Why Nala's Quest

When Lisa and I got married 11 years ago, one of our first major purchses together was a Siberian Husky puppy.





We fell in love with her as soon as we saw her ice blue eyes and her beautiful coat of black and white fur. It took us awhile before deciding on a name. In the end, we went with Nala, Simba's mate from the Lion King, because of her playful, friendly disposition. From the start she was a rambuncious, free-spirited puppy, and all she wanted to do was explore new territory and play. Once familiar with her new home, she now had a new desire: RUN!!!

11 years ago, I was nowhere close to being a runner. For me, exercise was going to the gym and lifting weights. But I did take Nala on walks to Starbucks, strapped a harness on her and went roller-blading with her, and played catch with her in the snow. But I hardly ever went running with her because I HATED to run. Well, Nala was born to run and when she was off-leash, she would run around the dog-park at high speeds continuously until I was bored and had to rein her in to go home.

Four years later, our first daughter was born. Two years later, our second daughter was born. By that time, we were too busy with our girls to be able to spend adequate time with Nala. So we gave her away to my brother-in-law where she was pampered and treated like a queen. Last year, she had major complications from bleeding ulcers and had to be put down. She was only 10 years old.

I decided to name my blog "Nala's Quest" in honor of her. Running for her came naturally. When she ran, it seemed effortless, and she enjoyed it. I'm halfway towards emulating her as a runner. While I do love running, I'm still learning to run efficiently. It'll come eventually. In the meantime, I'll continue to run while remembering Nala's quest.