DNA extraction and the dog that didn't bite

My morning encounter

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

For some reason I had it in my head that yesterday was Friday. When I got up this morning I started thinking about where I'd go for my first weekend run. The rain had moved out, and it looked like nice weather to be outside. I started going through my options for running venues when I realized that it wasn't Saturday and I had to get some work done.

My business schedule is less structured than when I worked in an office in NYC. I can now start my day with a run after the sun has come up, or work for a while and run later in the morning. My schedule also gives me the flexibility to do things I used to miss because I'd be in the city. Today I was able to attend my son's presentation on gene extraction methodologies at the Cold Spring Harbor DNA Learning Center. The most impressive thing I ever did at summer camp was make a lanyard.

Saying goodbye to his Beijing camp mates

Before all of that, I went for a run. Since I didn't have the time to cover much distance, I stuck to the neighborhood and followed one of my usual routes. A few minutes into the run I was accosted by an unleashed dog whose owner called to me, "He's only going to follow you to the end of the street." This annoyed me. Recently, I read a quote by Peter Magill, a Running Times columnist, who said, "Every dog that has bitten me was a dog that didn't bite."

The dog kept its distance and it stopped as the owner had predicted. I was soon past my first mile, enjoying cooler conditions than I'd expected. I tried to carry over the intensity of yesterday afternoon's treadmill workout into today and was only partially successful. I ended up pacing in the acceptable range. If the weather holds tomorrow I'll probably return to Bethpage and do a hybrid run on both the dirt and the bike trails. I need to build my base in preparation for the upcoming 10K that happens in just two weeks.