A Friday Full of Goodness!

Today's tone = Much better than yesterday!! Ahh ... that's good news!

Happy Friday, everyone!! Ours started out with the sky melting ... otherwise known as rain to most people.

Oh, yes ... that's a wet tire track. Proof of rain!
And, we need some proof because it's a little
hard to believe ... The fake frog dug it, though.

It has been so long since we've seen rain that I'm not even cranky knowing it's supposed to keep on coming through tomorrow morning which will require my long run to be on the treadmill. (Woah ... I'm so not cranky about it that I didn't even call it the dreadmill ... that tells you how long it's been since I've been forced upon it!) If I really do have to use it for tomorrow's seven-miler, we'll see just how I feel after ... you've been warned.

In the meantime, check this out ... Remember this very long, steady incline in the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon?

I'm glad I got a really cool shot amidst the mental pain ...

The incline is somewhat deceiving especially when all of those people are on it. And, frankly, you don't want to be there at Mile 6 looking ahead and not seeing an end-of-hill in sight. So, I played a few mind games to keep me going, but it is this 2-mile stretch that haunts me a wee bit as I look ahead to registering to run it again next April. Part of the reason it haunts me is because I fear exaggerating what it is.

But, it turns out, I knew what I was talking about!! Yeah!! (Oh, wait ... I just celebrated being right about something sucking ... Oh, well, still right!) The GO! St. Louis crew held a contest to actually name that part of the stretch! ('Seems I really knew what I was talking about! I rule!) Check out the winning name!


THAT'S funny!
Here's the website hosting this pic
and article!

Is that fabulous or what?!?! Well done, contest winner, Rick Heinrichs, well done! I hope they make shirts. I will totally buy one.

By the way, early registration opens on September 4 for that run. That winning name makes it super-enticing to take on, does it not?! Whee!!

Back to current day, the weather's bouncing back and forth, so I'm not sure if the run tomorrow will be inside or out. It looks like I need Plans A and B (the first requiring mapping the run, the latter strongly suggesting making sure some good stuff is on the DVR because I'm going to be there a while!!).

While I ponder my plans, I can also reflect on a much-needed great Friday! And, great it was starting off with breakfast with a dear friend where I treated myself to a super-yummy meal:

... and wrapping up the day with my fabulous family!! Here's to a Happy Friday and a great weekend! I'll see you after the run!

Setting the Day's (Unfortunate) Tone

So, why the look? We just finished running, and we have a Rest Day tomorrow ... so, what's up?

 

What's up is that after a good run -- minus the 852 potty stops someone had to make -- we both ... yes, both ... slipped off of this curb:

Like we didn't know it was there or what? I hate those curbs
sporting cloaks of invisibility!

Fortunately, no one got hurt. I kind of ski-slid off of it, and Elly stumbled forward but kept her paws to the pavement. A stumble here and there happens for sure, but I have to say that once I've signed up and paid for multiple runs coming in the near future, I'm not down with falling down ... 'kind of gives the heart a jolt, you know?

Unfortunately, this was a bit of foreshadowing of the majority of my day (going fine, going fine ... whoopsie! ... no harm, no foul ... keep going, going fine, whoopsie! ... you see where this is going). But, here we are at the end of the day, and there's promise for a smoother ride tomorrow! I'll see you on Rest Day!

Getting Our Groove

Elly and I are really getting our groove with our new route. It's the one that's going to be the foundation of most of our school-year running (at least for now 'til I get super bored with it), so getting the rhythm of it down is good news.

While I am usually the one to come across the treasures, today was Elly's turn to come upon something that pleased her:

It's difficult to see here, but the girl found herself running through
a stream of water. The tongue on the nose says it all ...

Yeah, that trek through a stretch of water was fabulous for her but ultimately annoying to me. I mean, think about it ... what happens when you gulp down a whole bunch of liquid really fast? Often, you find yourself having to use the bathroom suddenly and frequently, do you not? Yeah, so did she. And, sometimes when she stops to do her business (which I do not photograph), she stays stopped for a second to investigate whatever else catches her eye (which I do photograph):

"Gotta check out the sites, mommy. Learned it from you, so
you can only blame yourself."
(It's hard to be upset with something that cute, isn't it?)

As I'm already stopped (for crying out loud), I may as well capitalize on the moment to capture a big ol' grin:

"You're so right. I am awesome. Cheeeeeeeeeeese!"

