K9 5K

The 5K this morning went very well.  It was cold and windy this morning, but I didn’t think it would be so bad as I left my room for the run.  As we all huddled on the boardwalk, I thought that I may have overdressed a little bit.  I was in my winter PT’s which consist of wind pants, a wind breaker jacket, and my fleece cap.  I was comfortable with the temperature and that is an indicator of overdressing for a workout.  I have always been told that you want to dress a little chilly for a run because running tends to heat a person up fairly quickly.  It is no good for the runner to dehydrate due to overdressing.  The Veterinary Hospital Officer in Charge gave a quick speech referencing the importance of Military Working Dogs.  He mentioned how much heart these dogs have and how much they love their job.  The K9 unit Officer in Charge spoke next and provided some brief details of what these dogs do for us and how they are one of our most important weapons in the fight.  The two most important weapons are the Warfighter and the Military Working Dog.  There were six dogs present with their handlers and they were energetic pups.  They were feeding off the excitement of the crowd and looked as though they were ready for an all out sprint.  Looking around the crowd, I can tell who is dedicated to winning this race as he is outfitted from head to toe in expensive running equipment, compared to everyone else in PT uniforms or fleece jackets depending on if they were civilian or military.  Finally, it was time to start the race.  As we gathered in the street for the start, I became chilly again.  The wind was really blowing hard this morning.  The dogs started in the rear of the crowd but quickly dragged their handlers to the front.  I felt sorry for the handlers because they really did look like they were being drug by their dog.  I felt really good for the run and started off at a good pace.  I was passing people left and right ensuring I was keeping up with a guy I had overheard was training for a marathon.  I passed him and made it to his buddy, who I also passed.  I was feeling great!  Left and right the dogs were stopping to sniff a rock, relieve themselves, or take a drink of water.  By mid race, all six dogs were evenly spread throughout the group.  I arrived at the turn around point in time to be struck by a big gust of wind.  This time instead of pushing me forward, it was pushing me back.  “No worries, this is a game of heart, I got this,” I told myself as I dug deeper into my energy vault.  The wind was relentless, picking up dust, dirt, and debris to fling in our faces.  The wind was so strong that at times I didn’t think I was moving forward.  I wanted to give up, but I knew I couldn’t.  The finish line was not too much farther ahead of me.  I rounded the last bend and gave it my all until I crossed the finish at just under 28 minutes.  After the race, the runners stuck around to pet the dogs, take pictures with the dogs, and ask the handlers questions about their jobs.  I was looking at the finishing runners to see if anyone in my unit had run as well when one of the dogs stuck his nose in my hand and licked my palm.  It surprised me a bit, but I was able to sneak in some puppy lovin’ time.  It truly made my day.