Hitting the Wall

As some of you know, we get exercised pretty regularly.  However, during the winter months, one of our owners (the one who runs us most often) came down with some sort of virus/chest cold that knocked him out of commission for a few weeks.  In addition, that same owner has been really busy during the Spring, so we haven't been able to exercise as much as we would like in the past month or so.  What does this mean to the Toes N Tails gang?  It means that our endurance level has taken a hit.

Desi (all black) doesn't seem to be affected by the lack of recent training as she is still quite spry during our runs.  Whether 1 mile or 10, Desi is strong throughout the run.  However, Rocky (stripe on his face), is a totally different story.  Rocky has hit the wall big-time.  During our past 3 runs, Rocky has struggled to finish each time and during our last long run (Saturday afternoon at Sharon Woods), Rocky basically said the heck with running around mile marker 4.5 (our course for the day was around 7.25 total miles).  What did this mean for all parties involved?  It meant that Desi and her owner had to continually stop as Rocky slowed down (or stopped) to catch his breath/smell the flowers/water the flowers.  We at the Toes N Tails gang can understand a pit stop or two, but Rocky has turned the runs into basically a 'stop at every exit and check things out' routine.

After some rest, some coaching, and a little encouragement, Rocky was able (barely) to finish the course as he dragged himself across the finish line behind his owner and Desi, who led the way.  After the run, Rocky guzzled a couple of bottles of water (placed in a bowl of course...Rocky can't drink from a water bottle) and was ready for the ride home (with the windows down to cool him down).

Once Rocky made it home, he took a few more drinks from his water dish, waited for his chow to be made, scarfed down his food, and then went and laid down for a nap.  I don't think anyone saw Rocky's eyeballs for the rest of the night as he was crashed out.

Looking ahead, we hope to get our endurance levels back to where they were around Christmas time (we ran 12.5 miles in Toledo one morning) before the hotter Summer days arrive.  Wish us luck as we turn it up a notch these next few weeks!