It was heating up fast this morning even as early as we were out, so I was glad to just log the miles and get on with the day. And, in case I hadn't clued in and already felt the heat that was coming on fast, well, my nose caught a hint!

I just caught a whiff of myself. That was
not good ...

Even on hotter mornings, it's always a nicer drive with the windows down rather than turning on the air. It's also more fun for some of us!

"This is awesome!!!"

"Make my ears dance!"

She's such a sweet girl. She even came to say hello rightinmyface when we were stopped at a light:

"How cute am I, mommy? I'll even share my drool with you.
See?"

Tomorrow's run is a super-short one, but I'm not complaining! I'm not even sure I have any of those left in the training schedule. Pause while I look ... SCORE!! There's one more after tomorrow!! YeeHa!!!! I'll take it! But, tomorrow's is first, so we'll see you after!

Regroup and Re-energize!

I can't remember the last time I've had two Rest Days in a row (besides taking a full week) ... I could most definitely get used to this!! I could do without the reason for the shift (just sayin'), but I did like the break again this morning!

I guess my head has been enough off-game that, at one point today, I had to stop, figure out exactly what day it was and then recall the last time I ran! I know we've all been there with the absent-minded bouts! I finally landed on the right day and also the realization that I am not only running tomorrow, but that I also could use a good protein punch to get myself ready. Enter: Crock Pot Chicken!

Check this out, it's as simple as this: Get yourself a whole chicken (gotta love cheap chicken!). Take the innerds bag out of the cavity. Put the chicken in your crock pot on HIGH until it's done which, for our 5-pound bird, took 6 hours for the meat to just fall off the bone.

That's It. All kinds of internet recipes let you know what to add (spices) or what to not bother with (liquid ... can you believe it? I did add a half cup of water with a chicken bouillon cube and three cloves of garlic to mine. I just felt better with little liquid in there to start, but, honestly, now that I've done it, I will tell you I do not think it needed it.). So, a bit of surfing as well as appealing to your own taste will not only serve you well, but you'll end of with a winning dinner!

I had no idea how this was going to turn out, but I just had to give it a whirl! It was definitely a success as we had fork-tender chicken with some new potatoes that I added in the pot for the last two hours of cooking! Those were deeeee-lish. With garden salads on the side, this meal was a hit with four thumbs up! And -- the best part -- it was crazy easy! Effortless, yummy and good for you: I win!

While not invited to partake, Daphne found intrigue with the cooking of our dinner. She couldn't figure out why that very warm pot on the counter was also making weird gurgling noises:

"What ... was ... that?"

"Umm ... hell-oooooo in therrrrreeee ..."

Such a sweet kitty ... I'm pretty sure her
brain is in perpetual rest mode, but she's
so very sweet!

And, as a nod to yesterday's entry and theme, I wanted to share something I read on the "I Love To Run" Facebook page. It's a quote from someone named Dave Griffin, but I have no idea who that is. Anyway, one of the lines in the paragraph really struck a chord: "Running has taught me that adversity is better faced head-on than avoided." To be honest, I already knew this, or I never would have stuck with running in the first place. But, the point isn't what exactly taught you the lesson, it's that you learned it. And, more important, it's that you live it.

For as much as I enjoyed these two days, I'm diving right back in tomorrow as scheduled! I'll see you after!

And, Sometimes, You Eat Ice Cream

It's not often I'm cryptic in my message, but I know in the past few days, it's been that way when I've talked about Life outside of running. I'm no fan of bringing up issues in a round-about way, but I had trouble figuring out where to put what I was feeling amidst something that was happening really fast.

The bottom line is that last week, I had my yearly, routine mammogram only to be called back for another looksie. That's a phone call I never wanted, and for as many times as the situation was presented as, "We're being cautious and just making sure nothing's there," I won't pretend it didn't shake me up. A lot.

At the same time, all of the information we were able to get pointed to all things turning out well. And, when I say we went on a fast, insistent mission to talk to anyone involved from my doctor's nurse to the radiologist and everyone in between, I'm not kidding.

As the information was simultaneously scary and seemed like all would be well, I was really conflicted about out how to feel or what was worth, if you will, bringing up. So, by and large, I chose to treat it as a stumbling block that didn't need to made into a hairy deal unless it actually was one.

So, we waited for today's follow up. And, isn't the wait sometimes just, plain torturous?

