Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Weimaraners Need Homes!
I have been distressed all day today knowing that there is yet another Weimaraner at the Greenville Humane Society. Normally I would rush out an get him but I have no where to put him, no time to dedicate to a 7th dog. In the past it has been dog #7 that has pushed me over the edge. I can do a lot but 7 dogs is just way too many. So tonight I was sitting here fretting about a trip to the pound tomorrow. A friend has agreed to board the dog for a week and cover vet expenses, but then what? I have been here before, it can take months to find a dog a home. Who knows what issues this dog has. Why can't I just ignore it. Everyone else does? People buy puppies all the time only to turn them in a few years later - dogs are not disposable! So just when I think about something else I get an e-mail from a close friend who had a very reputable back-yard type breeding facility for Weims. She is getting divorced and needs to find homes...GOOD homes for 10+ dogs of varying ages. Oh my gosh, what can I do? Outside of winning the lottery and purchasing a 1000+ acres to have a Weim sanctuary? OK, that is probably not going to happen. What may happen is I end up being some crazy woman who lives in poverty because she has way too many dogs. I will be known as the crazy lady with all the gray dogs, yes I see it happening. As a matter of fact I think it is very close to being that way already. The neighbors know I have lost my mind. I just can't help it though because Weims are just like I am. They are quirky, energetic, loving, wild, smart and love nothing more than a good run and a nap. They are loyal beyond belief and enjoy being man's best friend. Who doesn't want a dog like this? Lucky for you I know where 11 of them are that need homes. I can train you and train the dog to run together. A Weim will be the best running partner you ever had - I promise. So do I have any takers??? Please , please, please help save me from being that old woman with 100+ dogs. More to come on this subject.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Dog fight & Super Glue
This past week has been a blur. Monday was MLK day which I take pride in celebrating yearly by going to Asheville. I even got some bowls that I have already nicknamed my "Rasta" bowls for their great colors. When I proudly announced to the cashier that I was celebrating MLK day she gave me a really strange look. I mean why can't I celebrate it too? The day was great until I got home in the afternoon and found out that my Grandmother had taken a fall. After some investigation it turns out Grandma was out exercising (yes, she is 92 and still goes daily). She must have tripped and did not even reach out to brace herself. She fell on her face and broke her jaw. Poor Grandma looks like she has been in a war, albeit a war with the pavement and the pavement won. She is doing better now and is able to eat but has had to miss a few days of exercise.
Tuesday started out early 4:45 with swim class at the Y at 6 am, then a quick swim. My swimming is back. I am thankful every time I get in the water that I can swim. I will never take it for granted again. After a quick swim I rushed home and took care of all the dogs and then back out the door for a meeting to prepare for year 3 of Ache Around the Lake. The meeting went well but of course I left with a laundry list of tasks that need to be done in my "free" time. After the meeting I ran a few errands and came home and cooked dinner (yes, in the middle of the afternoon). Also throw in there another trip to the vet with Smokey to check his tail. The stitches are not ready to come out so we get to go back again next week. Then thought about running but had too many things I need to get done, not to mention the huge blisters on my feet. I opted for walking the dogs before I had to take Ziggy for a Pet Pals visit and then jet back down to Spartanburg and train 14 future teams to be Pet Therapy volunteers. Finally back home at 9 pm and crash into bed by 10.
Wednesday morning started with a quick spin, a few things at my desk, a visit to the chiropractor to fix the toes that are rubbing together when I run. After that shoot down to Spartanburg to visit with one of my best buds, Becca, for a long overdue coffee at Barnes & Noble. While there I did look at a few of the self help books and decided that I have all sorts of disorders and that I should be committed. Instead of buying any of those I opted for an anatomy book and a Swiss Ball torture book (core training). Then over to the Great Escape a few pictures taken of me and I was free to rush back home. An hour or so at my desk, a quick walk with the dogs in the woods and back to Spartanburg for a run at the Y - 7 miles in 53 min. Quick dinner and then a swim session and home by 9. Gave the dogs some love and fell into bed again...tomorrow gets better...
Thursday out of bed at 3:50 am - yes, you got it right. Rush to the pool and in the water by 5:05 - swim a quick 2000 before swim class at 6 which I teach so I am standing on the deck and not swimming. Back at home around 8. A few hours of desk work - this did not allow me to get anything really meaningful done but at least feel like I tried. I wanted to do training schedules for everyone for next week so that I would be ahead! Ha - that will be the day. Now for the whole reason I got up so early was so that I would have time to work at my desk and get things done so that I could go riding. Now, I am not talking about on the bike but on a horse. I have not ridden for years but for a large portion of my life riding was a daily activity and lately I have been missing that bond with a horse, their smell, fuzzy noses and quirky personalities. Thanks to one of my neighbors, Christy, I got the chance to ride Oliver the Appaloosa. Thankfully he was calm, sweet and sure footed and gave me a safe ride. Despite the cold weather the ride was such a nice change from my normal day. It was worth getting up early to get done. After the ride I had to take off to go to Anderson and meet with one of my athletes and then speak at a dinner for a group who is raising money for the Anderson Cancer Association. Fun night, great group and tasty Mexican. But then at 8:30...that 80 mile drive home felt like 200. Finally back at home I was greeted by all the dogs. Feeling guilty for having neglected them all day we had some love time. Just as I was putting them to bed Smokey and Duke had a disagreement that resulted in a dog fight. Now, if you have never seen a dog fight I can only tell you that it is SO scary. I was screaming at them to stop but since Smokey is new that did not work. Smokey is big too and he was not letting go. I had to get in there and get him off Duke which is not something I wanted to do. I was scared. Once he was off he was still growling at me. Smokey made out well with only one little gash in his head but Duke was torn up. It was close to 11 at night so I decided to use my skills that I had learned through too many trips to the vet. I Super Glued the gash in Duke's back closed, gave him some pain meds and some antibiotic and put him to bed. After the yelling and the adrenaline rush I felt like I had been hit by a car. I could not get in bed fast enough.
