Check out my progress on A Runner’s Best Friend
While on the elliptical this morning, I was reading Runner’s World (yes, the same one that inspired yesterday’s post), and I came across an article entitled “The Pet Project.” In this piece, the author discusses the advantages of having a furry friend as a running partner, Considering it involved two of my favorite things in the world (i.e., running and dogs), I was immediately immersed in this journalist’s account of training with a canine.
Apparently, not all dogs completely suck at running with humans. Pardon my blunt phrasing, but I’ve been on one too many outings with ill-behaved pups.
I tried running with Fred once, but soon discovered that his sausage-like frame and tiny little legs just couldn’t keep up; he’s now partially blind and deaf too, which wouldn’t bode well for minding traffic.
Chester has potential in that he’s younger than Fred and of a larger stature, meaning he could feasibly keep up the pace. The problem is, he is the laziest dog on the planet and much prefers to burrow into blankets rather than to exert himself in any way (with the exception of chasing butterflies—but that’s another story).
Then there are the pugs. Considering the fact that Gus and Dixie have trouble breathing even when at rest, I can only image what would happen if you pushed them to run. Sadly, Gus also has a condition such that his legs are partially paralyzed, making it difficult for him to be mobile at all. He makes an excellent lap dog, however 
That leaves the Boxers. Greta and Rainer are wicked athletes—they can run, jump, and swim like champs. The only problem is (as with all the other dogs) they live several hundred miles away.
Hence, the need for The Margot Fund is becoming greater. Plus, I discovered this little factoid in an accompanying article:
Reason # 843 that I need a dog, pronto.
Do you exercise with your pets?
As for the rest of the day, I ate some out-of-the-ordinary eats.
Apparently, I’ve had bran muffins hiding in my freezer for several months now. Breakfast parfait time!
For lunch, I improvised some fajitas using eggplant, red onion, and leftover black bean dip. Quite a tasty mess of purple.
Dinner was my beloved Peanut Butter BBQ Tofu. I used Bone Suckin’ Sauce for tonight’s batch, and it was dee-lish.
Alright, Seth and I are off to seek some means of entertainment. Ciao!
Filed under: Meals
Caroline Yoder, dietitian-to-be and all-around foodie.
Oh geez my dog was the WORST to run with. Even on walks she would stop every 2 seconds to smell something! It was more of an interval workout I guess…:)
When you do get a furry friend, I do hope you decide to adopt one!
I seriously think a love for running depends on the dog’s own personality. I once had a black lab who technically should have loved running. When he was small, I took him for walks along the road, trained him to heel, and had hopes of turning him into a running companion.
But then when he was old enough, I quickly realized that he just didn’t like it. He would lag behind or act all nervous like, “mom, what are we running away from?” Which is ironic, because when we walked, he wanted to speed ahead…ha.
Love all the pics of your pups!
I have a standard poodle, and she is not a good runner…great sprinter, but she’s definitely not a long distance runner.
She sits down when she’s had enough.
I always exercise with my dogs. I have a lab/golden mix who thinks it is his personal mission to get me out the door. With temperatures dipping into the single digits, I would likely not step foot out the door to brave the elements. As it is, I snowshoe/ski or run 3 miles a day. It would be difficult without my personal motivator aka Murphy. Once I’m out the door, I’m always glad I did it. I would recommend a sporting dog such as a retriever or lab. Terriers are known for their non-obedience whereas a sporting dog can easily be trained and wants to please.
Like Emily I have a standard poodle and she is definitely not a long distance runner…actually, she’s not even a long distance walker. She prefers to zip around in the back yard. She’s still my best friend no matter what!
Cute doggie pics!
I love dogs and love all those pics! So cute
Hello! Just discovered your blog!
Haha I totally can’t run with my dog! He’s a Miniature Schnauzer, and he can’t run without stopping suddenly every few seconds to sniff something! Even when he doesn’t he’s too small to be able to keep up over distances anyway! I’m so jealous of people who CAN run with their dogs!
Your food looks SO good by the way! I am checking out that BBQ PB tofu right now!
I took G&M on two 3 mile runs yesterday and I swear that only got faster and faster. Run number one had to be a low 7 to sub 7 pace…I haven’t run that wide open in a very long time. Lets just say I am sore and they are sitting here next to me ready for more.
I always see people running with their dogs and get a little jealous
Frank (like your pugs 
) was built more for relaxing & comfort than running. But I love him just the same! BEAUTIFUL parfait. I haven’t had one in a while…the cold weather has turned me off to them 
My cousins here in DC have a dog that is AWESOME to run with. She could literally run a marathon and still have energy. I have not the slightest clue what kind of dog she is, but she’s sort of smallish and skinny… I am clearly not a dog person. But whenever I run with her, we go FAST, especially up hills. And people (especially guys) always smile at me when I run with her.
My 14-year-old dog is incapable of moving long distances; my 1 (or is he 2?)-year-old dog is too skittish to run in a regular fashion. He would be afraid if it got too windy. >>
Sorry to hear about your injury. I know how it feels. I too incurred an injury from exercise over-use/addiction which was brought on because of my eating disorder. It’s a wicked little beast for sure. I have slowly cut back on my exercise time from almost 3 hours to just a little over an hour and 3o minutes. I have yet to fix the injury though. To be honest, I am so scared of being put in a brace and not being able to exercise at all. But I know I need to get some help for it because there are many days where it is extremely hard to just walk. How do you think you would handle this? Would you be able to give up exercise completely, even ellipticalling?
Thoughts?
Aww, I love the pups!
I have a pug that I adopted from a local shelter, so I don’t exercise with her. She is actually pretty fast and doesn’t have as much trouble with breathing. I’m thinking she isn’t 100% pug coming from a shelter, so maybe that is it.
I really wanted to find a dog to run with,but I decided on my dog because I spend way more time reading and studying for my graduate classes. High-energy dogs are just difficult in apartments.
My dog is half pug, half shih tzu, so I can only imagine how hilarious it would be to watch her try to run with me. She is exhausted after a 15-minute walk.
That tofu looks delicious!
I have a boxer and he pulls me through our walk. I’m really trying to work with him, but he is only 2 and still has some rebellious streaks running through his blood:) Hoping that subsides soon:( However, he is my boy, and I love him dearly.
Your meal on the run looks just perfect!
I think I’ll take my dog for a walk now:)