AM - track workout - 7 x 400 at 6:15-6:30 pace with a 200 rest.
Finn passed away peacefully and naturally yesterday in our home, with me sitting next to him. The little guy had a lot going on in the last year or so health-wise, but it was some type of bacterial infection that he contracted over the weekend that was just too much for him to overcome despite efforts with the vet and antibiotics. We brought him home late Tuesday afternoon and he spent the night the next day very close to my side. He was very weak and lethargic and I think he knew it was his time. I was thankful that I was there with him in the end and that he felt at home, secure and at peace.
Finn was my very close running companion for the last 10 years. He probably ran with me nearly every day that I was in-town with the exception of days when he was sick or injured. Our routine in the mornings particularly for the last 5 years since I began working from home with the pandemic, was that he'd usually urge me to get up before my alarm - stroll in the backyard for a few minutes to let him do his business; then I would read some emails, read the paper and take my blood pressure, about which time, he'd come over to me and stare, or make some noise of impatience as if to say "well, it's time to go run, what are you waiting for?"
From the first time I took him out for a test run as a pup, maybe at 6-9 months old, he just naturally took to it - running on leash always in front, always all business about the run. Even if we met Dan or his dog Rosie after starting a run, Finn had very little interest in soicalizing when we were running; before and after of course he was excited and playful, but running was his thing. He knew the routes we ran, he had his preferences, but he could also sense when I was going to turn even before I did it - and then post run we would spend time stretching in the exercise room in my basement. He'd get in my way, purposefully positioning himself to have me scratch his head, or rub his shoulders before I would say, ok - go get your breakfast - I am getting in the shower.
Over the last year I was particularly aware that our time was going to come to a close. He developed a seizure disorder, which the vet surmised was possibly a brain tumor since he did not have epilepsy as a young dog...They told us he may have a few months or at the most a year - and as it turns out we got right about a year's more time with him.
His running was still a part of our routine even as he aged, and did not have the same youthful energy or endurance. Whereas there were times when we'd easily go 10 miles together or even as many as 15 a few times, I was very careful not to take him longer than 6 miles or so on a daily basis over the last several months. Indeed, on my Saturday long runs lately, I would get up early, and take him out for at least a mile or two, and then go meet the guys for a long run just so that Finn could get his exercise and not feel too left out or disappointed. We shared a bond together with running that is something for which I will always feel blessed to have had.
Last week we did a workout together at the track. It was supposed to be 20 x 200 and I was not sure he'd be up for it, so I parked the truck close to the track in case I needed to bring him over to finish the workout as he watched from the truck, but in fact, he did the workout without a problem - running on the inside of the track on the grass as I ran in lane 1. When I got to rep #16 I thought, that's probably, enough for me, but maybe a couple more...when we finished #17 Finn moved across the track heading for the exit - deciding or sensing that we'd had enough for the day - we always seemed to be in sync that way....This morning as I did my workout on that same track, in a morning fog with the dew still on the grass, I remembered not even a week ago seeing his pawprints on the grass - and I felt at least briefly this morning, that I saw them again, as if he'd been running with me the whole time....
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