the thin line between optimism and delusion…

I rushed home from work at 5 pm yesterday.  It was pretty, and I was just itching for a run.  Since it gets dark so early these days, I had to hurry so Kate wouldn't worry about me getting hit by a car.  My dad used to write our names and telephone numbers on our running shoes with a sharpie just in case. 

I couldn't decide whether or not to take Briscoe, she doesn't like to run very long, and I kind of felt like a long run.  But the sun was dangerously close to the trees and the sky would darken quickly when that happened, preventing my long run.  And when I put my running shoes on, she got kind of excited, which made me think she wanted to go.  So I dressed her in her pretty little harness that she doesn't much like, and I had to drag her away from the car (she wanted to ride!) and out into the street (We've spent a lot of time working on staying in the yard, she knows she isn't allowed into the street, so this is always a struggle). 

For the first mile and a half Briscoe is super pumped and wants to run FAST.  We hit a good hill at about that point, and the hill takes a lot of her enthusiasm away.  When we had been running for about two miles (we were right by Sky and Matthew and Brice and Jenny's house), she really started dragging.  Her lead is long, so on sidewalks I keep the loop around my elbow and hold onto the leash to make it shorter.  She pulls in the beginning, but by this point she was trotting along side at a good pace.  So I dropped my hand hold on the lead, and let her have a little slack.  

About ten yards later, she stopped abruptly to use the bathroom ( I guess she's had more water than I thought).  This would have been fine, if I had not been on a concrete driveway under an oak tree.  Leaves and acorns are a serious hazard, and these slippery suckers, along with my dog's great timing, took me down.   

I fell.  Hard.  Actually, I slipped.  I almost wished someone had seen me because it had to have been hilarious.  Like a cartoon.  I had leaves ALL OVER ME.  And Briscoe was just sitting there, like, WHAT?  I'm BUSY!