Yes, it's true, I AM a tree hugger!

It has been two weeks since saying goodbye to my dear sweet Moe-Mie and I had sworn, no more dogs! I was going to take the time to heal and to spoil my Tabs rotten. However, life had other things in store for me.

Tabbi very dispondent

Tehn snuggling in close to comfort Tabbi

Tabbi got very sick the day we lost Moe, she moped around, pouted.  I took her out to the woods for a walk, but she just wasn't that into it, until we came upon children or other dogs. Then she would REALLY perk up!! I told her absolutely in no uncertain terms would I 'get' her a child, but I would consider getting her a dog

We went home and since I was going in to our local pound the following day to volunteer, I thought I'd just go ahead and search the adoptable dogs on line and see if they had any smaller dogs. Long story short, they did, and Tabbi got a little playmate. 

Tabbi and her new playmate, Vallie

Heading to the clinic across town to get our new pup's neutering done, I felt my anxiety growing and my chest tightening. We had to drive through downtown to get there and I am NOT an urban girl at all. I dropped him off and was told to come back and pick him up that evening around 5:30. Heading home and cutting through town I felt tense, anxious, tight chested and as I got closer to home it would all ease up. The same thing happened again when I went to pick him up and on the drive home.

My little 'conehead'

During Moe's declining health this past year, I chose to put a lot of things on hold as his illness progressed. I haven't been getting out to the woods for my trail runs regularly and I always seemed more tense. I decided that today was going to be the day I started back with my regular trips to the woods at least three times a week.

I had been eating well the last couple of days as well and to make up for that last night I had more than a small amount of my favorite Friday night combo, Pizza and Beer! Needless to say, after having indulged myself last night, I felt a little less than 100 per cent when I woke up, but after eating a nice big bowl of oats, bananas, and blueberries and drinking plenty of fluids, I was ready to go. All laced up and donning one of my comfortable running skirts, I headed out. It was the most perfect day!

Today's goal, six miles for my half marathon training. I'm not sure which week we are on, but I know the distance. I planned a day of walking, with intermittent bursts of speed. Once I started and gauged how I felt, I decided it would be one mile walks with quarter mile running sprints. I was very pleased with my speed on the sprints and felt pretty strong through the full six miles.

I had been on the roads for many of the miles, so heading into my last sprint, I decided I would start working back toward the trails...not quite in time though. Have you ever been on the back of a motorcycle when the driver is NOT wearing a helmet or any type of eye covering? If not, let me tell you, you get blasted repeatedly in the face by their tears from their watering eyes. Well, here I was heading up a hill on the side of the road when a cyclist goes flying past me at speeds of twenty to thirty miles per hour...*SPLAT*! Yep, he got me. Thank you for being so kind as to share your sweat with me, but I am able to produce buckets of the much needed coolant perfectly fine by myself. Thank you very much!

Laughing to myself, I headed off into the woods after the last sprint and started really feeling myself calm and unwind. I went into a total Zen mode and was loving every minute of it. The trees and cool trails were having an amazing calming effect on me. The knot in my stomach which seemed to always be there lately was dissipating, my head felt clear, I had a wonderful sense of accomplishment and my body felt strong. Oh YEAH!! I remember this!! Why had I forgotten how therapeutic this was for me? Not exactly forgotten, but pushed aside briefly.

I decided to take the cell out and get some photos on the last mile back and was amazed at the sense of well being I was having. I wanted to be able to capture this whole day to share with everyone, the breeze, the clear sky, the spots off to the east with puffy white clouds, the perfect temperature, the clear water, shining sun, birds singing, cicadas chirping, the green green trees, the wonderful calm....all this and so much more. How could I share it with everyone?

Heading home I stopped off at one of my favorite places to watch the sunset and sat down on the bank of the small pond and watched the boats and water and tree line on the big lake. It was so restful.

One of the little ducks had snagged himself a treasure! A great big old crawdad! He was swimming around trying to keep it away from the other ducks but not looking quite sure what he was supposed to do with it now! Hah!

After capturing some more 'zen' moments, I got in the car to head home and was forced to pull over on the side of the road to get more photos.

I am planning to move into a house about this time next year and have decided I have to be closer to the woods. I have chosen my favorite neighborhood that is within walking distance to the park. That's right, I can roll out of bed and run into my back yard and hug my very own tree, enjoy my bliss, suck up some 'zen' and feel my blood pressure go down all at the same time!

Have YOU hugged a tree lately? ;)

Saying Goodbye To My Best Friend

I've just come from letting my best pal go. My Moe-Moe and I have been together for thirteen and a half years now and I still cannot believe it has been that long. In my eyes and heart he has and will always be my little butterball puppy that I rescued from the Humane Society so many years ago.

To be loved so unconditionally is a blessing each of us should be so lucky as to have in our lives. So many times when things were hard and I just didn't even feel like getting out of bed, I would, because I had my best pal counting on me. I might not always have taken care of myself, but I would always make sure he was taken care of. He was always there for me, leaning in and nuzzling close letting me know he was there when he sensed I was sad.

