Dogs and Racing

Last Monday I started my new job as a Walkabout Trainer with Clever Canines in Calgary, and so far I am absolutely loving the work despite the long hours that I am faced with whilst going through the learning process. Dog behaviour is so fascinating and in the short time I have been with the company, I have already learnt so much and have a far better understanding of dog signals and how they play and interact with each other - I am also far more observant of the less friendly signals that dogs send out just before they are about to kick off, which is critical to know about when you have the responsibility of walking and training up to 10 of them at a time.

Although the job involves a considerable amount of driving to collect the dogs from their homes each day, it is also physically demanding with two walks daily with up to 10 dogs of different sizes on each walk.  So far, I've managed 7 in one go - the smaller ones are barely noticeable, but 2 Alsations, a couple of Labradoodles, Spaniels and an Airedale have a fair amount of strength between them, and  it takes a lot of my own strength and effort when working with them during the on-leash portions of the walk.

Walkabout at Elbow Valley Dog Park - Yes, they really can be this well behaved :-)

As part of MY training, I also have to attend specific dog training sessions, and so Andy and I - along with Wilson and Brandy - have been attending the Jumpstart Training Program twice weekly where we have learnt training techniques for calming canine arousal and helping them to become the (almost) perfect dogs.  For Wilson and Brandy, it is already making a huge difference, and we are amazed with how much they have already improved after just one week - they are far better walking on the leash, are much calmer walking past other dogs, and are far more tolerant and better behaved when people approach us for a chat. Indeed, my most proudest moment came today when walking them at Edworthy Park just before the start of the cross country race - there's nothing like several people saying what lovely dogs you have and how well behaved they are when in a public place with tons of people and off-leash dogs running around!

Talking of the cross country, I had a great time racing again today. I say racing, but in all honesty it was far too icy to race properly and I think most of the more serious runners were probably thinking the same thing today. In true Calgary tradition, a Chinook had caused some of the recent snow to melt and refreeze, so the trails used for the Edworthy Park Cross Country race were pretty lethal for running on. Even with 12mm spikes, I could feel my feet sliding and I certainly wasn't prepared to risk falling and jeopardizing my  winter training leading up to the London Marathon next year.

There was a pretty good turnout and as ever, it was great to see so many familiar faces on the start line. I deliberately positioned myself towards the back as I knew that going any further forward would bring out the racing instinct in me, especially if I was close to too many of the ladies, and whilst I still wanted a decent run, I wasn't going to race it.

The route followed the usual narrow trails along the ridge that ran parallel to the off-leash dog park, before dropping down into the valley below and then climbing back up ready for a second loop. 

I started really comfortably and it was strange not being completely out of breath with lead weights for legs after the first couple of km. I really did take it easy on the icy sections, but when we reached the steep downhills, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting and so tried to push the pace and stride out a bit. I passed a few people, including a couple of ladies and was really pleased to find that I was feeling quite quick and strong. I even managed to run some of the steep, long uphills, and whilst not exactly quick on the ups, it was a far better effort than in recent races which helped me to run each of the 2 laps at a good consistent pace which I was really pleased about. 

Edworthy Park XC - Very icy conditions
(Thanks CRR for the photo)

In the closing stages, I heard a commotion in the off-leash dog area, and when glancing up, I spotted a dog harassing Wilson and Brandy whilst Andy was attempting to do some on-leash training with them. It was strange how my instincts kicked in almost immediately and I stopped dead in my tracks to yell a command to get them to stop. It kind of worked from a distance, but in the process, I got overtaken by another lady in the race which was a little frustrating but I wasn't really too concerned.

I had no idea where I had finished, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out later that I had actually won my age group. My goal with the cross country this year is to once again win my age group and I know for sure that if I can do that, I'll be very happy at the end of the season. We still have 6 races to go though and anything can happen, so I'm already getting psyched up for our next race on December 13th at Silver Springs. I'm hoping that by then, I will have settled more in to my new job and got used to the new routine - I'm also hoping that the resistance training I am getting from walking 20 dogs a day will bring benefits to my running, in which case look out Kim, I'm coming after you - hahahaha :-D