Rescue Me

 Meet my new running partner:

LEXI

After a few inquiries to rescues and several internet searches for specific breeds (Labradors or German Shepherds),  I stumbled upon Pet Finder, which directed me to Wagging Dog Rescue and several lovely professional photos of Lexi.  I wasn't sure how good my chances were for adopting Lexi, but I figured it was worth a try.  A couple of weeks later I finally received a reply from the lady who heads Wagging Dog Rescue and asked me to submit a formal application.  She did mention that there was another family who was interested in Lexi, but she wasn't convinced that they were the right family for such an active dog.   The rescue people liked my application better because they liked that Hubs and I are runners and have a very active lifestyle.  It didn't hurt at all that we have a big back yard.  It wasn't much longer that the date was set for Lexi's foster dad to bring her over to meet.  We all bonded immediately, but she especially bonded with Hubs.  She followed him everywhere.  I kind of felt bad for her foster dad because we could tell he loved her, and that giving her over to us was hard.  He was a little emotional with the good byes.  After a two week "trial" period, the adoption was final and Lexi became a part of our family.  

It's all about the ball.   The concentration is fierce.

A "Lexi-Proof" ball.

4 year old Lexi is VERY active.  We must have a bajillion balls all over the yard now, and she loves to play fetch until our arms give out.  Just as with training a person to run and adding mileage, I'm doing the same with Lexi.  We're up to about 5 miles, but not solid running yet. I'd prefer to call running with Lexi "interval training." I think we'll be up to a solid 5 miles of running soon.  I don't think I'll have her run more than 6 miles at a time once we get to that point, but I need to make sure she can go the whole five without having to slow down for anything -- except a potty stop.  She has turned out to be a great running partner and gets excited when she sees me put on my running gear. 

Lexi gets along with just about everyone, even our cat Lumpy.  They're not snuggle buddies, but they sniff out each other every morning and that's it.   She has been great with kids, as we put her to the Evan and his best friend test.  The three of them wore each other out.  She does bark for her "greeting," which can be intimidating, but it's her way of saying "hello," especially since there's a wagging tail behind that bark.

Lexi's story of being a rescue is all too typical.  She had at least two prior owners and was in either a shelter or the humane society, and was also found as a stray before she ended up at  Wagging Dog Rescue .  She is micro chipped and the rescue was able to trace her prior owners, but no one stepped up.  This broke my heart.  She weighed about 50 pounds when the rescue took her in, and should weight about 75 to 80 pounds.  I'm happy to report that she's almost at her goal weight at 72 pounds at her last vet visit.   

Lexi is definitely at her "fur-ever home" with us.  We're in love.

Waiting for "Daddy" to come home.

Song from January 30, 2013:

Never Grow Up - Taylor Swift

PEACE

Ramble On

Anything but a Wordless Wednesday...

RAMBLING RANDOMNESS

FYI, in my last post the dog is trying to eat the bubbles and having fun.  When she was much younger she would love to chase the bubbles with a "woohoo!!!" attitude.

It figures that now we're  into November the weather is more summer-like.  I'm  not complaining one bit, but after the overcast and sometimes cold summer, I am enjoying the warmer weather.

 Clear skies.  

I know, not exciting.  This is the view from the parking structure of my doctor's office.

Running has been less productive as I would like.  I just can't get beyond the shin splints, still.  The right leg is OK, it's the left leg shin that will scream at me when I run anything beyond 5 miles.  It's not as sore as it was just a few weeks ago.  I know if I just stopped running for 3 weeks I could probably get rid of the shin splints once and for all, but  with a half marathon in about 4 weeks I can probably take one week off.  My mileage base isn't what it used to be, either.  The most I've run (at one time since about August) is 7 miles at one time.  Not good.  I'm all set for a slow 10K, not a half marathon.  My weekly mileage has suffered, too.  I've been running about 10 to 15 miles a week -- Not good, either.  Yikes. I guess my strategy will be to enjoy the ride, so to speak. My pacing is off, too.  I should be running in the low 9 minute mile to mid/high 8 minute mile range for a half marathon, not 11s and 12s.  I was so looking forward to PRing at the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, but I guess it's not to be.  I also have a 5k THIS weekend that I was hoping to do well at, but I'll do well when I'm finished and enjoying the champagne brunch after the race is over.