I remember I picked him up after having him neutered, he wouldn't look at me, he wouldn't come to me, he walked up to everyone in the waiting room lobby, but refused to even acknowledge me. I believe I was being 'punished' for leaving him there. He didn't even want to get in the car with me, boy was he mad! Shortly after, while heading home, I felt something ever so soft and gentle nuzzling at the side of my face from the back seat. He was leaning his head up through the seats and brushing his nose against my cheek. I had been forgiven!

Then there was the time I came home and my entire living room floor was covered with some kind of teal colored 'fluff'. It took me a moment to realize that my little puppy had 'gutted' my sofa and what was left of it was strewn all about! It was all I could do not to let him see me laugh! I got the video camera out and asked him 'Moe-Moe...did you do that?', 'Did you do that?' He would hang his little face, turning it and looking side to side, barely able to meet my gaze. Turning and covering my mouth so as not to let him see me giggling, 'Shall I take that to be a confession?' (I did get the whole thing on video and when I'm able to convert to digital, I will add it to this at a later time.)

I made a 'kitty door' on my small bedroom door upstairs and thought it would serve as a getaway for the cats. I got home from work one evening and a fat miserable looking little puppy greeted me when I came in. He was so ill and his stomach so huge, it practically drug the ground. What on earth had happened to him?! I watched him closely and he seemed okay just fat and uncomfortable. Later that evening I noticed the cats' continuous feeder which could hold a whole bag of dry food was empty. Not just low, but completely EMPTY! I guess my usually chubby little puppy had squeezed his chubby little self through the cat door, but what I still can't figure out is how he got out!!

He's been with me through good times and bad times, we've had so much fun together, hiking, running, camping, swimming. But, this past week, he showed me that it was time for him to go. This has to have been one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in my life and I prayed for the strength to get through it. I knew I had enough love. My fear was making the choice too soon or too late and I had asked him to let me know when it was time and prayed to know when it was time. I received very clear messages this week. While it was heartbreaking and difficult, my strong love for him gave me the strength I needed to say goodbye. My amazing vet and her staff were so kind and sensitive. The room had lit candles, and a big soft pallet for him to lie on. I requested sedation for him first and stayed curled up on the pallet next to him holding in my arms. After it was time to say goodbye, the vet hugged me through her own tears and gave me some time alone with him to say my goodbyes.

My heart aches so desperately at the deep loss I am feeling and for any pain he may have endured. But I feel liberated for him knowing his young strong spirit is no longer in pain, nor trapped in his old tired body. I like to think of him running, swimming, and playing with his Grandpop and all the other kitties and pups and I told him to save a good spot for me when it was time for me to join him. So I won't be saying goodbye to my dear friend, I will be saying 'So long for now, I'll see you later'.

I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together

Set a challenge, dig deep, make it personal, hit a goal...FIND YOUR GREATNESS!

"GREATNESS IS
WHEREVER SOMEBODY
IS TRYING TO FIND IT" Nike

and does NOT have to be physical

Deer Poo IS Awesome!

Here are some of Tabbi's adventures compiled into a fun little video:
ENJOY!

Something In The Air...

This morning I tipped the scale at a whopping 217.5 pounds, higher than I’ve been in well over a year.  This time last year I was around 185 pounds.  But, the amazing thing was, I just didn’t care.  I felt great today!  And it must have been something in the air, something light, something joyful, something happy, something unseen, yet something strong because when I got downstairs to take Moe-Moe out for a walk, he was in rare form and pulled me out of the house showing me he wanted to go for a ‘real’ walk, not just up and down his sidewalk!

Off we went into the neighborhood, Moe’s leg rigged in a handy sling I fashion out of his leash and me alongside holding his right rear weight up and getting a great upper body workout as a bonus.  I let him choose where we went and how long we were out there.  He went down and back, then continued on past home and went on the other direction for a bit before turning around.  As we were heading back, I noticed he was showing every indication of wanting to go down to the back of the neighborhood again, so this time I did cut it a little short to get him home to eat his breakfast and have his meds.  We had taken off before he had even done either.  He wasn’t too disturbed by this and we got him settled in while Tabs went out for a bit.  I got ready and packed her in the car and headed toward the park for some good times in the trails, in the shade and out of the direct sun. 

It was hot, but there was something different, about everything.  I felt light, happy.  Tabbi wasn’t pulling on her leash, I had pulled out some very light weight running shoes and decided to wear them, the air was hot, but there seemed to be a nice breeze and the shade felt amazing.

We had gone about a mile when I started hearing thunder claps, while all around us I saw blue skies and sunshine and it was HOT!  When I came to a place where I could view the skyline, it appeared to be storming, coming directly from the west and passing on to the north, passing over us again.  We continued on for a while then took a nice little water break at a picnic table.  A group of children came from off in one of the shelter areas and was headed our way to play on the playground equipment.  I love the sound of giggling kids, playing on the swings and inventing new games, challenging each other.  The children were having a great time on this beautiful sunny day in their very own specially carved out chunk of paradise.

