Getting my life back....

(Pretty Otja Face)


(This is one of the pictures I used to make the LOST DOG poster)


(Otja in her jacket, it's been cold in the mornings)


(Otja and Scout at the dog park)


(Another of Otja and Scout at the dog park)

It's been a crazy week. Last Wednesday my friend Janet dropped her dog Otja (Ridgeback, 2 years old) off at my house for a week long stay. Janet and her husband Jason are going to be out of the country for 3 weeks, and I had the first week with Otja. Janet is wise to of broken up Otja's stay into 3 separate weeks with 3 separate families. At first I thought, well I could probably keep her the whole time, but then looked at when they would be gone and the timing was bad. I could only keep her the first week.

A week with Otja has been enough. Don't get me wrong she's a sweet dog and I would PROBABLY dog sit for her again. However I'm ready for her to move on to the next house where they may have a little more patience with her (at least at first). On Wednesday when she got to our house Scout thought it was the best thing EVER! He and Otja played and played, and had a good first little bit. When Janet left Otja looked around for her Mom a couple of times and kept checking the door to see if she was coming back. Finally she started to settle down, and I went in to work for half a day. Thursday I worked a full day, but decided to crate Otja since she thought it would be fun to bring me my Pilate's DVDs (yep with her mouth). She went in the crate with only a little reluctance and was happy to have treats. Scout was happy to have treats outside the crate. Got home Thursday night and she was like a wild thing that had been caged for years. SOOOOO MUCH ENERGY!! The walk was hard, lot's of pulling and tugging but we made it through everything. Friday I was home. So the morning we did a walk, and then we hung out for most of the morning and afternoon. I couldn't really get anything done because Otja is a Velcro dog, she sticks right by you, gets under your feet and has to know every little thing your doing. Not easy to work on cards, or scrap-booking, or even cleaning. Then I went out to Holly Springs (a 45 minute drive) to take care of another friends dogs (they just needed to be fed and let out for a bit). I came back home and took the pups for a good walk. I then left to go to a friends house for a girls night of paper crafting. About 30 minutes after I got to my friends house I got a phone call from my husband letting me know that Otja had gotten out of the house. I immediately came home and we searched for her in the dark for 3 hours to no avail. Twenty minutes after we stopped looking for her she came back to the house. I'm pretty sure she was playing a game the whole night, and came back when she figured no one else was playing. Saturday I took the pups out for a walk, and then was lazy around the house, then took the pups out again, Otja was pretty worn out from her fun adventure the night before. On Sunday I took the pups out and then did a 10 mile run (the last 10 of Kim and Chris's 20 mile run). Jason came out and ran too, he did about 8 miles. We all went and got a burrito afterwards and then came home. Otja had regained her energy and was up to full strength. Man she really likes to play, to bad Scout doesn't always want to play with her. Monday morning I had to crate Otja again, and Scout was not happy about it. I think he's frustrated that we keep using his "special" area to keep the crazy one. (that is said with loving terms). Tuesday the same just add that she smacked me in the face with her head and it is still very tender. Now it's Wednesday and Otja gets to go to her next house. I am literally counting down the minutes until I load her up and take her to the next house. Is that bad? It probably is. I love that sweet, nut case of a dog, but I'm so ready to have my life back. I haven't been able to really do any kind of training (except my 10 mile run) because she just slam wears me out!

My hope is that after I drop her off I'll be able to pop that Pilate's DVD in the player and at least get some core training done tonight, maybe even a run (but I doubt it, since they got me up so early this morning and I haven't been able to rest yet).

strange week...hmmm

(OTJA the Spunky Ridgeback)

So I'm not writing as much...cause I've fallen off the post wagon (temporarily) while watching my friends dog. She keeping my attention, as in I don't have time or energy to think about anything else but what she is getting into. She's a sweet girl and just wants Scout to play with her, unfortunately Scout doesn't want to play as much as she does. Hence the looking for something to do or get into all the time. Arrrrgggggggghhhhhh. My 7 year old calm dog and I, have the life. I love the interjection of fun though. So I'll be back to posting etc as I have time.

On my rest day I VOTED....Did You??

