Running With Dogs

…with Daddy’s help. Master 5 was anxious all day at the thought of getting up on stage, and wasn’t helped at all by confident Miss 7’s insistent “Are you going to go on stage? Are you? Are you?” which went on all day. I offered him a special drink from the chip shop if he agreed to go, and he said yes. He went up with Daddy to get his Excellent certificates and medal, but was very scared and came back in tears for a hug. Miss Kirsten had an Excellent medal too, so both were very proud of themselves. Went to bed very late, which made it extra hard to get up this morning.

 I took the big red boy out this morning. Guinness had been out a couple of times with me this week, and he is still quite young. Sinner was so excited. I reckon he enjoys going short distances very slowly :). Did 30 minutes/5.2km - I can use my mp3 player with Sinner as he doesn’t take as much concentration from me as “leg-ears” as he’s affectionately known. Bit sluggish again, I think I so need some different scenery.

After breakfast, we took the dogs a walk around the lake, and we were attacked by this horrible little black Sharpei. It’s often loose but doesn’t cause any bother, but today it attacked, and took some skin from Sinner’s muzzle. The owner took it and just walked away, no apology, didn’t give a damn, so I went home and called the council. Not that I expect them to do much, it’s apparently just a “dog worry” event since there wasn’t much damage. What a crock, the intent was there and it was serious, and it’s just bloody good fortune that there wasn’t more damage. How much blood do you need before it’s more than a “worry”?

My pet hate - when you are reversing out of a parking space in the shopping centre, and you’re obviously moving out, and the reversing lights are on, and people still walk behind your car. Too hard to either wait a moment or two, or detour around me.

On a good note, Roseanne got out for a run last night with Jaydee. 5.4km across the Hornibrook Bridge and back, yaaaay! She’ll be back on track in no time.

I guess it is a wet week, but really sluggish today. Slept in and went out at around 7am, too hot yet again. Guinness felt it too, and was a bit unenthused by the 5km mark. Pat (Carroll) had me doing a 40 minute run, just over 6km and it was tough going at the end. I’m not sure how I’m going to train my pup and train myself as well, apart from getting up a lot earlier over summer. That will mean going to bed a fair bit earlier.

Not tonight though, kids have their school awards night and I swear, the venue is half way to bloody Sydney!! Will take us nearly 1 1/2 hours to get there, and same on the return trip probably around 11pm.  I’d rather not go that far, but the kids really enjoy it. Question of the day, will Master 5 actually get up on stage to receive his certificate, or will he have an attack of the shy’s? Stay tuned to find out.

Been reading more on doggie fun runs and trail runs. I think hubby and I could come up with something very very fun here. He has exceptional leadership skills, I tend to prefer staying out of the limelight but can organise things very well, so we do make a really good team with complementary skills. I have enough contacts in the veterinary industry to be able to swing some support or prizes. Look out for something in the cooler months of 2008.

Can’t get my new smiley plugin to work at all!!  This is the sort of little niggly thing that annoys me about creating websites. I bet it’s an easy fix, I just can’t do it. I did, however, manage to get a new picture on the front of this blog - ain’t my boys gorgeous??

Went out with Guinness this morning for an easy 30 min run, a la Pat Carroll, and we did just short of 5k. I had to laugh when I got home, I’d been watching the Garmin, and my pace was slowing down by the minute, and I was starting to think I was in really bad shape. When I got back and stopped it, I realised the display I was watching was the time. Of course the numbers would increase by the minute. Felt like a bit of a dork. Guinness was very good, considering no treats, only wanted to drag my arm off to visit a friendly dog twice this time.  He usually has a poo at 2.5km on the dot, bit early today at just under 2km.

Tomorrow is a rest day which is just as well, as got an early visit to the Bureau of Meteorology.

What a totally pleasant weekend!! Not much to complain about at all.

Friday evening saw hubby and I in the city for dinner with his work colleagues. Nice pub, nice food, very nice people. No idea how folk are expected to chat and get better acquainted with the music volume the way it was! Couple of glasses of a very palatable Chardonnay went down very well with seafood. Kiddies had a ball staying with our friends - they have children the same age, so a late and raucous night there too.

 Went to work on Saturday morning and came home to home made cheese scones - hubby is excellent in the kitchen. Dinner was home made pasties, and Sunday night’s dinner was a barbecue on the newly cleaned up patio. He’s pretty good to have around.