Tabbi and I headed off for a little bit more time out in the woods.  The more we walked, the better I felt, stronger.  I was really enjoying this walk more than I had in ages.  I didn’t feel like I was carrying around concrete boulders on my feet, I felt light and springy, it didn’t feel like the air itself was pressing in on my chest squeezing and sucking all the wind out of me.  I just kept reveling in the awesomeness of the moment and how perfect it all was.  I felt so great that as we were almost back, I took a nice little run with my Tabs and she did very well, and so did I!

When we got back to the car and started to head home, we went through the park and out the long way.  There were deer, lots of squirrels, dozens of robins, and we even saw a great big fat groundhog!   This boy was huge!   We got out to the open road and could see above there were still bright puffy white clouds over us, but the storm having moved around us north and east, had apparently decided to head south as well!  I could see dark storm clouds and hear the thunder off to the south of us, and finally when the road opened out to see the southern sky well, there it was, lightening and dark streams of rain just pouring down directly to the south of us!

We got home and took a little break, and it must truly have been something in the air.  Just look at these two!  Tabbi wanted to snuggle close to Moe, and while it made him uncomfortable, he actually tolerated it for her today.

We’ve just come back inside from a potty break for the pups, the air is less humid, a breeze is blowing, and we do have some clouds.  But, it looks as if this one small area has been passed over once again for rain.  Even still, today I feel I enjoyed just a little piece of paradise.  Something in the air, indeed.

'What A Wonderful World'

This is some of my photography set to music, a song I absolutely love.  My first attempt. I hope you enjoy.

running downhill ROCKS!

This is Moe-Mie's second time out on his new Walkin' Wheels and he has quickly discovered that running downhill is the absolute BEST!  I'm so thrilled we have options for senior pets these days.  People continue to be athletes without the use of their legs and now companion pets can as well!

The goal is to get him strong enough to get about a mile or so run in at a time, if not, we will do what he is able to do, but regardless, I enjoy the quality time we're able to spend together now and I am really looking forward to spending some time running together in the near future whatever the distance!

apparently i am NOT a 'sissie'!

Grab a beer and prop up your feet, it's a long one! THE MINI MARATHON

Yesterday was our highly anticipated annual Indianapolis Mini Marathon!  This is a 13.1 mile race that brings the participants in to, and for a full run around, the actual race track of the Indianapolis 500.  This was the race I signed up and paid for months in advance after my first half marathon.  I knew I needed something to work toward to keep me going through the cold winter months.

I also signed up for our running group’s Tuesday night training program.  I never made it to a single evening run.  There were many excuses, it was dark, it was cold, it was late, I am a morning runner….etc. But the truth of the matter was I just couldn’t get there on time after work.  There just was not enough time for me to get the things done that had to be done before my drive there, and it was not a short drive.  So, I decided to train along with the program, but on my own days.

Training began, and I sort of did, sort of did not.  It was cold and I was having such a difficult time dealing with it this year, (and it truly was a mild winter for us this year!), I wouldn’t always get out for my long runs.  I did some shorter runs on the treadmill, but as the training distances grew, my runs became fewer.  I packed on a little over 20 pounds from my maintenance weight since the last half marathon, I wasn’t getting out as much, the days were short and I had no inclination to go out in the dark for my workouts, so…as the days passed, I was losing quite a bit of what I had worked so hard for the previous year.

Fast forward to March when the weather began changing for the better , the daylight hours were lasting longer, and I felt more like myself again.  The miles increased as the urge to get out and enjoy the fresh air and the woods increased!  I missed some of the long training distances, I had gotten a six and seven miler in, but not my eight, so when it was time for my nine mile run, I didn’t want to only do seven.  I was able to do my nine mile run and when it was time for my ten mile run, I was feeling pretty strong!  I was feeling very well that day, strong legs, strong lungs, strong frame of mind, a very healthy attitude and I was ready to go!  It had been raining a little, but nothing I couldn’t handle, in fact I enjoy running in a nice light rain.  But, then it started getting dark, and the rain began to come down harder.  I was about half way done when I thought I caught a flash out of the corner of my eye.  Yes I do enjoy a good rain run, but NOT a lighting run!  I took one of my ear buds out and gave a listen.  Sure enough, claps of thunder and lightning were moving in from the west.  But, I knew I still had time for just a little more, there was NO way I was stopping now!  With every lap, the thunder and lightning grew closer and closer.  I felt too good to stop, maybe just one more lap.  If by the time I get to the end of this lap, it hasn’t gotten better I’ll head back to the car and finish up right in that general area.  It didn’t get better and I don’t like to run in this type of storm, but I had to get back to the car anyway, so it was either walk or run.  Well that was an easy choice….wasn’t I already running?  I headed back and had about a mile left when I got to the car  The storm seemed to be passing off to the east, so I was able to get the rest of my run done for the day.

Ten miles, that was my longest training run I was able to get in before my taper and then the race.  I truly have never had a desire to do this Mini Marathon with 35,000+ runners, but I had paid, and after the week I had had, it was personal now!  It was almost as if I was being taunted, dared, pushed NOT to do the race!  The more that kept pushing me not to do it, the more I pushed back!

