Who Let the Dog Out?

I've been jogging for the past 10 years, give or take. It's actually more like 25 if you count the jogging I did in high school basketball and track. I know, one doesn't usually jog in these sports, but I did. I was always second to last in wind sprints during basketball. Thank goodness for our big, tall center who saved me from being the final team member across the line. Why they let me onto the track team that one year so that I could come in last in the 440, I'll never know. I started out in lane 7, way ahead of everyone because of the staggered start. They were setting up the hurdles for the next event before I finished. I guess that's why they switched me to the long jump for the rest of the season?

My friend Sheila runs, but I definitely jog. Sheila has all the cool running apparel, not to mention a runner's body (you know, the kind you see on the cover of "Runner's World). But my attire clearly pegs me for a jogger. I just have some tennies purchased at the local shoe store, shoe inserts to lessen my plantar fasciitis issues, a jog bra, and some comfortable socks (the short crew kind so that the dolphin tattoo on my left ankle, that I got when I turned 30, shows - yes, I was sober when I got it). The rest is just your regular old sweat pants, t-shirts, and a variety of baseball caps from which to choose. Oh, and just for the record, Doc. B. is a runner too. She can keep up with Sheila.

I jog because it's efficient. It burns a lot of calories in a short amount of time. For the past three years, I've been getting up at 5:00am to get to my gym by the time they open at 5:30. At least a couple of times per week, I jog on the treadmill and listen to my iPod or watch CNN. The other days of the week I get on the elliptical trainer, the stair stepper, the bicycle or just walk on the treadmill. Sometimes I do weights too, but yoga has basically replaced that.

On the weekends though, Doc. B. and I jog through our neighborhood. We both really enjoy this as we can get up a little bit later, sit around and enjoy coffee on the porch, pet the kitty cats, and then head outside for the jog once the sun is warming the Oakhurst sidewalks. This past weekend we were down to the last ten minutes of our jog when a dog came running up behind us. It had a collar on and seemed very happy and playful as it ran past me. Before I knew it, the dog was running back toward me. Just as Doc. B. told me to stop and walk, the dog bit my left thigh. As soon as I stopped jogging, it ran off. I had on those tights-like shorts that come down to just above your knee so I couldn't see where he had bitten me but I didn't see any blood and it didn't hurt too badly. Doc. B. said she'd seen that dog around before and wondered about its aggressive nature. Since it didn't really hurt and the dog was gone, we jogged on home.

I checked my leg at home and the skin was not broken. There was, however, a pretty bruise in the shape of an upper set of dog's teeth. It's been just under a week now and the bruise is almost gone, but it sure was scary for a moment there. We'd report the dog if we knew where to find it or could get to the dog's tags without being mauled. I guess in the meantime, we'll continue our jogs carrying a stick, wielding some pepper spray, or wearing body armor...