Today Ruby's new lead arrived. It's a hands free lead which goes around the waist and has a bungee on it to act as a kind of shock absorber.
We set off along to the barn and all was great, it felt amazing not to have my arm pulled around left right and centre. Even when there was another dog up front and Ruby started pulling, it still wasn't as much of a problem as when I run with the lead in my hand.
The problem started when we went up the narrow path to the side of Sheephouse Lane. Ruby just trotted along in front and wouldn't move any faster but it meant that the lead between me and her was dragging on the floor so I had to hold it further along. Usually I have her on an extension lead so when she is running close to me, the lead automatically reels in but this obviously isn't the case with this lead so I found I had to either keep holding it, or trip over it!
This went on for a great deal of our run and I found myself getting more and more annoyed and taking this out on Ruby by shouting at her to go faster. If I ran past her to encourage her to go faster, she would then just go round the back of me and along the other side so I had to keep spinning around to avoid the lead getting wrapped around my legs.
I'll persevere with it, as it was pretty expensive, but I must say I was a bit disappointed. I really did enjoy the lack of arm ache though so I hope I can master some kind of technique with it as I really don't want to go back to the hand held lead.
Mileage has been incredibly low this week (only about 10.5 miles so far) but I now feel really rested and ready for my two races this weekend. I've also eaten really well lately and have replaced all my unhealthy snacks with healthier (but not necessarily low cal) alternatives so hopefully that will pay off in the races.
Total distance - 5.35 miles
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