Running With Dogs

I did an hour’s weights with Anja yesterday; my babysitting arrangements fell through and the kidlets came along to the studio with me. They were a pain in the butt - “put more weights on, Anja”, they kept saying! Whose side are they on, anyway!!

I was planning on a run this morning, but we took the dogs for a walk in the pouring rain, then did a writing assignment for the Distance Ed College, which took a while. We then went up to the Council chambers to get a new registration tag for Guinness - he’d been unable to eat Sinner’s this time, so ate his own. That’s the fourth replacement this financial year, at $6 a pop.  He’s sending me broke. I don’t know what he enjoys about green plastic.

After our chores were done, I was hoping to take both children on their bikes for around 6km, but Miss 8 was cracking a wobbly. I figured I’d end up missing out altogether, but Hubby got home from work early. I grabbed Master 5 and quickly tossed on some running gear and we headed out the door, much to the disappointment of Miss Cranky. The lad was great, he had a ball and powered along. It took him 45 minutes to do the 6km, and he wanted to do more, but I figured dinner would be nearly ready so we went home. He’s a fit little fella, and if he can keep improving, it really frees Hubby and I up. As it gets cooler I’ll be able to take the kidlets out for my run later in the morning and there’ll be less pressure in the mornings to get us both what we need. And, it’ll keep the kids active too. All’s good!

I’m looking at doing my long run on Saturday morning in Redcliffe, then just going straight to work. I’ve been told that the local caravan parks will allow people to use their hot showers for $2, so I’ll make some phone calls tomorrow to check that out. That’d be so convenient, I could grab a shower and a coffee and be raring to go (well, maybe) by 8am when my shift starts.

Hubby got up yesterday morning and ran another 16 or so km at Mt Mee. We then had lunch with his Dad and his wife, and both Hubby, his father and myself fell asleep in chairs. Antisocial lot we are, but we were knackered.

This morning I did 10km on the road with Anja in just over an hour, it’s always nicer with company. After lunch, we took the kidlets back up to Mt Mee to walk along the Somerset Trail. It’s a good walk, about a 13km loop, with plenty of decent hills. We didn’t expect to do the whole loop, with the little ones with us, but out and back we covered around 10km.  Part of the walk is along a ridge, with a nice outlook over the mountains. It’d be a great spot to photograph a sunset, that might be something to aim for in the next couple of months as it cools down a bit. Both the children and the dogs were worn out and crashed when they got home. The kidlets are keen to walk the whole loop, I think they can do it, but we’ll need to take a bit more water. I’m hoping to find someone to mind the kidlets for a couple of hours one day next week so I can go up there and run it with Robyn, bit of practice for Kokoda.

My supposedly intelligent Working Kelpie took no time in tying himself around a tree when we stopped for a break. It’s just as well he’s good looking!

Tomorrow is a rest day, but I’m planning on meeting up with Anja to lift some weights. I really enjoy our session each week. I’m convinced she can’t count though, she gets me to do 10 lifts and forgets to tell me to stop! Either that, or we’re chatting so much we forget how many I’ve done.

We dropped the kidlets off at Auntie Bernie’s this morning, they didn’t know it but there were a couple of surprises in store for them. One was that their big cousin Phillip was up from Canberra, and the other was that they were off to the movies! So, they were quite happy to see us go.

We went up to Mt Nebo with the plan to run for a while and have a nice brunch at a local restaurant with some great views from the balcony. Hubby thought an 18k loop would be manageable and off we went. Must admit, it was a great place to run, and I think I managed remarkably well, considering I’d never run that far in my life before. Walking the uphills gave my legs a bit of a break and I found it comfortable to keep running even after around 20km (we took a wrong turn and ended up doing a bit more than we planned!)  We’d brought a hand held water bottle each and refilled it at a water tank at a storm shelter along the trail, and had a few sour worms to nibble on. By 22km or so, I was finding it hurt less to run than to walk, but by 24km I decided walking was the only way I’d get forward. I’d run out of water and every part of my lower body was excruciating; I remember thinking it was bizarre that I could actually feel between my toes, and it hurt big time! It was a funny pain, it wasn’t muscular or crampy, but it stopped me in my tracks. I’m thinking something to do with blood circulation. Then I had trouble deciding whether or not to pass out or throw up first. I wonder if that’s what happens to people who don’t prepare properly for a marathon. Fortunately, I made it slowly over that last km back to the car and had another drink, then I felt absolutely fine. It was interesting how suddenly it hit me, and how quickly I recovered. Unfortunately by the time we’d got back on track and made it back to the car, it was time to pick up the children, so no nice brunch with a view. Next time.

