Disclaimer: I received free entry to the Scooby Doo race as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check outBibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
I’ll be the first to admit that Fall is my favorite time to run! I was excited for round 2 of the Scooby Doo race series in Ocotber for 2 reasons – the cool crisp fall temps, and running with my new running buddy! Emmett and his mom are staying with us right now and he loves getting out and going for walks and doing a little running, so I figured it was time to help him run his first 5k!
Since he is still just a pup, we took training slow and then broke the 5k up into 3 shorter runs. This was a learning process for both of us! I’ve never actually run with a dog before, it took me a while to get used to it! I mean, this was the first time I had a running buddy that I had to make sure didn’t run into traffic!
Each time we went out, he got better with being on the leash and I got more comfortable running with him and his crazy antics! I showed him some of my favorite places to run in the neighborhood, and he figured out where all the big scary dogs live!
One of our favorite places to visit was the dog park. It’s close enough that we can walk to it if we want, but on those days that we play there, we usually have to drive. The first time we visited the park, he wasn’t sure what to do and just sat next to me. Then, after watching the other dog, by the 3rd visit, he figured it out – this was where he could RUN! He would spend the entire time we were there running through the leaves, around the trees and with the other dogs. It was one speed – as fast as his legs could carry him! This is why we had to drive… he would run so much that he would get so tired that he would never be able to walk the mile back home! So on cross training days (aka Dog Park days) he got to go for a car ride!
Each time we went out, E got better and better on the leash and we both really enjoyed the time outside, enjoying the amazing weather that Wisconsin had to offer. Getting out with E was so much different that taking my mom’s dog out with me for a walk or run… Ozzie has to stop and pee on every other tree and sniff every blade of grass. E just wants to go! He will stop when he hears another dog barking, but that’s mainly to see where it’s coming from and if it’s a new friend to play with and sniff!.
Through all of the training and running, we both agreed that the post run nap is the best part about getting outside!
Just before the end of the month, we completed the final segment of our 5K! As I mentioned, since E is still young, I didn’t want to run him too hard right away, so we broke our 5K up until 3 1-mile runs. He did awesome and I can’t wait to start running more miles with him in the future!
Last week, just before I walked out the door to head to NYC, our swag bag arrived in the mail! E was excited to proudly wear his bling that he earned!
E got an awesome purple Scooby Doo bandanna and medal, I received a medal plus a super cool bag (seen behind E in the above photo). I also got a bonus medal for running both the September and October Events!
And then he took another nap!
This event was so much fun to run because it gave me a new purpose for my short runs and kept training interesting! I will continue to find other random virtual races to keep the training going strong!
As for Emmett? Once he wakes up from his nap, I’ll see what he wants to do!
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