Well that was different.
Last week I had a medium paced 5k on Tuesday's schedule which I was looking forward to by the end of the day. I started out at dusk and figured it'd be quick...oh boy was I wrong! I felt like I went out way too fast but by the time I admitted this to myself I was warmed up and didn't want to slow down (figures, eh?) After a little bit of time had passed I guessed I was around 3k in to the run yet my sensor told me I was only 1k in. Nothing was hurting and I thought that for sure the loop I picked to go around was 2 miles but then thought maybe I mapped it wrong so I kept going.
I ran up a decent sized hill adjacent to the loop and as I reached the crest I heard a dog bark. No biggy, this happens a lot. Then, I see this Dobermann Pinscher standing there looking at me and it barks a little more. I grew up around big dogs so that didn't bother me. I didn't look at it again and kept running, now down the other side and onto a separate road. All the sudden the Dobermann barks louder and more viciously and I hear the clanging of dog tags. I turn my head and sure enough it's decided to chase me. Oh crap. I could tell that by stopping to walk would be a bad decision. I was suddenly looking for the nearest bush or something I could run to without the dog being able to follow. Talk about unexpected speed work!
Fortunately, some kids were out playing street hockey in their driveway and yelled "RUN OVER HERE!!!" We all went into the garage just in time. The littlest one said "I know I'm not supposed to talk to strangers but we always see you out running and we didn't want the mean dog to eat you." That made me laugh and I said thanks. One of the bunch then went inside and their dad phoned the neighbours to put the dog inside. Apparently this isn't the first time they've seen the dog become overly aggressive.
I know not all Dobermann's are like that but I have experience with them (a neighbour of mine owned two well behaved ones) and that dog was definitely not well trained so it was easy for me to see the dog was not just trying to protect "his" territory. I've never seen this dog before and I run that route fairly often. It definitely makes me not want to go up that hill again because that's pretty irresponsible of the owners. What really ticked me of was that if I happened to be chased and bit that would be bad but I would be able to deal. However, with children in the area that's a much more hazardous scenario if no adults are around or they can't get the kids to safety fast enough.
Anyway, the boys had me take a couple shots at the net before I continued on and apparently I'm a great hockey player to a group of ten year olds, haha. That encounter shook me up more than I thought initially so I walked past that house again even though the dog was inside. (I was wishing I had a cellphone so I could call someone to pick me up.) It became completely dark, I had my headlamp on and was planning on heading home...but apparently my workout wasn't done when I glanced at the distance. I thought I must be really out of it so I ran slowly and thought about cutting things short. I kept thinking I was running a lot more than I should be but finished anyway. Then I walked back home and it was well over an hour since I had set out.
I was exhausted once I got through the door. I wanted to just sit down and not move. To complicate matters, I was hungry and needing some water. I somehow mustered enough muscle power in my legs to go to the washroom for a quick shower and then prepare a light dinner. Needless to say I slept well.
The next day I decided to look at my data. Average pace: 11:34 per km. No bloody way was that right! So I mapped out my route and sure enough, I did way more than 5k. It was about 12 miles. No wonder my body was tired at the end of my "5k." Next time I totally need to trust my instincts about mileage. Clearly, some part of the sensor wasn't picking things up right. I got so disgusted with that I've not tried to figure out what happened (I plan on doing this tomorrow.)
Then the foot pain then started the next day. Stupid dog.
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Comments
Also, are you using Nike+ to track your miles? Back when I used it, it was always wrong when I ran faster. I think its due to it being setup as a pedometer (counts foot steps), but when you run fast you take bigger steps, so they don't count as the right amount of distance.
Crappy, huh? But now you don't have to figure it out tomorrow, if you trust my logic!
Sounds like an epic. Good to hear you didn't get eaten by the "mean dog" too. :P
Running with a headlamp now there's a good idea, I go out for a jog occassionally at night and my area is pretty well lit up, but have one of those Princeton tech lightweight headlamps should have it with me just in case.
Always wondered about the accuracy of those sensors, but figured that if it triangulates on satellites it should be able to figure out that you've travelled up and down hills, etc. No???
What kind of sensor do you have? I'm thinking about getting either a Garmin or a Nike Plus. Basically I want the Garmin, but need to save up for that, so the Nike could be a stopgap in the meantime... though if it's good, I might just stick with it.
5K versus 12 miles... arghh! That is a pretty big margin of error.
I love dogs, but when I put on those running shoes, that's it -- we're enemies.
I've also been chased by wild turkeys. Seriously. They're not as fast as dogs, but they can fly if they have to, which makes things much more interesting.
I am using Nike+ (can't wait for a Garmin!) I do calibrate it quite frequently and it's usually fairly accurate for me so I have no idea why it went all crazy. That's a good theory though; perhaps I've become ridiculously fast!
I have a cheap-o sensor that doesn't get tracked by satellites it goes by how many times your feet hit the pavement and time. I want to save to get a Garmin at some point though and they are really accurate.
Usually it's been only a slight margin of error for me. I was definitely unimpressed with that difference.
Imagining that seems amusing but I'm sure it isn't when it's actually happening to you. That sounds so crazy, I hope I never have a run-in with a turkey!
Sorry to hear about that encounter- I know all to well that spooked-by-dog feeling. I've even considered buying a small pepper-sprayer after it happened a few more times. Something about runners that puts borderline dogs into full attack mode.
Also, you gotta get the Garmin. It rocks. Although if I had the iPod thing I could have Gnarls Barkley sing RUN as my power song.
Yeah, the Garmin's on my list of "wants" but there are more important things before that! Hopefully I will get one this summer. Oddly enough, I usually just run with the iPod in my pocket and don't listen to music. Gnarls Barkley's songs always seem to crack me up for some reason, lol.
I have had more than a few run-ins with aggressive farm and ranch dogs. I have even watched the owners laugh out loud and point at me while I dealt with their dogs.
Now, I carry pepper spray and actually look forward to these encounters. I don't encourage them but I don't run in fear either. I got the extra large size canister designed to be used against Grizzly bears.
Yes mean dogs do get my heart rate up, but now in a different way.
Bring it on, you #$^#!
On one occasion the owners got extremely upset, when I sprayed their dog and it ran away whimpering. They started yelling obscenities at me. But only a few moments earlier they were laughing when the dog was running fall-blast towards me.
I warned them to shut up and stay the $%^ away from me too. If they got too close, they would have known what it was like to be sprayed.
Despite this, I am a very peaceful person by nature. My family and I have two dogs, which we love.
However we feel there is nothing worse than an owner who does not control their pet. It gives dogs a bad name. In fact, if any of our dogs ever confronted a runner (they aren't allowed anywhere near the road, and they well know it), we would be happy and thankful if the runner assisted with "training" and gave them a spray.
Thanks for the post.
Also, you're lucky to have your "internal mileage clock" offset to the low end. I always overestimate how far I've gone (and end up doing 2 miles instead of 4 - sigh). ;-)