10.01.12

morning run:
Monkey
Linda
Steve McQueen
Amber
Zoot
Mega
Petey
Lex
(8)

Out to the hidden trail and down to the beach but then right back again home the way we went: ~8k. A truck was going north up doce just as we were getting to it on the hidden trail... I don't understand how that road can be completely empty 99% of the time and yet it seems like whenever I come to a crossing there's a truck. Mega must've gotten spooked because when I took count of us on the other side of doce he was missing. I spent the next 15min looking for him. First I took us down to the beach to make sure he hadn't bolted for the water, since he's been on the hidden trail before; I saw Nicole, Xmul and their two terriers south in the distance but no Mega, so I turned us around and went back to the crossing at doce. Along the way I managed to get myself into a cactus patch that had been cut down some months ago; the dogs were fine but I caught a few spectacular old spines that had apparently been lying there just for me. Once back at the junction with doce I kept us just east of it and shouted for Mega for a solid 10min, maybe longer. I knew that he must be hiding somewhere and that there was no point in my trying to find him; sure enough he appeared sheepishly at the head of the trail and came running back to us once he saw us. The little puppy.celebration that ensued was priceless. I didn't want to head to the beach at that point so I turned us around and we came home just as we had gone out via the swimming hole and the cut-over (but not the ridge and the land bridge). Mega was very happy to be back among us the whole way home. Lex distinguished himself as a fearless leader and good listener. I, on the other hand, was completely whipped on the way home; apparently shouting "MEGA MONSTER" at the top of your lungs for 15min straight is more taxing than running for the same amount of time because I was about ready to puke by the time we got back to the dirty road and I haven't puked since the first time I ran 15k. Still in the end I can't fault Mega for being freaked out and everyone else really helped by sticking with me and listening. Linda had more Xmuls in her coat than I have ever seen on a dog since the day we met Henry.
GRADE: A

morning swim:
Twiggy
(1)

Twiggy's first rehab swim since her hip surgery. The water was comically shallow so we had to go out a ways for her to swim and the water was chilly and muddy; she didn't care and was thrilled to be out. We did something like 5-6 "laps" according to my old scoring system, but mainly the point is that she's in the next phase of rehab now and doing much better every day.
GRADE: A