Mojo runs with me every time I go to the trail.  This winter, I decided we would push to run more in the winter and do a Race.  Mojo is a year and a half and he can run 4 miles easily as if its a trot and he’s just out to view the scenery. I, on the other hand, cannot run as well as him. Especially when my running slacks because of the weather. Since we are in Pittsburgh and the weather can really suck. In the winter, I try to run whenever the weather permits. To push myself to run in this awful weather, I decided to get ready for a race,  which I found out about 2 weeks before the Race was happening, and I made sure Mojo and I went out 3 times each week. The first week, wasn’t bad. We went between 2 and 3 miles, alternating between sprints and jogging, an occasional walk to bring (my) heart rate down. The weather was cool but not terrible. The day before the race, we went out for a jog and the weather was a little rainy and a high of 35. Being so cold, I pushed to run fast to get it over with. A mile in, we beat our best time to date. In fact, it was as if mother nature knew how well we did, and the rain decided to turn to hail and the temperature dropped a solid 8 degrees. With large chunks of hail beating down on us, I decided 2 miles would be our max. I ran my ass off, and Mojo looked at me a couple times to make sure I was alright. I then realized he was doing just fine in the rain/hail/freezing weather. He was doing so well, as if the weather didn’t bother him one bit. And he was making sure that I was good.  Usually the tables are turned, I’m the one making sure he isn’t overheating, isn’t being pushed too hard, isn’t just running to please me. He was urging me to push through, run hard and fast and not look at the GPS for distance or our time. He was giving me the encouragement I usually give him. At the end of our 2 miles, we were heading to the car and I looked at our time. We crushed 2 miles in our fastest time to date. I knew that we would have no problems running the race the next day, rain or shine. I also realized that my best friend in the whole world was looking at me with love and respect as I wrapped him up with a towel in the back seat and dried him off. In the worst-ever-weather to run in, I could not have been happier.