No Dog, No Love, No Joy...

Today was one of those days that it was hard to find time to exercise. I had a lot to do and a lot on my mind. I could've easily blown it off.

But not when you have a 1 yr old Golden Retriever puppy staring up at you with those big brown eyes...begging you to take her on a run.

So I did and it was great. I went at 5:00 PM, which is odd for me; I usually run in the morning but since I teach on Tuesday mornings, i couldn't go this morning. It was a nice change. The sun was heading over the horizon and the sky had that "dusky" look.

We ran through some neighborhoods and down to Sanborn Park. She did her usual "stopping" thing, where she stops and rolls on the snow, about 4 or 5 times. But I didn't care. I wasn't in any hurry.

There's just something special about running with your dog. It is the ultimate de-stresser. How can you not be happy running at a comfortable pace with a gorgeous dog trotting along beside you?  

We only ran 30 mins but it was all I needed to unwind from a busy day. And judging from the way she is curled up by my side right now, I would say it was enough for her too.

Off to bed early tonight...tomorrow is Weds and I want to make Master's swim, which means getting up at 5:15. Too bad I can't take Daisy with me to the pool!

How 'Bout Those Saints???

Wow, what a game!  And I'm not even a football fan. In fact, I didn't even know who was in the Superbowl until last Friday (tragic, I know). But I was on the edge of my seat the entire game.

And we topped it off with great food: Cindy's Healthy Nachos, Chicken Tortilla Soup, Sunshine Wheat Beer, and Kurt's Famous Mint Chocolate Chip Cake with reduced-fat vanilla ice cream. Yummy!

And since I bet my daughter a bag of Skittles that the Saints would win, I'll finish it all off with well, a bag of Skittles (just kidding, I won't make her buy them for me!).

So, did I do any training yesterday...hmmm...its Monday morning and I'm trying to remember....oh yes, I ran Daisy around the football field at UNC a few times (love watching that dog run!) and then I tooled around the neighborhood at a very slow pace a few times. Still sore from Saturday but it felt good to get out.

I can finally use the basement so I'll probably spin later this morning. Can't go swimming today...no explanation needed. Oh, and maybe I'll lift a few weights too. Gotta work off the extra beer I had yesterday (just kidding, I only had two!).

Happy Monday!

Nothin' Like a Good Long Run With Friends

Most people like to sleep in on Saturday mornings. Many like to relax and read the paper. Not me and well, not most runners. We like to do what we do best: run, talk, and laugh.

Today was no exception. And today was one of the best group runs I've ever had. It was good for a lot of different reasons but mainly because I really like the people I run with.

And it was funny because Dan and Brenda, who are both training for spring marathons, wanted to start their run at 7:00. Kurt and I didn't want to run quite that early because we thought we were going to be out late Friday night, so we got a small group to go at 8:00. Well, we actually ran into them during our run so we combined both groups and ran together. Too funny!

And, we didn't end up being out late anyway so we could've gone at 7:00...long complicated story but the bottom line is we all ended up running together anyway.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera today so I posted a picture from a recent group run that I really like. Everyone in the picture was there today, PLUS some, including: Lynne, Marshall, Kurt, me, Kevin, Brenda, Dan, Sarah, Alaina, and Rob. Fun group!

And I liked this run for another reason: I felt great. Our group ended up running 1 hr and 40 mins and I felt really good the whole time. I'm guessing it was 10 or 11 miles. We made one semi-long pit-stop at Sarah's house for 3 of us to use the bathroom, but other than that ran most of the way.

Tomorrow there is the 30th annual Super Bowl Sunday 5k which originally was going to benefit Haiti but since there was a tragic accident here in Greeley this week that killed a 15 yr old girl, the money will go to help her parents pay for her funeral. So sad!

We won't be running the race (kids singing in choir at church) but will contribute toward the cause. I'm a firm believer in "what goes around comes around" and you never know when you might need some community support. Plus, I just want to help this family.

Now that I got my running fix, I can get on with the day...

Quick recap

Its 10:00 PM and I'm realizing that I didn't jot down what I did today. Kurt and I swam early this AM. I did a measly 1000 yards (talked too much to the gals in the other lane) but it was all non-stop which was good. Oh, except for the time I started yacking with Richard who swam today too.

One good thing is that Tom was there and he complimented me on how much my form has improved. He said "you're not crossing over at all!"  Oh good. Now, if I can just swim half as fast as everyone else in Master's...

Tomorrow, Kurt and I are running with friends at 8:00 AM. Hoping to get in 10 - 12 miles. We'll see.

Off to bed...too tired to think!

Goofy Run

I woke up with a start at 5:00 AM today. Got up and felt unusually alert for that early in the morning. Decided to get a run in before taking the kids to school.

Another goofy thing about this morning is that it was 31 degrees at 6:30. Wow, heat wave!  Its usually between 15 and 20 degrees.

So, I quickly get ready and leash up Daisy. Off we go.

Its still dark and there's a light rain/snow coming down. Its very quiet and all you can hear is the sound of my feet hitting the pavement (until I turn on my Ipod, that is).

The rain/sleet starts coming down harder and it starts looking more like snow. But the temp is still fairly warm, probably still at 31, so just perfect. Daisy trots along happily by my side and all is well. I kinda like running in lightly falling snow.

