Absolutely correct about the pronunciation, Sen - 'Laaaah-tay' drives me nuts! My American ex-boss used to also talk about 'Paaw-staaw' instead of 'Pasta' with the open vowels. Aaaaarrgghh!

BTW, I usually do another mile-and-a-half with the dog in the evening. I confess that my morning dog-walk can be less than four miles, depending on the weather (he hates rain and hot weather equally) but it's always two-and-a-half miles at least. My philosophy with all things is "Do it while you can" - it won't last forever!