On Your Left

I am one of those lucky girls who gets to run with the man of my dreams. He runs at my pace, is cool with me choosing the route and is equally cool with picking the run himself. He never complains about how far we go and never mocks or teases me about how slow I am. He is the perfect partner.

Until today…

Captain runs on the left just like Captain America. Until today…

We began our journey at the top of the 109 street bridge; better know as the High Level Bridge. It is one of my favourite places to run because it is so high above the river with the combination of a slope it feels like flying. Cap, as always, ran on my left. It was early, during the morning rush so the bridge was busy with cars. Cap had never been on this bridge before and the traffic spooked him. He didn’t want to run close to the rail, it seemed too high, and the traffic was just overwhelming. He was doing well, until a big truck rolled on by. It became too much. The Mighty Captain dashed between my legs and somehow tied his leash around both of my knees. In super slow motion we both fell to the ground. I am not sure how, but we both landed on top of each other.

We laid there in a tangled mess and I asked him, “Cap what are you doing” because I couldn’t get him to move. He wasn’t hurt he was scared. We finally freed our mangled bodies and resumed the run. Only he wouldn’t run. He walked very close to my side until we reached the north bank of the river. It was then he decided to run.

My dog is afraid of heights. Who knew that was a thing?

We sat for a bit at Ezeo Farone Park so Cap could calm down, but then we were off. We saw a fox and a coyote, neither of which made my rescue dog happy that he couldn’t engage them in battle. He stared at me like I was cruel. We headed north and began running again. Being downtown was a new experience for my pup. He mostly liked the big trees and the soft grassy boulevards. Which is great because I want to move here soon. We turned right and I noticed my Garmin died. So much for tracking my run. Oh well, unplugged is great too. I let Cap lead the way at this point and he headed straight for more parkland, The Alberta Legislature Grounds.

The trees are just beginning to leaf out and we discovered rabbits, so more running in random patterns all over the park. The cross-country aspect of the run was fun. Lots of down hill grassy slopes. We passed the Totem Pole and my Birthday candle (that’s a long story but it’s always burning on the south side of the legislature if you want to see it.) It was getting to be time to head back to the car, Captain was getting tired and running wasn’t what he wanted to do any more. My pup is getting old, 7 and he is a 75lb sled dog who rather sleep.

We ran to the park exit and were treated by this sight, which is SUPER EARLY for Edmonton, May Day Blossoms!

Back over the High Level Bridge, and surprise surprise…Cap would not run. He walked tight next to me not wanting to look over the side at the river, or too close to the traffic. But because we walked, I noticed something I had not seen before. All these love quotes embedded into the sidewalk on the bridge.