doing the "dingo 5k"
Ever since I adopted Tally puppy from Lollypop Farm last summer, I’ve taken her out for a morning walk before work. Tally is a total mutt and looks kind of like a dingo (Australian wild dog). Some of my family members even call her "the dingo". When I adopted her she had just turned one, hence she had all of that puppy energy in an adult size body. I knew I needed to get that energy out or else the house would be doomed, so I promised that I would walk her every day.
At first, the idea of getting up early to walk the dog seemed like such a burden (hmm…sleep in a few more minutes or get my butt out of bed to go walk? Hmmm…). Well, I had made a promise to Tally that I would walk her, so every morning I did just that...leash in one hand, coffee in the other (sometimes grumbling and wishing I was back in bed). I started off by just doing one lap around the block (about one mile).
When I told people I was walking Tally every morning they were pleased but at the same time had this tone in their voice as if to say “yeah, right…we shall see how long this lasts…especially with winter coming.”
Fall came, the equinox past and it was now very dark out in the morning. Instead of saying “it is too dark out to walk” I instead got a flash light and attached it to my travel coffee mug, got a light for Tally’s harness and some visible tape for the leash. Now armed and covered in lights, we kept walking every morning - leash in one hand, coffee in the other.
I started to enjoy my morning walks. They were so peaceful and quiet. I delighted in watching the seasons change and spotting various critters (deer, ducks, bunnies etc) on our journey. With all of the craziness of life, it felt good to just have a moment of peace where it was just nature, me, my dog, covered in lights, the leash in one hand and my coffee in the other.
Winter came. A normal person might have said “it is too cold and snowy out to walk the dog” but I didn’t. Instead, I bought Tally a coat and for me, bright pink snow pants to combat the dark, monochromatic season. The idea of stop walking didn’t occur to me, because what started off as a promise to the dog had now turned into an addiction. I was enjoying my morning walks so much that I found myself feeling a little blue when I had come to the end of my one mile lap. Right around the New Year I said to myself “what is stopping you from doing two laps?” Well, my mind started trying to come up with all kinds of reasons, like “well, at some point I need to get ready for work” and “there is weather out here!” but to be honest, all of the reasons were weak compared to my desire to keep walking. So, in the middle of winter I started walking two miles every morning in my hot pink snow pants, covered in lights, leash in one hand and my coffee in the other.
In February we started hitting some record cold temperatures and snow fall. It was at this time that I finally met my match. One day while out walking, Tally stopped walking and lifted her foot. I went to check on her and realized it was so cold out that it was now bothering her feet. I quickly held her paw in my hand, warming them with my body heat. After a minutes she was good to go again, but it was at that time that I realized there really was a limit for our morning walks. I tried dog booties but two of them fell off before we even got to the door, and the other two fell off somewhere in the snow. Now, when the weather man came on, I was less concerned about the daily high but more concerned about the daily lows, hoping that the temps would be OK for walking. If it was too cold, I told Tally we couldn’t go, but of course she tried convincing me otherwise. Even with the cold, upstate NY temps, we probably missed maybe 15 days out of the whole season. On the days we couldn’t walk, not only was Tally upset (her whines sound like a whale mating call) but I was upset! I wanted to go too! At first, I thought “ahh…this is nice, I can sleep in.” but to be honest, that happy feeling of sleeping in was really pathetic compare to the happy feeling I got from getting up early and going for a walk with my dog.
Spring came…or so I’m told. We have had a mix of weather, ranging from cold, windy and rainy to sunny and warm. I think it was some time in March I found myself feeling blue when I came to the end of my second lap, and started thinking about doing a third. Same as before, I couldn’t find any reason why not to do that third lap, so we did it. This morning I heard some people talking about how they were training to walk a 5k. I took a little pride in knowing that I was walking 5k every morning now. Our morning walks have become such a matter of habit that I am caught off guard when people are shocked at what I do.