I know every runner tends to go through some sort of slump due to injury or  unforeseen circumstances, but, come on already.  It has been over 3 years!  I haven't had a PR since 2007 or early 2008.  2008 was when I had the fractures and surgery.  2009 was all about rehabbing and rebuilding and I was happy just to get going again.  2010 started out hopeful  and I was making a ton of progress, but then it was one illness or injury after the next.  Perhaps I need another odd number year.  2011?  Please?

Remember those Nike Lunarglide + 2 test shoes?  I LIKED THOSE, a lot.  They're more comfortable and durable that I expected they would be.  I've had past  issues with Nike's not lasting more than 100 miles, which isn't good for marathon training.  I've put well over 100 miles on those Lunarglides and they have hundreds of miles in them.  From what I've heard,  they're featured in the November 2010 Runner's World Magazine*.  They didn't use my 2 cents, but I thought I'd give those a positive mention , anyway.

Currently, I'm testing the Saucony Pro Grid Jazz 14.  I've had these a couple of weeks.  They're super durable and, for a neutral shoe, are really supportive.  These feel much firmer than other neutral shoes I've used, but Saucony's are durable and can usually take a beating.  Bonus points that they're not making my shin splints worse.  I still have my Sauconys from a wear test I did well over a year ago, and those still have a lot of run left in them.

Although the pastel green color is minimal, I still have issue with pastel colors on my running shoes, however, the mostly black, white and silver overlays and details makes up for it. 

Last week I pulled a muscle in my right hamstring while at my RU Run Fit Class.  As usual, I wasn't doing anything extraordinary.  We were doing warm up exercises when the cramp suddenly came on.  Most of the discomfort is gone, but every once in a while  I feel that minor tension in my hammy.  Sheesh.

Halloween came and went.  The kiddo went as Ironman.  His mother went to a party as a version of Lady Gaga the night before. I didn't dress up this year. Call me crazy, but I stayed home with the dog and doled out candy to the 30 trick or treaters who came by.   Go me.  My daughter took the kiddo trick or treating closer to our house and Hubs took the kid trick or treating on a second shift in a different part of the neighborhood.  It's not like the kid needed any more candy, I just think Hubs really likes trick or treating, plus there's a street in our neighborhood that caters to the adults and hands out bowls of chili and Dixie cups filled with margaritas.

Tuesday I was at the rental house waiting for the new renter to show up with a rent check.  She called to say she'd be about 30 minutes late.  I decided to walk my old run route in that neighborhood. Not much has changed there, other than a few more homes are up for sale, but I put in my 2 mile loop.   It was a beautiful day in the old neighborhood.

Since I had my cell phone with me, I used the GPS running program, however I just found out that Bones In Motion is closing shop and we can transfer our past data to another application.**  That's nice, but my cell phone doesn't work with the new application.  My cell phone carrier is not supported.  I was planning to post that map here, but now I can't.  SIGH.  I need to migrate  three years worth of data over to the new application so I don't lose it, but it won't migrate everything, such as my notes on the run and mile splits. Now I'm really glad that I have my Garmin, but that means I need to remember to wear it every single time I run, and I don't always remember to wear it.

It's kind of funny that, as adults, we still receive stickers.  Here's two I've just received:

I always expect the "I Voted" sticker.

I did not expect the nurse to slap a sticker on me for getting a flu shot.

I'm still going though testing to figure out the intermittent fatigue I've been dealing with all summer.  Today I gave more blood for allergy testing, although I have no idea which allergies I'm being tested for. I really should have been given a referral to an allergy specialist, but we'll see if anything shows up.