I had just picked up two additional days a week for work and this was the first full week since my new hours.  My body, in the interest of efficiency and saving time apparently, decided, ‘Hey, why pick one when you can combine both PMS and Menopause?’ So, I was the lucky recipient of not only cramps and weepiness, but hot flashes as well all week long!  When I came home Thursday evening, I was verbally assaulted by one of my neighbors.  My sweet Moe-Mie has been having physical problems and when I got home Friday night I couldn’t get in the front door.  He had fallen and couldn’t get up and had stressed himself out so much and had probably had his weight on that leg for the endurance (I have no idea how long he had been like that), that he was not able to stand at all.  I had to push the door open enough to reach my arm around and slip my hand under him to scoot him across the floor.  He had poo’d and was peeing everywhere he was so stressed out.  It just broke my heart.  I fashioned a sling and was able to get him in and out and to help him go potty.  I worked with his legs and massaged and calmed him, but it was a rough night for him and he cried a lot.  I was up and down all night and got at the most, two and a half hours of sleep before the race.  After having gotten in the house Friday evening, I noticed a sickly smell and found out my neighbor had been pouring acid down his drains and the fumes had filled my entire downstairs, my poor animals had been inhaling that all day as well!  We had to open the garage doors to air it all out.  I had plans to meet the gals downtown for packet pick-up that night as well and go out to eat.  I knew traffic would be bad (and it was! About 40 minutes just to park!), but I was so looking forward to going out and relaxing with them and just having a good time ‘carb loading’.  But, for some reason, my time sheet for work didn’t get to them in time and I only received half of a paycheck this pay period, so I had to do some rearranging and was still able to go after all.  Once we all got parked and met, we had a lot of fun at the expo and then 

on to Noodles & Company for our pasta.

Marti, Me, Elaine

It is now Saturday morning and I’m fresh out of the shower and ready to go!

Maybe I’ll just sleep run the first half of the race.  I knew I could run ten miles, so maybe I could just do some run/walking this race and just enjoy myself.  Take pictures, dance, sing, just have some fun.  Then run as I felt strong, walk when I needed to recover.  I am looking forward to this now.  I’m going to burn off a lot of steam and leave last week in the dust!

I met one of my friends there and we headed over to the corrals to get settled in.  I was in a different corral much further back.  While I was waiting I heard someone calling my name and it was a couple of other gals from my running club.  One was still recovering from an injury and the other said she had gained about twenty pounds too, so they would be doing walk/running at about a thirteen minute pace or so.  I thought I could handle that, so was looking forward to having some friends to run with as well.  This day is really shaping up!

Melissa and Lori
(Lori saw this picture later and was convinced she was crossing her fingers and praying!)

We started in corral 'V', the race has started and we
are still making our way to the start

I still have knots in my belly even though there’s no pressure and I’m just there to have fun.  The countdown begins…..four, three, two….ONE!  And everyone is off!  Well….sort of…..about a half hour later we got to the starting line and off we went.  I knew I needed to make sure to slow myself down at the beginning so I didn’t exhaust myself before the end, but I thought I’ll just hang with the gals for now.  We were doing well and I was feeling pretty good, but thought maybe I was going a bit too fast.  I glanced down at my Garmin and saw an 11:30 pace which is faster than I can maintain right now for a three mile run.  I knew I had better pull back and slow down, even though I wanted to stay with them.  I ran for the first two miles, but the lack of sleep was really taking its toll on me and I decided to back down to a walk.  I began formulating my strategy so I would end up with a run at the finish line.  As I walked I knew I would get stronger and just be dying to run, that’s how I always was.  But not this time, I mean I did have a strong desire to run, but the strength just wasn’t there.  And it wasn’t coming back either.  I became weaker and more tired as the race went on.  I hoped at least by the time I got to the race track I’d be able to run around it.  We would be at the six mile mark when we got to the track and it is a two and a half mile run. 

Here we are!  But I just couldn’t do what I’d hoped.  However, when I got to the backside of the track, Brightroom Photography was there and I thought I’d better muster up enough strength to at least get one good picture!  At this point, I didn’t know if I’d be able to when I crossed the finish line.  So, I started running and waving and smiling.  It felt good to be running again, but I wasn’t able to maintain it for long.  I knew it would be a walk to the finish and was very disappointed. 

As the miles ticked off, I was wondering if I was going to be able to physically make it until the end.  But, I had come too far and had such a stressful week, I deserved to do this for ME!  I plodded on, getting slower and slower, weaker and hotter, the blisters on my feet were screaming at me, my toes were numb, my shoulders ached, my back hurt, it was so hot and there was no shade to be had anywhere in sight.  I started grabbing two and three cups of water, one to drink, the other two to pour over my head and the back of my neck. I had my energy power bar gu and drank some water to wash it down.  I started going through every water sprayer I could see, grabbed free food samples from the side of the road, anything and everything I knew to do just to sustain myself long enough to get to that finish line.  I felt like I was just going through the motions in a very painful dream state now.  Instead of feeling closer with every mile, it felt more like….What?! There are still that many more miles to go?!  I was beginning to be very grateful for the presence of the other 35,000+ runners and walkers!

