Leave No Squirrel Unchased!!!

Time: 52:24
Distance Run: 4.84 miles
Pace: 10:50 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: Wtf with the squirrels, Abby?
Most Inspiring Moment: The dulcet tones of Benedict Cumberbatch leading me forward

Yesterday, when I looked out the window and saw this...

...my first thought was what kind of mess I'd be running in today. Sleet? Snow? I had to go out last night to deliver a pop-art pet portrait (order yours now!!!), and the wind transformed my umbrella into some kind of kinetic art sculpture, folding and flipping like origami that is also useless at keeping rain off a human.

So when I woke up and not only was it not raining but it was also above freezing, I was pretty psyched.

Unfortunately, also psyched were all the squirrels in Boston, and they celebrated by prancing all over the place. And I know this because Abby chased every single one.

WHAT IS THAT?!?

Usually Abby is pretty good when it comes to squirrels. She sees them but it's more of a "oh hey!" like you do across a party to a Facebook acquaintance. Today it was like "OH MY GOSH WHAT'S UP LET'S PLAY JK I PROBABLY WOULD EAT YOU JK BUT REALLY I WILL CHAAAAASE YOOOOU!!!!"

SQUIRREL!!!

As a result, I spent a lot of time zigzagging across the sidewalk, hoping that I would not step on/trip over the dog.

The good news is the squirrels are only on the Boston side of the river (Hold on. I just realized. Those squirrels don't cross the bridges, right? Are there, like, rival squads of squirrels on opposite sides of the river?), so once we crossed to Cambridge, things mostly quieted down (she did see ONE squirrel near MIT and flipped the f' out).

Today's run made me wonder if I should try to, ahem, cut out my running partner one or two times a week. It's a toss-up whether she makes me run faster--because she drags me along behind her--or slower--because I have to navigate other dogs, pee breaks, and, of course, squirrels.

Usually I'd say Abby would not stand to be left behind, except this morning when I woke up and got out of bed, she had on another one of her "Wait, really?" looks. I kept asking if she wanted to go for a run, and she just gave me shark eyes.

"Do you think I should leave her at home?" I asked Dave. We were watching her from the bathroom, and she was doing her if-I-don't-look-at-them-maybe-they'll-go-away thing. Dave was dubious, possibly because it would mean he'd have to take her out to pee, so I walked out of the bathroom and asked again and she popped out of her kennel with her little tail going nuts.

"What just happened?" Dave asked.

"I don't know, I just--oh. It's because I was in the bathroom. I think she thought I was luring her over with the promise of a run so I could give her a bath."

"I mean," Dave said, "it's happened before..."

Smart puppy.