The Big E – Endurance Tests

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386 – March, 2022

By Elaine Lessig

Once middle age greeted me, I knew it was time to up my game. There was no longer any way I could keep up with breeding, showing, and judging dogs unless I got into better shape. Being on your knees, bent over the whelping box for hours, is not an easy task. Getting dogs ready to show, at a minimum, necessitates washing them, loading and unloading all the equipment to and from the vehicle to the show grounds, and then reversing the process. Next, comes driving home, cleaning everything, putting it away, feeding and settling the dogs, only to do it all over again the next time. That takes stamina.

I reviewed all my options. After thoughtful consideration, I chose to get outside and walk every day that I could. We live in a very hilly, semi-rural community. If you are not going up a hill, you are going down one. There is very little flat surface between these hills. The effort to complete the mile was greater than I ever expected it would be the first time I ventured out. During that inaugural hour, I fought constantly with myself. Determined to get in that first mile, I struggled with the urge to quit or perservere. It was not pretty. Exhausted, thirsty, soaked to my skin, I stumbled into the house, my legs feeling like jelly. Sinking onto the window seat, I thought, “I did it. I did my first mile!”

Improvement came little by little. On the mornings when I was home, I completed my morning doggie chores, put on a reflective vest (proudly worn originally at hunt tests and field trials while I was working my way through the sporting group) and walked the hills. On those early forays, I often discovered neighbors out walking the same route. What began with a quick “good morning” grew into sharing those miles with one or another of them sometimes. It was comforting to know I wasn’t alone.

Click here to read the complete article
386 – March, 2022

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