 I suppose this is a running blog - Sunday morning saw me up and about early, headed into MBRR but not many folk there. Most were at the Endeavour Relay. There were only two runners there, both faster than me, so I plodded along by myself to the strains of John Farnham’s “Your The Voice” on the bagpipes. No shin pain at all. Did 10km in 1hr 02 and a few seconds, which was about a minute faster than my last 10k, and this time I walked for a couple of hundred metres in the middle. Might end up going under an hour in the next few weeks. Then strolled over to where hubby and Caboolture Road Runners were having a 4km race. I ran that with Chrissy, the wife of one of the members. She said, “I hope you don’t mind going slow” and we proceeded to knock it over in just over 25 and a half minutes. Thank God she didn’t want to go fast!!! That was about all I could do!! Legs were totally stuffed by the end of the day, they haven’t been that tired before - won’t be the last time, says hubby!! Felt fine this morning though. Nice cuppa and cake by the lagoon in Redcliffe afterwards with another friendly and encouraging group of runners.

Been thinking a bit about the running community. It’s a whole lot nicer to have someone to at least share ideas and goals with, if not to actually run with. Where to find such people? In the flesh, there are running clubs here, there and everywhere, and so far, all the people I’ve met have been friendly enough. There are online communities too - Coolrunning (both in Australia and the US, probably elsewhere too), Kickrunners, Ausrun, there’ll be something that suits you. I quite like the US Coolrunning site, plenty of conversation on all sorts of topics, and extremely welcoming.

Since I have to do a marathon program to prepare for the Kokoda Challenge, I’ve printed off the Pat Carroll beginners marathon program from the Gold Coast Marathon site. It’s only about 19 weeks long so I’ll extend it and pad it out a bit, but it’s not unachievable. At least I have something to tell me what to do each day when I get out of bed.

I took Guinness out this morning, it was reasonably cool, and I just find I’d rather have a dog that ran beside me, rather than behind me, as Sinner does. I always feel I’m forcing him to come with me and he doesn’t want to be there. I left the mp3 player at home so I could keep focussed on the dog, and I left the bumbag of treats behind too, it’s really annoying to have it bouncing on my waist. The dog was great!! He loped along beside me on the grass, and barely raised a puff. He wanted to say hi to a black and white dog, and just about pulled my arm off at the socket!! Got back under control, and continued, only to meet a black Labrador. He then proceeded to pull my other arm off at the socket. Did a huge poo at the 2.5km mark (Guinness, not me!) and I discovered that the poo bags I had stuffed down my socks had fallen out somewhere. Fortunately the owners of the aforementioned black and white dog had a spare poo bag so I could clean up. We did 6km together, and he was an absolute joy to run with. I’m so going to enjoy going out with him, but will be increasing his distance quite slowly, he’s still quite young.

Feeling quite directionless at the moment as far as running goes. I just seem to go out and run around the block, without any point or purpose to it. I tend to be the type who really needs things like this spelled out - today you will get out of bed and do blah blah, and without that, I get out of bed and run around the block, same old way I always do, and it’s getting quite uninteresting. Been thinking about a coach, there’s a couple at hubby’s running club, or there’s apparently online running coaches - don’t necessarily want to slot that into the budget, but don’t want to take up hubby’s only night out in the week either.

The weekend is here again. I have found fragments of an insole from an Asics shoe strewn through the hallway, courtesy of Guinness. I need to go and get ready to take the kids to gymnastics.

So very tired today, couldn’t sleep last night at all, tossed and turned with a very active mind. Ended up having a hot bath at around 12.30am to see if it would relax me a bit. Seemed to work because I did get some sleep. It meant that I really didn’t feel up to doing much this morning. I took Guinness out and we did 4km, I figured that was enough for him, but he did very well. It wasn’t a lot of fun running with a bouncing bum bag full of treats, I’ll need to see what other options I can come up with. He tended to run ahead of me but I don’t mind, as long as he keeps a loose lead, and doesn’t cross in front!!

I have discovered that there are a few links to my blog posts on other websites. I guess some people find some useful content in them. Not sure what though!

 I dug out my practice chanter last night and had a play. I don’t do too badly, considering it’s been so many months since I played my bagpipes. I enjoyed it, I’ll need to find time to continue. I played PM JK Cairns, Macneills of Ugadale, and a nice slow air that I found in a Rob Mathieson book that hubby bought me a long time ago, called Home to the Kyles. Short tune, but the nice thing is it has seconds and thirds as well, so would create some nice harmonies.

Wednesday is “nice dinner” night, rather than the quick meals we have when people are going to dancing, girl guides, dog club, running club, work…. we usually have quick casseroles or curries on those nights. I’ve no idea what to make tonight. I didn’t always make the meals around here, hubby is a great cook, but it’s quicker and easier if I do it. It was a challenge at first, but I think I’m getting better. Except for days like today when I feel totally uncreative.