Rock on, Mary Engelbreit day-by-day
calendar, and, well said, Arthur Koestler,
well said.

Not only did we have to wait, but it's during that time I had a choice about how to conduct my daily life. My choices felt like: Crumble or Soldier On. (I chose the latter sprinkled with some roller coaster anger and tears right before bedtime. Just being real.) Soldiering On meant continuing with all regular routines including running as scheduled. In fact, I found myself pulling from the same pool of perseverance I draw from to take on a long run to get through the past few days. Funny how that translates. The end of the day, like every race's finish line, was going to come no matter what. And, like in a race, I had to decide what that was going to look like.

Cutting to the chase, I'm so very thankful my outcome was a great one. No problems, no issues with the tissues. I don't want to overplay my thankfulness as it's not like I dodged a bullet. I really didn't even dodge a paper wad. But, I'm still hugely thankful for this outcome. And, I'm thankful for the diligence of the doctors. And, I'm thankful -- so thankful -- for the advancements made in the last two decades since I was first educated on the topic of breast health. Holy moly, it has come a long way!!

And, I'm so thankful for the support I had, for the support I know I would have had had I asked for it, and for Aaron's very big shoulders to hug and cry on. He's my biggest cheerleader every step of the way whether through a race or just through the day.

And, finally ... Ladies: Get yourself checked. Be strong, and get checked.

 Getting my running schedule back on track this week will be something of a celebration. Running the Komen Run next month will be more humbling than in the past. In the meantime, I very cheerfully spent part of my afternoon playing a very favorite volleyball game with PC#3 in the pool. You could also call it Spike Ball (name says it all), and it's awesome.

The center of attention in Spike Ball ... have I mentioned how
much I love the pool? Just a side note ...

Then, we capped off the evening with a celebratory trip for some ice cream. Because, sometimes, that's what the occasion calls for.

That's a turtle Blizzard. That's good stuff.

But, did the evening call for this?

There was a little girl in the booth behind
us staring. So, Aaron made faces at her.

Even though I said to not scare her, she
proved me wrong with her big smiles at
my man's distortions. Good job, Aaron!

Yes, yes it did.

Tomorrow's the normal Rest Day, and I look forward to seeing you then, rested and refocused!

Work It Out

Late last week, there was a cosmic conversation that I wanted to go like this:

Nancy's Plans: Boy, I have a lot of things I'd like to do by the weekend.
Life: Oh, really? Okay, let's see ... I think I fit in what I have in mind another day.
Nancy's Plans: Really? That's excellent. I appreciate your consideration.
Life: That is no problem whatsoever. In fact, I'll just wait until it's better for you. Or, I'll forget it entirely. That's a possibility, too.
Nancy's Plans: That's awesome. I'll be back in touch. Or not.
Life: Either way. Carry on.

The cosmic conversation, however, actually went like this:

Life: BAM! Here you go, something new! Deal with it now!
Nancy's Plans: Oh ... my ... Well, thanks, but I have a whole other idea.
Life: Too bad.
Nancy's Plans: Crap.

Yup, as indicated at the end of the week, Life got in my way a little bit, and it carries over 'til tomorrow. Tomorrow being a running day, I shifted my plans (fortunately, I'm more flexible than Life), and I ran tomorrow's run this morning.

This worked out just fine running-wise, and it worked out great for other reasons. First, it made for a very happy puppy!

Did I hear my leash? I think I did, and I'm soooo happy!!

Second, it being the weekend, Aaron was home and willing to join me!

Hooray for a moving trio!! Good for everybody!!

And, last, I picked a route that I most definitely would not have taken tomorrow, and I scored these:

Three more pennies for the Food Bank and the cutest little acorn
you ever did see!

Indeed, Life can get in the way, and it's not always fun. But, fortunately, there are often ways to still accomplish what you originally intended. So, I managed to get my running in around what I didn't plan. I did not manage to do the laundry when I meant to, though, so that's lasting well into this evening! Whoopsie ...

See you tomorrow on a not running day!

Dynamic Duo

I already planned to get up and run today. PC#2, who is training for the upcoming Komen Run, probably planned on it, too. She just forgot to tell her trainer. HA! So, even though Trainer Aaron said to her, "Do you want to go today? Or, do you want to go to-morr-owwwwww?" she opted for today. GET UP, AARON!

