Andrew Schrauben

While on vacation last week I took a break from my training regimen, in that I only went for two short runs. Both jaunts were the same 3.7-mile out-and-back course starting from our cabin. On both occasions I brought along my favorite running partner - my dog Haven.

It's probably common knowledge that Kentucky's terrain is far more challenging than what you find in Michigan (at least in the vertical aspect; adventure racers would tell you that Michigan sand, swamps, and scrub makes for an awfully arduous trek). There are a couple good hills near my house here, but otherwise routes are either flat or gently rolling. The route I ran in Kentucky had FOUR good hills, and that was just going one-way; I had to hit those hills on the way back, too! I didn't complain - the challenge was fun and the views they provided were awesome!

Our first run was Monday, when I woke up early and headed out with Haven to beat the heat that was coming later that day. Even at 7am, however, it was still hot and muggy. Our cabin was in the middle of nowhere, which meant that the road we ran on rarely saw any traffic. As a result, Haven got to run the entire course off-leash! She's so smart about running with me by now, though, that she rarely strayed more than 50 feet away and generally kept within 20 feet in front of me on the road.

As we approached one of the several cow pastures along the road, I noticed up ahead on the fourth hill that two cows were in the road, outside the fence. Haven noticed, too, and quickly gave chase! One of the cows immediately ducked under the loose wire fence to the safety of its pasture, but the other cow tried to outrun Haven on the shoulder of the road. Not a chance - Haven was soon on the cow's heels and when the cow realized how close Haven was, it also ducked under the fence to safety. Luckily Haven didn't try to follow them into their pasture! The funny thing is that Haven just wanted to play with the cows!

On our way back as we approached hill #3 again (i.e. the sixth of eight climbs on the run), Haven and I spotted a beagle-hound mix staring at us. Haven paused, watching the dog, then took off in a full sprint to go say hi. Once Haven had covered half the distance between them, the other dog turned and ran away! Now about 75 yards away, Haven turned around and politely (albeit anxiously) waited for me to catch up. As we rounded the bend and started up the hill, the dog came back with enough courage to introduce itself.

The dog had a brown head with big droopy ears and a white body marked with three large spots, two on one side and one on the other. It was a female, and she stood just a tad taller than Haven but appeared underfed and probably weighed just 60 pounds. Because of her big ears and the fact that her first reaction to Haven was "run away!" I decided to name this dog "Bunny".

Bunny had no collar or other identification, but Amanda had seen her in one of the pastures the day before, so I figured she was a local farm dog. Haven and I continued with our run and interestingly enough, Bunny decided to join us! In fact, she stayed with us for the last 1.5 miles and came right up to the cabin's front door - I had to keep her from coming inside! She eventually made her way back home. I wish I had brought some treats with me because I really wanted to give Bunny some food.

Friday was the second run but it was largely uneventful. The weather was just as muggy and the hills just as steep, but all cows were fenced in and Bunny was nowhere to be seen. Haven did manage to get four ticks on her, but I saw them easily on her white fur and removed them before they had a chance to take a bite. Both of our dogs use Advantix which I thought was supposed to repel ticks? Oh well, no harm done.

I went for a run Sunday after we got back home, but boy was my body out of it. I don't know if it was the messed up sleep schedule or lack of training or both, but I just didn't have any energy. I still mustered out nine miles and I must admit that once I was done, I realized that it felt good to run. It was nice to have a very light training week, but at the same time both my mind and my body missed the exercise! Hey feet, it's good to have you back.