Sunday

There is a lot to talk about in this post.

1. the capriciousness of Mother Nature. I ran today in about 8C, overcast, drizzly. Two weeks ago, I ran in about 4C, overcast, windy. Good running weather, both days. But, of course, the Ottawa race weekend was a week ago, and 18ishC, and sunny. WHAAAAA?

2. Yesterday: 3.5 miles with the dog, and 1.5 miles to work. Then at work I was exposed to some new contagion or whatever, and started sneezing a lot.

3. Got up this morning for run club, but it wasn't feeling right, so I conked out and slept in until ten. Then I felt ok, just a bit tired, and I headed out to meet run club at the end of their run. Jogged back, so 2ish miles total there, albeit with a brownie and chat interjection.

4. Grabbed the dog and, considering the nice weather, decided to run ten miles. Yes, run. WEll, jog. No walk breaks. So we did that and it was nice, except

5. FOLKS, this whole coming out of winter hibernation to cast the evil eye at my dog isn't cool. I try to look pleasant and my dog heels well, better than 95% of the dogs I see, but people have been kind of pissy about my dog lately. Yeah, he looks evil but we made it through the winter without anyone getting mauled and he's been very easy-going about sharing the paths we held down in -20C and below. Bikes, trikes, Hummer baby strollers, blades, other dogs, etc, he just jogs by. Yet people glare. Not everyone, but enough to harsh our buzz. We get into a groove, maybe get a nice compliment, we smile, we keep running, and then someone punctures that with a glare. The same thing happened last year, too: we ran through slush, whatever, no worries, just smiles from the other people crazy enough to be out there too, and then it gets nice out and suddenly we're running into folks who look like they've been sucking lemons. People haul out their toys and weekend warrior attitude and squirrely little kids and ill-trained designer dogs pulling the whole family along and it beomes How Dare You Run with Your Mean Dog in Public. But very few people confront me directly, which makes me even more annoyed because I think I'm itching for a fight, although I get a kick out of people who get hauled towards my dog by their golden or labradoodle or whatever and then mutter that my dog is vicious. (my 2nd favourite is when we're running along and someone's loose dog runs up to mine and they mutter that my dog is vicious). So, whenever I see someone glaring at me-at my dog-at me (it's becoming quite distinctive), I try to smile angelically. Next step is to match their passive-aggressive bullcrap with a good ole 'How you doin'? Gotta problem?'

Or maybe I should just quit running through the Glebe. LOL. Oh, it's too easy to knock the Glebe. I should quit that. It's very convenient and calming to run through, and it's not like we don't get issues elsewhere.

And, if last year is any indication, this sort of thing will die down as the spring of spring wears off and people venture less outdoors again.

And some people compliment my dog; a few people, including two dog trainers, have commented that he heels really well. And there are people who are all over him...he is something of a man magnet, lol. He has his fans. He's the type of dog that most people have a strong opinion about, good or ill. More importantly, though, he is well behaved in public. I take him out with the attitude that when he's out, he's 'working'. He has to behave. He has to stay close beside me unless I tell him 'ok'. We're still fine tuning things such as when he crosses the street--he tends to drift away a bit--but he's never pulling ahead of me. I don't accept that. "Who's the human here? Who created fire?" If he starts tuning me out, on goes the halti--how he hates that! He can still enjoy sights and smells, but on my terms. I'm the leader. Sounds harsh, but it's a lot safer for everyone than the all-too prevaling attitude that going out in public is a good time for a dog to play and go crazy. My dog has his crazy play moments too, but not in public. People are afraid of dogs. Everyone deserves to have a nice calm outing.

Anyway, he 'worked' for ten+ miles today. :)

And the real main issue is that my blog title is misleading--it's not 3XX days to go. It's maybe not even 3X days to go. I'm excited that it's so soon and annoyed that it's been so long. It's high time that my husband got back so that we as a cohesive family unit can cast judgemental glares with impunity (although that's not really on my homecoming list, lol).