This worked out great for me because she and I got to run a little bit of our runs together! Our routes overlapped for the first 2.3 miles! Yeahh! Here's how today shook out:


PC#2 got some assistance with Aaron's watch so she could time
her run. This scene is new to you because I never use a watch.
I couldn't use the stop watch function if I had to. Puh-leez.

Bright and shiny and ready to rock!

Elly was dying to keep up with the girls! She even wedged
herself between PC#2 and I at one point. She's not one to be
left out, you know. Until we go faster than she. Poor thing.

Elly's trying to keep up. It's just not working.
Hey, I think I'll take a picture of her behind
me ... check it out ...

... whoops. Totally missed. I'll try again ...

... and, now I'll stop trying this and pay
attention to what I'm doing! Besides, there's
road construction coming up around the
corner we're approaching, and I literally
almost ran into it the other day because I
wasn't watching where I was going. Tool.

Along the way, we saw these hay bales. Of course, I had to
shout out, "Haaaayyyyyy ..." Okay, that's funny in our house.

Look at her go! You can tell she's cruising
by her untamed ponytail action!

The dynamic, stinky duo in motion almost to our split point.

And, with a hug to PC#2 (who totally rocked her run) and a
pat for the pooch, I took off for my remaining 3.7 miles!

Today was smooth and uneventful. And,
I like almost all of the route. Except this hill.
It totally blows. I know, it doesn't look like
much, but it's one that really gets me in an
ouchie fashion. But, I don't work to avoid
it, either. One day, I will conquer it without
complaining! (But, that day wasn't today ...)

Just as I was crankin' in my head about the hill, I looked down
to see that I was being rewarded with a BB color we don't
have! A serious score by our standards. (We also think saying
"Haaaayyyyy" is funny, so ...)

I was in the middle of being pleased with the BB treasures
when I looked down again ... BAM! There's my good friend, Abe!

And, I reached the top. I understand how
it's hard to believe I ever made it when I
kept finding goodies. But, I did.
TAKE THAT, MEAN HILL!

Once home, Aaron got me a big, ol' cup
of ice water. Ahhh ... I'd been craving water
since Mile 5, so this hit the spot! I then
showed him my treasure trove!

THEN PC#2 came out to the sittin' spot all kinds of clean. I
was not, so she was a bit hesitant to get too close. I can
understand but made her anyway. Aaron put the camera right
-- and I do mean RIGHT -- in my face, and this is the face I
make when he does that because it makes my eyes go wonky.

Ahh ... camera, a safe distance. Mom's smell, not a safe distance
from the clean girl. But she withheld comment because she's
been raised with manners.

It's another successful day of running in the books! Success = Did It, so chalk up your own brand of success for today, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Outta My Way

I'm often a few days behind on my day-by-day calendars, so when I came across this one recently, I had to share:

Thanks for another good one, Mary
Engelbreit calendar (and, evidently,
Eric Butterworth).

This seems mighty appropriate given the day I had yesterday. Today was no walk through the park, either, but because I'm stubborn in monumental ways, I worked hard to soldier on and not wallow in the day's crazies. In addition to my stubborn streak, I have crazy good friends and the best hubby ever ... nothing like surrounding yourself with the best to get yourself picked back up!

And, now that I'm pretty picked up, I still have to map tomorrow's run. But, I'm so very sleepy!! There's nothing quite like creating a map and trying to remember it the next morning. It makes for a bit of an adventure sometimes! If I'd create one route for different distances, this would be easy. But, it probably wouldn't be as fun!

Speaking of fun, it was fun watching Elly put on her so-hopeful show while dinner was being made. On deck was delicious tilapia!

Mmm ... I could have eaten that whole plate. But, I didn't. Aaron
is in charge of the fish cookin'. I'm not sure anyone trusts me with
it after my let's-not-season-it-and-let-the-toppings-create-the-flavor
tilapia tacos. I don't blame them. And, Aaron's fish rocks, so why
fix what's not broken?

Under the deck, so to speak, was our waggy girl:

See that empty food bowl? Yeah, that's the way it stayed. No
fishy for the canine ...

Okay, look close, and you can see the image of where her tail was while wagging!

There's tail going straight to the right and
curving back to her! That's a lotta wag!

That's some good fuel for the run, so here's to a great one. Start your morning off the best way you know how no matter what is weighing you down or getting in your way! Take charge of your morning, and I'll see you after mine!

