Our Gift

It's time to wrap this up. I tried in the Summer to do so. And, I tried once since then. I still think about doing so every morning I'm out exercising Chance, but I seem to forget, convenient or not, by the time I'm home. But, now, it's time.

We lost our sweet Elly in June.

Besides the running, Elly was hands-down the sweetest creature ever. She embodied peace in our household. She was loyal. She loved, and she loved to be loved. She gave everything she had to all of us. Always.

Perhaps I've not finished this until now because there aren't even enough good words to capture everything she was to us. My heart knows how it still feels, but my brain has difficulty producing worthy words.

As a tribute to our girl, Pit Crew #2 created this blanket for me:

It tells such a wonderful story of a beautiful life.

Adopting Chance at the time we did was really a testament to how much Elly gave to us. The very idea of losing that was more than I cared to bear. And, continuing to learn about who he is sparks a number thoughts about Elly I'd either forgotten or not really realized. For instance, because of his seemingly ridiculous fear of bicycles when we first got him made me remember how afraid Elly was of dried leaves as they blew or crunched on the street. And, his anxious nature made me realize how assertive she was -- a characteristic not ever really noted as she was nothing but sweet and submissive to the four of us.

Remembering is good.

Elly was love. I treasure every memory. What a gift to have had her.

Changes

I know. It's been quite some time ...

It's been almost a year since my last entry, and, even then, I knew I was running out of steam. I'd been with this running gig for about 8 years, and I was tired. Of course, that wasn't really about running at all.

Without recalling the details, I remember it being readily apparent that something had to give. I was perpetually just stretched razor thin mentally and physically, and, I knew I needed a break from something. The only option of what to cut out of my day at that time was running. My loss from running was my gain for a little more sleeping.

And, I took it. I took it hard core.

I meant to just take about a month to recoup figuring I'd get back in the swing when school rolled around. Long story short: Between July and December, I dabbled in a few jogs, and I walked a bit, but, really, I sat out while getting the other details in my life under better control. I'm not going to lie: I totally enjoyed the sleep.

Somewhere around the same time the calendar turned, I got back into it. But, I signed up for a Half Marathon to make sure I'd stick with it.

To say that my first few runs felt like I'd never before run is an understatement. I didn't use it, so I most certainly did lose it. *sigh* The only difference between starting up running this time and back in 2008 was that, this time, I already knew I could do it and just had to get there again. 

During training, I capitalized on my 6-mile training run to earn a 10K medal with Elly.

It was tough, but we did it. Together. Like it's been for a long time. She's been running with me for 9 years ... hell, she's the very reason I started running in the first place ... and, I knew, with her turning 10 just around the corner from this run in April that her long distance days were likely retired. And, I was okay with that.

I was not okay with what we recently learned.

About a month ago, we noticed a significant, sudden drop in Elly's weight. She'd dropped weight last year, but she maintained the drop. This was different. A check and testing showed that she has chronic kidney disease. The original suspicion before blood work but after an xray was that she had late-stage liver cancer. But, that wasn't the diagnosis. Chronic kidney disease, liver cancer, tuh-may-toe, toe-mah-toe. Seriously. The difference is somewhat moot.

*sigh* and *dammit to hell*

Very suddenly, as in, that very day, Elly's normal walking-for-fun days ended. Just like that. Never mind running, we were directed to take her no more than a mile, if she can walk that far, at her pace in the most ideal weather. The problem is the kidney disease makes it very difficult for her to eat which means she has no reserves to burn while exercising. So, she has shifted to relaxing inside and eating whatever will go down and stay down. Her diet is to consist of low protein, high carbs. And, wouldn't you know, it's almost impossible to get carbs in her. Proof she's no human.

After a few weeks, multiple trials, more errors than successes and a lot of tears, we seem to have found things she likes and will stay down. And, just last week, we started adding Pedialyte to her water which has definitely helped with her alertness. It's one of the most heartbreaking experiences I have ever had not being able to do anything to make it better.

What has helped her is her overall health, and that is in large part due to her lifetime of running. The vet who diagnosed her noted that she's in excellent health but for the genetic problem that can't be cured. So, there you go. It's one of those things where we did everything right, and it doesn't ultimately matter in terms of keeping her forever like we would if we could. (insert multiple naughty words here)

Our girl after an overnight receiving IV
fluids to help what she'd lost. The nerve
of not giving her a purple wrap. Just sayin'.