Otherwise an unexciting day. The plan is to get the kiddies to do some maths and grammar, then have lunch and go to the waterslide for an hour or two. We’ll see how it goes. I may try for a powernap later.

By the time I got up this morning it was so hot, I knew there was no way Sinner would come out with me comfortably, so I went on my own. I quickly scoffed a banana but didn’t have too much to drink, and I paid for it. I came back from an easy 7km drenched in sweat and so thirsty, and the thirst stayed with me for most of the day. The lesson of the day is to have a good drink before going out. I hate the taste of water and usually have a bottle of dilute gatorade in the fridge. I really find the first km or so hard, and feel like quitting but if I can get through that, I can keep going without too much hassle. The 7km loop I did was mostly around our estate, it’s getting boring and I think if I want to do further distances closer to home, I’m going to have to think about heading out further afield.

Caught the train to Milton today to go to Intraining, and on the way there was a hitch hiker on the freeway. Don’t see too many of them, but what made it more interesting was that he had two little West Highland White Terriers with him. They were just sitting there, totally unfazed by the fast and furious traffic close by. Cruisy little dogs.

Podiatrist happy with my shin, me too! Have had no problems apart from maybe a twinge for the first km or so of a run, but then it’s fine, and is fine for the rest of the day. He said there wasn’t much could be done with my Nikes, they’re less flexible, have a harder and higher arch, and they don’t allow my big toe to bend which puts pressure on my arch. He reckons just to stick with the Asics I have and get the same style when they run out. Fair enough too - the Nikes didn’t cost me anything, but if I had to pay a couple of hundred dollars for a pair of shoes only to find they caused me pain, I’d not be a happy chappy. Just as well Roseanne takes the same size shoe as me - she can use them as they’re virtually brand new.

Nice vanilla latte at the Coffee Club after - the kiddies get a spider if they’re good at the podiatrist. I’ve ordered my VIP card, hopefully will arrive by the weekend. Miss 7 said to me, “Mum, I’m worried about you, I think you’re running too much and I don’t want you to hurt yourself. I know what it’s like to run too much and hurt myself”. Nice that she cares, LOL. They actually did some schoolwork today without complaint, Master 5 was very good with his maths.

I was reading an article in the Australian Veterinary Journal lately, about veterinarians’ income (is the apostrophe in the right spot there?) - there’s an increasing number of vets being churned out into the workplace, and a slow but steady reduction in the number of dogs and cats in Australia. The ratio of vets to animals is greater in Australia than in either the UK or the USA. Couple this with the fact that online sales of flea products etc is increasing at the expense of in clinic sales, and in the next 2-5 years it will not be necessary to vaccinate animals every year, you can see that vets are going to have to do something to maintain practice income. Wages are not going to go down, equipment still has to be serviced, and insurance premiums just get higher each year. I can see that going to the vet because your dog has a cough will be very expensive, and this may also have an effect on the price of desexing.  What will this do to the unwanted pet population? There are interesting times ahead. Pet insurance will be a must.

I discovered that Guinness has eaten a hole in the middle of an old quilt. Not impressed.

So I survived my work Christmas dinner last night, we went to a Brazilian restaurant which had a Brazilian dance show after the meal. The food was fine, and the dancing was excellent. Gorgeous girls with big skirts, and beautiful boys with white pants and open shirts with big ruffly sleeves. I don’t know if I’m getting prudish in my dotage, but watching total strangers blend legs and rub bodies together while trying to do a lambada to the catcalls of several tribes of inebriated women on Hen’s Nights really doesn’t entertain me at all. I had a couple of glasses of a nice Verdhelo, it’s not my usual tipple, I prefer Chardonnay, but this was a really nice wine. I like the people I work with, I’m having two minds about quitting my job next year, perhaps I’ll just quit the Friday evening shift which can be challenging juggling children if hubby can’t leave work early. After 20 years in the veterinary industry, either at Uni, running my own practice, or working as a locum, I’m not sure I can get my head around “just” being a stay at home mum. Not that I can discount that - it’s harder than anything else I’ve done, but I so need to keep my brain working.