Choose

This is what the temperature was when I went out for my run today:

Ooo ... that's not good at all ...

But, that was the cherry on the day's cake. It was one where nothing went as planned, and those things that did happen really kind of sucked.

So, when I was finally to the point in the day where I could go out and run, there was a choice to make. Stop. Or, Go.

It's all about choices we make and why we make them. Today, I could let things I couldn't control get the best of me, or, I could take advantage of what I could control. And, that was to keep on the schedule to which I've commited myself. It's not like not running was going to make an impact on anything else going on. So, I went. Whether I liked it or not.

And, as though the running gods knew, I just found this on the I <3 To Run Facebook page:

Yeah, it does ...

Working Out the Kinks

Elly and I are still getting used to the nuances of one of our new routes. By and large, today's a good one, but I have to look at a route differently depending on whether or not Elly is with me. In particular, not only do I need to make sure there is always enough room for the two of us at a safe distance from traffic, but that also means I really have to learn the personality, if you will, of an intersection and those who frequent it.

Suffice it to say, I have a lot to learn about one we encountered today. It's the one where there is no way to see if someone is turning left (coming at us) when someone else is trying to turn left out of it. And, it's the one where even if I look over my left shoulder to make sure no one is turning right before we cross, well, that doesn't help when the person turning right doesn't use the ol' blinker. Oh, and they're coming over a relatively blind hill. And, this intersection is certainly not the one where I want Elly's leash to sneak up under her right leg (which it sometimes does) especially because as soon as the leash is out of place, she stops and lifts that leg so the leash can easily be swung back into place. Smart doggie. Smarter if the stopping place isn't in the middle of that intersection.

Just sayin'.

But, for the foibles of the first half mile, the rest of the run was really good. I'm enjoying the new scenery even though Elly is bugging the heck out of me investigating the new smells. Remember when I said it would be cool to use a resistance chute someday? I think Elly's giving me awesome practice at such an exercise. She likes to use her almost 60-pounds of resistance to keep me in line. Sometimes, I appreciate her setting the pace. Other times, like on our new, smells-excellent-to-Elly route, I'm not so much appreciative as practiced in my sighs and "Oh, Elly!!" grunts.

"Oh, mommy, get over it. I am the puppy pacer after all. Deal."

Here's a little peek at the route from this morning ...

I think there's something wrong with this piece of the sprinkler
system ...

And, then, there's this corner that is going to repeatedly drive. me. crazy. Why? Oh, just look:

Do you see what I see there in the middle? You do?! Actually,
you think you do ...

Nothing like getting faked out by old, sure-to-be-there-for-
many-weeks GUM! Nice ...

By the way, how cute are puppy prints?! SO cute!

Today's run was longer than Monday's, so I found another mile to add. It's so funny how on the computer screen map, the roads look easy enough. Then you get there, and it's not funny at all because you just mapped yourself going up hill to get to your own finish line. Neat! See?

See where the road drops off up there?
That's the hill I just came up. I ran to the
point where I stopped for this pic which
is when I realized, "Hey, that wasn't so
terrible!" That's an excellent realization!

It's always cool to reach the top of a hill. Always. Any hill. It's funny how many times I charge (or trudge!) up a hill and how dead my legs feel only to find myself feel completely alive at the finish.

Totally worth it.

And, while I celebrate my little victory of the day's finish, Elly gets in on the photo action!

She loves getting in the picture when she's earned it! (You'd
never know from looking at her that she fell out of the car when
we got to our starting place, would you? Yup, fell right on outta
there darn-near face first. She was just so excited!
Tool. But, she's our tool. And, we love her.

One last thing for the day. This story should not suprise you. So, later in the morning, I was driving along the very same route we ran earlier. I came upon an intersection that Elly and I avoid because the traffic there makes it stupid for me to bring a dog who isn't looking both ways nor behind herself. I've run it many times on weekends, but having Elly with me is a different story. ANYWAY, there I was turning at the light, and I looked on the road to see if I could spy with my little eye any change. It's a perfect spot to look because of all of the foot traffic that also happens there. And, what do you know, but the sun was shining right on top of a ..........

... QUARTER!

I literally pulled over to the nearest parking lot, got out and got it. Oh, Yes. I. Did. Because doing so was awesome.

So, my weekend long run might have to include this intersection. Or not. We'll see where the road takes me when I get there. Until then, it's another day to run tomorrow, and I'll see you after!