Training with Jerry - run 1

I have been recovering from a slight running injury.  It was nothing big (just a strained calf) but it kept me out long enough that I feel like I have lost my formed.  The last couple of months I've been regretting that I haven't been running with my dogs, but frankly, I had gotten into better shape than them and I was trying to follow a strict program.  Since I had lost my form, I thought this would be a good time to start training with them.  Actually, I have two Boston Terriers:  Jerry and Duece.  Jerry is almost six and Duece turned 3 a month ago.

Duece is the one with the ball which is rare.  Jerry almost never loses in a game of fetch, but time creeps up on all of us and alas Duece is getting faster and Jerry is getting slower.

I decided as a hedge to only start training with Jerry.  I feel guilty about leaving Duece behind, but I think I'll get over it eventually.  The truth is it wasn't that much fun to run with both of them, and Jerry is a better runner than Duece is.  Duece is actually faster at this point, but Duece is lazy.  Jerry has a little bit more of the intensity that a runner needs.

So I decided that before we do our actual training, Jerry and I will run a series of 5ks to warm up for it.  We did our first run on Friday, and it went pretty well.  Jerry has a definite habit when running.  He wants to start the run balls to the wall.  Then he wants to poop at the mile mark.  I am able to successfully slow him down, but I have yet to break him of the pooping habit.  I've decided that rather than fight it, I'll just let him poop, even if our 5k time suffers as a result.  Before I settled on this strategy, be had a number of awkward runs as Jerry tried to poop mid-stride, and I, not realizing what he was doing, chastised him for slowing down only a mile into our run!  Right now this is a compromise I can live with, but it would be nice if could get him to poop before hand.

The main thing I am worried about with training with Jerry is that we are approaching summer in North Carolina which means it's going to get really hot.  I haven't figure out a good strategy for how to keep him cool while we run in the summer.  The little guy has a tendency to get overheated in the summer.  And the guy has a big heart, so he always gets too hot before he's willing to tell me it's time to stop running.  If anyone has had any success with this, please let me know.  Write now, my basic strategy is to run early and bring him some water.  We'll see how it goes.

Run 1 - 5K.  My estimated time was 25:00 (my Forerunner's battery crapped out early on, so it's just a guess).  Assesment, Jerry and I did about the same which was just OK.