Friday I slept in, until at least 6:30. I woke up with no voice. I sounded like I had been out in a bar smoking and drinking. My vocal cords were trashed from my screaming fit. My day was packed with things I needed to do but I needed to take Duke to the vet and visit my Grandmother - so my schedule got cleared and I took care of my things. Somehow I was feeling a little exhausted from the last week. I just don't know why???
Today I was going to bike but since the weather tomorrow is going to be so nice I went for a 10 mile run. Last long run before the marathon next weekend and then enjoyed a swim in the pool which they had switched to long course. Normally dread long course but today it felt great. I never realized how much I really enjoy swimming! Tonight I made some Peanut Butter soup, unfortunately it is almost too spicy for me to eat. I know it sounds strange but it is packed with good stuff. Then I made some banana bread to take with me on my ride tomorrow since I am always more apt to eat if I have something tasty. With that I am going to bed.
I hope for those of you who have felt ignored this week that after you read this you will understand that it was not personal! Good night!
Tuesday started out early 4:45 with swim class at the Y at 6 am, then a quick swim. My swimming is back. I am thankful every time I get in the water that I can swim. I will never take it for granted again. After a quick swim I rushed home and took care of all the dogs and then back out the door for a meeting to prepare for year 3 of Ache Around the Lake. The meeting went well but of course I left with a laundry list of tasks that need to be done in my "free" time. After the meeting I ran a few errands and came home and cooked dinner (yes, in the middle of the afternoon). Also throw in there another trip to the vet with Smokey to check his tail. The stitches are not ready to come out so we get to go back again next week. Then thought about running but had too many things I need to get done, not to mention the huge blisters on my feet. I opted for walking the dogs before I had to take Ziggy for a Pet Pals visit and then jet back down to Spartanburg and train 14 future teams to be Pet Therapy volunteers. Finally back home at 9 pm and crash into bed by 10.
Wednesday morning started with a quick spin, a few things at my desk, a visit to the chiropractor to fix the toes that are rubbing together when I run. After that shoot down to Spartanburg to visit with one of my best buds, Becca, for a long overdue coffee at Barnes & Noble. While there I did look at a few of the self help books and decided that I have all sorts of disorders and that I should be committed. Instead of buying any of those I opted for an anatomy book and a Swiss Ball torture book (core training). Then over to the Great Escape a few pictures taken of me and I was free to rush back home. An hour or so at my desk, a quick walk with the dogs in the woods and back to Spartanburg for a run at the Y - 7 miles in 53 min. Quick dinner and then a swim session and home by 9. Gave the dogs some love and fell into bed again...tomorrow gets better...
Thursday out of bed at 3:50 am - yes, you got it right. Rush to the pool and in the water by 5:05 - swim a quick 2000 before swim class at 6 which I teach so I am standing on the deck and not swimming. Back at home around 8. A few hours of desk work - this did not allow me to get anything really meaningful done but at least feel like I tried. I wanted to do training schedules for everyone for next week so that I would be ahead! Ha - that will be the day. Now for the whole reason I got up so early was so that I would have time to work at my desk and get things done so that I could go riding. Now, I am not talking about on the bike but on a horse. I have not ridden for years but for a large portion of my life riding was a daily activity and lately I have been missing that bond with a horse, their smell, fuzzy noses and quirky personalities. Thanks to one of my neighbors, Christy, I got the chance to ride Oliver the Appaloosa. Thankfully he was calm, sweet and sure footed and gave me a safe ride. Despite the cold weather the ride was such a nice change from my normal day. It was worth getting up early to get done. After the ride I had to take off to go to Anderson and meet with one of my athletes and then speak at a dinner for a group who is raising money for the Anderson Cancer Association. Fun night, great group and tasty Mexican. But then at 8:30...that 80 mile drive home felt like 200. Finally back at home I was greeted by all the dogs. Feeling guilty for having neglected them all day we had some love time. Just as I was putting them to bed Smokey and Duke had a disagreement that resulted in a dog fight. Now, if you have never seen a dog fight I can only tell you that it is SO scary. I was screaming at them to stop but since Smokey is new that did not work. Smokey is big too and he was not letting go. I had to get in there and get him off Duke which is not something I wanted to do. I was scared. Once he was off he was still growling at me. Smokey made out well with only one little gash in his head but Duke was torn up. It was close to 11 at night so I decided to use my skills that I had learned through too many trips to the vet. I Super Glued the gash in Duke's back closed, gave him some pain meds and some antibiotic and put him to bed. After the yelling and the adrenaline rush I felt like I had been hit by a car. I could not get in bed fast enough.