Elly has not just been my every day companion, but she most literally changed the trajectory of my own health and well being. She is the reason I ran in the first place, and she is the reason I continued in the beginning when I didn't want to. Running has been our thing. I didn't really even get to ease her out of it like I thought I would. I thought we'd earn that last, longer-distance medal and giggle a little while running two or three miles for the next couple of years. I'd be all, "Hey, Elly, remember when ..." and she'd glance sideways at me with her tongue out having no idea what I said but smiling in agreement just because she heard my voice. I pictured that we'd walk together. I pictured time to wind it backward from how far up we'd gone. 

Instead, it just -- ended. 

Going out to run anymore has, quite literally, lost a very big meaning for me. My heart aches when I step out the door, and it's something I work to get past while I'm out there.

I did manage to finish the recent Half Marathon ...

... and, I am as tired as I look. It was pretty rough. Training wasn't awesome as I missed a number of short runs, the humidity sucked, and I was emotionally spent. That saying about making sure you "leave it all on the route" crossed my mind en route which is the same time I said to myself, "Bullshit, I left it all on this past semester." The four weeks leading up to this run included Elly's diagnosis to punctuate a helluva few months. I was proud of the finish because, if predicting a finish by how January through May went, that finish should not have happened. 

So, here we are. The Half was a week ago (just a week ago?), and I took the week to recoup, start summer schedules with everyone and reset my own brain in terms of what I want to make of this running thing. It's hard to come up with a plan, though, as even thinking about it without a four-legged running pal just makes me ache.

Elly is to the point that she doesn't expect to leave the house with me. It's really sad for me even though I should probably feel comforted that it's not a priority for her anymore. She seems just fine about it. What do I know, but I think she's fine. I know she's happy to see me when I return. That's probably more important anyway. I try not to impose on her my own thoughts. I keep trying to remind myself she is a dog and doesn't process like humans.

It's not comforting, though. That's how it is when the human brain is more complex than the dog's ...

Elly's shift into what are clearly her twilight days has left an incredible hole in me. In no way is she ever, ever going to be replaced. That's not even possible. So, there's no reason to think that that's the idea when I introduce somebody tomorrow ...

Catching Up

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 423 (running: 349.6 walking: 34.8; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 182.3  Money Found For Food Bank: $55.07

Summer 2016 Ultimate Pool Volleyball Championship - Best of 101:

Me: 20 Pit Crew #2: 13

Hey, so, it's pretty cool that not only have I not managed to catch myself up in my own journaling this week, but I also just logged in to find I drafted my last entry instead of publishing it. Nice!! Oh well. I will look back on these entries one day and think, "Yeah, that looks about right. That was a pretty messy time!"

 

While I never have total control over my Summer schedule (ha!! That's an understatement!), I'm managing to keep my head well above water. So, I call that a victory. This week in particular, I even navigated situations where those in customer service weren't so serviceable to the customer because they couldn't think outside of their teeny, tiny thought boxes to solve a problem. And, I've done so without any sort of combustion, external or spontaneous. Let's thank the power of prayer and pool therapy for coming through those ordeals! Speaking of the pool, check out the tournament status! I'm not quite sure how I'm pulling that off, but I like it!

 

So, through it all, Pit Crew #2 and I have kept our running schedule going to get ready for tomorrow's virtual 10K! This week's weather finally afforded us some breathability, so we again feel able to run the distance. Last week, that idea was in question for both of us!

 

We went out on Wednesday afternoon when it seemed rather mild all things considered. By the time we hit the mile and a half point, BAM. We were HOT.

There's PC#2 taking advantage of my new water bottle! I just bought it the day before, and it needed a test run. One of my current ones sucks because the stopper doesn't want to open to, you know, let us drink. I've tolerated it for years and finally decided on Tuesday to just get a new one. I thought I'd just walk in and replace what I already have. Um, not so much. Now, what I used to buy for $20 has a new fangled cell phone holder that added $15 to the price. Gulp! I got a Camelback variety this time, and I dig it.

So, that was Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday, we headed out early for a quick one with the pooch. It was unremarkable except for how pleasant the temperature felt for the end of June immediately following that heat wave! It was nice to take Elly. She does so like to run. She likes post-run love even more than that:

She'll live with her disappointment tomorrow, though, as we head out without her. I have a virtual medal to earn with her when Fall settles in and the temperatures are predictably cool. Until then, she just needs to cheer us at the finish!

So, it's a 6.2 morning ahead of us after today's rest-and-volleyball! Have a great start to your weekend, and we'll pop in after the morning run!

Its Own Comeback

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 404.3 (running: 331.2 walking: 34.1; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 180.3  Money Found For Food Bank: $54.84

Summer 2016 Ultimate Pool Volleyball Championship - Best of 101:

Me: 14 Pit Crew #2: 8

The first order of business is to say Happy Father's Day yesterday to my Dad!! Yahoo!!!

