Friday, November 20, 2009

Dogs, Budgets, and Shoutouts!

So I managed my 10 mile yesterday but it didn't go exactly as planned. I was cruising along at a nice easy 8:30ish pace listening to my podcast when I ran smack dab into the eyes of a German Shepard in the center of the road-a collarless German Shepard at that. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around walking briskly and hoping it would not follow me. (I was chased down by two dogs last year and bit on the back of my right leg which has now produced a scar that looks like a very lovely varicose vein!) I don't hate dogs by any means but I am terrified running into loose dogs when I'm running and they are EVERYWHERE. Their owners may know that they won't bite but I DON'T. Anyway, the dog barked and ran up behind me and jumped up on me. It's claws broke through the back of my running pants leaving a nice hole but didn't break the skin on my leg. I shouted at the dog and picked up a handful of gravel. For .76 miles I walked backwards yelling at the dog to go home and tossing rocks when it got too close. I don't think I could put into words my frustration! Anyway, I got all the way to my front door and finally the dog decided to take off. I called my husband after the incident and he called the Sheriffs dept. to come out and see if they could round up the dog and find out who it belonged to. My favorite part of the day was when the Sheriff's deputy called me to see if the dog was still in the yard. He asked "Were you walking when you met the dog?" I said " No, running". He said "Why don't you go to the school and run on the indoor track." (16 times around=1mile) I said,"Why don't you go to Hell" OK, I made up that last part! When this was said and done I had to hop in my car and drive to town so I could run the remaining 5 miles. These were a little quicker @ 7:40 because I could not seem to slow my pace down.

I am running only a 3 mile treadmill run today because my legs feel like lead (I think the skating really took a toll). I'm hoping to do my long run tomorrow before my daughter's hockey game if the wind will stay down. Otherwise, I'll have to postpone till Sunday. I'm spending the rest of the day working on budgeting out my winter expenses (I am a psychotic budgeter). December 4-6 I have 3 kids playing hockey in 3 different cities with only 2 parents. It's bad enough to pay for a hotels all through the winter but my blood pressure rises when I have to pay for hotels in more than one city the SAME weekend. This will happen 4 weekends this winter. AHHHHHH!!!

OK, once again I'm sure I'll miss someone but a serious "Good Luck" goes out to everyone running this weekend!!!

Redhead and B.o.B. at Ragnar. Can't wait to hear how this goes and I'm getting very excited to run one of these relays next year. Redhead appeared to be looking forward to her second leg (Very hard 9.1m with hills.) Yeah, I'm gonna stick with the easy legs. Good luck girls!

Heather - Brookgreen Gardens Turkey Trot 5K!

Aron - Davis Turkey Trot 10K. Two weeks until marathon day for her and 2 more races!

Denise - the Philly marathon!!!! She is going to get that BQ and I can't wait to hear about it!

Lil runner- also running the Philly marathon!

Valerie- Gobbler Grind Half

Ginny - maybe the Mayor's cup 5K?? Good luck if so!!

Have a great weekend guys!!!

21 comments:

Lisa said...

OMG, that is so scary. I cannot belive that has happened to you twice. You need to carry some pepper spray girl. And dog owners need to be more responsible. I'm glad you are okay but how frustrating that you now have a hole in your tights.

I hear you on the budgets. We have two kids, my daughter plays class 1 competitive soccer and my son just made a travel baseball team. Gulp, we spent a few dollars for that. But I only have two kids... I don't know how people with more than that manage.

Katie A. said...

I can't believe that happened! I am sooo sorry! I thought I only had to worry about cars! I am glad though you got to finish your run!
Wow, you are one dedicated mamma! I can see where crazy budgeting comes in handy. I can't wait to see how you pull those weekends off!
Have a great weekend! :)

Christina said...

The dog incident(s) are terrible. I'm glad that you weren't physically hurt with the last one. Mentally though I'm sure its tough. I agree with Lisa regarding carrying pepper spray. Somewhere in the house, I have pepper spray that I bought to carry with me (notice I'm not carrying it now), but it did fit into my pouch along with my gu and chapstick. I know they have versions that you can carry in your hand or clip onto clothing. Oh, and the cop...JERK! I love it when a non-runner, a totally clueless person, a non-athletic, non-thinking person, gives advise about running.

Melissa said...

How scary!! Did they find the owners? And more importantly, are they replacing your pants?

Jenn said...

Didn't find the owners or the dog and so no replacement of my brand new $65 pants!