Finally, I was rummaging through several item that were in storage.  I came across a series of watercolors and inks that I created when I was a sophomore in high school...  19*cough*74*cough*...

This was before the advent of disposable, pre-filled tech pens and Prismacolor felt tipped pens that comes in ten-thousand colors.  I used cake water colors, sabline brushes, and a traditional fine point calligraphy pen and dipped that into a vial of India ink over and over again.  That really was so old school.  My style has changed so much since that time due to time.  That particular piece took weeks to do in a twice a week, two hour art class.  I don't think I would have the patience to do anything like that at this time in my life.  I take that back.  With the disposable, pre-filled tech pens and Prismacolor felt tipped pens the process would probably be faster, but it still would take more than one day.  I'd rather be out running.

Last Wednesday's Song:
Something Good This Way Comes - Jakob Dylan

PEACE

*I still have not received that issue. 
** I don't care for it.  BiM offered more data. 

Something Good This Way Comes

Last Wednesday's Song:
Misty Mountain Hop - Led Zeppelin - Run- DMZ

PEACE

Don't Stop Believing

 Guard(en) dog

It has been kind of a long and busy week.  I even missed Wordless Wednesday.  I would have posted the above picture. I'll try to catch up as best as possible without putting you all to sleep.

Tuesday
Went into orthopedics for X rays and chat with a PA. The PA seemed to think my bone was calloused over enough and I could resume normal activity, with reason. She suggested building up to running again, giving myself 3 weeks to do so. The boot got the boot and they don't want to see me any more! 9 weeks is how long it took for the bone to heal enough. It's still healing, but now I can move around without that boot again.

Wednesday
I went in to my usual RU session. I had sent Bryan my very last set of x-rays, and he knew I was good to go. First thing he gives me a big hug because I've been given the OK to resume "normal" life, but then it's business as usual, and I was back to a really good and sweaty workout. He also had me work out longer than normal. My time slot is usually an hour, but I put in about 2 hours, plus I had my foot and shin worked on due to shin splints from the 6 mile walk last Saturday, then ice. The the foot massage still isn't a fun experience, but having the shin worked on was extra special. I really had to dig super deep to find my happy place. He said it would feel better later, but in the mean time he told the PT next to him to hide all sharp objects from me, because I might hurt him after that therapeutic massage. Oww.  All joking aside, I no longer had any foot discomfort what-so-ever because my shin hurt so much after that.

After fun and games at RU, I actually set foot in Costco. I was very aware of foot placement in conjunction to other people's carts. I wouldn't use the term "paranoid." I was just more mindful. It figures that in the time I've been out, they've rearranged where they put some of their items. I couldn't find the only dog treats my dog will eat, but I did discover chocolate Cheerios and big bags of precooked frozen brown rice.

Once I got out of Costco I soon discovered two phone messages from my grandson's school. He's sick and his mommy isn't available, and it's up to me to rescue him. Poor kid. He was pretty miserable with his "throat on fire," but didn't have a fever. The fever kicked in later, though. Mommy took him to the doctor but there's still no infection, it's just a bad cold/flu.

Thursday
I stayed at home with the kiddo. He's feeling good one minute, lousy the next. He camped out on the sofa with a big blanket, some herbal tea and toast while I sat next to him and hemmed my jeans, the ones I bought at AKA Alice's party a over month ago. I actually had some place to wear my new jeans!

Thursday evening Hubs and I went to a MS fundraiser sponsored by RU. It was held at the Double Deuce downtown, only $20 per person, which included 2 drinks, substantial appetizers and a raffle ticket. The Double Deuce is sort of a Western-ish bar/night club, complete with electrical bull riding and a stripper pole. The stripper pole was in the same area as the appetizers and I made the mistake of leaning on it, to which Hubs immediately made some snarky comment. Sheesh. I was able to catch up with a lot of people who ran the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon in December '09. People paid to see the PT's ride the bull, with all the proceeds going to the MS Society. I also got to see my PT, Bryan, ride the bull, which was pretty funny, since he was wearing a few pairs of underwear and a pink women's tank top.

