The Wonders of Dogs

On my walking adventure with Zoe today, I had this thought cross my head. What makes a dog want to pee in a specific place? Seriously. I don't get it. There are some dogs that will just go outside and pee, but then there are others that seem like they strategically pee in certain areas or on certain things. My dog being one of them. She's strange enough as it is; Zoe pees like a boy. She has no aim, so she will position herself as close to the tree/fence/bush as possible. On top of that, she doesn't just relieve herself in one spot. Zoe has to save whatever pee she has in her to last the entire walk. And when there is nothing left in her, she still tries to squeeze out a drop or two. It is so weird. Am I the only one who has a dog like this?

I love my dog to death, but she is so weird sometimes. 

Quest For Shoes

So I went on a shoe quest today. I'm going to New York next week and the one pair of walking shoes I have to take with me are not so comfortable anymore. It's probably because I've worn them out from all the past running I did. And the only other pair of sneakers I have are not the best for NYC walking, since you walk pretty much everywhere. My best friend, Jesi, is a dog walker in NY and I usually join her during the walks. So my feet definitely need some comfort.

I started my journey at my local DSW and found some really cute heels by Dr Scholl's. Totally not what I needed but it was so hard to resist them. They were 70% off, so I had to get them.

Comfort to the max!

I found some other casual shoes, but decided against them. I'm going to go back this weekend with my mom to get a second opinion. She recommends that I go for casual shoes rather than sneakers, but that's only because she has a hard time wearing shoes like sneakers that hug her feet.

I ended up at Kohl's and got a new pair of running shoes! My Asics have pretty much seen their day, so I'm very happy that I found a replacement. I know I can't run right now, but I can speed-walk and work my way up to jogging to test out my ankle.

They make me want to run again

I'm loving the magenta in my new shoes! My last pair were blue which has always been my favorite color, but I'm diggin' the pink.

So I have 5 days to prepare my outfits for NY. I hear it's still in the 40s so this Southern California girl has got to find some warm outfits. Layers. That's the key. My wardrobe consists mainly of t-shirts and tank tops; not something I can really wear on the East Coast. So the clothing scavenger hunt in my closet begins...

Plugged Up

I wish I could breathe. My nose is still all plugged up. Boyfriend got me a humidifier which he is in the process of setting up. He's so awesome. I'm hoping it helps. I'm doped up on sudafed, vitamins, and water. Though we did drink a few glasses of wine tonight. Totally relaxed me. And now I'm ready to pass out.

Needless to say, this cold is kicking my butt! Didn't get out and exercise, but I plan to make up for it tomorrow, health permitting.

Come on, energy!

Cuteness Overload

So I came home from today's walk with my boyfriend and Zoe, and this is what happened after I sat down on the couch to check my email.

Gertie (L) and Elliot (R)

Elliot was determined to sit in my lap, but I forced him off and instead he curled up on Gertie. When I find them sleeping together, it is so cute I almost want to vomit.

Do you have those "too cute" photos of your furry friends? Please share.

I Got The Sicks

Ugh. I caught a cold. Again. Second time this year. And we're only in the 3rd week of January! Bleh. I can't breathe out of my nose. I sound super congested and I have very little energy. But you'll all be proud of me. I have been walking. At least with Zoe, my dog. Since catching the sicks, I've been trying to get out and walk my dog before my energy is completely gone. So far it's worked. She's happy and I get a little sun, which is actually really good when you're sick. Your body needs that vitamin-Sun. :)

Zoe, sporting her scarf, ready for a walk

I'm thinking that for exercise and to keep me motivated, maybe what I need to do is sign up for a bunch of 5Ks. I can't run a half marathon (I'm saving my return to those next year), but I can train to walk a 5K. I'd rather run it, but I have to listen to the doctors this time. It's probably how I ended up with the severed ligaments - not letting my ankle injuries heal completely. So I'll be good and not run. But I can learn to walk super fast, right?

There's a really cool 5K coming up in March called the Hot Chocolate 10K/5K. I'm thinking I'll sign up for that. I love chocolate, and I'll get some exercise and make it worth eating the chocolate at the finish line. Who's with me?!

Starting Over

2012 has been off to a rough start. I caught a cold which left me feeling crappy for the first few days of the year. Luckily I recovered fairly fast, just in time to spend a couple days up in Anaheim at Disneyland with my good friend, S. She's a teacher and rarely gets a chance to get up there, so we took full advantage of her time off.

S and me in our Stitch beanies

In the two days that we were up there, we walked a ton! Good exercise. My feet were screaming at me by the end of the 2nd day. I actually came home and soaked them in hot water. 

Not much exercise has been done since I injured my ankle last year, so even just walking for 2 days, I feel out of shape. I applaud all the women who walk in the 3-day, granted they train for it, but still, my feet hurt after 2 days, imagine 3... I had an MRI done of both ankles and it turned out that I severed a ligament completely in my right ankle. Doc said no running or soccer for at least a year. It's been quite boring these past 9 months. I tried going to the gym and using the bike and treadmill, but it's just not the same as being out doors. I've been working on strengthening the ankle so I can walk my dog for a few miles during the week. I feel like it's getting much stronger, but I won't know for sure unless I try out running. 3 months to go! The countdown begins. Until then, I'll continue to work on strengthening the rest of my body. My muscles atrophied and I need to build them up again.

Relay for Life has started up again. I've registered our team and we just had the first Team Captain's meeting tonight. Our theme this year is Hollywood. So many different ideas come to mind, but I need to bounce them off my teammates and get their input. My goal is to raise $3500 this year. Last year we raised just over $33K so I know that this is a goal we can achieve. We have an earlier start at fundraising and team member recruitment. Ideally, I'd like 12 teammate so no one has to walk more than 2 hours (of course they can walk more if they want!). So if you want to join in on the fight against cancer, please let me know. I'd be happy to have you join our Purple Cancer Eaters team. :)

Ice Cream and Movies

That sounded so much better than going for a run. The boyfriend came home early tonight and since we don't get to spend that much time together, I totally took advantage and opted to postpone my run/walk/exercise and eat a small bowl of ice cream while cuddled on the couch watching a movie with him.

