Survival of the Fittest

[Zoey and Ellie: BFFs. Photo credit: Lisa Dombroski]

Today is Take Your Dog to Work Day, which Erica pointed out in the comments section of the CrossFit Philly blog yesterday. But if taking yer pooch to work isn’t possible, consider making him or her your workout buddy.

“Forty percent of pet dogs are overweight or obese. That’s close to thirty million dogs in the United States alone dealing with health implications of weight problems … like diabetes, heart problems, aching joints, difficulty breathing, intolerance of exercise, even an increased risk of cancer,” according to Fitness Unleashed!: A Dog and Owner’s Guide to Losing Weight and Gaining Health Together by Marty Becker, DVM, and Robert Kushner, MD. So gradually amping up the exercise is good for both of you.

Many of you are already out there with Buffy, Fluffy and Spike. According to this Fit Sugar post, which cites research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, dog owners walk an average of 300 minutes per week, whereas folks without dogs only walk around 168 minutes.

Co-owners of Thank Dog Boot Camp, Jill and Jamie Bowers (don’t you love aptonyms?), have based a business on the concept of working out with your doggie friend, and I think they’re on to something. Lately, I’ve been working out early in the morning with a group of friends, and taking the pooches pictured above for a trail run by Wissahickon Creek afterward. Their sheer joy in being unleashed upon nature is almost enough to make me forget about the pain and tightness in my lower calves. Almost. (But on my to-do list is getting my gait checked out, because something is up. Jogging should not be so painful.)

LASTLY, I CAME ACROSS AN ARTICLE about the very cool Seattle Animal Shelter’s Get Fit With Fido program. Every Wednesday and Saturday, you can volunteer to run adoptable dogs from the shelter on 2- to 4-mile routes. The volunteers wear bright yellow, and the dogs wear “I’m available for adoption” banners.

The program has been so successful that there’s a spinoff (kind of like “Private Practice“) called the SAS Annual Furry 5K, where 2,500 runners/walkers, 1,000 dogs, and one “very brave” (or very stupid?) cat participate in a five-kilometer event each June to raise money for the Help the Animals Fund. Looks like the race was last Sunday, but there’s always next year to do your doggone duty.

(Photo credit: Kim Magrini)

Over the last few years, I’ve grappled with injuries, motivation and the dawning realization that I might be entering the twilight of this particular phase of my athletic career. That is, I may eventually want to find a sport that isn’t full contact. Eventually.

Since the 2006 Women’s Rugby World Cup, where I was a traveling reserve for the U.S. squad, I’ve been playing less rugby than I used to. Prior to that, I often played year-round; sometimes on as many as seven teams, counting select-sides and national team events.

But looking back, I can see where I sacrificed my fitness to avoid burnout, and over the past three years, I’ve basically ground to a halt on the fitness front.

That’s disappointing to me on a personal and professional level — I constantly delve into the world of fitness on behalf of the magazine, and I love learning about new concepts, so it’s time I start applying them to my own life again. After all, one cannot subsist on practice and games alone.

I suspect the trick will be in the reinvention process. I’m not done with rugby, by any means, but I’ve got to find something else I can’t wait to do — something that will get me in prison shape, preferably.

I’ve got friends who have broad interests and are masters of reinvention, whereas I tend to throw myself into my chosen sport with a single-mindedness that comes in handy when attempting to reach a specific goal, but is less valuable from a diversification perspective.

So the real question is, what else can I be? (Accepting suggestions….)

So far, two potential options:
1) A martial artist? A sign about a submission grappling class captured my attention the other day. (So much for finding a sport that isn’t full contact.)

2) Or maybe a trail runner? I’ve been tempted to hit the trail more often since we published Dimity McDowell’s article on the topic in April 2006. I’ve enjoyed trail running the few times I’ve done it, and if it holds true that this version of running is kinder on the joints, I just may have a shot.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The trick for now, I think, is to just try a bunch of things and see what sticks.

To that end, on Sunday I went for a long walk in the woods alongside gorgeous Wissahickon Creek, part of Philadelphia’s 9,200-acre Fairmount Park. Last night I ran — well, shuffled — a couple miles around South Philly, and on the docket for tonight is at least part of the Pavel Tsatsouline DVD From Russia With Tough Love: Pavel’s Kettlebell Workout for a Femme Fatale (Dragon Door, 2003).

I have a hunch the woods might stick.