Running w/ Nub

For all of the thorns Nub puts in my side, he is a great running companion. I took our little black lab mix out with me last night for my 4 mile run and he did very well. He doesn't spend much time on leash (that makes 3 times in the past year and a half) so I couldn't have asked for more. He was quite a trooper, and great motivation. Just as I thought I needed to walk, he would give me a little tug, encouraging me to go on. (OK, I realize that it was not his intention to do that, but that's what it did!) So, instead of my 16 minute pace that I kept on my long run last Sunday, I kept an average of 10:42 minute miles (thanks Nike+ and iPod, which I loved by the way!) Holy schmoly! If I can keep or improve that time over the long haul, I will finish in less than 5 hours. Though I am making no predictions, I will just try my best to finish under the prescribed time. The long runs will be the test, towards the end when I'm doing 18-20 miles on Sundays.