...Yes, our pup has some swanky running shoes of his own. Reserved for special occasions.
Scroll down, below the video, for some pet paw care info I have found useful in preparing your animal to get out on the road with you.
Check him out getting used to his pretty red shoes. Ruff Wear has some awesome dog gear, but if you're more of a DIYer, there's plenty of options to make your own dog booties on the web, without breaking the bank.
Why would anyone get shoes for their dog?
In extreme heat hot surfaces, such as marble or asphalt retain quite a bit of heat that can burn your poor pup's paws.
In snowy weather road salt builds up on streets and sidewalks. For dogs this can cause great irritation and burning on their paws, not to mention the hazards if your dog starts to ingest those chemicals by licking his aching feet.
If you're against the shoes for your dog, there's always wax.
What do you use to keep your puppy's paws comfortable in bad weather?
Check back later for some highlights from the Fort Worth, Texas, SPC Championship Track meet (I moonlight as a volunteer distance coach for All Saints Episcopal School, grades 7-12)
Well, it was that time again. Time to fork over the big bucks for some new running shoes. Fortunately, I've found the brand and style that I like (Asics GT-2100 series) so the process is fairly painless, minus the emptying of my wallet.
A recent trip to Fort Worth Running Company had me amused with the kid who was helping us pick out our new duds. I must premise this with my previous running shoes were a nice pinkish color (not my color of choice, but I'm not picky when it comes to shoes that are meant to get dirty), the newer model is now in a purple (other colors not available at this retailer), which gave the him an opportunity to seal the deal...so he thought.
In case you aren't from around these parts, living in Fort Worth breeds great pride for TCU, the town bleeds purple all year long. Unfortunately, for the nice kid who thought he was really 'selling me' the shoes "they come in TCU purple" is not the best pitch for someone who went to the red-headed step child school of the DFW Metroplex that I like to call UTA. Asics are the only pair I would consider buying...no selling required for this gal. I jokingly laughed that I'm the wrong person for those shoes, and I think I may have upset him a bit. I can't imagine his discontent lasted too long as he did make a hefty sale off of the two pairs of shoes and lock laces we bought.
Thinking about it our recent journey to the FW Run Co the other night after our purchase, my fiancée (who will be attending graduate school at the University of Colorado, Boulder in the fall) brought up the incident and commented that the kid got it right with his shows, in Buffalo black and gold. Go Buffaloes! Maybe I'll have better luck with the next pair.
Like I said, color is no problem for me and my running shoes, it's about quality, not style or price when it comes to that much pavement pounding.
A few notes about running shoes that I've learned over the years:
Most quality shoes will last about 350 miles, it just depends on the type of runner you are and the routes you take. Pay attention to the soles, if they look worn it's time to upgrade.
Never stick your shoes in a washer or dryer!!!! If you get home with soggy feet let them air dry in a cool place. Nobody cares how clean your shoes are...if they're too clean you obviously don't run as much as you would like people to believe.
Keep your shoes away from heat, unless you want to start a breeding ground for awesome smells and gnarly bacteria.
When buying your running shoes they should be approx. one half size larger than what you normally wear for everyday shoes. Your feet will swell when you work out, so give them room to grow, or say goodbye to your toenails.
Never wear new shoes on the day of a race!! You're asking for trouble if you do that, you need some time to break them in with a few light runs, race pace is a bit too much for your feet to handle in new shoes.
Where to begin? I guess it was about four years ago that I came up with the crazy idea to complete a race in all 50 states and on all 7 continents. At the time, I was a fair weather runner in need of motivation....so I created it.
Now, don't get me wrong, I have no delusions of grandeur, and do not intend on finishing this quest in the near future. It's more of a life long goal to help keep my butt off the coach and my hands out of the cookie jar...sometimes.
In the last two and half years I've had a partner in the journey, helping me get up in the mornings (which is a struggle for me) and stay motivated in the task. Then we got Mars, our insanely cute and adorable Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy.
We stumbled across this breed watching Dogs 101 while hanging out in Chicago for a race, we knew that was the dog for us (we discovered they have high endurance and can hang with us if we ever decide to run more than 13 miles). The caveat, you cannot run with a puppy until they are at least a year old, and we have been anxiously waiting for this time.
As of April 6, 2011, Mars was ready to go. We took him out on his first half mile run. I know, long distance right? Well, if people are advised against getting off the couch after a year and going to run a 5k then I'm sure the same applies to dogs.
So here I am, with my fiancée and our precocious pup on our journey.
States Completed (6): California, Nevada, Texas, Illinois, Colorado and Arkansas
As you can see we still have quite a few miles left until we cross the finish line!
Stay tuned for training and racing updates, for us and the dog, as we try to fit work, grad school, moving and wedding planning into our lives.
