Maybe I’m not ready yet and that is totally ok

16. October 2016 · 6 comments · Categories: labradoodle, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,

After the Staten Island Half last Sunday I had 2 sore spots that bothered me for a few days after. My left hamstring—all the way up the back of my thigh toward my a$$ (what I call the “THASS”)  and my right achilles was also a little tight. I couldn’t really walk normally until Wednesday so running wasn’t even on my radar until yesterday. The weather was phenomenal and I also had the entire day all to myself with no obligations whatsoever (just a little freelance work to complete) and I figured I would give it a whirl.

Dear feet: Let's see if we're ready.

Dear feet: Let’s see if we’re ready.

I giggled at first when I realized how heavy my legs were. But after a mile I felt ok…..until I didn’t. Those 2 sore spots started to bother me around mile 2 and just after I reached 3 miles I decided to just walk home. No sense in really injuring myself.

Home from 3 miles of running and an additional mile walking home.

Home from 3 miles of running and an additional mile walking home.

So now I will spend the rest of the year focusing on foam rolling and strength training (seriously, really I mean it this time….i think) to start my next training cycle healthy!

rollin'....rollin'....rollin'

rollin’….rollin’….rollin’

In the meantime I spent a whole lot of quality time with Duncan all week and weekend.

I love this dog!

I love this dog!

every single workday looks something like this

every single workday looks something like this

Really? I can't even pee without company. My fault for not shutting the door i suppose.

Really? I can’t even pee without company. My fault for not shutting the door i suppose.

Gorgeous day.....sun roof open....doggie kisses in the parking lot

Gorgeous day…..sun roof open….doggie kisses in the parking lot

Saturday morning walk

Saturday morning walk

img_6709

So excited to sniff in a different park

So excited to sniff in a different park

Dude knows how to relax in the car

Dude knows how to relax in the car

The look I got while trying to eat my dinner

The look I got while trying to eat my dinner

Saturday night couch surfing

Saturday night couch surfing

And in a few hours I’m headed to New Jersey to go pumpkin picking with Mr. SOTSS and his family. We take our picking seriously which is why apple picking had its own day a few weeks ago.

img_6551Today is JUST for pumpkins 🙂 Oh and I found this online. I’m totally doing this to my pumpkin….

img_6684-1

Just keep swimming!!!!!

How many days do you take off from running after a race?

Do you decorate pumpkins for Halloween? Paint them or cut them like a Jack-o-Lantern?

Any October traditions?

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Grilled zucchini for the win

12. July 2016 · Write a comment · Categories: labradoodle, running · Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello,

Have I mentioned the fact that I can’t believe we’re more than halfway through the year already.

My folks were out of town for the weekend and I was tasked with getting their mail and newspapers. But more importantly to tend to their garden. I love it when they ask me to do that because I score some awesome herbs and veggies. The most recent haul consisted of zucchini, basil, oregano and some swiss chard.

Their basil plants are on steroids!

Their basil plants are on steroids!

I ran about 2 miles to their house and then 2 miles back.

IMG_4276

My body has been giving me some grief lately. My knee, is a bit wonky so I need to stay on flat ground and take walk breaks every so often. Also, the arch of my foot (on the same side as the knee) has been hurting (which i most definitely believe one is related to the other). And my left hip is still mildly sore. Batting 1000!

On Saturday I took a drive upstate to visit my friend Nicole. I spent some quality time with her (almost) 5 year old daughter.

 

I'm surrounded by cuteness

I’m surrounded by cuteness

I think I want a pair of silver sparkle jellies too

I think I want a pair of silver sparkle jellies too

And she made the best cake. It had hot pink frosting and marshmallow icing in-between the two layers of pink cake.

Pink poodle, pink cake. We take pink very seriously

Pink poodle, pink cake. We take pink very seriously

Duncan and I being silly

Duncan and I being silly

On Sunday I spent about 5 hours over at Mr. SOTSS’ to hang with Chester while Mr. SOTSS and his girls were away for the day.

You mean he's not going to be home ALL DAY?

You mean he’s not going to be home ALL DAY?

Chester gets depressed when his dad isn’t around but he was happy that I was there to feed him dinner and let him out in the yard and maybe he enjoyed watching the Olympic trials with me and Duncan?

Doing my freelance work, watching the Olympic trials and hanging with the pooches

Doing my freelance work, watching the Olympic trials and hanging with the pooches

I took advantage of the Chester-sitting visit to use Mr. SOTSS’ grill and grilled up all my garden loot. And while I was at it I grilled shrimp too.

getting ready to grill

getting ready to grill

I cut up the basil into ribbons and sprinkled it on the zucchini and the shrimp and then doctored everything up with olive oil, salt, pepper and some garlic.

Dinner is served! And I ate outside on the deck since it was so nice out

Dinner is served! Grilled zucchini and shrimp. And I ate outside on the deck since it was so nice out

In other weekend news, Duncan went to the groomer.

Before and After

Before and After

And now he smells delicious. I hope your week is off to a good start.

Do you have a barbecue? Do you like to grill?

Do you have a garden? What do you grow? I’m waiting for tomatoes, peppers and corn to come from my dad’s garden in the coming weeks.

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All kinds of runs over here and 101 ways to take care of yourself

30. June 2016 · 4 comments · Categories: labradoodle, running · Tags: , , ,

Hi,

Happy Humpday.

