Part of my morning routine now consists of walking two dogs.
One is familiar with walks and enjoys them.
The other is new to walks and enjoys them.
What does that tell you?
Part of the answer has to be that if you are fortunate enough to have use of your lower extremities, then you should take walks because you will most likely enjoy them. And if you’re like me and walk two or more dogs, avoiding being sacked by them a la Khalil Mack is just part of the fun.
I don’t think anything beats running for cardiovascular conditioning and leg strength. Combined with weight training on off running days, you can maintain some semblance of good overall fitness.
Walking daily, though, should be a part of your routine no matter what you do for a work out.
Taking a walk with two dogs is actually part of my workout routine now.
There is a tendency for the one dog who is still learning the walking discipline to find herself entwined with her big brother by virtue of tangled leashes. This entanglement is entirely my fault, too, as while I try to stay on top of and anticipate her every move, she ultimately fakes right and goes left–winding up on the other side of her brother in a tangle.
The drop in temperatures this morning forced me to bring my A game on our walk, too. I think it was the temperature drop, or possibly the upcoming New England Patriots vs. Chicago Bears football game that may have been responsible for the quick pace and keystone cop antics for all concerned.
There was the sudden stop to look back at nothing.
Then there was the sudden urge to leap to the head of the group a la Rudolph and Santa’s sleigh.
Then there was the incessant sniffing. Sniff, sniff, sniff. It’s enough sometimes that I want to get down on the ground and take a sniff myself at what it is they think is so good they can’t seem to break away until after a few minutes of becoming one with the scent.
One of the ways I’ve tried to keep things moving on a walk is to be as dexterous as possible when it comes to changing which hands the leashes are in; if I can do this on the fly as it were, I’m able to keep the tangles to a minimum (although it was pretty comical when the little girl decided it would be Jordan Howard-esque to plow head first through a fallen tree branch before snaring it on the back of her harness and causing a flurry of spastic, exuberant jumping and running with the branch stuck in her harness).
My leash changing on the fly abilities are somewhat compromised when I wear gloves like I had on this morning. But, I take them off for a while when I want to keep us all walking for a decent stretch so I can slip leash handles from hand to hand and back and forth.
There is also adventure on our walks. We saw a coyote on the other side of the street. We stopped to stare. The dogs were ready to charge, but I managed to have firm grips on both their leashes. Good thing, too, as the coyote didn’t flinch. After what seemed like an interminably long 30 seconds, we walked off and so did the coyote.
Will Tom Brady manage to escape the clutches of Khalil Mack? Or will he become entangled at the legs and feet of the offensive lineman entrusted with keeping him upright?
Me thinks he will become entangled at least once. Me also thinks if he’s in Mack’s clutches, he will be going down to sniff the aromatic turf of Soldier Field on at least one occasion.