Book Learnin' Applied

Welcome to the morning run! In today's installment, we were joined by my Running Pal! That's what happens when he takes a day off on a running day (because guess who's working tomorrow? And, guess what tomorrow is? Rest Day! Man, he really timed that wrong. HA!).

"Heyyyy ... you are new to this scene!"

We unintentionally put a concept about which I recently read to the test during this outing. That concept is about how and why to use your arms while running or walking. Basically, I read if you pump your arms, then your legs will naturally follow. So, your arms can boss your legs around. Who knew?

That's actually helpful for a novice like myself to know for when I'm feeling a bit fatigued, and I've employed it a handful of times to keep the groove until my legs catch back up with what they're supposed to do. Of course, if my arms get tired, too, then I'm basically screwed.

This concept came into play this morning. You see, when Aaron and I hit the first mile, neither of us was breathing hard. And, I mean not at all. In fact, we'd barely broken a sweat. (But, how cool would it be for exercise to be that easy?!) I realized that we were going crazy slow, and in my quick assessment, that was a result of Aaron holding Elly's leash which was preventing his arms from cranking.

You need to understand that this man can haul it on these outings, and I've often thought his arms played a bit part of his outcome. (See how I've applied my learning to his success but forget to make it a consistent part of what I do? How does that happen?) Anyway, without any forewarning, I asked for the leash, traded him for carrying the poo bag (he fell for it!), and we kicked it up a few notches. Ahhh ... there we go! Now, we're cookin'!

Well, cookin' until a shoe comes untied ...

We had a great go from there except for when we split up on either side of the road to see if we could score some running cash. DENIED. It's never there when you make an effort to look. I should have known better. Amateur mistake for sure. BUT, I did find this little gem later on:

The last time I found one of these, it was back in the Fall. But, clearly, this is a family ritual:

A collection 8 years in the making!

A score is a score! I'll take any little prize that comes my way!

So, I'm thinking one more run for the year before taking a week's rest ... ahhh ... that sounds fabulous! Also fabulous is giving your puppy some love:

... and getting some love from the puppy ...

"Let's bring him more often, mommy. He tastes delicious."

See you on Rest Day tomorrow!! What a great way to spend Friday!!