We had a lovely visit with him yesterday complete with sugar-free brownies (a la Dough Boy mix), a gift and lots and lots of hugs and giggles! So thankful for another year celebrating my fabulous Dad!! We celebrated Aaron the rest of the day complete with a trip to the movies. We contributed to the record-breaking weekend for animated movies (previously held by Shrek 3) by attending Finding Dory. It was fabulous!

Fast-forward to today, and the girl trio headed out for a run. It was 72 degrees, but that sounds a lot nicer than it was. It was pretty gross. Tolerable, but gross. All of us had a strong run, so we treated ourselves to a walk up a big hill. Something about that seemed like the right thing to do!

Getting up and getting out wasn't really that much fun, but it was good and worth it once we got into the groove ...

Not to be left out, Elly made sure her image was captured at the end:

The routine is back, and I'm almost feeling like running is a normal part of my life again! I know. Weird. It's weird it went to the wayside in any way, but it needed to both in brain and body. I remember when the kids were in kindergarten, and their teacher said that when they're in the middle of learning a new concept, former information often seems to "go away" until the new info is more ingrained. Then, it returns. That seems to be the case for the run over here! I'm just glad to have it making its way back! Just keep swimming ... just keep swimming ... just keep swimming, swimming, swimming ...

Still Going!

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 397.1 (running: 324 walking: 34.1; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 177.3  Money Found For Food Bank: $54.55

Summer 2016 Ultimate Pool Volleyball Championship - Best of 101:

Me: 12 Pit Crew #2: 7

The running schedule has continued, but most of the rest of my world is not in any kind of order! That's okay. That's what Summer does.

And, holy moly, has the heat HIT!! I did sneak in an early and short run with Elly Tuesday morning ...

... but, I knew within that first mile that this is the last run for her until this heat breaks. We cut it at two miles and weren't sad to do so!

Yesterday, Pit Crew #2 planned to run while I got up early to work and take a Rest Day as we planned to run together today. So, I was up early and hugely productive while PC#2 fully immersed herself in the Summer schedule and ... skipped the run! Some days, it's really okay to just blow it off and indulge in a little extra shut-eye! We were accountable to each other this morning, though ...

Misery loved company. I have no idea what the temperature was besides Holy Crap This Sucks. The air was thick making it difficult to take a deep breath. It was that kind of morning! For a three-mile run, we still took water and sported our cooling towels. Three-milers don't tend to require special equipment, so, that tells you something!

I've never run with PC#2 when it was this hot, so she got a lesson in just covering the distance however that happens safely. That meant a couple of walk breaks she didn't expect and a pace that would otherwise annoy even me. Before my first Half Marathon, I was taught by a very seasoned runner that, in this kind of weather, your only goal is to cover the distance. Period. No speed, no pushing it, check your ego at the door, just be safe. I'm a big fan of pacing my run in a way that supports the rest of my day, too, so there was no way I was going to let the heat drain me only to zap the rest of my day. (I saved that for when we went to the pool ... even that was barely refreshing!!)

So, we trotted the neighborhood and got 'er done. That was more than good enough for me!!

This heat is supposed to break to the tune of dropping about 10 degrees in the next few days. Given the temperature is sitting at 100, that's not really inspiring! But! We will go forth! We're resting up tomorrow for Saturday's long run! I might not have it all together, but I have at least figured this out! We'll check in after our outing!

Teens and Running. It's All the Same. No, Really.

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 387.2 (running: 316.6 walking: 33.4; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 174.6  Money Found For Food Bank: $54.38

Summer 2016 Ultimate Pool Volleyball Championship - Best of 101:

Me: 9 Pit Crew #2: 5

Pit Crew #2 is currently texting with a friend who went to State for her 2-mile run. She's getting the rundown of the event, no pun intended. I told her to respond with the following: "And, in other news, I went running with my mom this morning. It was super slow and not just because of my mom but also because of my dog. Oh, and we rescued a turtle and found money. Do you see turtles and/or money on your runs? Then, I guess your runs aren't very philanthropic, are they."

I can validate myself in any circumstance. Just sayin'. Oh, and I don't need to put someone else down to do it like I did in the above scenario. That was just fun in the no-way-I'd-ever-mean-that sense!

Oh, here's the turtle. From the sidewalk, I barely saw its shell going up and down on the mosey:

Elly had to check it out before everyone parted ways:

So, with another turtle save this year, PC#2 and I carried on both with running and with our conversation. Sometimes, our runs involved general merriment. Other times, there's life stuff to sort out. Today was the latter. It kind of sucked, too, because the topic was heavy as was the air thanks to the heat and incoming humidity. It was like, "Okay, wait. This is hard stuff to talk about and sort through and I feel gross because of the heat and it's harder to breathe because the air is getting thick. Waaaaaaah!!" *sigh* But, the weather is to running as learning life is to teenagers. You take what comes, and you make the very best of what is in front of you. And, you keep an eye on an even better for-you-for-them future.