He really needs to come out of his shell...

Not just the guys did this.  Jessica, a PT, was amongst several of the women who rode!

Friday
The kiddo is still sick at home. He spent the morning sleeping. I took that time to garden a little, and discovered that some insect got into the roots of my seedlings and killed a whole bunch of them. I did what I could to save the rest and I might have planted a few too early, but with the hopes that they'll do better in the ground.

Friday evening Hubs and I attended a live art exhibit. A friend of ours paints models bodies, methodically and very strategically, then the model lays on a canvas or foam core board to make an imprint. It was quite the event and fascinating to watch.

  It was incredible to watch him work. 

Saturday


I went running with the track club. It started out as a walk/run, with a ratio of 2 minutes of walking to 2 minutes of running. That walk/run thing only lasted for about the first couple of miles. I found it less stressful to actually run, but at a much slower than normal pace. If it were not for the stop lights I probably would have ran the entire way back. I wasn't intending to put in 9.3 miles, but I felt good and just went with it. We also had PERFECT running weather, which was cool and overcast. It felt chilly afterward, while we were sitting on the grass listening to our guest speaker. Even though the speaker was fun to listen to, I was chilled and decided to warm up in the car. My foot feels OK, just a little weirdness in the ankle, but my knees are telling me that there's a storm on the way, but that has been an ongoing issue due to arthritis. I don't feel thrashed or as if I had never run before. 9 weeks is a good chunk of time off from running, and I feared not being able to handle more than the 6 miles I walked last week. I could of handled 13.1 slow miles today.

Hubs brought his camera on today's run:

 Mik and AKA Alice

"C group, GO!"

The next couple of weeks are going to be busy ones:

• Getting in what ever running I can get in, within reason, of course.
• Making sure my garden survives.  Some of my seedlings in K Cups were eaten at the roots. Stupid bugs.
• My sister and husband will be in town for a week.
• My in-laws are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.
• My daughter is graduating from community college with two degrees.
• My nephew will be in and out of town (a few times).
• The pasta dinner with the SDTC is the Friday before the marathon, and it's going to be a full house.  
• The 2010 San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon is in just two weeks.
• My birthday. Edit -- It's not until June
• Life.
• And laundry...  It goes on, and on, and on, and on...

Monday's Song:
Feelin' Alright - Joe Cocker


PEACE

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op 86 "Pastoral"

Lately, I sit at the computer thinking I should blog about something, but it's just not happening. It's the same old thing. I have plenty on my mind, but the words aren't formulating. It's sort of like I'm stuck. I'm sure this has to do with not being able to run, and my mind really hasn't shifted gears. No running = no blogging.

Since I'm busy not running, I've been taking a lot more pictures, gardening, and have been taking pictures of gardening. Honestly, I'd rather be running, but I can get really aggressive when it comes to digging and pick axing the huge plot of soil that occupies a good portion of our backyard. I've also become acquainted with a family of Blue Jays that have declared our backyard their territory. My dog isn't too thrilled about this occupation.

"She's up there. Maybe if I bark long enough they'll all go away?"

They're not going anywhere. This one is quite good at taunting the dog.

As part of a homework project and in leu of Earth Day, I've spent some time with the kid showing him how to seed some plants:

K-Cups, not just for coffee. He's carefully peeling the foil from a used cup.

Adding the used coffee grounds to the soil.

Scraping out more coffee grounds.

Adding the soil to the K-Cup.

See?

Sweet Peas are a good choice.

Just add water.

We don't want to forget what we're growing!

Now we wait.
To be continued...

Wednesday's Song:
In Bloom - Nirvana

PEACE

Bonus points to whomever guesses the song.