I finally felt some relief, and like I might actually make it when I got to the thirteen mile marker.  It seriously took me until the thirteenth mile mark to feel like I was going to make it.  I just wanted to get in my car and crank up the air conditioning.  What really stunk is that after getting to mile thirteen, I had to walk right past my car to get to the finish line!  It was soooo tempting to just turn off and leave, but there was NO WAY!  Not after all this, not when I was this close!

OMG! There it is! That’s the finish line!  Is that the finish line?!  IT IS IT IS! It is the finish line!  This is me crossing the finish line! I DID IT! WHOO-HOO!!  And….stop!  And….NOW I felt it!  All light headed, things going sparkly and black.  I sat down and tried to lose the nausea and lightheadedness.  I drank some water and talked with a girl beside me who told me there were cookies just a bit down from us.  I waited a bit and then made an attempt to stand and go get some cookies.  But I didn’t get too far before needing to sit again.  The girl I was talking to previously passed by and noticed I hadn’t gotten too far and offered to go get a couple cookies for me.  Then she offered to get help.  Some nice men came and took me to the cooling tent where I was able to get my wits about me enough to walk to my car and head home.

Me, wearing my medal and on my back in the recovery tent!  I did it.....

I missed the festivities but all I wanted to do was just be home.  Home never felt so good!  I got in the house, took care of a few things that had to be done and then hit the pillows for a nice, cool nap.  Ahhh. 

After getting up and having some food, I had a good time with a friend and her granddaughter and took some really cute photos of them.

Melissa and Allie Lynn

A great day, a great evening, and the best night’s sleep I’ve had in years!!

Yep! That's right! That's MY bling!

my 'other' passion...photography!

this is some of my favorite recent work.  my 'glow' series.

http://500px.com/LoriLPoole/stories/34914/glow

In Preparation For My Next Half Marathon

I will be running my second half marathon on Saturday, May 5, 2012.  It is the Indianapolis Mini and it is an extremely huge event!  I haven't done all of my training for it this time, but will try to walk/run the full distance.  My next real half marathon I am truly excited about training for and really pushing myself is the Indianapolis Monumental. This was my first half marathon in November 2011. I had hoped to run it the full distance.  I HAD done all of my training and was ready, but just about a week or two before the race I pulled my achilles tendon and ended up walking/running the distance, so I am really anxious to redeem myself this November!

In celebration and preparation of my race May 5th, I thought I would share my 'note' from after my first race.  It is pretty long, but I enjoyed reading and reliving it again, I was deeply touched by the little man and the gloves and I still feel an ache in the pit of my gut when I think about him.

I hope you will enjoy the read.  It reminds me, yes I was nervous, there were times when I was just sure it would never end, but I not only survived, I thrived on this experience.

My first half marathon – Indianapolis Monumental November 5, 2011

by Lori Poole on Saturday, November 5, 2011 at 5:44pm ·

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I was all nerves and excitement Friday night and found myself waking up and staying up throughout the night for a grand total of about 3 hours of sleep! OUCH! But, I knew it was going to be cool in the morning and we were going to have a beautiful sunny day for our run and thought I’d be fine once I started running.  Had some issues with the Achilles and ankle on my right leg so had only run 1 mile the previous Monday and then nothing since then. I was hoping it would be okay by race day.

Met with some friends before the run and collected a lot of warming hugs!!

It was a very cold start, but Indianapolis has the nicest people and so while standing and waiting to start the run, I met a lot of really fun and nice runners and before we knew it we were off and running! WOO-HOO! And jumping…over lots and lots of discarded clothing, this went on for the entire route. These people weren’t first timers and a lot of them specifically bought clothes they knew they wouldn’t mind tossing out.  At 1 point around my 2nd mile, I saw a little elderly man rather stooped and struggling out to the street to bend over and pick up a pair of little gloves.  Wow! The emotions that all hit when I saw this little homeless man, I thought and heard myself saying ‘aaaww’ and then a big smile, my heart both hurt and felt warm inside. Such a treasure for this little man, I remember thinking all the way around the route how I hoped all these clothes found their way into someone’s hands that needed them equally as bad and that they didn’t just get thrown out. (It reminded me of that first Warrior Dash with hundreds and hundreds of discarded running shoes, piles of them everywhere, and they were donated, I loved it!) And then again later on the back stretch of the route in the park across from the library they were having this big giveaway for the homeless and needy as well. I think this must have been what Rose was talking about donating soap and shampoo, etc. to.  Very cool!

I was cold, but once I started running, I felt just perfect.  Tired, yes and a little concerned about the leg, but thought at the first few miles I felt really good and I had a good pace, I could do this!  I had trained, I was ready, don’t look ahead, just concentrate on making these steps good steps.  My awesome buddy Beth Lindsay lives downtown and was going to be watching for me around mile 4, so I looked for her and didn’t find her and figured the route just didn’t go the right way, but about mile 4-1/2 I see a couple people looking at me and one of them comes running up alongside me. It took me a minute to realize it was MY BETH!!  Giant hugs and giggles!! And YAY! Here’s my girl, uber cycler, anti-runner, and she is running along with me!  I couldn’t believe it! This really made my day because I know she does not love running, nor even entertain the idea of doing so, what a great time!  A big shout out and thank you for the support! It means so much more than I think people can even imagine!