None of this is a complaint, by the way. It's hard as hell some days, but that's just a fact. It's not a complaint. I remember a very long time ago, even before I met Aaron, I told people that I looked forward to the opportunity to love kids through their teen years. There's a lot of dismissiveness when it comes to teen angst, drama, growing pains, drama (wait, did I say that twice?), and I never, ever wanted to get on board with that. I didn't like it happening to me. I was never going to do that to someone else.

As difficult as some things are, you hunker down, and you get down to business working toward productive strategies and forward motion. Running. Teens. Work. Marriage. Friends. Teens. (There they are again!) The method to success is the same. You commit. You work. You figure it out.

And, by doing so, you get to love.

Toward a Goal Out Of the Gates

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 381 (running: 310.4 walking: 33.4; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 170.4  Money Found For Food Bank: $52.22

Summer 2016 Ultimate Pool Volleyball Championship - Best of 101:

Me: 4 Pit Crew #2: 5

In a very important housekeeping note, I must amend the Ultimate Pool Volleyball Championship "Best of" status. It's best of 101, not 51. It takes 51 wins to be the ultimate champion. I was momentarily confused when I first announced. My issue was probably being a little surprised that I started off in the hole. It looks like the girl is going to be a competitor this year!

Speaking of the girl, she and I have definitely found a good Summer swing. Between the many other things we need and want to do, the running schedule feels normal again. Neither of us was thrilled getting up this morning. In fact, I said there aren't going to be too many days starting this early, and she agreed. Of course, I'd just gotten out of bed, and she was still in hers. By the time we got going outside, those unmotivated morning feelings had passed.

It's supposed to start being hot in the mornings after today, so we took Elly while we knew we could. I won't lie, the girl of the four-legged variety was annoying. How many potty stops did she make? I don't know, I can't count that high! Pit Crew #2 and I decided to make a selfie our business ...

... while Elly took care of her own. At least this one was in the shade ...

We're heading for a virtual 10K in a few short weeks. There are two to pick from, so soon is the time to coordinate with Virtual Running Partner Extraordinaire Mary Kate to see if it's the duo or trio 10K that is first on the calendar!

Tomorrow's another running morning! The motivation continues, and it feels good to be back! We'll check in after!

Scheduled

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 374 (running: 307.4 walking: 29.4; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 170.4  Money Found For Food Bank: $52.15

Summer 2016 Ultimate Pool Volleyball Championship - Best of 51:

Me: 2 Pit Crew #2: 3

Ahh ... what a difference a schedule makes!!

Pit Crew #2 and I talked last night about making a schedule. Given all of the Summer duties and wanna-dos, I knew there was just no way to make the most out of our days without some self-imposed guidelines! The boys are managing their sides of life* while we girls took charge of ours! First on the list? A running schedule, of course!

* The boys are biking together this Summer. After their first ride last night, PC#3 came in to report: "Biking is like running if running were fun." Seriously, I love that kid!

So, in our discussion, PC#2 let me know she'd already decided she wanted to run Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. I asked if I could just jump on her train, and that was that! For now, I'll give the guidelines for how many miles which will ultimately be negotiated. I want to work us back into six miles as comfortable, and then we'll reconfigure from there. The most important piece -- the schedule -- is in place. The rest is gravy.

Never mind that I think gravy is gross. It's still a good saying.

So, as scheduled (yay! I like saying that again!), we headed out with the pound hound this morning. It was rather warm, so Elly took advantage of any shade she found. That, of course, translates into interval running, but it still works! During one of her sidelines, she investigated a bit of nature:

We dubbed that moment Elly's Nature Preserve Field Trip. And, then, I had flashbacks to accompanying such field trips with the young Crewers. I hated those field trips. They did absolutely nothing for me. I was more of the room mom kind of gal complete with designing games and bringing treats. Chaperoning the nature preserve places sucked. But, I tried. Ohhh how I tried ...

So, tomorrow, we REST! That works well for me because I have to admit I'm still getting used to running and pool volleyballing! Sunday's six rounds of the volleyball -- where it was mighty evident I have become the weak link of the teams! -- did nothing for that first mile of running this morning. All was forgiven by Mile 2 ...

Enjoy your Tuesday as Summer weather starts to really knock on the door! I'll be checking in ...!

Back For National Running Day!