Mixed Emotions

Last week we had some rather toasty start-of-Fall weather here. It was in the 90s in my neighborhood on a few days, which is normally 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the county. My inland friends baked with temperatures in the 100s. We usually feel no need for an air conditioner. We just gather every fan we own and turn them all on and say we're buying an air conditioner NEXT year. Logan and Cruiser are usually never seen in the same room together, let alone just inches away. Barking and hissing are usually involved. Here they are within a couple of inches of each other. I think they might have touched once.

Too hot to care. There's a fan on the floor, by the way.

Saturday morning I ran with Rehab United instead of the San Diego Track Club. I had mixed feeling about this because the SDTC is like the boyfriend, and I was cheating on him with RU. I have a lot of wonderful friends at the track club and I did miss them on Saturday, but I needed to change my training and work on issues that are specific to me, and RU offers that, along with an intense strength training and running session on Wednesday evenings. One major difference is the number of people. There's probably about 30 people who are training with RU exclusively for the Las Vegas Rock 'N' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon. The SDTC has about 125 half marathon/whatever members training for several events, even if they don't all show up at the same time. I'm also training for the Silver Strand Half Marathon, which is about 2 weeks before Las Vegas. I need more miles than the folks training for the half at this point, but less than the people training for the full. Another difference is the warm-up and stretch, which is combined. The running part is, well, running. The location is different, but it's not like I went to Mars. We ran from the RU location over at Carmel Mountain Road, to Torrey Pines State Beach and back. I didn't take on the entire hill at Torrey Pines, just a little bit of it, which was plenty. I ran mostly with the marathoners who were putting in 14 miles, but turned back at around right before mile 4, just so I could get in at least 7 miles total. The return miles were by myself, but not unnoticed, and I was grateful . Two runners who didn't need to put in the 14 miles came back behind me just to make sure I was OK. One more marked difference is pictures. There aren't any with the RU group. At some point I'm just going to take it upon myself to take pictures. The run on Saturday was breathtaking. It was cool, foggy and we were running along side the beach. It was like being in a dream sequence in a movie. I loved it, however I have no pictures to share of how dream-like it was. Here's a map from my BiM run tracker page. I know, it's not the same thing, but that's where I was:

The stats:

Distance: 7.69 miles
Time: 1:23:21
Speed: 5.5 mph
Pace: 10' 51 /mi
Calories: 736

...and not just one hill.

Wednesday's song:
Deep Inside Of You - Third Eye Blind - Barbie2be

PEACE

Hovering

I went outside with my camera for this:

and ended up with these:

Lumpy doing what he does best... Hiding out where he thinks is a safe place away from kids and dogs.

Busted by Logan. Logan was poking at Lumpy with her paw, kind of making sure Lumpy was OK...

Logan is still making sure the situation is OK. Lumpy, in true Lumpy fashion, is meowing in protest but refusing to move.

Hovering

...and more hovering.

In running news:
I did a 5 mile tempo run on the gym treadmill yesterday. I haven't really managed a real tempo run in ages, even though I've made a few sad attempts. I managed to ease into 8:40 to 8:50 pace, and then in the low 9s. Since I was at the gym, I had to break up the run in a three miler and a two miler, just so the treadmill wouldn't shut off on me. It was that second round where my average pace was more in the mid 9s. It was OK, and I realize I have my work cut out for me if I want to become faster. DOMS will be a part of my vocabulary during this rebuilding phase. I. AM. SORE.

I'll be volunteering at aid station #1 for the AFC Half Marathon on Sunday. I'll try and wave to you as you speed by, provided you are running. There's a bunch of you! That's probably the aid station that most people will run past because they're still feeling fresh... maybe.

Tuesday's song:
Let The Children Play - Santana

PEACE

Days Of The Week

Yesterday

We spent time at home fixing things around the house and gardening. I found more "planted" avocados, planted by my dog. The only thing is now some of the avocado seeds are starting to sprout. Someone suggested I dig those up and give them out as gifts. Aside from finding the sprouts, I pulled a lot of weeds and stray grasses, and that was just a small section. I really do need a bulldozer to take care of everything and just be done with it.

Today

Workout at RU today.
I got the usual killer workout, except this time I did barbell squats with 85#.

