Let the Fur Fly

 6 Legged 5k! 

 This morning we ran our first 5k of the season. After a 31 mile hilly bike ride yesterday we were both dragging a little, lucky for me I had Boomer to literally pull me through. It was a fun race and the proceeds went to a great cause, The Syracuse SPCA. There were a lot of fellow dog lovers all out enjoying themselves with their furry friends. We ran past a girl and her black lab who had decided he had enough of running and did a belly flop into a big mud puddle. I love that animals never take themselves too seriously. I thought this was a great race to start off with, lots of fun distractions, fun people and their canine counterparts and a very laid back atmosphere... my kind of race!

Boomer and I crossed the finish line at around 28 minutes and then he ran the last 100 yards with Angela as she finished shortly after.

I was certain Boomer would misbehave and definitely trip me at least once but he behaved like a perfect gentleman and happily made doggy friends jogging along like an old pro. He made me proud : )

He's been pretty much out cold since we got in the car to drive home and a few minutes ago he was catching a snooze giving his paws a well deserved rest!

Running Buddies!

Listening to: One Foot/ Fun.

Battle Wounds

So today was interesting. I expect to get clobbered in an open water swim, cut up my feet and nearly drown, I've fallen off my bike and been stung by a bee while out riding... where I don't expect to get hurt is out on a run. Guess what happened today?

It was a gorgeous day out, coming off a cold and snowy two day stint we managed to climb back in to the 50's with sunny skies. I thought I'd bring Boomer since it was good running weather. The 2-3 miles were a bit of a struggle, adjusting to warmer weather and being pulled around by my overjoyed pup was wearing me out. In the last 200 yards or so I felt rough but just wanted to finish so I kept going. Boomer was just ahead no longer pulling, just panting and looking forward to being done as well. Out of nowhere the toe of my sneaker decided to pin itself to the concrete and it was as if the necessary message from my brain to my foot got intercepted and I tripped, turned over my stubbornly non responsive ankle, hyper extending it, swore and essentially slid through the gravel like I was stealing home. Good old Boomer just stopped and looked back with an expression like, are you kidding me right now? I gimped back to the car with Angela and tried not to think about how much it was going to suck trying to clean out the dirt and gravel. To top it all off I ripped my favorite running tights and my knees were cut up underneath. So all-in-all not a great run, possibly one day I will acquire the dexterity required to move and breathe at the same time :)

I'm just hoping my hands don't get infected, I couldn't clean the cuts any better than I did but they don't look so hot at the moment... it would also be nice to avoid any lasting damage to my ankle, fingers crossed.

Ouch : (

Listening to: Some Nights/ Fun.

Simple Little Kind of Free

This morning I happily awoke to slightly more than 2 inches of new snow. Although I'm down my usual workout partner I always have my faithful backup of the four legged variety. After passing most of the morning grumbling about all my sore muscles from yesterday's run we geared up for snow and headed out for a cross country trek.

Conditions were less than ideal for me and my skis but for Boomer they were absolutely perfect. I decided to keep him leashed for the first section along the road for his safety but as soon as we turned away I set him loose. Rarely do you see such joy as in an animal running free, I think Boom was channeling his inner greyhound today as he went flying ahead of me and charging back. Lucky for me he never goes too far and almost always comes back once I call, only occasionally taking the scenic route.

After our last run when we were chased down by a rottie, I have been a little reluctant to take Boomer along. At least I know I can scream loud enough to elicit help. Lucky for us even though the dog nipped at him a few times and I had to pick him up over my head, the neighbors helped us escape shaken but unharmed. It would be nice not to have to worry about these things, but if it's a choice between my dog's health/ happiness and the occasional mishap I guess it's better to take your chances. Although if I have to, I might buy dog repellent spray to carry with me for our own safety. As much as I hate the idea of ever harming an animal, I would have gone down fighting that rottie if it had attacked any worse than it did. I'm crossing my fingers it never happens again!

Listening to: Born to Run/ Bruce Springsteen

This One's for the Girls

I dragged my sleepy self from a nice warm bed this morning to brave winter winds and the cold hard pavement. I met the Tri group at the Y despite my reservations that I wouldn't be able to keep up. My last run was about 2 weeks ago at the college with Angela, I didn't make it much more than a mile and had to walk on and off more than usual. It's easy to get discouraged with running, too many bad days that leave you questioning your capability and then seemingly random good days that have you guessing what exactly it is that contributes to those vast differences.

Today was a little of both. First off I'll mention that our group today consisted of three very active men and then me... Luckily for me they did one of their easy runs so that I could attempt to keep up. I did manage to keep up for almost two miles, slightly out of breath. Before hitting the two mile mark however a problem that I've been having for awhile attacked with vengeance... lately when I run, about 10 minutes in I get cramps so bad I can barely move, feel like puking and sometimes find it hard to breathe. And by cramps I don't mean in my legs : ) The only way to get through it is to stop and breathe deeply for about 3 minutes while attempting to walk and not immediately fall to the ground in the fetal position (yes it hurts that bad). So not the kind of thing you want to happen when running with a bunch of guys. I pulled the girl card though, I would rather do that than puke in front of them. The good thing about the whole debacle is that directly after the pain goes away I can run all day without having another symptom. So I decided to try and meet them when they looped back around.