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 366.6 (running: 301 walking: 29.4; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 167.3  Money Found For Food Bank: $52

Suffice it to say I'm glad I'm a grown up. I don't mean that by my age, I mean that I took very intentional steps throughout my life to see what's right in front of me and to make the right decisions as needed. Had I not required myself to grow up as time afforded me, this past week would have been a disaster. Hell, this past month would have done me in.

I finally realized in the past couple of weeks that my usual adjustments and tweaks that go along with rolling with the daily flow were not going to be enough to accommodate all that has shifted in my world. Frankly, I didn't really see it coming, but I did keep my eyes open enough to know that I needed to take a number of steps back to evaluate and realign rather than slightly shift here and there. Think of it this way: There's a time to straighten up your closet, and then there's the time you must remove every, single item before deciding what is allowed to return. And, some of it simply no longer belongs.

There's nothing massive going on. It's just another time of year where schedules not only shift but look nothing like any previous year. So, I have no template. I'm just making it up as I go. All the while, in the Spring, I took on a new job which I have not done in almost two decades. Oh, and I kept the job I had. And, some days, I can't see myself coming or going, but I am glad I put myself out there. I guess I could have seen this upheaval of my days coming given I am the one who applied for the job, but I'm so used to having things under general control that I forgot I would have to step back and realign.

Realignment meant taking running off the calendar to give me some breathing room. My goal was to step back into it on National Running Day. And, so we did:

It was like a gift to me to have a concrete day to aim for to lace back up, and I took full advantage of that! Once running was off the calendar, it was also completely off my mind. I used every bit of that time to get myself back on track with new life pieces in place, all pieces in a better order. Say it with me: Ahhhhh ...

It's been 8 days since my last run. Given how much I packed that time, it feels like much longer (until I looked, I thought it had been two full weeks). It was nice to get out there, though. I felt much better than I expected, the three of us were in good step together, and Elly was just as contrary as she always is:

"That's because I remain AMAZING."

My hiatus was needed, but I now need to step back into the running routine. I think I've done what I can do to get my little world in enough order to operate without excluding something I highly value. Besides, Pit Crew #2 and I have some medals to earn this Summer; that's not happening by not hitting the streets!

To that end, we plan to run tomorrow! Rain is in the forecast, but we're going unless there is thunder! Here's to National Running Day and to the last stop in the mid-year reset! Do what you need to keep yourself aligned and sane, and we'll check in tomorrow from our morning run!

Off My Own Hook

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 362 (running: 297.9 walking: 27.9; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 167.3  Money Found For Food Bank: $51.89

I headed out for our run yesterday with every intention of knocking out a quick three miles and moving on with my day.

Not thinking about the route, I got us going and, from the direction I started, I had absolutely no idea how a 3-mile route worked out. So, I immediately bailed on 3, decided on 2 and basked in the extra minutes that bought me for the really busy morning and day ahead of me!

Lemonade, baby. Lemonade from those lemons!

We had a solid outing, though. I can't complain about that. I can complain about the degree to which Elly was super-contrary by the time we got home. I'd forgotten my camera on the run, so we headed out to the deck for the post-run commemorative photo. She was all kinds of eager to do this, and she's totally used to it. And, then, she was rather uncooperative for the pic, and this is what I captured. Check out that face:

She's such a stinker.

Don't feel too bad for her. She had her moment in the sun later in the day. Literally.

So, yeah. I didn't quite have it all together yesterday enough to jot a few words about the continued running endeavor. It looks like when I gave myself permission to let myself off the self-imposed to-do list, I took it very seriously! It's all still working out even if not in the order or in the time I might think it could or should. But, that's okay. It's nice to just let things go in a controlled flow ...! To that end, let's see how tomorrow and the weekend play out! Ready? Let it flow ...

The Most Primal of Muscle Memory

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 360 (running: 295.9 walking: 27.9; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 165.3  Money Found For Food Bank: $51.89

On today's run, I received a lesson in muscle memory. But, I'm not talking about the muscle memory that, for instance, kicks in when running the same route over and over to the point the body starts to adjust to hills with relative ease simply because it knows they're coming. Now, I'm totally on board with that muscle memory because it often makes me feel studly, but that wasn't today's message.

Rather, today, before I even hit my first mile, my body was saying, "Ohhh ... yeahhhh!! THIS is what it is to keep moving!" While Saturday's run was better than expected after the unfortunate two-week break, I knew I'd have a few runs that felt less than stellar while getting back in the swing! Today perfectly exemplified what I knew to be coming!

I can't complain, though, as it was a beautiful morning and the perfect pace to bring Elly. She even got to lead a few times today, so you know she was feeling like a super star! She stopped to bask in the carpet of rose petals she decided were placed just for her and her greatness:

She was feeling her oats when we came near a slew of squirrels, too:

It's there in the upper-right corner. It looks
super intimidated, too, doesn't it? hahaha ...

