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Cooba – Our May Running Buddy of the Month
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I was reading another running blog recently and I stumbled upon a few pictures of a beautiful red Stumpy Tail Australian Cattle Dog, Cooba. One of the pictures was of Cooba looking normal while a runner held a GPS unit in front of his face – distance of the run he’d just done: 74 km!
The runner in question is Clarke McClymont, and Cooba the Cattle Dog is his training partner as he prepares himself for ultramarathons like last year’s Kokoda Challenge, where the team he was in smashed the race record by around and hour and thirty minutes, over some of the toughest terrain in a trail race anywhere in Australia.
Cinnabar’s speed versus what he sees…
Posted by: | CommentsCertain things inspire my dog, and certain things don’t. Can you guess what he likes?
Do Dogs Get a Runner’s High?
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Endorphin Rush. Runner’s High. If you’ve ever done any intensive exercise, you’d be familiar with the feeling of relaxation and well being that follows a good workout.
I’ve often thought that my dog seems to feel just as good as I do after a run, but I’ve been unable to find any scientific proof, until now.
Researchers at the University of Arizona put dogs, humans and ferrets on a treadmill, and measured the amount of endocannabinoids that were produced after exercise. Endo – produced inside the body, cannabinoids – chemicals that activate cannabinoid receptors in the brain that cause a euphoric feeling.
Ferrets aren’t a species that evolved to run, so it’s not too surprising that they didn’t show any response to running. However, both dogs and humans showed much higher levels of endocannabinoids after a session on the treadmill. This means that our dogs do indeed get that runner’s high.
Easy, cheap, and cold.
Posted by: | CommentsNo, I’m not talking about my past life as a contract killer…
If you get injured, the acronym you use to remember the treatment regime is R.I.C.E.R. This stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, and Refer. They’re all pretty obvious, maybe except for refer – it means to see a doctor if it is serious, debilitating, or fails to resolve within a day or so. Anyway, ice is sometimes inconvenient to use – it gets wet as it melts, you have to remember to fill the ice cube tray, and your children steal all of the ice cubes to make slushies when you’re not looking. Well, not any more! I’ve created the perfect ice pack to treat injuries. This ice pack doesn’t make a puddle, it doesn’t have lumps of ice, and no-one is going to steal it to make cold drinks.
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SPI Belt Lead with Pocket
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I recently saw the SPI Belt Dog Lead with Pocket at the Brisbane Twilight Half Marathon’s race expo, and straight away I thought it was a great idea. An elastic zippered bag attached to the side of a dog lead for carrying, according to them, keys, phone, and cash; according to me, essential dog needs of poo bags, treat, and maybe wrapped up dog waste. With one of these, there should be no excuses for the “forgetfulness” curse that plagues many dog walkers and runners, where they seem to never take bags with them when they go out with their dog.
Brisbane Twilight Half Marathon – with dogs!
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On Sunday 18 March 2012 Audrey and I did something no-one else in Brisbane has done, as far as we know. We took our dogs Guinness and Cinnabar into the Twilight Half Marathon. OK, so maybe it’s not up there with Kathrine Switzer’s first running of the Boston Marathon, but for us, it represents a big step on the road to getting dogs accepted as runners, and racers too.
The week’s weather was rainy and humid. We were a little worried about running with the boys – Guinness and Cinnabar – in rain for 21.1 kilometres, not because of the cold or water in our eyes, but because the dogs foot pads would be softened by exposure to water and may have been more prone to cuts, glass, or splinters. However the rain held off for the latter part of Sunday so with leads in hand we headed off to the wilds of St Lucia.