The Polls here are open from 6:30 am - 7:30 pm, and I really wanted to vote before work, however I have to be at work by 7:15, and leave my house by 6:30 to accomplish that there was no way for that to happen. So I worked my day came home walked the pup and then headed down to the clubhouse in the neighborhood (they just changed our voting site to the clubhouse...YAY, it just to be at the firehouse where there was no parking). It was chilly out, about 50 degrees (which for the South is Chilly). I had to wait outside for about 25 minutes and then got to go inside and warm up a little while waiting in line (my last name always puts me in the longest line) to sign in. I VOTED though, and happy that I did. I'm also actually happy there was a line, that means that people are out there voting!



Jason had voted in the morning before work, and when he got home Scout was so antsy. He was in a playful mood, and Jason put his I voted sticker on his head. He totally didn't notice it for about half an hour, then he did and it was a mad rush to get it off. I love that dog!!

Nutrition Blah

Nutrition is always tough for me. I struggle with it all the time. There is the what I should eat to fuel my body and then what I really like to eat. I have really good days where I'm on target, days I'm under calories, and days I'm off the charts over. Balance is HARD.

Today my body was just HUNGRY. That happens when I've done a weekend of a lot of training (especially when I ramp up after not doing as much). I did not make good choices. I didn't make the most horrible choices either, but the Chubby's Taco's for Dinner was yummy, but not good. There is probably a reason they call it Chubby's!!*smiles* Lunch was Village Deli, which can be okay, but not the California Chicken Salad on a croissant.....yeah and sea salt and vinegar chips, no soda though just unsweetened tea. Breakfast is my hardest meal always. I didn't really grow up eating breakfast (at least not at breakfast time), so I struggle with getting something in me in the morning. I did have a granola bar, but I needed protein, and didn't get that.

Ahh but tomorrow is another day!

Monday Night is the nOg Run..

After a day of working...Yes I worked on a monday...it's been forever since I've had a temp Hygiene gig, I met Kim for the nOg run. I can say that my legs were tired and I had had enough. Usually the nOg run tend to be my fastest run of the week. It's about a 3 mile run and there can be up to 300 people running through the streets of downtown Raleigh. I think I just excited and wanna go be in the pack. This week I really could tell I wasn't winding myself as much, but I did a good job with my intervals. I did them all the way through, and I even ran all the way up the museum hill. Museum hill doesn't look like much of a "hill", and it's not, it's just a LONG "gentle" slope. I usually get to about the halfway point and go, yeah I'm walking this a little. So my goal for last night (in my head) was to run all the way up it, Yea Me! Kim and I even ran through one of our walk intervals, and then kept running through to the run as well. So the kicker was were running at a much slower pace 12:44, but hey that all good. My run meter said we ran 34:28 min, with a distance of 2.71, and an average pace of 12:44.

I ended up leaving after the run, Kim had to go home and take care of her pup and I figured I should do the same. Sometimes if I have friends who are staying I stay and play trivia (the run starts at 6, and trivia starts at 7) and they have a $1 pasta buffet afterwards (salad, bread, and pasta), and always beer specials. It's a fun group...so if you live in the area you should come try it out. Ohhh and if you come to 10 runs you get a free T-Shirt (it's a cool black tech shirt with the logo on it), and 25 runs gets you a beer mug, and the more you come to runs the more you get! *smiles* Last night I finally earned my t-shirt!! WOO HOO!!

Happy Halloween....and Sunday Ride!

It feels like it's been forever since I've had a really good ride on my bike, or any ride at that. I did ride last weekend, but it was only 20 miles, and it was just an easy hang out ride. Not to say the ride today wasn't an easy hang out ride, but it was 37 miles (which is decent), through hilly (but not that bad) N. Raleigh. It was a GORGEOUS ride! The weather is great and I was super excited to be able to get out on my bike and get it done.

Kim, Bob, and I meet at Pleasant Union School (so that we would miss the traffic infused areas on our bike roads) and took off for Falls Lake (Rolling View). The best part a surprise newly paved road. Nothing like nice smooth road to ride on! *smiles* While we were riding along down the route I've done a bunch with Kim (mostly last winter) I noticed this sign:

A little ironic that it's Halloween and I noticed this street sign. It would of been cooler if they had it all decorated up...ohh well.