After she cut away, I started really feeling the leg twinges starting to kick in, temp was good, I was waking up, maybe if I took it slow I could pull this thing off. I knew I hadn’t had enough calories and my stomach was starting to throw it’s 2 cents in as well, so I knew I would need to be eating and drinking before long.  I wanted to try to run at least to the 6.55 mark, halfway there, then everything else would be gravy.  If I wanted to walk then, that would be okay.  I ran until mile 7 and began walking at that point, something I hadn’t wanted to do at all for my 1st half, but something I knew I was going to have to do today. After trying to get some liquids in me, I knew there was no way I could hold anything solid of any type down and thought I was going to be sick a few times. I decided at this point I would try to alternate walking and running on the remaining miles, walk the even numbers and run the odd numbers bringing it home at a run for the ‘point one’.  Walked mile 8, started running mile 9, and knew that was it for me for a little while.  I walked and walked and really got to take a look around and see how amazing this whole thing was.  A beautiful day, a gorgeous route, downtown Indianapolis is really looking good! There were water, food, Gatorade stations every mile or so and tons and tons of amazing and diverse entertainment! I wanted to take pictures of everything and go dance with the dancers and all the fun stuff, but my fingers were numb and I couldn’t get all the pics I wanted, so I just decided to enjoy myself.  There were a few times during the walk that got so cold and I just wanted it to be done, but all and all it was great! Heading in to the ‘point one’, I was feeling good and more like myself and knew I had enough strength to bring it home at a run, so I did! And carted my 13.1 magnet with me! :D

I had hoped to do my very first half at 2:45, but during my training realized I was losing speed to distance and decided a more realistic goal would be to try to come in just under 3 hours if I was able to run the full distance. When I registered for the race, I put my time entry in as somewhere around 3:10 or so.  When I was done my Garmin time read a total of just over 3:22, which I will gladly take!! I completed my 13.1 and even walking around 6 of my miles, I wasn’t terribly far off my entry time!

I would highly recommend this route for any of you first timers out there!  This was put together so professionally and very enjoyable!  By the way, this race is a Boston qualifier as well!! (not sure about the 13.1, but definitely the 26.2)

Love Me Some Intervals!

Hello Old Friend,
It has been quite some time since my last post.  It was this time last year I was training myself to run a whole 5k straight through so I would be ready for the Warrior Dash with Mike and Charlie in June 2011.

I remember starting my training in sometime around February and did most of my training outside in the cold and I was about at least 15 pounds heavier than I am now! That was after losing around 30 pounds already! I look back at that girl and am so darn proud of her and all the hard work she (I) did.  I was fiercely dedicated and would not miss a day of running for anything, I even doubled up so I could start speed training for the 5k after I learned how to run that far all at once!  I was even dieting at the same time.

Me on the right in the red shirt some time in 2007 (Mom on the left) :)

By the time June rolled around I had gotten down to 182 pounds from what had once been somewhere close to 250 pounds!  I don't know how it happened, how I had let myself get that heavy, I still always felt like a thin girl, but my body just didn't reflect who I thought I was on the inside.  Running gave that back to me!  Off to Pennsylvania I flew to meet Mike and Charlie and do my first Warrior Dash.  That's a pic of us gals on the left. We had such a blast!  It was difficult for me, but it was still awesome!  Especially when we were done and drinking our cold beers and eating our turkey legs and listening to music.  The best part was the contented feeling that I had done it!  And WOW! Look how far I had come!

Turkey legs and beer after the Warrior Dash
(Charlie left, me right)

I loved meeting Mike and Charlie and had so much fun with them over our mini weekend.  Charlie has gone on to run her first full marathon (26.2 miles!) since the Warrior Dash and is now training for her upcoming 'HAT' race!  This is a crazy 50k (31 miles!!) TRAIL race!! When I say trail, I mean grueling, steep, up and down and continuous trails and hills...grueling!! BRUTAL!!  There aren't words to convey just how proud of her I am, she is an amazing person and an uber runner!  Not to take away from Mike who takes down triathlons like they were just another walk in the park!  Great athletes, both of them.  And I did a Warrior Dash with them, albeit slow, and they spent a lot of time waiting for me to catch up, but I did it and I was so happy.

Mike - Warrior Dude!

I continued training over the summer and completed my first triathlon, did my first half marathon (13.1 miles) in the Fall, and continued to train.  I took a day away from my work schedule so I could head to the gym 3 times a week when it started getting cold and was eager to really work on my speed training.

Once it started getting cold, I did hit the gym, religiously, and was seeing great results.  My arms were slimming down and firming up, my stomach was getting tighter, my bum was getting nice and firm...the scale went up...MELTDOWN!  I know better, my clothes were loose, I was going down to the next size.  But I still let it psych me out!

