Aaarghh. Dog owners!

I’m not one to rant. Really, I’m not.

But I have to get something off my chest. What is it with dog owners in this world of ours?

As a runner you spend a goodly amount of time outside so you come into contact with this most selfish of species on a regular basis and O to the M. to the flipping G does it open your eyes.

I was out for a nice run – a planned interval session in a beautifully maintained bridleway. It should have been idyllic, but as I turned a corner I heard a bark, a growl and then saw a black labrador hurtling towards me at top speed.

It’s owner haplessly begged her dog to ‘heel’ and ‘calm down’ but it was having none of it and snapped at my heels with its hackles raised. Having three children I can be fairly authoritative at times and bellowed “Hey. Stop that!”.

Not my best constructed sentence but I was jammin’ in a crisis situation. The dog paused in its fury and a few seconds later its owner managed to bring it under control.

No-one was hurt in the making of this rant. However, I suggested to the dog’s owner – who seemed perfectly pleasant and I am sure is kind to kittens, gives to charity and would never vote Brexit – that if she was unable to control her dog, perhaps she shouldn’t have it off the lead?

Her response? “He would never actually hurt anyone.”

I jogged on trying not to react as my heart rate slowed from hummingbird levels and my buttocks unclenched from their rock-like state.

But I have two questions:

1. Is that the point? Does it matter that I wasn’t injured, just scared witless for a measly 30 seconds? I would argue that no, it does not.
2. What if I had been with my children? I can guarantee that one of them would have tried to flee in terror, and how would the dog have reacted then?

I have been bitten twice by dogs while out running. On the first occasion the owner was deeply apologetic and no longer allowed their dog to roam free in their garden (it escaped as I ran past), on the second the owner said it ‘wasn’t really biting me but it didn’t have hands so how else was it going to hold on during its game’?

I have also been a journalist for 20 years – mostly in local newspapers and I have covered a fair few dog attacks. The owners’ responses always escalate in the same manner:

1.          He/she would never bite anyone
2.          I don’t know how that happened, he/she is not usually a biter
3.          He/she only bites when she/he’s scared
4.          I can usually control him/her
5.          I can’t believe my gorgeous Rex savaged that child.

Dogs are beautiful, loyal creatures. Dog owners need to accept that they are responsible for the dog’s behaviour at all times and not just make excuses when their pets threaten people.

Rant over. For now - you have been warned.

A poetic start to my London Marathon training

Me (right) finishing Abingdon in 2011
Picture: SussexSportPhotography.com

Week One of my training for the London Marathon has been completed.

 

It was a relief to finally get it under way. I was very surprised to get the acceptance notification in October and have been swinging between 'itching to get started' and 'what have I done' ever since.

But it started well. I have decided to roughly follow the Advanced training plan found in Runners World. It felt a bit cocky to go for Advanced but I am prepared to put in five days training and my 10km times show that I'm a decent runner these days.

I say roughly follow the plan because I have to work out what I can fit in and when, and a rigid plan worked out by someone who doesn’t know me or my situation is not going to work. So I am following the intensity of the plan but working out on which days I should do which activity.

I started on Sunday, January 4 with a long run. I like to get my long run out of the way on the first day as it takes the time pressure off the rest of the week.

My alarm rang at 6.45am and I donned a head torch and headed out. It was stunning. I started in the frost-spangled dark watching my breath form dense clouds in the beam of my light and soon the sky came to life with a stunning light blue with orange-tinged contrails arcing over my head.

It sounds poetic and it was. I startled a family of deer as I ran through woodland near Youlbury Scout Camp, was mocked by some cocky pheasants and challenged to race by a squirrel who scampered along the branches high above me.
 

My run even brought sunshine into my kids’ mornings as they loved the sight of Daddy walking into the house with two inch icicles hanging from his beard.
 

It was a great start and my pace was good. I completed 19.2km at 4.38min/km pace which was pretty satisfying. This is only my second marathon and follows Abingdon Marathon in 2011. I was pleased with my 3.37 then but this time I am hoping to sneak under that magical 3.15 that would make me Good For Age and guarantee a ballot-free entry for the next year.
 

After the good start that I did nice steady runs home from work one day and back in the following morning. That should have been 13.9km each but as I hit 9km on the evening run a cheery toot told me that my wife and kids were passing in the car and common sense told me that this was fate telling me not to go too big too soon.
 

I played squash on Tuesday. Probably not the best sport for a marathon runner in training as it’s pretty high impact but what can I say, I love it! I also think that all that lunging must be good for the legs.
 

I forced myself to rest on Wednesday and then smashed out an intense interval session on the treadmill. A good build with 6 threshhold minutes in the middle with a solid cool down. It was inspiring to run so fast and have to force myself to stop.
 

I was pretty wiped on Friday so settled for an easy five km followed by a 15 minute stretch in the gym and then closed the week off with a 5km at Harcourt Hill Park Run. I arrived nearly a minute late but still ran as fast as I could in the high winds and ploughed through the field.
 

All-in-all a very satisfying week which totalled six runs, racking up just over 38 miles.
 

I didn’t keep a training record of my Abingdon Marathon prep but I’m pretty sure that I only hit that mileage in about week 9 or 10 and the interval work was never as high quality.
 

It’s a long way to go but exciting to get off to a good start.