This morning I ran a 7-mile loop through Weston. Around mile 2 a barking dog came at me. It was an overweight Golden Retriever so I wasn’t too alarmed. Still, it’s always annoying when any dog comes at you while you’re running because you never know if it’s going to stop or take a chunk out of your leg. I slowed down, put my hand out, and said “nice doggy” which of course always tames even the most aggressive dog. Anyway, this dog didn’t bite me (bonus!) and I expected it to just go back to wherever it came from. But no, Rover decided to follow me.

I stopped, thinking that would end the game, but again he hung around. I picked up a stick and threw it in the opposite direction. He ran for it but quickly returned – without the stick (some retriever). About a half-mile later I made a turn onto a busy road. Even that didn’t deter my new friend. He followed me the rest of the way, for 5 miles and almost 45 minutes.

In the beginning Rover ran in front of me, so I tried to fake him out at the turns only to have him catch up once he noticed I had changed directions. After about 2 miles he began to slow down. He was running behind me now occasionally sprinting to catch up and was panting heavily. When this whole thing started I was annoyed because I knew people would think Rover was my dog and they’d get mad at me because he wasn’t on a leash, sometimes ran in the middle of the road, and harassed a couple of other dogs. Toward the end, I was concerned he was going to keel over or get hit. I started telling him to get out of the road and back on the sidewalk. Surprisingly he obeyed.

When we reached Weston Town Hall, the rain was coming down in buckets. I paced back and forth under the overhang on the front steps to get out of the rain and to cool down. Rover followed me back and forth. I asked a woman who was walking in if there was some way to contact animal control because this dog wasn’t mine. “Oh, he probably lives in the neighborhood,” she hastily replied, eager to get out of the rain.

I wasn’t sure what to do, but I had to get to work. So I threw my wet outer layer into the trunk and faked Rover with a simulated stick toss so I could get into my car without him. I felt bad leaving the dog panting in the pouring rain, but who knows, maybe I’ll see him again next Wednesday.

John started attending NECC in March of last year and a few months later they held their first organized running event. It was a 5k Walk/Run that began and ended at the Pilgrim Church in Southborough Center. All money raised went toward the building of NECC’s Therapeutic Aquatic Center. Afterward a bunch of us went back to Mike’s place and spent some quality time in the bouncy house.

Thanks to friends and family and the many generous folks at Intuit, I am just over a third of the way to my goal of raising $3000 for the New England Center for Children. The combined total of all donations to date (which isn’t reflected on the official donation site) is $1185. I’ll work on adding one of those fancy thermometer things to this site so everyone can see the progress we’re making. Thanks again for helping out a worthy cause.

During the summer I usually hang up my running shoes in favor of the bike. And for seven years I watched almost every stage of the Tour de France. I was a Tour geek, able to identify the entire U.S. Postal (and then Discovery Channel) team as well as the top contenders in each year’s race. I even own the 2003 Tour de France DVD set (by far the most exciting of Lance Armstrong’s Tours) and have watched all 8 discs multiple times while riding the stationary trainer. Sad, I know. The combination of doping scandals and Armstrong’s retirement have dampened my enthusiasm so I haven’t followed it much since. Still, Lance is an incredible athlete. He qualified for Boston with a 2:43 in the New York marathon – a swift 6:13 per mile pace. At around 9:00 per mile I probably won’t see him, but at least I will be able to say I ran in the same race as Lance Armstrong.

Boston Globe : Lance Armstrong To Run Boston Marathon

Check out his number in the article’s picture: LANCE. I wonder if ROB is taken for Boston…

To bring attention to the cause, we decided to grow beards. No one is particularly thrilled with the results, especially my wife and kids. Most folks describe the look as “mountain man” or “scruffy.” I’ve never been much of a facial hair guy. Still, I’m keeping it. At least until I reach my fund raising goal. It remains to be seen if Mike’s will actually grow in by April. In any case, please help put an end to this ridiculousness and donate to The New England Center for Children.