Back on track...

The saga of the dogs attacking me continues...This morning I decided to drive by the house before work and get the address. Then I was going to call animal control and have them talk to the owners. As I got closer to the house I decided to knock on the door and talk to the owners myself.

I drove up the long driveway looking for the dogs and didn't see them in the yard and when I got out of my truck they didn't appear to be outside, good. There was about 4 older cars and a truck parked beside the house, a bit of a junk yard. I didn't know what type of people to expect. I knocked on the door and a teen-aged girl answered. I asked if her mother or father was around and she asked why.

I told her I wanted to talk to them about their dogs. She told me to hold on and then came back and said her mother had to get dressed and would be with me shortly. I was trying to piece together a teen-aged girl at home and a mother still sleeping at 9 am in the morning.

She let me in the house to wait. It was large, dark and messy bungalow. Boxes and junk everywhere. I noticed a young man, who I assumed was the son, maybe 26 years old, in an electric wheel chair. It looked like he had MS or something.

The mother finally appeared in her house coat. I nicely introduced myself and told her that her dogs had chased me about 5 times this year and last night out and out attacked me on the middle of the road. She apologized and seemed sincere. She didn't know why her dog was doing that this year, but acknowledged he had been chasing cyclists. She said the dog had never done that in the past. She also mentioned that she only has one dog, the other one is the neighbors. I told her both dogs attacked me.

She again apologized and told me she would make sure her dog goes on a leash when she puts him outside. She thanked me for coming to see her directly. And her son in the wheel chair also gestured and mumbled what I think was a thank you, but it could have been a F you, I couldn't understand the poor guy. lol. I actually left feeling sorry for them. They seemed like nice people that were a little down trodden.

I got the impression that not many people treat them with respect. I left feeling like I did the right thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to get some pepper or wasp spray just in case they don't tie that dog up, but I did think they were nice people.

Training today was weights and track work and the track work was a killer. It's my first session of my new training cycle. My legs have NEVER been as sore as they were tonight. They felt like I had hit the wall during a marathon. I could hardly jog after each interval because there was so much lactic acid. Listening to IMtalk Podcast got me through it. Beven's laugh is contagious and as my legs are seizing on the track, they are talking massage. What irony.

Of course a couple of women showed up at the track and started to do speed work and put me to the test. One was probably late 40's and could run. I was running faster than one, but slightly slower than the "older bird". She was running on the outside lanes and I was on the inside lanes and had a tough time keeping up with her. I only gained ground when we were running into the wind. I'm good at wind and hills.

I was so glad to finish and stretching never felt so good. Something I've never done before happened to me. I opened my car door and it hit me in the eye. I was trying to avoid a branch. It was like getting punched in the eye by a car door. Imagine that.

I also emailed back and forth with Mark Allen today and told him I'd be signing up for Ironman China training in December. He said "great". After today's session I don't know if I can handle only a 3 week break from one season to another. I may have to reduce my training and go to Clearwater without any peaking expectations. We'll see, I may be thinking this way just because of tonights pain and suffering.

Weights - 45:00 minutes

Speed Work - 1:00:06 / 7.86 miles / 7:38 pace / 156 avg hr