After my brief walk I started jogging, weaving up and down the side streets probably freaking out the neighborhood with my haphazard route that had me circling the same area so much that it's a miracle I didn't make myself dizzy. After awhile I figured I must have missed them or misunderstood the route so I headed back to the YMCA. When I got there I kept going because I felt lame ending my run early so I threw in a bridge loop, as I turned for home I spotted them and met them back at the starting point. So in the end I ran for about as long as they did, I had to walk that one time but I was shocked when I got home, mapped my run and saw that I actually did make it to the 5 mile mark. It's nice to know I still have it in me even in the off season.

Listening to: Charlie Brown/ Coldplay

Spinning my Wheels

It's been awhile, but that's the trouble with the off season... it's too easy to stay off your feet and on your butt. Winter has been mild to make an understatement, we've only managed to hit the mountain with our snowboards once and cross country ski a whopping three times and March is just around the corner. We're really missing our x-country treks and more specifically being able to use them as an excuse not to run. I've discovered winter running is the heartlessly brutal cousin to the humidity riddled bitch that is summertime running. Between the gusting frigid air, frozen face, numb feet, heavy clothing, and overheating and shivering on the same run I could go for a nice toasty warm run.

The silver lining to winter training is that it forces us indoors and into classes like yoga and spinning where we happen upon very helpful people and challenging workouts. Spinning in particular has been keeping us in shape and in the Tri training mind set. Conveniently this class is specific to triathletes so we have been picking up running and cycling tips on a biweekly basis. For some reason during our last class I may have possibly agreed to run tomorrow morning with the the small group of devoted Saturday morning winter swimmer/runners. I'm bypassing the swim for now, at least until I get a few lap sessions in on my own to control that whole gasping for air/drowning thing I do. Unfortunately I think we may have lost most of what we once had as far as running stamina is concerned. I'll report back tomorrow after I get my ass handed to me.

Listening to: The Road/ Frank Turner

Run Rudolph, Run

A quick update on our Holiday 5ks... The Turkey Trot 5k was a brisk morning uphill battle... both the run and also the getting out of bed on a holiday part. Unfortunately the final time was not a chip time so the mess of the start line cost us all a bit of time. I still wound up with a 10:07 mile pace. Slow, but for me, right about average. I wasn't disappointed, considering the hilly route and not feeling my best that morning, I stuck it out and ran the entire race. Sometimes just putting one foot in front of the other is the only goal I aspire to.

Four Personal Records!

The Reindeer run a week and a half later went considerably better. Despite another hill ridden race, I finally reached my goal of breaking a 30 minute 5k. There was no timing other than relying upon myself to look at the clock while crossing the finish line. Of course I only glanced long enough to see 28:-- (I'm going with 30 seconds, but really I have no idea). Even though real runners might scoff at my measly increase in pace, I felt a bit like Rocky throwing punches at the top of that stone staircase. Maybe by Tri season I'll be able to maintain a respectable pace.

Upcoming races include a possible trip to Cazenovia for the Chilly Chilli 5k, Maybe the Shamrock run 4 miler in March, and if any of us are feeling motivated the Mountain Goat 10 miler... but honestly if I'm going to run 10 miles up and down hills, why not just run a semi flat half? Guess we'll have to see where the motivation and athleticism stand in a few months.

For now I'll be counting down the days in hopes that Santa might bring me an indoor trainer for the off season. It sure would be nice to have a choice between my elliptical and a stationary bike.

Listening to: Cameras/ Matt & Kim

The Forgotten Post

I wrote this a few weeks ago and somehow forgot to post it...

Lately it's been an incredibly mild fall. So far I've seen very little snow which leaves me anxiously awaiting the day Mother Nature decides to flip the switch and bring her wrath of cold and blustery weather down upon us. In the meantime I'm happy to report Angela and I furiously pedaled our way up and down the wind swept hills of Oswego County and were able to get out for a 30 miler last weekend and 17.5 today. Every bike ride threatens to be our last of the season with the colder weather and shorter days. We definitely appreciate being out there, despite occasionally finding ourselves numb from face to feet.

Speaking of feet, I've just switched out my insoles for green Superfeet. They're much more stiff and less cushioned than my regular sneakers but they're supposedly designed to be stabilizing and good for shock absorption. Apparently you have to break them in for at least a week so it'll be cutting it close for use in my next race.

And the next race is... The B'ville 5K Turkey Trot! I decided to go for the 5K distance since I still seem woefully behind in my running training. I'm hopeful that I will be able to get the pace under a 10 minute mile, which would be a much welcomed first.

Last night I took, or maybe I should say Boomer took me for a run. You can take my word on this, it is not easy to tether yourself to an overexcited euphoric running dog, even if he is only 40 pounds. After being nearly attacked by unleashed dogs, dragged, pulled and tripped over the course of our 30 minute tug of war session I was ready to terminate our running partnership indefinitely. So I've decided in order to preserve our occasional workout bonding time we'll simply move our runs to a less canine populated and less hilly area. Possibly the superfeet will guard against the foot slapping that occurs when Boomer lounges ahead of me in the general direction of anything that moves and also stabilize my stride enough to keep me on my feet while being dragged down any sort of elevation decline we come across, including but not limited to hills, curbs, my front steps, etc. We'll see how it goes...