Saturday, January 26, 2008

Dogs, Dogs, and More Dogs

This morning, Tim and I headed over to our group's Saturday morning meeting place. Tim wanted to run 9 and I wanted to run 16. We started together, and then I moved forward to catch up with some of the others. It was a typical Saturday run - faster pace, flat course, beautiful landscapes (sunrise, fields, mountains, river), right up to the point a pit bull and some other kind of dog came charging out at us. What the heck! This is the third time in the past month that part of the group has been charged, so it isn't just a freak accident that these dogs are out. They hide behind the wall of their house, and come at us just as we make the turn. It is very scary. I really believe that if someone was alone, or just with one other person, the dogs would attack. Today, there were about 12 of us, and a couple of guys picked up rocks and threw them in the general direction of the dogs, but sheesh, it was still pretty scary. I got attacked by a German shepherd when I was 10 years old while I was walking home from school, and I have never gotten over the fear. I rarely have any kind of problems when I run alone, but there sure seem to be a lot of loose dogs. I carry mace when I'm alone, but I'm afraid I'll die of a heart attack before I have a chance to use it!

After we got away from the Hounds from Hell, we encountered another group of three loose dogs. At this point, we were all a little skittish, but these turned out to be super friendly. So friendly in fact, that one (a cocker spaniel) followed us for the last 12 miles of the run. We couldn't get him to go home! It was fun to have the company, but stressful because he kept wandering into traffic. I wasn't wearing a fuel belt, but I told Luis about Tim using his as a leash the last time. This worked, and we were able to keep the dog safe until we could get to a phone.

It was a nice run, temps in the mid 50s, and sunny. We kept a pretty steady pace - I'm guessing about 8:15 - 9:00 - with a few faster bursts here and there. Afterwards, we had burritos - the best part - and set our schedule for tomorrow. Salvador is getting ready to go run the Sahara in that 6 day stage race, so we are going to run 26 tomorrow. Tim and I are going to a dinner party tonight, and it doesn't start until 8:00 pm. What! Do people still stay up super late? If I'm not in bed by 9:00, I feel sleep deprived! I hope I get at least 5 hours of sleep, or I will be a mess tomorrow. Kinda strange that I love 24 hour races when I can't stay up past 10:00 the rest of the time :) Anyway, I took my rest day on Thursday and then cross-trained on Friday. This week I should be at about 90 miles. I was hoping to hit 100, but leaving town on Thursday kind of messed me up. Oh well, since I still don't have a Spring race picked, there's no point in going crazy!

Hope everyone is feeling good and getting excited about Spring racing!

8 comments:

Olga said...

How interesting that we both posted about dog attacks. And you know, I was bit by a German Shepard when I was pregnant with Alex, and the fear never left of a charging/barking creatures. I can be fine with any dog but those raised/breeded to be attackers. Can't muster the courage to touch them.
90 miles, wow! I am lost - what's your next goal? :)

Ronda said...

cool 90 miles a week...that's awesome and I am jealous of your 50degree weather.

Dogs.....hmmm I am a total dog lover and never afraid but I have never been in a bad dog situation. Olga knows my Weim is picky about who can touch her so I know how people feel. I swear I try to keep my beasts contained. :)

Olga said...

Ronda, your Ultra may not be touch-able, but he doesn't jump on others! That's the difference:)
On another note, I didn't forget about the "idea", I am just swamped, but I am totally in!

Carilyn said...

Hi Olga and Ronda! Yes, the scary attack dog run definitely got my adrenaline going (could you tell in my post :) ? Because I live "in the valley" (where it is much more rural), a lot of people have big dogs for protection. You definitely can get surprised by them if you are not careful. The good news is that most of them just want to go for a run with you :)

Carilyn said...

Olga,
No, I still haven't pick a race - agh! I will talk to Scott on Wednesday, so hopefully he will help me sort it out. I finally committed to ODM and then found out that a bunch of people switched over to KM 100. I don't know enough about any of the "trail" races to make an educated decision. I'm still looking at your suggestion of Ruth Anderson 100k. But 60 miles still seems like I would have to go fast :) I'm with you, I like slow and long!

Bev said...

I have a dog thing too. I can't run any where around my house because of stray dogs. Even if I suspect there might be a dog, I'll turn around. I'm a total nut case.

Julie B said...

Carilyn, that is too scary on the Hounds from Hell. I feel your fear. I was never afraid of dogs, until I was on my last 20 miler before running my first marathon. A black lab that I passed every run decided to take a hunk out of my butt. I finished the 4 hour run, then went to ER to have 32 stitches. I am forever leary now of dogs. I love Topoaz unconditionally, but none others..

Carilyn said...

Hey Bev and Julie! Seems like once you've had a dog bite it's hard to stay brave when they come towards you.

Julie, 32 stiches?! That's crazy! And painful! One of the bites I got was behind my knee, right on the vein. Tons of blood - thought I was going to pass out!

The good news for us all is that most dogs just want to play!