We survived!

Our family of four (that's twelve legs total) survived our first doggy 5k on Saturday. It was a great experience for the dogs, who got to practice staying calm around LOTS of other dogs (with the help of frozen hot dog chunks). And it was fun for me to see so many dogs - I kept pointing at dogs and telling L, "I want that one."

Before the race - Mushroom wanted to say "hi" to all the other dogs. Badger wanted to say "hi" to all the humans

Mushroom and I ran/walked in a little group that included a couple with their spotted black and white dog, a backpack-wearing guy and his adorable brown mini-pit, a mom running with a big dog while her daughter pushed a tiny dog in a stroller, and an old man with a beautiful prancing border collie. The old man ran the entire way and ended up finishing well ahead of the rest of us, which I found very inspiring.

L and Badger (neither of whom like to run), walked the course astonishingly fast, finishing just a few minutes behind me and Mushroom. (Or maybe we were just slow). We celebrated afterwards by going out for greasy, unhealthy fried chicken for the humans and some extra kibble for the dogs.

After the race - waiting in the car for L to get fried chicken

Chicken spotted! (Sorry Mushroom, not for you)

I spent yesterday feeling pretty sore, but now I'm ready to sign up for our next 5k! (There are a couple coming up - apparently fall is doggy 5k season.) This time around, I'd like to practice pacing Mushroom a little better - she tends to want to sprint at the beginning and runs out of steam after a couple of miles.

Does anyone have doggy 5k training advice? Also, seeing as it's starting to get dark pretty soon, advice for running with dogs at night time would be helpful too!