We made it to Falls Lake and took a quick break at the boat ramps (where the bathrooms are), and I had Kim take a picture of me and Bob. I talk about him every now and again and though you all might want to see what he looks like!!*smiles* Bob is Kim's neighbor and "coach" for running. We were doing a normal Sunday Bob Ride for awhile, riding from Kim and Bob neighborhood and out to Falls Lake.

Now it's time for a shower and getting ready to go Trick or Treating with one of my Best Friends little ones! Happy Halloween everyone!!

Bob's Big Block Run...10 miler!

I woke up this morning happy that we weren't planning on meeting for the run until 9 am. It was COLD and FOGGY when I got up to walk Scout.


(the fog on the morning walk with Scout)

Jason decided to sleep in a little and go for a shorter run in the neighborhood, so our friend Chris came over and picked me up since we were doing the run together with Kim and Bob (who live where we were going to run). Chris made it to my house almost on time (he is notorious for being late for runs) and we headed over. The fog had mostly cleared and the temp went from 36 to 42 which is a pretty decent difference. I still decided to wear my tights, t-shirt, long sleeve hoodie running shirt (that I got at REI and LOVE) AND my Nike vest....ohh and some gloves to, that I knew I wouldn't hold onto for long but I had pockets to stuff them in.


(Kim and Chris before the run, Ebony -Kim's Dog- really wanted to be in the pic too)



(Kim and I before the run...notice all the layers)

The 10 Mile Big Block was EPIC....well it was interesting none the less. I've seen a ton of people running along Six Forks in the past, but I didn't know what the "official" route was. Not sure it's official anyways, but it sure felt right. I got a little lost and was glad the peeps didn't leave me yet when we got into the neighborhood, and the first part of the greenway. Kim, Bob, and Chris did an AWESOME job with their intervals and running. I on the other hand had a little hip issue and took a couple more walk breaks to work on stretching out my hamstring/glut area so I could keep going. At about mile 8 I was too HOT to keep all my layers on, so I went through the ordeal of shedding my AWESOME hoodie running shirt. Then when I was on the home stretch I got stuck going through the tunnel with the Asian Walking Group (whole big group of people WALKING at a slow pace and enjoying the day). After I got through the tunnel I started my run back again, got stopped by a phone call (weird because no one calls me, and everyone who knows me knew I was out running...and somehow I couldn't get it to go to voicemail...so I ended up answering the phone and telling the person I'd call them back after the run). I finished up my run with a 11:27 min/mile average, My fastest pace was 8:36 (I'm sure I was running downhill somewhere) I climbed 518 feet on the run and supposedly burned 1315 calories.

After the run we went to I HOP (which just opened down the street). Yum breakfast food after a good run. While waiting to be seated we were stretching a little on the sidewalk, and Kim looked down and noticed she had 2 different shoes on. These are not the shoes she ran in, she changed before heading over to I HOP. HA! Classic.


(Kim's Shoes 1= Saucony, 1= Brooks)

Friday Morning Run..

I'm back again....I'm going to try and be better about posting. This week has been rough (that doesn't excuse the rest of the time), kinda been in a funk. Ready to be back on track. Quick back track...after Disney got a wicked sinus infection, then the antibiotics literally flushed out my system so I had to deal with that for awhile. Now I'm just in the Fall Blahs.

Today I woke up and said...I need to run. More than that I need to get my sweet boy out there running too, it's finally getting cool enough that I can take him for short runs again. Scout loves to run, well he loves the first mile of running and then he isn't sure. It helps if I take him to Umstead (State Park with trails) or fun places like that. However today we just ran around the neighborhood. I'm really hoping to get him tired enough that I can get in and clean his teeth. (I haven't been able to do that for awhile, and when I called the vet for an estimate it was $415-$750....YIKES!). Since it's what I do (on people usually) I'm hoping that this run will tire him out enough for me to at least do some.

