Friday, July 30, 2010

Some things we can't control

I had made the decision to go to yoga this morning at 10:00 and then get a trail run in after that.  I was counting on our sucky weather to allow me to do this late morning trail run by staying foggy until the afternoon.  Boomer gave me "the look" as I got dressed in my yoga attire, grabbed my mat and walked out the door without him.  When I pulled into the gym parking lot I noticed the plethora of open parking places (very unusual for any time of any day).  As I neared the front door I saw employees standing around outside.  Bummer.  Power outage. 

I went back home and changed into my running gear (which made Boomer quite happy) and packed up my hydration pack.  I drove over to Garin/Dry Creek to my usual parking lot.  As I was pulling in I saw a white dog running around.  Soon I could see it was a Pit Bull without a collar.  Great.  I am all about helping out stray dogs.  I have rescued numerous (at least 20) dogs in the 16 years I have lived in my current house - the last one being on July 4th.  I pulled my car close to this dog and looked at him.  He looked at me and scurried away.  I pulled up close again and he did the same thing.  I finally parked and got out of my car to see if he would give me a hint of kindness.  Nope.  He did not look friendly or open to being helped.  I called the EBRPD main line and let someone know about this poor guy.  It made me very sad that I wasn't able to help him.  Since I had the two dogs in my car and it was a Pit Bull, I elected to drive up the road a few miles to Garin's main parking lot.


As I began running, I started worrying about the stray dog.  I know how vicious these dogs can be and I kept seeing the look in his eyes.  This made me not want to run too far in that direction with my dogs.  Every noise I heard in the bushes was the Pit Bull coming at me.  Every time the dogs got too far ahead of me I would panic and call them back.  So, I ended up cutting the run pretty short.  Just 2.5 miles.  Oh well.  The dogs had a great time and at least I got something done this morning. 


Yesterday I went on a bike ride with Aron.  Yay! 


She sent me a text Tuesday night, asking if there was any chance I was available Wednesday morning for a ride.  I was not happy to inform her I had to work that day but I had Thursday and Friday off.  She somehow got things together for her trip down south and made yesterday morning available for a ride with me.  We met in Pleasanton at 8:30.  I asked her if she could handle a 40-miler.  She seemed very anxious to give that a try.  I took her down Foothill to the Sunol train station.


Ellen and her new friend

From there we went on some country roads back through Pleasanton and Livermore.  The ride had a little bit of everything for her to experience and she handled it all like a champ!!  There was no tip over, even with the little blip while trying to get clipped in on a slight hill when the light turned green.  This was only her 4th ride or something like that, and her longest one so far!  Good job Aron.  Hopefully we can ride together again, before you get so good that I won't be able to keep up with you.  ;)

"MED2010" Accountability:
07/28 - 3 mile walk
07/29 - 40 mile bike ride, 1.5 mile walk, "24SET" class


Until later.............

8 comments:

RunningLaur said...

Hope the pit bull ended up ok, but you did the right thing. The well being of Boomer comes first!

Unknown said...

Funny how Boomer knows yoga clothes from running clothes. My dogs know what my walking attire looks like (very similar to running attire) and get excited when they recognize that we're going for a walk.

Glad you ladies had a nice bike ride!

Anonymous said...

Some breeds get a bad rap, but I probably would have done the same. I own a Rottie and I get the same looks. I made sure my Jersey is a furry couch potato..she just looks mean! You're furry kid looks like a good running partner.

Aka Alice said...

This post makes me feel better about my skittishness around off-leash dogs...I mean if YOU were nervous then I'm not such a dog-wimp after all.

I wish I knew the difference between "The Look" and when a dog is being friendly. I don't know enough about dogs to know the difference, so they all just sorta scare me a little... Not good, huh?

Pam @ herbieontherun.com said...

I am a strong bully breed advocate. I have two, and they are absolute angels. I hate the unfair fear that the media has put into so many people with their pit bull stories. They're not a mean breed. Mean people have trained their dogs to perform certain ways, and it breaks my heart. But if you, as a dog lover, recognized "the look," you did the right thing by steering clear. He may have been one of the poor souls that has learned the hard way that humans can't be trusted. :(

珍盈洪 said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
RunToTheFinish said...

That's awesome you have taken in so many pooches! I am impressed by people with such big hearts, I want to but really with the condo it's just not possible.

any tips on finding a good road bike?

Aron said...

THANK YOU again for taking me on an excellent ride :) I had so much fun out there with you and cannot wait to go again!