So yesterday when I came home from work I noticed Duncan hadn’t eaten his breakfast. I took him out for a walk and he proceeded to have “the runs”. When we came home I gave him some plain rice but a little while later he threw it up. If you know anything about me I become overwhelmed with anxiety when Duncan is sick. Probably more than I should be hey, it is what it is…

I was grateful he seemed ok this morning and after ensuring he had a little water and small amount of rice (that he kept down) I left for work and anxiously waited for updates from the dog walker.

Morning eye-gazing before I left for work

Morning eye-gazing before I left for work

She said he was cheerful and that put my mind at ease for a bit but I was still anxious to get home to him.

dog walker texted me this pic

dog walker texted me this pic

And wouldn’t ya know traffic crawled and it took a solid hour to drive home.

IMG_3953

I saw this article today and bookmarked it: 101 ways to take care of yourself when the world feels overwhelming. I probably need 102 ways but hey, I’ll take 101. 😉

When I got home, Duncan was full of energy which was good. I took a chance and gave him some kibble and about 30 minutes later took him out. Well, let’s just say it was quite a $hitty situation. I literally pulled grass out of his a$$. (TMI??? Your welcome!) He still had the runs. I’m assuming he’s working through some gastrointestinal stuff. Luckily he’s not showing any signs of lethargy or dehydration, but if he isn’t doing better tomorrow i’ll be taking him to the vet.

Once we were back home and I knew he was ok for a bit I headed out the door for a run to relieve some of my anxiety. I started out fine but literally bonked 3 miles in so I just walked the last 3/4 of a mile home.

IMG_3954But can we talk about Adele for a minute? I’m LOVING her latest album 25.

IMG_3955

And now I’m curled up with the belly ache doodle who’s passing gas as I type this.

gassy, grassy a$$ doodle

gassy, grassy a$$ doodle

I’m looking forward to the long holiday weekend to recharge and reset. And hopefully the doodle will be feeling good too.

Have you ever set out to run a short distance and bonked like it was a mile 18 or 19 of a marathon? D

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Longest days of the year

09. June 2016 · 1 comment · Categories: labradoodle, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

Well look at that, it’s already Thursday! How’s your week going?

I had a super full day Tuesday. It started with a walk around the ‘hood with Duncan at sunrise.

IMG_3517Only in these summer months do I get up at 5:30am when I don’t have a race planned. It’s so bright out already at that time. I love it! (Like Monday night at 8pm when we went to Petco.) After the walk, I went for a run.

IMG_3524Then I sat in traffic driving to work so my commute felt like a full-day in and of itself. After work I drove home, had a quick bite and packed up the doodle and an overnight bag and headed over to Mr. SOTSS’. 

The reason I was heading back to New Jersey was because earlier in the day I had purchased (on a total whim) tickets to see the Dave Matthews Band in concert at a venue close to his house. The venue is an outdoor one and it was 70 degrees and just perfect for a concert under the stars.

It was hard to see the actual band on the stage so we enjoyed the big ole monitors above for our viewing pleasure. (Well, yeah, Mr. SOTSS doesn't care too much about that. Although he was fascinated with the way Dave raises his eyebrows individually when he sings. :)

It was hard to see the actual band on the stage so we enjoyed the big ole monitors above for our viewing pleasure. (Well, yeah, Mr. SOTSS doesn’t care too much about that. Although he was fascinated with the way Dave raises his eyebrows individually when he sings. 🙂

We got there a little late and missed about 4 songs but I took a look at the set list the next morning and I didn’t really miss much. Actually I was pretty bummed because he didn’t play any of the songs I was hoping to hear. (The next night he played in Dallas and the set list got better. Oh well) The tickets I got were just general admission and it was super crowded so we pretty much hung out in a quiet open area by the concessions and sipped our $15 beverages! I just cannot believe that they charge so much more when you go to concerts, sports events, amusement parks etc.

It was still such a lovely night though. 

It almost felt like we were watching the crowd and the concert from another planet we were so far.

It almost felt like we were watching the crowd and the concert from another planet we were so far.

Yesterday morning I had to do some freelance work before making the drive to my 9-5 job and then I had to swing back over to Mr. SOTSS’ after work to pick up Duncan. It worked out well though because his daughter needed help with a cover design for her poem project for school. I had to get some more freelance work done anyway so I sat on the sofa and worked a bit as well after we got her cover design printed. I love being needed. Next thing I knew it was 8pm so Duncan and I got in the car and headed home. 

This morning was a repeat of Tuesday. 5:30am walk with doodles and then another quick run. 

More early morning sun!

More early morning sun!

what he does.... on.every.single.shrub!

what he does…. on.every.single.shrub!

run done

run done

And a long shadow to go with the longest days of the year

And a long shadow to go with the longest days of the year

perfect running weather

perfect running weather

I’m tired and so happy tomorrow is Friday although I’ve got a lot happening. After work tomorrow I’m going to do a long run and then Saturday I’m taking my niece into the city to finally celebrate her 16th birthday. Sunday I’m having brunch with a dear friend who is moving to North Carolina in a few weeks. (#indenial) and then I’m going to see Mr. SOTSS’s daughter’s dance recital. Plus Duncan has a vet appointment and I have to clean and cook or something like that…..

So what are your weekend plans?

How do you maximize your time on these long daylight days?

Anyone live in Alaska where it’s light out for a large part of the year?

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