Meet My New Training Partner

 " The secret to success is persistence. If one way doesn't work then try another."-unknown

I arrived in Dallas during the middle of week one of training for Boston.  I was spending the holidays with my brother Tony, sister-in-law Cindy and my nephews Brandon and Dan.

The winter weather in Dallas is almost always better than we have in Wisconsin. This trip was no exception. Weather was in the mid 50's to upper 60's.  So I couldn't blame the weather if I didn't stick to the training plan.

The problem is I had long run of 10 miles scheduled for Christmas Day and a half marathon on the morning of New Years Eve.  I also had two 5 mile tempo runs to do and some speed work, plus I had to figure out what to do for exercise on the days I didn't run.

Fitting in a run around all the holiday prep and family time can be really tough.  Christmas day after we opened presents everyone in the house was napping and I was really tempted to skip the run. Tempo runs are an even bigger challenge, I often put off doing them.  Plus I sometimes feel guilty slipping out for a run when I could be visiting with my family.  Sometimes I hear " You're exercising again?" Although on this visit they did know I had a marathon to get ready for in April. My motivation needed a little nudge and I got just the energy boost I needed from my nephew Dan's dog.
Dan is a business student at Texas Tech majoring in business and he and Mojo were home for the holidays.  Mojo is a chocolate lab/ Australian Shepard mix and at a little over a year old he still has his puppy zest for life.  His company was just the boost I needed, especially since I am training without using any music since I plan on running the Boston Marathon without my iPod.

Mojo was my running and walking companion for all but one day of my visit.   Seeing how much he enjoyed going for a walk or run really got me out the door, even on Christmas day when everyone was napping.  The only day we missed was the day I ran the half marathon in Allen Texas. No dogs were allowed or I might have considered taking him.   He literally pulled me along when walking and I had a hard time keeping up when running. He has an endless source of energy.

It was fun to have Mojo join me for my runs and walks.  He really loves to be outdoors and his excitement was infectous.   It helped me to remember the joy of running and just being outside.
Running with a overgrown puppy is a bit of a challenge. He had his own agenda when we were together and often stopped dead in his tracks to check out something of interest. Sudden changes in direction happened often as well.  We also seemed to find where every dog in the neighborhood lived, since they greeted us with growls and barks. One dog through himself against the fence as we passed.  That scared Mojo into the street, taking me with him. As I looked back I could see what looked like a Doberman jumping higher than fence height to get a look at us.
He was great fun to workout with and really motivated me.  Thanks Dan for letting me train with Mojo. I'll miss him. I was able to get in every scheduled running workout. I missed a weight liftig session or two. Mojo seemed to take my attempts at weight lifting as an opportunity to play.

 I am back in the frozen north now.  I ended  week 2 with a cold (19F) and windy speed run.    All in all a good week of training. The 1/2 went well and I am pretty healthy. Right on track for Boston so far.

Chris Wodke
Founder & Manager Team CMT
WWW.RUN4CMT.com

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have almost 100 members in 17 states. If you wish to join us visit our web site.

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.

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