to get a decent half hour out, but instead it ended up being five minutes of sprinting (way to pace Bronson), followed by two minutes of Bronson gasping for air and setting new records in the world's slowest dog category. Strangely, by the half hour mark I wasn't really bothered though. I actually started to enjoy having a companion who found the simple art of running as if it were one of lifes most exhilirating experiences.

I think Bronson is the first running partner I've had since my Dad that I've actually enjoyed running with. Growing up in a house with 6 other people it was often hard to get one-on-one time with parents and the couple of runs that Dad and I shared each week were pretty special to me. Sometimes it felt like the only time anyone he noticed me, so those runs meant a lot to me and I've had a pretty hard time finding someone who could fill those shoes. But with Bronson, sprints, walks, gasping and all, I love that he is able to draw such sheer joy from the experience. Everytime I breathlessly muttered a few words of encouragement to him (or to myself perhaps?) he would find another burst of energy, and the phrase "good boy Bronson" was enough to fuel him on for at least another minute. By the end I think I was almost a little jealous that he could draw such delight from something so simple, especially when he was clearly feeling the pinch.

Frustrating or not, I think I'll be taking that dog on a few more runs with me. That old saying "life's a journey, not a destination" seemed to take on a new meaning with my running buddy beside me. It was nice to have someone remind me that the real joy is in the doing, and not in the finishing...