We're having some very un-San Diego weather here today. It feels somewhat tropical and humid. I was rained on. I'm glad it wasn't just me drenched in sweat when working out.

My PT sent me an e-mail, per my request, with a general workout for when I'm not working out at RU, 4 days of running - varied between my long runs, intervals, hills and tempo runs, strength training 2 days, and (of course) the two days I workout at RU. I just did the math. That's 8 days. Last time I checked there were only 7 days in a week, unless I missed something, and even so, I should have at least one rest day. I don't think he meant the workouts as it reads, but it does read as 8 days.

I found a really good referral to a raspberry buttermilk cake recipe off of Not Soccer Mom's blog, who found it on another blog, but it's also on Epicurious.com. The recipe is pretty straight forward and, in my opinion, easy. I've made this cake three times already. I might have to try this cake with blueberries next. It comes out exactly as it looks here:

Photo from Epicurious.com

Saturday's song:
Dream Of The Blue Turtles - Sting - Run-DMZ

PEACE

Wide Open Spaces

...and a few tight ones.

Springtime in Chicago.

Executive Ninja in Kyle's car.

Me and Jaime at the Orange for breakfast. They had menu items like Green Eggs and Ham, and Frushi -- sushi made out of fruit.

My sister's dog, Phoebe. She actually barks " I love you." It sounds like Scooby-Doo saying "Rye Ruv Roo."

Getting some love.

Chicago has a bid for the 2016 Olympics. Banners are up everywhere.

The Sears Tower

...and one obligatory photo of a Mies Van Der Rohe building.

Activity: Run
Date: 04/27/09 10:00 AM
Distance: 4.04 miles
Time: 0:37:22
Speed: 6.5 mph
Pace: 9' 15 min/mile
Calories: 377


Here's my haphazard run that started along Lake Shore. I was supposed to run over to Navy Pier, per my sister's instructions, but I never saw the signs to get there, so I just kind of made my way up to the streets, ran around until my GPS gave me the mileage I needed and went back. I had no clue where I was going and couldn't find a single sign on how to get to Navy Pier. Usually, my runs are pretty much a straight line. I was running around a construction site and a ton of people. No, I didn't run on the Chicago river. I suspect there was a little GPS bouncing, especially with all the buildings and running next to a television station. It wasn't quite the 6 miles I wanted to do, but it was a mile walk from the hotel and back, so I technically did get in the 6 miles.

Yesterday

Activity: Run
Date: 05/02/09 09:46 AM
Distance: 16.20 miles
Time: 3:00:52
Speed: 5.4 mph
Pace: 11' 10 min/mile
Calories: 1553




This was my 16 miler with the track club. I did better than I had expected, but I didn't anticipate needing more electrolytes than I had on me. Calf cramps kicked in right at mile 16, and I ran the .20 just to get to the gazebo at Hospitality Point. Yay. It would have been awful if the cramps kicked in earlier. At least I was in sight of the end. After a little electrolyte drink and some stretching I was OK. Around mile 10 I ran with Cathy, who ran the Boston Marathon last year. She remembered me from volunteering at the water tables at mile 23.5 at last year's Rock 'N' Roll Marathon and my hip injury, complete with walker. I mentioned that I am expecting to finish this year's marathon at about 5:30 or thereabouts. She informed me that were were running at a 4:30 marathon pace at that point. Oops. After the next half mile I told her I was going to back off my pace and chat with her the end of the run. My split at mile 10 was a 9:58 m/m. I would have been toast well before the 16 miles were up if I had kept that pace. I guess it was good to know that I could carry that pace 10 miles into a 16 mile run. That was also my fastest split.

It was also kind of humid for our run. Look how nice and sweaty I am. Right behind me is Sabrina, who I met at the beginning of the run. We ran the first 8 miles together.

Hey, guess what??? I'm not lopsided anymore!

Wednesday's song:
My Kind Of Town - Frank Sinatra - Pat

PEACE