A dog day

I would have preferred running outside yesterday, but we had rain and lightning, so I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill, putting in 60 minutes and running 6.32 miles. The average was right at 9:30, but I had a few miles between 9:05 and 9:13.

Today there was no rain for a change, but it was mid 80s and very humid when I got home from work. I decided to go only about 4 miles and to take it easy. I walked out of the neighborhood so I wouldn't have to burn up energy early, then chugged along at an easy pace. The overall average pace was 9:55, and I did 4.23 miles.

The run featured an encounter with a big Lab mix that kind of got my blood moving. I was in my walk phase just about a half block from the house when the dog trotted across the street ahead of me. It paid no attention to me and although it was big - probably 80 pounds - it didn't look or act aggressive. As I got closer the dog's owner called for it to come back, and the next thing I knew it was coming across the street and closing in on me from behind. It came right up to me and then suddenly veered off. Whew! The owner watched the whole thing. His comment as I was dancing away from the mutt: "He's OK, but I know you can't be sure of that."

Truth is, HE can't be sure of that, either.

I wanted to stop and show him what an unleashed dog can do, but I was so relieved that nothing bad happened that I just kept on going. -- Rob