Dog Days of Summer

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The summer heat we'd missed has returned with a vengeance here in San Diego. Once again there was no transition between cool and hot hot hot, but something tells me this weather is here to stay...until November.

Meantime, I'm back to running most mornings in the dark, when it's coolest, but that's OK too.

I hiked/ran with a new group on Saturday and really enjoyed it. We carpooled to Torrey Pines State Beach for a hike, followed by a run on the beach as the tide was receding. Best of all, it was followed by breakfast at a cafe in Del Mar. Everyone's thinking of doing a 10k in October that's described as "challenging" and opens with a 500-foot hill in the first mile. It's on trails, and this group of women now plan to incorporate some trail runs in their Saturday meetups and I'm thrilled. I have always been skittish about running trails alone early in the mornings. Seems every other week I read in the paper about a female "jogger" being attacked and usually while running alone in an isolated area.

If only I had a Maggie.

Yes, it wouldn't be summer if we weren't dogsitting and this past week we got to take care of a gracefully aging black lab. Maggie forced me to better manage my days and reminded me that sometimes all you need is a little fresh air, fish oil and sunny spot to feel complete. She certainly helped fill the void after my daughters returned to northern California and she got both me and my husband out of the house in the evenings, like the last time we dogsat. My favorite moment was when I was cleaning out my car yesterday in the driveway and she "opened" the screen door into the garage. Rather than chase children down the street, she jumped into the front seat as if ready to go for a ride. So we did, to a dog park, where she managed to charm everyone -- even the alpha in the pack.

Maggie made me excited to come home, whether from work or a workout. But it's time for her to return to her family, now missing a son who has gone off to college. And me to look forward to meeting up with my new group of friends this Saturday in Escondido. And me to find a new suspect besides the innocent Maggie to take the heat for the empty pints of Ben & Jerry's my husband keeps finding in the trash.

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