After getting to bed at midnight there was no way I was getting up at 4.30am to meet up with MBRR. It was a cool morning when I eventually staggered out of bed at around 7.30, so I decided to go somewhere different. I went out to Sandgate foreshore and parked at Decker Park, near the Houghton Highway bridge. I ran to just beyond Moora Park and back, and ended up running 12km without stopping. Although my legs were really tired by the end of it, my breathing wasn’t at all laboured. Hubby noted that I’d run the last two km at a faster pace per km than the first 10 - I told him that it was because I’d spotted the car! I had some new music on my mp3 player. I’ve been listening to Red Hot Chilli Pipers, but the mp3 player I have doesn’t have a big enough capacity for much. The player packed it in at the 7km mark or so which really annoyed me. Here’s a youtube video of Red Hot Chilli Pipers - makes me really want to get the pipes out again!

I have no idea how anyone can go to sleep with hoop earrings in - I had fairly small hoops in and I woke at 3am to take them out. So uncomfortable!

I took Sinner out this morning and only managed a pretty slow 4km. My legs were heavy and I was feeling a bit blah in the head, Sinner lagged, I hadn’t my mp3 player with me and it was all just too hard. I felt like I was hung over without having had a drink. I’m wondering if I’ll end up doing better if I don’t take him with me, which is a bit of a shame. I may try my runs next week without Sinner and just take him for walks, and see how that goes. I was divebombed by two plovers today, the chicks are getting bigger and have lost their stripes. They now look like fluffy cream pom poms on stilts. Rest day tomorrow then I’ll go out with MBRR on Sunday - mind you, my work Christmas party is on Saturday night so I may be a bit tired!!

I’m feeling seriously mentally burnt out, the kids haven’t done much schoolwork of late, which in itself isn’t a problem because they’re quite a bit ahead, and we can plod on at a slower pace during the holidays. I’m horribly demotivated and feel quite down in the dumps. I need to do something to get a spark back into life. I think I’ve discovered a new condition - endofyearitis! It’s probably just a lot of little things that are burning me out rather than any one issue. Like, yesterday I went out to the shops to pick up a few birthday gifts, and I also wanted to get a little lipstick and eyeshadow - I don’t wear makeup for the most part, but thought it would be politically correct to make an effort for my work party on Saturday night. I had the kids “helping” the lady in the shop, and telling me which lipstick they thought I should get, which was nice, but I think I would have been a bit more relaxed and enjoyed it more if I could have gone by myself and taken my time about it.

 I spent a while yesterday at the water slide, it was a nice day though not as warm as it had been on Wednesday. Miss 7 was up the slide and off in no time, Master 5 was quite apprehensive, but said he’d like to come down on my lap. Great. This thing is as high as a two storey building with a metal spiral staircase going up to the top. I’m terrified of heights. The things you do for your children! The first time I went up my legs were trembling and my heart was palpitating, I couldn’t look down. Wasn’t pretty. The slide was fun though, Master 5 loved it, and wanted to do it again and again. By the 5th or 6th time, I felt okay about it. We discovered that if you lean right forward and touch your toes, you go really fast! 45 stairs up, I’m told. Does that count as cross training??

 Looks like hubby and I, along with two long time friends, are going to enter a team in the Kokoda Challenge - that will be a ton of fun. Looking forward to that. Hubby tells me today that a marathon training program will help me be fit enough for that. Okaaaay.. so I’ve been browsing for a marathon training program, there’s a few out there. Something will suit.

Poor Sinner had been out and about a bit of late, running with me, then running with hubby, and in between he had an agility class. So, he got to sleep in and I took Guinness out for another go at week 3 of C25k at a bit of speed. That dog has so much enthusiasm - all I have to do is look at a dog lead and he’s up and bouncing and ready to go. Week 3 is basically 5 min walk, then two reps of a 90 sec run, 90 sec walk, 3 min run, 3 min walk then a 5 min cooldown walk. I went as quick as I could without falling over Guinness, although half way through the last 3 min run I found it a bit tough, but still managed to go faster than my regular 6 1/2min/km pace. The black dog was brilliant, just gambolled along beside me. He just needs to keep more of an eye on where I am, he did cross in front once and I had to put the brakes on. I find he’s a perfect height for treating on the go - I keep a stash of soft treats in my bumbag and every now and again I’d put one in the front of his mouth. He’s going to be a lot of fun to run with as he gets older. Sinner looks like he’s carrying a bit of beef, I can see a diet coming on.

Guinness has both ears up now, and I’ve taken a few photos - it won’t be long before we have a new picture for the top of the blog. I also have a few things to put in the sidebar - I’ve had a go at doing it myself and got it totally wrong, so I’ll need to get a bit of expert help.

I’m taking the kiddies to the waterslide today with a group of homeschooling friends. They’ve been squabbling and bickering for the best part of this week, so they don’t really deserve it but frankly, being at home with them again all day trying to convince them that helping me tidy their rooms makes for a happier mummy will have me in a strait jacket by dinner time.