Forced Family Fun (FFF)

I bet you all thought I didn't run this weekend! Sorry to disappoint you naysayers but, alas, I did strike the pavement both Saturday and Sunday as planned. Saturday was one of those days I just didn't feel like getting up early and Omar and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, coffee and a trip up to Stuart to check on the new house progress. We got home late afternoon and I was still seriously lacking some serious running motivation. Instead, I wriggled into my Nike swimsuit and decided to swim ...brilliant! Omar and I walked on down to the pool only to hear the ear-piercing shrieks and squeals of about 10 little ankle biters running rampant in the pool. Huge SIGH. I looked at Omar and whined: "How am I supposed to swim laps in that??" We turned an about face and went back to the apartment. Very begrudgingly I changed from swimwear to run wear. I must have looked soooo downtrodden that my whiny plea to Omar worked! "Pleeeaaaaasssseeee come with me." Eye roll from Omar and silence as he shuffled into the bedroom to get on his own running gear. "Let's take Ripley," he said. So all three of us (8 legs in total) set off about 6:30 pm for a two mile run. It's still about 88 degrees outside and really humid...ugh. Trotting along in resolute silence Omar looks over at me and says, "We've gone at least a quarter mile right?" HA! I tell him the half mile mark is at the light. Trot, Trot, Trot. "How long have we been running?" Omar asks. Answer: 8 minutes. Response: THAT'S IT? (Ripley is still going strong). Eventually we muddle our way through 2 hot miles crossing the 25:30 mark at the finish. I think we have probably given Ripley heat stroke. As you can tell from his "after" photo, he gave me the devil eyes and I'm pretty sure I've been cursed by my own dog. Where can I get an exorcism for my dog? Hmmm.

Sunday's run was another late attempt...this time we wised up and went around 7:15. It was probably about 80 degrees and it still felt about 100 degrees cooler than Saturday. Believe it or not, Omar and the newly "spirited" Ripley joined me again! Running definitely isn't so bad when you have demonic dog and sarcastic fiance along for some laughs. We crossed the finish mark last night at 24: 20 and, admittedly, I felt like I could have kept going. Well, well, well....is that progress? Forced family fun...I love torture. Let's hope it doesn't come back to haunt me.