24.07.13

morning run:
Ginger
Gracie
Blue
Posey
Truman
Elewah
Molly
Mega
(8)

Hidden trail: ~8k. This is a fast group; Ginger is the slowest one and she can still kick my ass over any given 100m stretch. We left late and it was not my intention to go the full hidden trail, but just to the beach at Au Soleil Couchant. When we got to the intersection with the A.S.C. road Posey pantomimed as though to take off north on the dog-leg that leads to the source of the hidden trail - she was saying "C'MON, DAD, LET'S GO!". We had kept a high pace to that point but of course my cardio is beyond question (*cough* okay Beardo if you say so *cough*) so I figured "why not" and we all took off north... it's only one extra kilometer, right? Right. The monte spat us out onto the beach in a black, angry cloud of bugs and we all jumped into the water to get away from them but they hounded us the whole way south. Some combination of the high pace, heat and (blood loss due to) bugs had me gassed and hurting as we crossed doce heading away from the tortuga sign and my cardio was very much in question, as there were 1.5km and a world of bugs between us and home. I decided to take the slightly shorter way around the edge of the charcos north of the dead goat trail; the bugs are worse but it cuts off at least 300m and that sounded good to me. I put Mega on the hook before we reached the dead goat trail both because I was sure I wouldn't be able to run him down if he did something in the last 500m and he also gave me a little boost by pulling on the leash (I know, pathetic). Elewah was a good girl and came home straight to the gate. Everyone did really well.
GRADE: A