A few weeks ago, my right foot was bothering me. It started bothering me last fall, but I just ignored the pain and kept walking. While I was getting a pedicure done, my friend said she thought something was actually wrong with my food and I should see a professional. The doctor took some x-rays and discovered the reason why my foot was bothering me was because I had lost the fat pad in my foot and a fractured bone. I also have hyper-flexible joints, so while the normal toes only bend back to a 45 degree angle, mine can go 90 degrees. As a result, with every step, I’m hyper extending my foot and coming down on the fracture with no padding to protect it…and I’ve been doing this every day for miles for the last six months. The doctor looked at me and asked on a scale of 1-10 how painful was it. I just looked at him and said “didn’t we just establish that I have a high pain tolerance since I’ve been walking on this fracture for months?” I guessed the pain to be at a seven, but I don’t know if that tells you anything or not. We discussed options for treatment. He can’t really do anything about the fracture at this point unless he does surgery. We decided to first try custom orthotics and see how it goes. He might give me a shot or two also. I told him I didn’t care what he needed to do as long as I could walk my dog. I felt tears starting to form in my eyes when I thought about not being able to go for my morning walk anymore. I found it a little odd…the idea of *not* being able to walk anymore was more painful to me than walking on fractured foot. I don’t know how many times I said “I don’t care what you have to do as long as I can still walk my dog”. I must have started to sound like a broke record but that was all I could think about.
After the diagnosis, I did take some time off from walking, which depressed me a bit. After a few days I realized I had just been walking on this fracture for months…what changed? Nothing other than I had a diagnosis…a name for Mr. Pain. While my foot hurt, it didn’t stop me for the six months before…so why should I let it stop me now just because it had a name? Screw it! Yes it hurt, but the joy this brings me far outweighs the pain and besides…the doctor didn’t tell me I couldn’t walk anymore. So I popped an Aleve, put on my shoes and headed back out the door - leash in one hand, coffee in the other.
I have one coworker who will frequently ask me “did you walk your dog this morning? Tell me again how far you walk? In this weather? What time do you get up in the morning?” She seems to be somewhat amazed that I do this every day, and has even made comments that allude to her wanting to do the same. I tell her she can do it…you need to commit yourself some how (for me, making a promise to the dog helped) and go for it…every day. You don’t need to do a marathon…just walk around the block or to the end of the street. After a while, that “once around the block” might turn into a desire to go twice.
For me, what started off as a burden and a chore became something that brings me so much pleasure that the idea of stopping now seems unbearable. And just to think…this all started when I decided to adopt an abandoned mutt from the local shelter. For my birthday, my mother bought me a silver ring. On the outside are human and dog foot steps and on the inside it says “you will never walk alone”. Yes…and as long as I can still walk, we will be out there, doing our “dingo 5k”.
At first, the idea of getting up early to walk the dog seemed like such a burden (hmm…sleep in a few more minutes or get my butt out of bed to go walk? Hmmm…). Well, I had made a promise to Tally that I would walk her, so every morning I did just that...leash in one hand, coffee in the other (sometimes grumbling and wishing I was back in bed). I started off by just doing one lap around the block (about one mile).
When I told people I was walking Tally every morning they were pleased but at the same time had this tone in their voice as if to say “yeah, right…we shall see how long this lasts…especially with winter coming.”
Fall came, the equinox past and it was now very dark out in the morning. Instead of saying “it is too dark out to walk” I instead got a flash light and attached it to my travel coffee mug, got a light for Tally’s harness and some visible tape for the leash. Now armed and covered in lights, we kept walking every morning - leash in one hand, coffee in the other.
I started to enjoy my morning walks. They were so peaceful and quiet. I delighted in watching the seasons change and spotting various critters (deer, ducks, bunnies etc) on our journey. With all of the craziness of life, it felt good to just have a moment of peace where it was just nature, me, my dog, covered in lights, the leash in one hand and my coffee in the other.
Winter came. A normal person might have said “it is too cold and snowy out to walk the dog” but I didn’t. Instead, I bought Tally a coat and for me, bright pink snow pants to combat the dark, monochromatic season. The idea of stop walking didn’t occur to me, because what started off as a promise to the dog had now turned into an addiction. I was enjoying my morning walks so much that I found myself feeling a little blue when I had come to the end of my one mile lap. Right around the New Year I said to myself “what is stopping you from doing two laps?” Well, my mind started trying to come up with all kinds of reasons, like “well, at some point I need to get ready for work” and “there is weather out here!” but to be honest, all of the reasons were weak compared to my desire to keep walking. So, in the middle of winter I started walking two miles every morning in my hot pink snow pants, covered in lights, leash in one hand and my coffee in the other.