Elly acted all kinds of ready to chase and pounce. She had her best perky ears on letting me know she was anxious to take off:

It's my fault she lost her cool-hound points today. I'd worry about it if she had a pack of friends making fun of her, but, she just doesn't. And, like I want her to catch a squirrel? First of all, Eww. Second of all, let's flash back to exactly two weeks ago when we got her pearly whites all polished! We'll pass on the squirrel ...

For as well-or-not as this run went, at least it went! I was pleased about that even if I could only really consider this a run-ish!

It's a break tomorrow as the tooth-polishing theme continues! It's my turn! The forecast for the week is iffy, so I'm playing Wednesday by ear! I'll check in with the verdict! I hope your week started off just the way you wanted!! Mine sure did even if there is an -ish on the end of that run!

We're Back!

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 355.2 (running: 290.1 walking: 24.2; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 161.6  Money Found For Food Bank: $51.43

I looked at Pit Crew #2 last night and said, "Do you want to run with me in the morning?" And, I put "run" in air quotes. I couldn't even imagine how it was going to feel after an almost full two-week break, but I knew I was ready to get back out there.

PC#2 immediately accepted the invite. I was glad she did. I have missed running with her even though I will fully admit I had yet to miss running until, literally, yesterday. I can't count any part of the week I was sick as missing much of anything except being among the land of the living. And, this past week, I ended up using exactly the way I knew I needed -- getting caught up and finding a new daily groove that actually works instead of living on a wing and a prayer that all things I'm cramming in to a day actually pan out. Dropping running off the schedule for a week was the right thing to do to free up some time, but, as of last night, I was ready to put it back in the list of priorities!

And, so, this morning, we headed out. Me, my girl and my dog. We ran, we walk-breaked, we talkedandtalkedandtalked ... We were slow but kept going, and it felt good to be out in the sunshine with nothing on the immediate agenda except putting one foot in front of the other. Physically, the run went better than I expected, and, mentally, well, it's always good mentally.

I'm happy to report: We're back!

The next run is Monday. Yes, Monday. We're back, but, let's not get too crazy!

Total Overhaul

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 350.9 (running: 290.1 walking: 24.2; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 157.3  Money Found For Food Bank: $50.93

So, that was a week.

It all started last Monday morning with my planned, and lovely, morning run. The temperature was perfect. I saw lots of Spring ...

... and evidence from those ready for Summer:

It wasn't my strongest outing, but it was good.

Elly was at the vet getting her teeth cleaned. Or, so I thought. I came home to a message from the vet in charge of her procedure letting me know they still hadn't taken care of it because they were concerned about her weight loss in the past year. Annoyed she'd been there more than two hours with nothing yet done, I called back to investigate. The vet explained her concerns are over the percentage of weight she's lost and didn't seem satisfied with my explanation that she has spent the last year using her meal time to stare down Lizzy rather than go about her eating business which has resulted in her not eating as much as usual. That she still jumps for her leash, has maintained her hound energy and otherwise acts normal was not enough, and the vet went on to explain how putting Elly under for the cleaning could aggravate any unknown, underlying health problems. The vet's words told me it was my choice (proceed with the cleaning or do tests), but her tone most assuredly let me know there was a right and a wrong decision. She went on to use her fancy, 5-syllable veterinary words that I didn't ask for to make her case. So, I told her that her words meant nothing to me, and that she could call my husband.

Sometimes, I do reach my fill. Elly's more than fine, by the way, and her teeth sparkle!

While Elly sparkled by Monday evening, I went dull. Very dull. By 10 p.m., I was best friends with the bathroom for the duration of the night, all night. The short of the story is I was down for the count for the next two days straight. I had a reprieve on Thursday that I thought meant I was on the mend. I even took Elly for a very short stroll ...

"Uh, mommy. You're not quite right."

Jeez, had I just looked in the mirror, I would have realized the storm had not yet passed. And, there it was. It seems Thursday was just getting me strong enough to handle Friday and the last hurrah of what Aaron and I are positive was salmonella poisoning. I am completely certain it was from my Monday morning egg white breakfast that I made myself. I can see in my mind's eye that one, little section that wasn't quite done. It was merely a couple of hours after breakfast that everything inside felt unsettled getting me ready for an evening upheaval like I've never experienced. DAMN THE HEALTHY FOOD!! Okay, I'm kidding about that part. Perhaps, I need to pay more attention to my culinary skills, though ...