Friday I slept in, until at least 6:30. I woke up with no voice. I sounded like I had been out in a bar smoking and drinking. My vocal cords were trashed from my screaming fit. My day was packed with things I needed to do but I needed to take Duke to the vet and visit my Grandmother - so my schedule got cleared and I took care of my things. Somehow I was feeling a little exhausted from the last week. I just don't know why???
Today I was going to bike but since the weather tomorrow is going to be so nice I went for a 10 mile run. Last long run before the marathon next weekend and then enjoyed a swim in the pool which they had switched to long course. Normally dread long course but today it felt great. I never realized how much I really enjoy swimming! Tonight I made some Peanut Butter soup, unfortunately it is almost too spicy for me to eat. I know it sounds strange but it is packed with good stuff. Then I made some banana bread to take with me on my ride tomorrow since I am always more apt to eat if I have something tasty. With that I am going to bed.
I hope for those of you who have felt ignored this week that after you read this you will understand that it was not personal! Good night!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Mad Dog
No matter what it looks like now this WAS a nice dog bed with a liner and a fleece cover on it. Smokey had an operation on his tail last week and has been on bed rest ever since - he is supposed to go for 10 days with no exercise but today he proved to me that he gets to go for a walk today! If he is feeling good enough to destroy his bed he can go out. I guess I should see it as a good sign. Unfortunately all the dogs got more time in the house today than outside. We actually got some wet, sloppy snow last night which did not even last long enough for me to use my cross country skis in. I was sad about that. The only good part about the wet weather today is that I got my taxes done! I think to celebrate I will take all the dogs for a muddy walk.Thursday, January 10, 2008
It happens to me too
Yesterday I had a track workout, a big, bad, challenging workout. Maybe in the middle of the season it would not have seemed so intimidating but yesterday it might as well have said to run 50 miles. I was so freaked out about this workout that I stressed all day about it. Ate all the wrong foods and just in general made myself ill. I still showed up at the track but even standing there getting ready to begin I found myself procrastinating - retying shoes, adjusting this or that. There were no excuses left. I HAD TO start! Once I started I really did not feel bad but did secretly wish I was doing my cool down instead of the warm-up. A few high school boys sat in the bleachers "cheering" for me. Honestly, not sure what they were doing but I will give them the benefit of the doubt. Plus they were very proud of themselves when they asked me if I was doing "fartleks". Of course I wasn't - I was doing 8x800. The marathon is only 3 weeks away so it was time to do this workout which for some reason always seems to work - whatever the avg. pace of the 8x800's are - that turns out to be your marathon time. Soo - all of mine were under 3:14 so hopefully my marathon time will be somewhere in that department. You know once I was into the workout it was not nearly as bad as I imagined it, or I am in better shape than I realized. The night was warm and beautiful. What a pleasure to be outside, what on earth had I been worried about all day? It was a great workout - especially once completed!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
New Year's Resolution Run -Half Marathon
Last weekend I had a nice long 20 miler that I needed to get done so I figured that I could run a 4 mile warm-up, run the race and then run a 3 mile cool-down and call it a day. My goal was to run a 7:30 pace but on the course in Traveler's Rest this meant I needed to run a little faster to begin with to compensate for the hills at the end. I also wanted to eat my gel as planned every 3 miles instead of getting distracted talking to fellow racers (see me to the right in the picture - probably talking). I was really tempted to run faster than the plan, especially when Carmen to the left in the picture and Laura took off in Furman but I stuck to the plan. I had a really good quality workout, snagged 3rd place for the women and feel like I am on track to accomplishing this year's goals. Oh wait...I had fun too. I even had the pleasure of watching some of the guys I coach walk away with awards which makes it an even better day! Sometimes I race so much that I forget how lucky I am to be able to do this (Coach & Race). During my cool down I got to witness the joy that accomplishing a goal can bring. Finishing a race that only a year earlier seemed impossible to this athlete, watching him cross one finish line only to move on to others that are more challenging. This race was indeed a stepping stone in the new year.Friday, January 4, 2008
A Day at Biltmore
When I was little (younger) my father would take me on his motorcycle to explore waterwheels, old mills, folk music - whatever we could find. I always enjoyed this special time with him. With my mother we would ride the horses on a new trail, explore a new area, check out anything new. Somehow as I have grown older I have not lost this sense of exploration but for some reason I just never do it with my parents. So for Christmas I gave my parents tickets to the Biltmore. We have lived here for 20+ years and have never been there. We made a day of it, just the three of us and really had a great time. My parents are fun to be around and we genuinely enjoy each other's company. It ended up being a great Christmas gift to us all!Endless Pool
New toy in town - 3 miles from my house! Certainly not an easy workout but sure does cut down on drive time! Also there is a nice mirror on the bottom AND an underwater video camera!
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