Hit a wall??

For those of you who don't know I have two dogs. I have my little man...

Duke

And my big man....

Toby

What I think is so funny about our dogs is that I was the one who wanted Duke, and Adam was the one who wanted Toby, however that is not who the dogs picked as buddies. Adam and Duke are like two peas in a pod and are happy to sleep in all morning on the weekends and watch pawn stars every night cuddled on the couch. Toby and I are up every morning together at the crack of dawn, even on the weekends, and we are both pretty easily amused. This bit of information is very important to the rest of my story.

There are so many TV shows and article written about people who have lost tons of weight and got healthy. I look at those people and they give me motivation to get out there and work hard to get the beach body I really want, and to not feel winded when walking up a flight of stairs. Shows like "I used to be fat" and "the biggest loser" show at least one mental breakdown where the person trying to get fit "hits a wall". They always have supporters and trainers and nutritionists who are there pushing them and motivating them to keep going. But what about the rest of us?

Last Saturday it was a brisk 45 degrees and I decided that instead of running on the boring treadmill I would brave the cold and run the beach. My brother in law went out with us on Friday night and spent the night at our home. So as quietly as I could I got up at 7am. The only other member of our little family that was awake was Toby. Toby is very high energy and would play catch with you until you ended up needing your rotator cuff repaired. I thought for a moment and decided that it would be better (and safer) to bring Toby running with me. I put on my running gear and loaded him up in his harness and off we went to the beach. 

I can't even tell you how bad of an idea this was. I couldn't believe how many people we on the beach boardwalk at 7am, on a Saturday, in JANUARY! Trust me when I tell you I love my dog and he is the sweetest thing in the whole world. Toby is my best friend and I can't imagine life without him. BUT, he  is a horrible running buddy! He is just too social! He wanted to stop and say hi to everyone we passed, had to sniff every dogs butt that he came in contact with, and then when he remembered we were running would take off at sprinting speeds. I must have looked like a fool trying to be all runner-ish and fit as I'm trying to pull by 80 pound dog along for the ride. 

I some how managed to run a mile but I was beat. I decided to turn back and run back to the car... at least I was getting in two miles right? On the way back we ran past an elderly women who had a tiny little white foo-foo dog with her. She took one look a my Shepherd/doberman mix and got very freaked out. I decided, against my better judgement, that the only thing I could do was to run on the actual beach. Everyone was on the boardwalk not the sand. This was horrible. Running in sand has to be one of the hardest things to do. On top of trying to keep breathing, Toby's new thing was "SEASHELL!" he stopped and smelled every seashell and every piece of seaweed that was in our path. I barely made it back to the car.

Toby jumped in the back seat and I got in. I looked at my runing app and I have only done 1.89miles and it took me almost 40mins! I felt so defeated, I was tired, sore, and frustrated. Toby, however, was grinning at me from the rearview mirror... he had the time of this life! When I got home the boys were awake and ready to go get breakfast. They both told me they were very proud that I actually got up and did it. This meant the world to me! I was feeling so bummed out that I didn't do the full 3 miles and that I couldn't even keep pace but you know what?? I made the effort! 

So to those of you who are training, trying to get fit, or are just trying to get motivated... even if you have a terrible day don't stop! Just the fact that you had a bad day means that you tried and that you aren't happy with the results and are going to try it again! Be proud of that bad day! 

xoxo