Even on Thursday, when I'd finally had a little water and an entire orange, I felt weak. Two days of no food, little water and internal evacuation will do that to someone. Up until this morning ... this very morning ... I was walking rather timidly given the assault my core had been through. I felt very much like I'd just had a baby. I felt worse than any time I've ever finished a Half Marathon. I need to tuck this away for my next Half to realize during the run, "Yes, yes I have experienced worse than this."

And, that is where the week went.

What that did is throw my entire outlook out the window for the upcoming week. And, actually, that's not so bad. I'm moving forward with the only expectation that I do the best I can, and that will be 100% better than anything I accomplished last week! (There was a 'last week'?)

I'm not yet ready to run, but I will take a walk tomorrow if weather permits. As during many times in life for many reasons, it's time to just start all over and build rather than try to jump into the middle and expect to have traction!

Here's to a solid, fresh start!

The Favorite Furry Kid

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 346.2 (running: 286 walking: 23.5; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 152.9  Money Found For Food Bank: $49.32

I love this day. I love being a mom and everything that comes with that. And, I love that this one counts as a kid:

My life. It's good!

Catching Up!

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 342.9 (running: 286 walking: 20.2; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 149.6  Money Found For Food Bank: $49.32

HELLO, SATURDAY!! I didn't run today. I garage saled. Yahoo! It's a neighborhood garage sale situation, and, believe when I say I would have been taking my life into my own hands had I tried to run. As I said to Aaron while we were out and about, "I'm not sure why this garage sale is also license to drive like an idiot." Just sayin'. We scored some fun prizes including this:

Cute, right?

Aaron spied it. He saw it was a dollar and said I had to have it!

It's seriously delightful. Until it is used for its intended purpose:

That's when it becomes hideous! Snoopy is super scary. The kind of thing nightmares are made of. (Great way to scare the hell out of your cat, though. Ask me how I know.) I told Aaron I wouldn't pay full price for scary Snoopy. He (easily) got it for 50 cents.

So, I had to share that. I also want to share that Elly and I had a great run yesterday morning!

Yay for our morning outings!!

I never got around to jotting anything down about it. Writing the same day as it actually happened is not exactly reflective of my current life patterns! And, I've grown to embrace that fact. Well, embrace is probably too strong of a word, but, it's close. At least I'm not fighting it as though I have total control over the happenings in my day! (Remember when I said I had a great plan to tackle the week and get things under better control? When I count to three, join me in a big BWA-HA-HAAAA!!)

It's all good. It's all necessary at this time in my life to shift and transition and grow and all of that other stuff that's required for long-term happiness but is a big pain in the ass along the way.

Speaking of good stuff, Elly and I came across these on our run:

I'm thankful for the time to run. It's good for me physically as well as a way to maintain sanity! It's peaceful. It's a good way to start the day! I need to write down a schedule for the next few weeks, though, so I keep myself ready to drop into any of my upcoming virtual 10Ks at any point. Mary Kate is joining us for the Suck It Up, Buttercup run, and that's awesome motivation to keep on keepin' on!

Yeah, I'm a bit all over the place right now. But, so is my life, so, why not let that bleed into running, too? As long as I can keep it going during the week, I'm not too worried about what it looks like!

Here's to doing the best you can do and being proud of it! Now, let's take a deep breath and keep going ...!

Ah, NOW I See It!

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 336.6 (running: 283 walking: 18.2; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 145.3  Money Found For Food Bank: $48.94

This is Elly.

Elly is supposed to be running, walking or sniffing. But, she stops. She thinks she sees Aaron's car. Therefore, she thinks Aaron is here.

To make matters worse, the car pulls up alongside us. The car is parallel parking. Its owner wants nothing to do with us. But, Elly is certain it is Aaron. She has no plans to move. None. So, we wait.

The owner of the car gets out. It's not Aaron. Elly is disappointed. The car owner sees us and appears weirded out being stared at.

Welcome to what I gotta do in my world!

But for this particular incident this morning, we cruised along on our morning run! It started off mighty foggy, but I enjoyed the cool, damp air! It was refreshing while I thought about how, for the past couple of months, my days feel like I'm pushing through molasses while tending to what needs tending. The molasses doesn't mean anything has slowed down. It merely represents the difficulty of moving forward with any kind of ease! I think I finally figured out that it's that kind of resistance training that makes a person stronger!

It was actually kind of nice to have a visual of why life feels a little trickier than normal right now! I know what I accomplish, but I also know how it has been feeling. While I can't complain (nor do I want to), it doesn't always feel awesome. My molasses visual helped! I continued to ponder this while taking note of more fabulous Spring scenes ...

Tomorrow is a take-charge kind of day in terms of my schedule, and I'm feeling optimistic!! We'll see how it actually plays out, but I'm going in with the right attitude! Do what you gotta do during your hump day, and I'll be checking in!

