My name is Sue and this is my dog Skippy, who represents my major form of exercise. Both of us are used to getting up very early in the morning, since the easiest time to fit a dog walk into my schedule is at 4:45am, before I start the rest of my day.  I live in a very safe neighborhood, and Skippy and I usually have the roads to ourselves.  There are only a handful of months in the summer when it’s at all light when we walk, and for most of the winter getting up so early and going out in the dark and cold isn’t the easiest thing to do.  But once I get out there, it’s really not bad and I enjoy watching the phases of the moon, the stars, the deer running past, and the hooting of the owls.  We walk for about 40 minutes, and since the wellness challenge started, I’ve been walking a route that incorporates more hills and gives me a pretty strenuous workout.  Skippy and I really move along at a brisk pace — no strolling for us!  On some days he’s almost pulling me up the hills, and on others I’m pulling him.  So in the end, it evens out and we manage to keep each other going.

Tags: Ms.Fits