New way to train

So, last weekend we were dog-sitting for our friends/neighbors and I decided to take Natty out on the walk with me. I knew I was going to do 12 miles/3 hours, but thought maybe she could accompany me for the first hour. We went out during the heat (2:15 pm), but she was doing great. Her owners are runners, so we had to learn quickly that this was a walk, and we would not be running! Needless to say, I did not receive a proper warm-up, but we got the hang of each other. She prefers to walk on the left side of the street; I do not have a preference. She, at first, prefered to walk around the puddles left over from the morning rain, but later decided, vigoriously dancing through them was a much better plan! At 1/2 an hour, which would be the time to turn around and go back home, she was still pulling me along, so I decided to stretch out our time to 1.5 hours (1/2 my walk). The funny thing was, at an hour, ja called to check on me, and immediately when the phone rang, she sat down in a shaded yard. Smart!! But, I knew I could not carry her home and feared for a moment I had pushed her too hard. But she did get up and trot along home with me. I eventually wore her out (or the heat did) and she was anxious to be back in her a/c. After we enjoyed some water, I told her how lucky she was, b/c I was on my way out to do it all over again!! Now, a few days later, my shins are still pretty tender, so I think taking her along was a good idea. She pushed me to work harder in the beginning and I encouraged her in the end to make it home. -em