We run down several neighborhood streets and I'm in my zone when out of the blue comes a friendly black lab (with collar on) running along beside us. I stop and look around for its owner. No one to be found. Darn it!  I want to keep running but I don't want this dog following us. So I back track and see a man scraping the ice off his windshield.

He points to an apartment where the dog lives. Fine, I'll go knock on the door and hopefully, deposit the dog (that is now getting on my nerves because he and Daisy are really going at it and she's tangled up in her leash now) and I'll go on my merry way.

Knock, knock, knock. No answer. Ring the doorbell (twice). No answer. Crap, there goes my run. I only have 45 mins to get a run in and 10 of it are already down the drain.

I stand there for what seems like a half hour waiting for someone to come to the door. What did they do, just let their dog out and go back to bed???

Finally, I try leaving and running down the street, telling the dog to "stay" as I leave. No luck. I stand there trying to decide, do I keep going and not worry about it, even though I know the dog will follow me?  But I'm heading toward 23rd Avenue which is a busy street and I really don't want this dog to get hit by a car.

Back I go and I knock again...and again...and again. Finally I try yelling loudly to hopefully arouse the (idiot) owner to come get his/her #$%% dog!  The neighbor of the (idiot) owner opens her door and says something in Spanish that I think was "its not my dog". I smile and tell her that I have to go, could you please hold the dog until the (idiot) owner opens their door???  She does but she doesn't look happy and I don't blame her.

So, I got maybe 30 mins of a run in. Really wanted the full 45. Oh well, its better than nothing. Grrrrrr

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Had a great swim and run on Monday but like anything else, there are always setbacks. And today I had a big one.

Got up on time, got to the pool on time (6:15 AM), had a nice warm-up....should have a great swim at Master's practice this morning. Richard's workout called for 2 sets of 5 x 150, with #1, 3, and 5 being fast (I think, its hard for me to see the board from my lane!).

Anyway, I was looking forward to doing the 150's because I like that distance - not too long, not too short. And it should've gone great but it didn't (at least not in my head it didn't).

Richard said "go" and we all took off. I've always been at the back of the pack, if not the last one altogether, but I am usually able to hang on long enough to finish within 30 seconds or so of everyone else (that doesn't sound like much but it actually is).

And today I'm in the lane with my friend, Sarah, who is recovering from a car accident she had in December. She is wearing fins, as she should be, so I know she'll be able to keep up, if not swim faster than me (she's really strong).

But, I was left totally in the dust. Totally. Everyone was so far ahead of me, they finished the first five 150's as I finished only 4. Sarah was several laps ahead of me. WTF???

If you've been reading this blog, you know I am not a good swimmer...or at least, that its the weakest of the three sports for me (swimming, biking, running). And despite having decent swim times at most of the tri's I've done (not fast but not slow either), I can't seem to feel very confident in my ability to swim well. And today pretty much made things worse.

So I'm in a funk now and I gotta pull myself up by the bootstraps. Sh*t happens, as they say. But I have some work to do before I feel ready to swim 2.4 straight miles in Arizona. In Florida, I had that short break on the beach where I could catch my breath. But not in AZ - its one long 2.4 mile stretch with no break (at least there won't be huge waves to contend with!)

I know I can do it - I don't doubt that - but I don't want to be left in the dust that day, nor any day for that matter. Time to get serious!

Multi-Tasking at its Best

Today is Monday so that means Master's swim. I made it to the pool but was very late (6:30) and missed the warm-up (darn it).

But it turned out ok because I got to "circle" with two really cool women: Natalie (see post from last week) and Sarah (my IM training buddy).

I did most of the workout but didn't have time to do it all, as usual. The interesting thing is, I'm finding myself wishing that I could. Every Mon and Weds, I leave the pool by 7:00'ish to get home and get the kids off to school. And I'm always happy to leave. Relieved, actually. But wouldn't it be nice to do an entire Master's swim workout for once?  More on that later.

I wanted to run after getting the kids to school but had too much work to do. Better get it done, I thought. So I did.

Six hours later and the kids come home. Usually, when they come home from school, I put away work and any hope for running or riding, so that I can focus on them. But today, I had a great idea!

They have been asking a lot lately if they can go "slide" down the hill at UNC (this is the hill we sled on when there's snow, which is around the corner from our house. But most of the snow is gone so no one is sledding right now). There's a few thin strips of hard-packed ice on the hill and we were over there last week with our sleds and the kids actually got some good runs in. And of course, they asked again today.

I started to give the usual response ("no, not now") but then a lightbulb went off. Why not kill three birds with one stone?  I need to run, Daisy needs some exercise, the kids want to sled....bingo!  We were out the door in 15 mins.

The kids ran with their sleds over to the hill and Daisy and I soon followed. The hill is very wide and the icy part is on the south end.  The kids sledded for a good half hour while I ran hill repeats and sprints across the playing fields.

I was surprised at how good I felt, considering the hard run yesterday and skiing on Saturday. But I felt like I was flying! I wore my Ipod and just sprinted up and down the hill 10 - 12 times and across the field 5 or 6 times (on very wet grass, somtimes splashing through puddles of icy cold water). Then, I walked the kids home, dropped off Daisy and went out for a fast 3 mile run. And even though I can tell I'm slower than I've been in years past, I felt strong and really good.

But the best part was combining my training with something that the kids wanted to do. They were in heaven being able to go sledding on a weekday and I was in heaven being able to run and watch them at the same time. Now, that's the way to multi-task!