The morning was cool, we started running and the temp was 50 degrees, it didn't warm up, but I did. I decided to wear my Nike Vest (the one I got when I did the Nike Women's Marathon in 2008). It was perfect with a long sleeve dry-wick shirt, and shorts. There were a bunch of people out walking and some out with their dogs. It gets tricky running by people with dogs, I usually try to cross the street, if I can, just to avoid crazy dog greetings. While I was running up one of the small hills on Falls River Ave there were two ladies walking their two dogs (boxer and mutt) and I crossed to the other side of the street (where the sidewalk was closed), and of course the two dogs were barking and wanting to play (probably). If Scout is running he is usually focused on the task at hand, but he can still get distracted. We ran through the Estate section of the hood, which I usually like to do to add on some distance without having to go down the street that doesn't have sidewalks (Dunn Rd). Usually Scout puts on the breaks when I try to take him into the Estates section, but he came along just fine today (YAY!). As I was running up the bigger hill on Bedfordtown Drive the same two ladies plus one more, and the same two dogs were coming down the sidewalk. I was really hoping that since I was struggling running UP the HILL they would be nice and move to the other side of the street, but they were oblivious to most anything. So as I got closer and they still didn't move AT ALL (taking up the entire sidewalk), I ran up the hill of someones yard to let them pass. They ladies (bless their little hearts....it's a southern thing) could not even keep their dogs on the sidewalk, luckily for me Scout was being very good and he just sat there and didn't try to engage with the two dogs. The two dogs both pulled their owners up the yard hill towards me and Scout and finally they got them back on the sidewalk and past me a little bit, so I finished running up the hill. I think the little Grrr moment got me up the hill a little faster than normal.



(Scout and I after the run)


Anywho- now I'm going to see if I can get Scout to lie still for a bit so I can scrape at his teeth......wish me luck.

Disney Trip and Wine and Dine Half Marathon

What an AWESOME time we had! The race was AMAZING, the trip was fun and good times were had!!

We got there on Thursday....and got to eat at the Flying Fish. Yummy food.

Friday we spent the day at the Magic Kingdom, and ended the day with Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. We were trying to stay up as long as possible so that we could sleep in the next morning.

Saturday was race day. We hung out for most of the day hanging around the hotel and pool, went to the Expo (packet pick-up). We ate at Wolfgang Pucks in Downtown Disney and then got ready for the race. We had to be at ESPN by 8 pm. Which means we had to take the bus by 7:30 pm. The race started at 10 pm. Of course we had to drop off our bags to bag check. Then we sat around in the grass waiting. Finally we made our last stops to the porta potty's and water stop, then off to the corrals. 3 of us (Kim, Chris, and I) were in Corral B, and Jason was in Corral C...but we snuck him into the corral with us. We waited for a really long time and then the wheelchair racers had their start. And then off we went.

We started with a bang.....well firework to be specific.

We met lot's of characters along the way.

The 4 of us were together for the first mile or so, then Kim, Chris and I were hanging out together. Kim and I stayed together up to almost mile 11 and then I told her to go on..I needed a few more walk breaks.

Overall I had a great race! Everyone had fun and enjoyed themselves on the run.

The bag pick up at the end was a cluster. It was the worst race organization I have ever seen. EEEKKK! The after party was WAY to crowded. And the lines for the small bathrooms at the world showcase were ridiculous. I know next year if I do this race, I will have someone hold my bags, they can also use my taste and sip tickets, and once I finish we can leave!!

I'll write up more about this soon....but today I just wanted to get something up so people would know!!*smiles*

Packed for Disney...

Well today is the day we leave for Disney!!

It's been raining cats and dogs here. In fact the wind was blowing so much last night that we lost power for about an hour...of course I was awake for that hour (4:30 am - 5:30 am) cause the fan turned off and I felt like there was a flashlight shining on my face (in fact just the iPod from the clock radio clicking on).

Scout has been taken to the kennel...he was so HAPPY to be there with his friend Ebony. Normally Kim comes and watches him, but since she is doing the race to we decided to board the boys together. They are going to have fun at camp.

I think I'm ready. Pretty sure I have everything I need....plus some. We'll see if I forgot anything when we get there.



Saturday is the race! It is supposed to start at 10pm. So I'm super excited about getting there and having this fun run, plus just a good time in Disney.