I had held around 182 pounds through early summer and once I stopped dieting (around mid-summer), and started training for long runs, I leveled out and held at around 185 to 188 pounds, but had gotten leaner and firmer than I had been at 182 and I was down to a size 14 (size 12 vanity sizes! haha)  I hit the 190's once I started going to the gym and was floored.  I had worked so hard to loose the weight!  Well, that was definitely the wrong frame of mind to have and looking back now, I wish I had continued going to the gym.  Unfortunately, I derailed, and stopped going regularly, and had no desire to run in the cold, even though they tell me we had a mild winter this year! On top of that my Moe-Moe was having some serious health issues and I was feeling completely helpless and eating mindlessly and emotionally.  Up the scales went and continued to go until I topped off at about 206.5 pounds.  I've since found another vet and am seeing Moe improve daily, the clocks have been moved up so that I have more daylight in the evenings, the daylight hours are longer, and the weather has been awesome!  The weight started coming off because I stopped the emotional eating, but...I was so out of shape that my runs were killing me most of the time.  It was time for me to build my stamina and core again and time for me to get back to my love of intervals!

Off I headed to the park today.  One full mile run on the trails, another mile walking, half mile running the roads, half mile walking, quarter mile run, quarter mile walk, then another half mile of alternating a tenth of a mile run/walk/run/walk/run, then about a mile walk back to the car.  I could feel where I had lost so much of the strength I had worked so hard to build previously.  It was difficult, but I could feel I was making strides.  It felt good to be back at it again and it feels good to feel like myself again!

I'm taking the control back!  I drive this body, so no more wasted time idling away in 'park'!  Spring is here and it's time to RUN!

Moe-Moe's Miles

My best pal is a 13 year old Husky/Shepherd/Chow (?) mix.  That is a 'best guess', but I get a lot of feedback from people that think he must have some wolf in him as well.  Meet Moe-Moe.  He was a pound puppy rescue.  At the time I adopted him at 8-9 weeks of age, the shelter he came from was a high kill shelter.  Now, I am very happy to say, it is a no kill shelter!

Some really good 'sniffs' on his walk today

 I had rescued my previous and first dog from this same shelter years before.  She was an adult dog, brought in as a stray and her name was Honey.  She was quite the 'singer' and loved it when my friends and I would howl with her.  She would wedge herself down in between us and look at us from side to side as we all 'sang', Honey with her nose in the air, a perfect little 'o' shape on her mouth and the most beautiful 'OWWOOOOOOO-OOOOO-ooooooooo' you ever wanted to hear.  This was special bonding time for her and she seemed to get the biggest kick out of it.  She went everywhere with me and we enjoyed many happy years together before she went to that big playground in the sky.

Honey snuggled up to 'her' cat Buddy

I had sworn, 'no more dogs!' after I lost her, but within the same 24 hour period, I was already thinking the house felt so desperately wrong without a dog, I had to go back to the shelter.  For some reason I had gotten it in my head I wanted a female boxer.  No clue where that came from or even why, but I remember having that stuck in my head at the time.  I headed to the shelter the next day or so, and they actually had a full blooded female boxer there at that time.  She was available for adoption, but already had multiple 'holds' on her.  Having a 'hold' on an animal means that you have first claim on them, subject to the interview results, or if for any other reason you would choose not to adopt. If having failed the interview, the second 'hold' would be contacted and given the opportunity to be interviewed for adoption, and on down the line.  I thought she was quite cute, but didn't feel with all the 'holds' already on her that this would be a good choice so I continued to look at the other puppies.  All of a sudden, my eye was caught by this little roly-poly brown furball that was in a stall with several other pups.  I went over to investigate and found his card with his information on it, but there wasn't a lot to be had, a name was about it.  It showed his name was 'Moe'.  I couldn't believe how adorable this little fat guy was!  All the others were quite cute as well, but I didn't seem to take much notice of them.  I went to find out if I could take him out and play with him and was told they had a separate room just for that.

I went back to get 'Moe' and called him to 'come here Moe' without even thinking.  He did!  None of the others, just 'Moe' came to the side and jumped up for me to pick him up and cart him off to the little room for our special introduction.  We went in and played with toys and wrestled around and then I decided to try teaching him a few things.  I showed him 'sit' while simultaneously telling him to sit.  Within just one or two tries, he was responding to this command every time!  We did the same thing with 'stay' and 'come' and he picked these up within a moment or two.  I was so impressed by this little guy who was trying so hard to please me, he had hooked me for life.

I looked at his card again and saw that he did have a 'hold' on him as well and my heart sank.  I felt a miserable ache in the pit of my gut and was just at a loss as to what to do.  I had found my new best pal, this was my little guy and I needed him just as much as, if not more than, he needed me, and someone else was going to take him home.  I was starting to get quite upset.  I went to talk with the person that had helped me earlier and they said to give them all my contact information and if the people with the 'hold' on little 'Moe' did not make their appointment in the morning, he would call me.  He wasn't supposed to do this, as it wasn't the proper procedure, but he could see how distraught I was becoming and wanted to do something to encourage me.  With that, hanging my head and not feeling very hopeful, I headed home.

Here he is at the shelter on pick-up day!
Coming home!

A long, slow, and stressful night dragged by for me, I was just sure I had lost my little one, but at least he would be getting a good home.  The morning finally did arrive and when my phone rang, I about jumped out of my skin!  It was the shelter calling and the people were not there for their appointment and...'this was against the rules, but did I want to go ahead and come in at their time slot right now?'  Um.....YES!

