Marigolds and Manicures

I have something of a love-hate relationship with running with Elly. I love it because I love her. I love her company. I love how happy it makes her to get on her leash and go! And, I love watching her ears fly behind her while she runs. It makes her look like Underdog. And, of course, it is her pace I followed to train myself to run distances, and I will forever credit her for that. For all of those reasons, I miss her when I don't take her with me.

I sometimes don't like taking her, though, because we will have a tug-of-war when she wants to smell stuff and I want to keep going. I win, but it's a shallow victory because I feel bad making the hound dog stop smelling stuff. I also hate when I don't realize she's stopped to use the facilities, and my arm about comes out of its socket as she has firmly planted herself to do her business. And, carrying a poo bag for a few miles is not my idea of a good time. I smell nothing compared to that on a warm day.

So, given the summer heat and my desire to not inflict heat stroke upon my sweet canine, I did most of my miles on my own, and I chose to enjoy the solitude. However, now that it's Rest Week and tolerable temperatures have returned, I decided to pamper the pooch with a fun stroll this morning! Join us:

Nothing says "Good morning" to Elly like
hearing her leash come off of its post!

I've been anxious to get her back to running
to get her nails trimmed back. A mani-pedi
is most definitely in order! This week will
take care of those needs!

Her tail was a-goin' ...

... and her nose was a'sniffin'! Being able to
stop and sniff was a huge treat!

I remember the first time I saw my shadow
when I was running, and I thought, "Hey!
That's me!" (cool because the shadow was
running ... I get that we all have a shadow!)
I thought about that when I saw Elly's shadow.
I don't think she was particularly impressed
by it, but I still thought it was cool!

We even took some time to stop and watch some squirrels. Elly
could hardly believe all of the pampering she was getting!

Did you know my trainer is also a model?
Check her out! Okay, she's not, but she did
want to show off what a great time she was
having on her celebratory walk!

And, of course, we took some time to stop
and smell the roses. So to speak.

So, with nails getting trimmed and flowers smelled and squirrels watched, it was a great way to spend a Rest Week morning. A whole lotta hard work goes in to so many other weeks of the year; taking concentrated time out to just enjoy matters, too!! And, while we found no money on this venture, we still stopped for a cold Diet Coke on the way home. Ahhhhh ... Treat yourself today!