Self awareness...what a beautiful thing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone! Wow! And what a beautiful first day of the year it is. Windy like all get-out here in Ventura, but fortunately the SBAA was holding their annual Resolution Run today - in gorgeous Santa Barbara - with zero wind! I decided to head up this morning... Ran both the 5K & 10K...plus got a nice new t-shirt...saw some folks I hadn’t seen in awhile... So, why am I bringing this up? Well, just as I was rounding the final 10th of a mile of the 10K into the chute of the finish area, I was passed by an awesome strong runner (wahoo!) then he and I were both cut off by a lovely non-race woman walking her very well-behaved Australian Shepherd - right in the middle of the path of the finish line chute!

I’m sorry, but what was she thinking??? And, what were the event people thinking? The poor guy that passed me was really quick on his feet - literally! He hurdled himself over the poor dog - brushing the top of the dogs head with his foot - then she swerved to the other side just in time for me to slam into her - ugh. It was like one big Sig-alert! I felt badly for her and the dog - I know they weren’t there intentionally - I’m sure the tree the dog was sniffing was quite appealing - but come on folks, a little self-awareness goes a long way... Please, when you’re out and about with your pooches - be aware of your surroundings...especially when your dog can get injured or scared... Hopefully it’s the worst things that happens to all of us this year... And of course, it could have been much worse... But we all finished with a smile - including the dog... Happy New Year to all! May you have a safe, injury free, positively reinforcing 2008!