Visiting at 'Grandma's' house his first day

I thought the name 'Moe' was so cute and it seemed just perfect for him, so we kept it.  He is now known as Moe, Moe-Moe, Moe-Mie, The Moe-Moe, The Moe-Mie, The Moe, 'Pesh' (as in 'special'), Bug, Itty-Bitty, and many other names, all of which he responds to and seems to know are his special names.

  

We've been together 13 years in March, he just turned 13 years old in January 2012 and is beginning to slow down.  But, aren't 13 dog years the equivalent to being about 90 something as a human?  He still loves his park and it is his favorite place to hang out in the whole world.  He still loves to go down to the lake and 'bite' and 'kill the water dead'!  And while his minutes per mile pace has slowed down considerably from an analytical perspective, he is still out there logging those miles and I will continue to let and encourage him to do so for as long as it is comfortable and pleasing to him.

The ride home after today's walk.  He is one pooped puppy!

I'm a maniac, maniac...

Group training for my next half marathon was a four mile run last night, which of course I didn’t choose to do, as I prefer my runs in the morning, or at the very least during a time when there is at least a modicum of daylight to be had.  Even the lure of free pizza which was to be our group snack was not enough to persuade me, so I opted to do my run today.  WOW!  So glad I did! The weather was amazing!  Beautiful, clear, sunny, and mild!  Dream running weather!  I had wanted to get out to the park and try running some, (if not all) of the 10k route for my miles.  This is a pretty hilly route and would be great strength training.

Today I decided to warm up by walking down to the actual run routes start sign.  I usually begin right where I park, but the run routes start with a gradual steady uphill climb.  I was going for the gusto today!  I started with an easy two miles, (mostly ha!) to which I was ‘getting down’ to the ‘Moves Like Mick Jagger’, (none of the moves of which I actually possess.)  Then at the third mile of the 10k route, there are some interesting and challenging hills.  These would require something with more of a kick, more motivation, more……’Maniac’ like.  This called for ‘Maniac’!  Over and over and over again, until I got through these hills.  It is the perfect beat for my pace.  I keep my feet hitting the pavement in perfect rhythm to the song at all times.  Going up the hills, I shorten my strides and coming down, I lengthen my strides and lean into it. 

Check out the picture of one of the long gradual climbs.  It is unbelievable how this can look so benign and feel so brutal!  I know just exactly where this incline begins to level out , but every single time I’m running this thing, I think the distance has increased and that it will truly never level out!

About a third of the way, up and off to the right is a speed limit sign, this is where it begins to level off.
See?  Doesn't look steep at all...but trust me.....

I was beginning to really feel zapped of strength and opted to get in my four miles today as opposed to the full 10k, so since I was only going to do four miles, I decided to turn around after completing the third mile and repeat the hills for the fourth mile.  Now, I’m a maniac, but only with my music.  Not in the sense that I love the climb up the hills, but oh how I do love knowing that after I get to the top….I get to run down!!  WEEEEEEEEEEE………! My absolute favorite!

What a great time!  And at the end of my fourth mile, I stopped to take a breather.  It was perfect timing to run into a park regular and we took a moment to rest and chat.  This gentleman is very thin and lean and is quite religious about getting in his walks.  He is out there rain or shine.  He was telling me how he was over 220 pounds when he started walking due to his past drinking and that he had been alcohol free for 12 years and that this was his 10^th year anniversary of walking up here with his hands weights.  We discussed the benefits of the hills and added weight for strength and resistance training.  I personally prefer to just pack my extra weight in the trunk as opposed to carrying free weights!  And yes, while I am annoyed about the extra weight in the trunk, it truly is going to benefit my training.  I do get added strength and resistance training every single time I go out for a run, but the real perk is when I hit those hills!  Brutal as they may be, they will be helping me rebuild an even stronger foundation.

They got out again today!

We parted company and I headed back the two miles to the car.  This would make a nice route to do the fifth mile on for next week, as it has a challenging couple of hills as well, even walking.  I headed up to some picnic tables to take a break and get some pictures.  I KNOW!  I will get a pic of me running! Yeah, that’s what I’ll do!  Amazing how strong you feel after a moment’s rest.  I headed back out, started the Garmin and started piddling with the phone camera, (pace really reflected this!).   I think I’ll run back that last mile and a half, I feel great!  *snap*, maybe one more.  *snap*.  Put the phone up and get some running music on this IPod now!  Hey, look…there are a couple of people on bikes in fluorescent green riding jackets off in the distance.  Hey, look….they are all sparkly now…and fuzzy…and black and sparkly….

I'm sexy and I know it.....I work out....
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle....

I was completely out of readily available calories and had not even brought any water with me.  I had some back at the car, but that would not do me any good right now.  I really didn’t want to do the whole wobble, stumble, and graceful (not) plop down onto the pavement in a faint, so it was truly time to call it a day with the running.

I enjoyed singing and walking the rest of the way back to the car.  What a great day!

anyone else remember this?