Totally worth it. I'll run tomorrow.

At The Starting Line Again

Wow. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I wrote. But, here we go again. I must be crazy. I've signed up for 2 events this year...so far.

The first is the yearly event in May with my parents to do the Relay For Life, which benefits the American Cancer Society. I like this event because it doesn't cater to one specific type of cancer. The money raised goes to help fund research for all cancers. And they don't ask you raise a certain amount of money. They just encourage everyone to raise at least $100 (if you want a t-shirt).
My mom was diagnosed 2 years ago with breast cancer. 5 days after her mastectomy, she demanded we go to the Relay event so she could walk the first lap with all the survivors. I had her out for 2 hours and then she was beat. Rest was definitely needed. My mom is a trooper. She's doing really well now - in remission and her hair has grown back.
I'm team captain again for our Purple Cancer Eaters team. I've recruited some new people to join our team and I'm hoping to have it more organized - at least with a scheduled walk list so everyone knows when they are going to walk. Last year, I walked longer than I should have in the middle of the night because people were sleeping and I didn't want to wake anyone. They kinda got upset about it, so I figure, with a walk schedule, everyone can sign up for when they want to walk. If I can get 12 people on the team, then really everyone only has to walk 2 hours. Definitely not that bad. I'll keep you updated as it goes. I really need to get fundraising. Only $150 so far. I know I can do better!

Event #2 is in July. My friends and I decided we wanted to run the Napa half again. I think we're crazy. But I'm excited to do it. We created a team of about 7 of us. Team Super Poopers. Jill, our team captain, who I ran Napa with in '08, didn't want to run AND fundraise with Team Challenge, but still wanted to be a part of TC. So, we created a team in honor of the poop diseases, Crohn's (which Jill has) and Ulcerative Colitis (which my mom has). We definitely need to start training because July will be here before we know it. Half the team lives in San Diego and the other half in LA and one in Indiana. So all of us getting together to train probably won't happen, but the girls that are in town, I can train with them.

There is one more event I think I might sign up for, but it's not until November. I did the Iron Girl last year with my mom and my sister. It was a fast 5K and my mom and sister's first one. I felt honored to do it with them. I'm hoping they'll want to do it again this year. I need to beat my 5K time. Stupid asthma.

Anyways, here's to a fun-filled new year full of running highs and running lows. I will try and write as often as I can (or at least when I remember).

Back On Track

Things are falling into place again. I'm back to running again. Zoe's getting better at NOT peeing while I'm trying to run, but she still does at times. I'm trying to teach her that when I walk, it's okay to sniff and pee, but while running, it's not good. 

I found a new 2 mile route in the neighborhood. There are more street lights, and they never cooperate with me. They are always red when I need them to be green. Granted, it IS a nice break from running to catch my breath, but sometimes the light is just red for too long. We've got to work on that.

I had a library book to return today, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to try out the new route. I walked with Zoe there and once I dropped it off, I decided I'd see how far I could run without stopping. I kept a nice easy slow pace and it worked out great. From the park to the first street light. Stop and rest, then cross the street. Then to the next light, which was a larger distance. No problem. Take a breather and then cross the street. To the next light which seemed even farther away, I actually stopped for a minute and walked, but not until I made it halfway up the hill. But I kept going and got to the next light. Breather. Crossed the street. Halfway to the stop sign - a good 3 blocks - I stopped to walk. But once I made it to the sign, I ran all the way home. 
I totally forgot to stop the timer at the lights, so I think my time would have been better. But I did 2.01 miles in 35min! So awesome for me. It's about a 17min mile. I can definitely do better. I think I'll try it again tomorrow. 

Laziness

Wow. I've been lazy. No real exercise lately. It's been like 2 week. Granted, I have been walking the dog, but I haven't gone running in a couple weeks. And I really need to get back to it. April 12th is the date that I meet up with my friends I'm running the San Diego Rock N Roll with. We plan to start our group training together. Saturday or Sunday will be the long runs, and the rest of the week, we'll do a few miles. Though I realized that our long runs aren't going to be LONG runs like they have been in the past. So since we are doing the relay and not individually running the full marathon, the long runs probably won't be 10 miles. I think the most one of us will have to run in the race would be about 8 miles. No problem. I can do that! If I can do 13.1 miles, 8 should be easy peasy.

My friend, Sara, is running the Seattle Rock N Roll a few weeks later than my race, and she's doing the FULL. Though she is a crazy marathon runner. For this current race, she's training with Team In Training and raising money for blood cancers. Today she's running like 30 some odd miles for all the people that donated this past week. That's intense. But it's awesome that her friends donated to make her run so far.

Relay For Life is coming up in about a month and a half. I haven't been doing any serious fundraising like I have in the past. I'm kinda tapped out on the whole thing, but I have raised about $400 which isn't too bad. I'm working on redesigning the t-shirts and still haven't had a team meeting. No one ever really responds to the emails I send out. I know that the other teammates are living all over, but it would be nice to know at least that they are getting my emails. Oh well. 

Mom is doing well. Her hair has grown back, she's had a couple hair cuts, and now she has just informed me that she can go bra shopping for whatever kind she wants. No more just no underwire. So I think next week we're gonna go take her and get some cute bras. :) 

Starting Monday, I'm going to get back on the exercise horse again. I'll have soccer to start it all off with and then I can do my running and strength training the rest of the week in preparation for our group run. Yay! I can do this.