Mel -Tall Mom on the Run said...

I am TOTALLY afraid of Dogs. UGH!! Inside running on a track...NO THANK YOU!!

Lisa said...

Wow. I am not a big fan of dogs in general (I grew up with cats in the house) and am terrified that something like your story will happen to me! I've had to deal with a few dogs while out on runs, but nothing like that. I would have been so shaken up I don't know if I could have gone out and run more! Kudos to you for getting back out there!

Good luck working out all the traveling! I can't imagine having a schedule like that! I guess that's how it is in MN, right? My sister & her husband started talking about their son playing hockey even before he was born!

Have a great weekend!

Valerie said...

Thanks for the shoutout Jenn! Good luck on squeezing in your long run this weekend.

So crazy about the dog...glad you're ok. I'd be mad my pants got ripped though!

Tara said...

Wow, that's scary. I'm a dog lover (ok, I'm a dog freak), but I don't like to see strange dogs without a leash because you don't know their temperament. And this happened to you twice??? Ugh. Glad you weren't hurt. Can't believe that cop told you to run on an indoor track...what a doofus.

Lily on the Road said...

Any dog, on a leash or not scares me, I always stop running and walk...or STOP. I love dogs, but you just never know how they will react.

Good news though on the budget, good luck with that....

Unknown said...

HAHAHA, cussing out the police officer. I SOOO thought that you really did that...until I finished the sentence. Kids are too expensive...hope you're saving for college too!

Jamie said...

I hate when dogs run free with no owners around. It is so irresponsible! Glad it turned out okay, except for dumb comments from the sheriff's deputy.

kristen said...

That's unbelievable. I'm so glad it wasn't worse, but I am pissed that you wont be able to get new pants from the owner. I get so mad when I see dogs without leashes. How many stories about dog bites do people need to hear before they put them on a leash!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

This is the second post I've read in as many days of runners being followed by dogs! It's scary, and owners need to understand that people have genuine fears! Leash them up! YIKES... glad you're ok. Wow, my boyfriend and his daughter play hockey, that's enough of a juggle at times, you must be a master planner! Have a great weekend :)

Happy Feet 26.2 said...

Didn't make the 5k today. Date night with hubs and then too lazy to get up that early.

I am very afraid of dogs. I live in an area that has no leash law so I deal with them. Of course, all of the owners say "they won't bite" yea, they won't bite you - the owner, but me passing by their territory maybe so. I do carry pepper spray when running new routes. I've never tried it on one. I am a little fearful that it may make the dog more aggressive????? It's so aggravating. To funny about cussing out the officer. It would have been justified for sure. Indoor track - please. Maybe he should join you for a 10 miler on that indoor track. Clueless!

Lindsay said...

very scary! i've encountered loose dogs out before but thankfully never anything worse than trotting along beside me and/or barking. i can't imagine being jumped on or worse, bitten! crazy.

yeah sure officer, i'd LOVE to run on the indoor track. sounds just as tempting as the treadmill...

Janice {Run Far} said...

love you and your blog. I hate running with random dogs... damn it... it pisses me off.

Cherring for Denise at Philly too.

I am so needing to follow you.

RobinLK said...

Jenn,

Hey from Orlando! Oh, I HATE loose dogs! Love dogs, hate loose ones - even the little ankle biters! We actually moved downtown to get away from dogs in neighborhoods, so I could run w/out worrying. Hubs knows I'm DEATHLY afraid of them (and he's a good man, being willing to move!). People say, "Don't the homeless people scare you?" Um no, not EVEN a little bit- especially compared to dogs!! I'm so sorry that happened to you, and twice?

Ditto on kids being expensive (yikes!..don't know how you parent-types do it!) and ditto on the pepper spray - a must have!

STUPID officer! I'm just sayin'....(Christina said it best!)

I'm glad I could share shout-outs with you on the turtles blog. Feel free to stop by anytime, and send me your race info so we can send some bloggy/running love & hugs your way! :-)

Pandesaldreamer said...

I hate loose dogs. They scare me the most! So glad that you were able to come out of that with no bites. What the heck is up with the Sheriff asking if you can run on the track instead? Whatevs, buddy!

Teamarcia said...

So sorry you had such a nasty dog incident. That mile with him following you must have felt like an eternity. Glad you're ok!

Nicole Orriëns said...

Having kids sometimes is like a really difficult puzzle with questions like: 'How can you be at two places at one time?'

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