In February we started hitting some record cold temperatures and snow fall. It was at this time that I finally met my match. One day while out walking, Tally stopped walking and lifted her foot. I went to check on her and realized it was so cold out that it was now bothering her feet. I quickly held her paw in my hand, warming them with my body heat. After a minutes she was good to go again, but it was at that time that I realized there really was a limit for our morning walks. I tried dog booties but two of them fell off before we even got to the door, and the other two fell off somewhere in the snow. Now, when the weather man came on, I was less concerned about the daily high but more concerned about the daily lows, hoping that the temps would be OK for walking. If it was too cold, I told Tally we couldn’t go, but of course she tried convincing me otherwise. Even with the cold, upstate NY temps, we probably missed maybe 15 days out of the whole season. On the days we couldn’t walk, not only was Tally upset (her whines sound like a whale mating call) but I was upset! I wanted to go too! At first, I thought “ahh…this is nice, I can sleep in.” but to be honest, that happy feeling of sleeping in was really pathetic compare to the happy feeling I got from getting up early and going for a walk with my dog.
Spring came…or so I’m told. We have had a mix of weather, ranging from cold, windy and rainy to sunny and warm. I think it was some time in March I found myself feeling blue when I came to the end of my second lap, and started thinking about doing a third. Same as before, I couldn’t find any reason why not to do that third lap, so we did it. This morning I heard some people talking about how they were training to walk a 5k. I took a little pride in knowing that I was walking 5k every morning now. Our morning walks have become such a matter of habit that I am caught off guard when people are shocked at what I do.
A few weeks ago, my right foot was bothering me. It started bothering me last fall, but I just ignored the pain and kept walking. While I was getting a pedicure done, my friend said she thought something was actually wrong with my food and I should see a professional. The doctor took some x-rays and discovered the reason why my foot was bothering me was because I had lost the fat pad in my foot and a fractured bone. I also have hyper-flexible joints, so while the normal toes only bend back to a 45 degree angle, mine can go 90 degrees. As a result, with every step, I’m hyper extending my foot and coming down on the fracture with no padding to protect it…and I’ve been doing this every day for miles for the last six months. The doctor looked at me and asked on a scale of 1-10 how painful was it. I just looked at him and said “didn’t we just establish that I have a high pain tolerance since I’ve been walking on this fracture for months?” I guessed the pain to be at a seven, but I don’t know if that tells you anything or not. We discussed options for treatment. He can’t really do anything about the fracture at this point unless he does surgery. We decided to first try custom orthotics and see how it goes. He might give me a shot or two also. I told him I didn’t care what he needed to do as long as I could walk my dog. I felt tears starting to form in my eyes when I thought about not being able to go for my morning walk anymore. I found it a little odd…the idea of *not* being able to walk anymore was more painful to me than walking on fractured foot. I don’t know how many times I said “I don’t care what you have to do as long as I can still walk my dog”. I must have started to sound like a broke record but that was all I could think about.
After the diagnosis, I did take some time off from walking, which depressed me a bit. After a few days I realized I had just been walking on this fracture for months…what changed? Nothing other than I had a diagnosis…a name for Mr. Pain. While my foot hurt, it didn’t stop me for the six months before…so why should I let it stop me now just because it had a name? Screw it! Yes it hurt, but the joy this brings me far outweighs the pain and besides…the doctor didn’t tell me I couldn’t walk anymore. So I popped an Aleve, put on my shoes and headed back out the door - leash in one hand, coffee in the other.
I have one coworker who will frequently ask me “did you walk your dog this morning? Tell me again how far you walk? In this weather? What time do you get up in the morning?” She seems to be somewhat amazed that I do this every day, and has even made comments that allude to her wanting to do the same. I tell her she can do it…you need to commit yourself some how (for me, making a promise to the dog helped) and go for it…every day. You don’t need to do a marathon…just walk around the block or to the end of the street. After a while, that “once around the block” might turn into a desire to go twice.
For me, what started off as a burden and a chore became something that brings me so much pleasure that the idea of stopping now seems unbearable. And just to think…this all started when I decided to adopt an abandoned mutt from the local shelter. For my birthday, my mother bought me a silver ring. On the outside are human and dog foot steps and on the inside it says “you will never walk alone”. Yes…and as long as I can still walk, we will be out there, doing our “dingo 5k”.