That Felt Like a Whole Lotta Monday!

Is it just me, or are some Mondays just exhausting from the get-go? I guess it doesn't help that Sunday was chock full from beginning to end from celebrating Mother's Day (hooray!!) to staying up entirely too late to see the finale of Survivor (yeah!!). With that kind of night cap, I can't complain a whole lot!

'Want to see a couple of things I received for Mother's Day?

From Pit Crew #2 -- they'll totally go with my shoes AND with
my favorite running jacket this Fall! Love 'em!! There are even
two pairs in there!

Aaron reformatted and printed out my blog from the beginning,
and he put it all in sleeves and purple binders! LOVE it!!

Fabulous! But, with celebrations and finales behind me, it was time to get back to it today! I was soooo sleepy this morning that I ran only -- and, I do mean only -- because it's on the calendar to do so. I know I've said that before, and I'm certain I will mention it again because having a schedule to which I committed is the key to getting my sometimes-tired can out there!

It was a beautiful morning, though, so, thanks to running, I didn't miss it! The temps were in the lower 60s, so you-know-who was able to come with me! I tied my shoes, Elly got her wag on, and we headed out!

Check these little beauties out ... I've never seen them on this stretch. Perhaps they just bloomed. Or, perhaps I'm otherwise distracted here tying a poo bag. Either way:

Are those cute or what?!

Not to be outdone, Elly made sure I saw what real beauty is.
Isn't that called a picture bomb or something? Clever pooch.

I've noticed for the past few weeks since having Elly rejoin me that she has spent more time in the grass than she used to. I have to admit it was a bit annoying when it began (a) because the grass doesn't help with the nail trimming situation, and (b) the more she sniffs in the grass, the more her gotta-pee trigger goes off. *sigh* However, I just read an article in my new Women's Running magazine ("Dog Days" by Jennifer Chesak/May/June 2012) reminding me to allow for time for her pads to (re)build her calluses. Duh, I didn't even think about her need to get her running feet back in shape!! I'm glad I read it; it gave me more patience with this:

"Am I pampering myself, or am I scoping out another place to
claim as mine? You just have to wait and see."

That (and other articles I've read) also gave a list of the best canine running pals. Funny, nothing I've ever read mentions Pound Hound. Clearly, they've never encountered any creature as fabulous as Elly.

We found no money again (SIGH) but, the latest, not-so-greatest site today was this:

That's brand new blacktop, friends. And, directly ahead of me
is the very bright sun. Put two and two together, and that is a
whole lotta hot radiating off of that street even on the most
pleasant of mornings. Drag!

I guess we'll at least know it's coming. It will certainly be a factor in my route decisions when Elly is with me in combination with the morning temps! Bleh.

From there, we cruised to the end of today's route. I was glad to be finished today! I will mention, though, resistance training is definitely helping. My muscles were not the least bit weary or sleepy from the first step. In fact, I think they were the only things working to full capacity this morning! Seriously, the run was steady and strong all the way through. (I'm not sure that has ever happened on the best of runs!) It was nice to feel the pay off. After the weekend break from it, I did pick back up today increasing all sets to 15 reps and increasing the routine from 2 sets of all areas to 3. I also pushed the Total Gym positions up a notch from last week (creating more resistance) which worked for all exercises except the one where my arms start out straight over my head, then I pull them over, straigten them down toward my stomach then back again -- a very favorite exercise, but the increase in resistance was too much to do it effectively. So, I increased the number of sets but kept the resistance where it was last week -- and where I suspect it will stay for a little bit! Little by little ...

Oh, by the way, want to see the latest with the geese?

See how much the babies have already grown? I hope to get
this stretch on a route this week and get closer.

Tomorrow is Total Rest Day (yeah!!) where I will share with you a latest AND GREATEST from the kitchen! Here's a look at the outcome, and I'll see you tomorrow!