It All Run-eth Over

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 328.5 (running: 278.9; walking: 14.2; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 137.2  Money Found For Food Bank: $48.27

I remember when I used to think of "Rest Days" as the those where I avoided as much physical activity as possible so as to rest up for the next run. It's true, that's exactly how I thought of it. I needed it both physically and mentally in those days, too, so it's all good. Fast forward to this past weekend where I didn't run, but I'm trying to remember a part of it that was restful! My favorite anecdote: My schedule has been busier than usual to the point I had yet to tend to/start to prep the gardens. It was almost embarrassing. A friend came by on Saturday, and I noted things are a little out of control as I motioned toward my super-gross gardens. She didn't miss a beat when she said, "You know, I just love how easily the native plants grow around here."

That is a stellar attitude! I laughed as I later started digging us out from under the native plant mess. I couldn't even bring myself to take a "before" picture to show just how ridiculous it got because I was poised and ready to start the work, and I didn't want to tempt myself to avoid it by stepping inside for the camera ...

It's time to get back at it!! And, by that, I mean all of it!! It's Monday, after all, which brings with it a slew of activity to dive into!

Starting our day off with a run was most excellent for myself as well as Elly. She was more eager to go than I, but, that's because she snoozes most of her days away when I stay up too late instead of arming my morning with plenty of sleep! Fortunately, good sleep is not normally a required factor in the running department for our morning outings.

I wasn't so tired that I didn't notice these ...

... nor to run the day's (month's) plans through my head in an effort to retain the little control I tend to have over the family schedule! I again rejoiced in my decision to leave running for the sake of running right now rather than to put another Half Marathon on the calendar this month (insert a shred of sanity here.). Our run this morning was pressure free and joyful. As it should be.

A semblance of a training schedule is in order for the upcoming Summer months to keep myself going as well as to earn a handful of virtual medals. Aspiring for a series of 10K runs is enough of a challenge for me right now!

And, that's what it's all about -- what's good enough for me and not what I'm doing compared to anyone else. Right, Elly?

"I cheer you no matter what, mommy.
It's even better when I get to go."

For real, my schedule cup has run-eth over. The cool part of that is it runs over with those who fill my heart. What more could I want than that.

The Short Of It

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 324.1 (running: 274.4; walking: 14.2; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 132.8  Money Found For Food Bank: $47.10

It feels like a million hours ago that I ran. But, it was just this morning. I think I have too many items on my plate! And, that is exactly why this intended 3-mile run went to 2 miles. So much for wanting them all to be at least 3. That just wasn't going to work today!

Our two were good, though. They were reasonably strong, I got an earful from a man on the street asking directions making sure the building he was in front of was the building he needed after being misdirected by others twice already today. Apparently, telling such a story to a random jogger and her dog requires a number of expletives. It's okay. I learned those words a long time ago.

Even though we were going strong, we did stop for a quick pic:

Elly offered up her very best super model look.

I honestly have no idea what the weekend holds for running. Honestly, I just pooped! In fact, I'm calling it a Do Over beginning Monday! I'm going to recoup again, and we'll take it from there!

Don't follow any made-up rules! Instead, take care of what you need the way you need! I'll check in on another attempt at the reboot on Monday ...!

It's Elly's Day!!

Of the biggest blessings in my life, this girl is one of them:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SWEET ELLY!!!

 

For all of the sloppy kisses, head-butt hugs and whaps with the tail, we love you so!!

Swimming Through the Morning

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 322.1 (running: 272.4; walking: 14.2; biking: 36.2) Elly's miles: 130.8  Money Found For Food Bank: $47

Elly and I totally lucked out this morning and got a run in before it stormed. WooHoo for great timing that I had absolutely nothing to do with!! I'll take a win when it comes my way!

We started out with a stare-down from a neighborhood cat ... or, two ...

Check out the one being all tricky behind the fence. Yeah, we
see you ...

And, we enjoyed the sights and smells of Spring!

The only complaint of the morning was the humidity. It was a little like a Spring swim. But, that much sweat just makes me feel like I worked really, really hard. Elly agrees:

"We be strong, mama!"

I reiterate my current glad-I'm-not-doing-a-Half-in-a-month mantra and report it was a run to just enjoy! Elly wasn't all about running today anyway, so with no training schedule, I could just follow her lead. Or, as it is, keep pace to have her right on my heels! She's mighty loyal.

She's also very loyal in the follows me room-to-room variety when a storm is rolling in. Just sayin'.

I keep thinking about running tomorrow only to remind myself the day is too packed to make that happen in a way that's reasonable for the entire day. So, I will be otherwise productive and take two Rest Days in a row. You will be hearing from me, though, and there's a very important day approaching ...!