Grab a Lab

Have your workouts suffered lately? Are you bored with the usual routes and music? Need a little pick me up? I have the answer for you: GRAB A LAB!!

I hate wind. So much. It is my absolute number one enemy when it comes to working out. Have you tried riding your bike or running in the wind? It is torture for me. My eyes water so bad that I look like I just finished watching the movie Beaches. I feel like I can't move or that I am actually running backwards at times. When I left work tonight, the wind was gusting at a nice steady 25-30mph. I was planning to run 5 miles but I couldn't bear the thought of it. But I knew I had to do something so I decided to go for a long walk instead, although I was dreading that too. Until I got the idea that I needed to change things up a bit. I grabbed a lab!

If you don't have a dog, you may not get anything I am about to say. I have three dogs. One happens to be a chocolate lab. He is a really good dog. Of course we've had our moments. He has eaten pairs of Doc Martens, whole packages of brats, trash, and other really disgusting items. He's also puked all of these things up which has been a real pleasure. He has soiled our carpets and run away multiple times. He got so sick that we had to max our home equity loan to save him. Certain people, who shall remain nameless, would not have tolerated this behavior or expense (you know who you are).

But if you have a dog, especially a lab, you know exactly why we tolerate this buffet of trash and subsequent vomit. You, too, would sacrifice your first born in order to save your lab's life. Ok, maybe not, but you would take out a second mortgage. And here's why. A lab is NEVER sad, depressed, or upset in any way. A lab is everything most humans aren't; loyal, friendly, happy, joyful, hopeful. A lab will also do anything to ensure his owner's happiness. This includes running in the wind.

So on this evening of gusting winds, I leashed up Blue and hit the trail. Blue does not do well with the leash. He will nearly strangle himself without seeming to understand that he could actually breathe if he just laid off a little bit. On the trail, I take him off the leash and that's where the fun begins. This dog literally had a smile on his face the entire time. He splashed in the stream, sniffed everything, ate grass (and who knows what else), and chased rabbits. I was worried he wouldn't make it the full 6 miles since he is getting old. HA!! What a joke, labs don't tire on a trail. He has no idea how old he is, he only knows that he is having the time of his life.

When we hit the last mile, it was pouring rain and the wind persisted, but it didn't bother me a bit. When you frolic with a lab, you completely forget about your surroundings and you are able to enjoy that moment almost as much as him. If you don't have a lab in your life, I suggest you get to know one. I swear you will hurt less, love more, and learn to enjoy even the worst days in life. He even helped me enjoy the hated wind. Too bad I can't take him to Portland with me!