The take home lessons from today’s events are - have more for breakfast than a couple of slices of toast and a cup of tea; don’t run for 4 hours on that breakfast alone, having eaten it 2 hours before the run starts; take more water, perhaps in a back pack; and take some more to eat on the trail than sour worms. Looking back, it really was a recipe for disaster, eh? Still, it hasn’t put me off and I’m looking forward to the next one. The only discomfort I feel now is a tightening of the muscles around the top of my knee, otherwise my legs feel really good.

Guinness and I went for an 8km run this morning, just a short one so I would be able to do more than half a km tomorrow. When he had a poo, I picked it up with a plastic bag, as you do, and continued our run. I had brought with me a stick to ward off loose marauding dogs, and at around the 5km mark, I noticed a particularly strong smell of dog poo. Checked my shoes, and nothing was stuck to them. I thought perhaps the bag was leaking so on checking that, I found that by carrying the poo bag and the stick in the same hand, the stick had torn the poo bag, and I now had dog poo on my shirt, shorts and thighs. So the bad smell was me. Fortunately after 16 years in the veterinary industry, dog poo isn’t a big deal to me, however the kidlets wouldn’t come near me when I got home, hehe.

After breakfast, we went to Slickers Horseriding for a half hour ride with Karen and her boys. The kidlets did really well, Miss 8 rode for the first time without being led and was quite cool and confident. Master 5 was led on a tiny white pony called Pixie - children have to be led until they’re 7 years old. I was on a massive!!! (well, it seemed that way) grey horse called Max, and both Karen and I just about had kittens when the horse shifted, or stomped to shake off a fly. I haven’t ridden for so many years, and I wasn’t much chop then, so it was a bit hairy for a while. Fortunately Max was a very laid back horse, and quite responsive to commands, and we had a great time. Went to Karen’s for a play afterwards, and really did nothing much else for the rest of the day.

We went to Indian Brothers  restaurant for dinner - great food, nice staff, very inexpensive and the kids loved it. I think we’ll be back there again.

I had every intention of going out for 12k with Guinness this morning, and because I had a friend calling in for a quick visit at 6am, I set my alarm for just after 4, so I’d be back in time. When I woke up, I felt quite off colour, so turned it off and went back to sleep. I’d rather take an extra rest day and feel better than push through and end up feeling worse. As it was, my friend was held up in traffic and didn’t arrive until 7am. I didn’t even get to say hi as I was in the shower and she was already running late. Next time, eh Linda?

Headed over to Roseanne’s for a visit, then Miss 8 stepped on a nail. The thought of a tetanus needle caused a whole lot more distress than the bleeding puncture wound, and she was rapt when our GP told her that her vaccination status is good and she doesn’t need a booster. We got home to find three more trees have fallen in the back yard, so I spent the next hour on the phone to the local council and the Dept of Natural Resources to make sure there were no restrictions on us chopping down all the remaining black wattle on our block. They’re tall lean trees with the tiniest, shallowest root ball, so they blow over if someone so much as farts in their direction, and there are a few too close to the house for comfort. Now I need to get some quotes for removal. I then chased up a missing registered mail parcel, hung out some laundry, put some more in the machine, and stacked the dishwasher. That earned me a latte and some chocolate! Sarah called over with some home made chocolate cake, and when she left I was knackered, had no idea what to do for dinner, so just whipped up some chilli con carne and we gobbled it with corn chips. The kids have been really great with each other, I don’t know what the go is but I’m so not complaining.

Guinness presented me with a dead bird this afternoon. It’s the second time he’s caught one, although this one looked very young and not fully fledged. I wonder if it was in a nest in one of the trees that fell, and he “caught” it that way. Probably a very good natural diet for a dog, but I disposed of it anyway.

I’ll go for a shortish run tomorrow morning, as Hubby and I are going out trail running again on Saturday morning and I don’t want to hurt my shin. It’s our 17th wedding anniversary and since we really don’t need presents, we figured some time out would be nice. So, a run and brunch while the kidlets are with Auntie Bernie is on the agenda. 17 years - I’m sure you get less for murder. Just kidding, dear <G>.

Do you ever get completely over shin splints? I’m starting to wonder…

I planned a full day of no exercise today, yesterday was pretty busy. When Hubby got home, we ended up taking the kids out for a bike ride, and of course the dogs came with us. I had no option but to run with them, another 4.5km and my shin was sore. Home to some ice and nurofen and I definitely wasn’t doing anything today!

I slept in until 7am or so, and was woken by two warm cuddly bodies. The kids, hehe, not the dogs. Eventually got up and we took the dogs a walk around the lake, then went to visit some friends for lunch. That’s about the sum total of it. Had a game of Pictionary Junior with the kids tonight, Master 5 forgot what he was supposed to draw half way through - no hope of winning that round, LOL.

Tomorrow morning is a longer run with Guinness. Miss 8 looked at the map and decided it wasn’t for her, so I’ll get the chance to take my new mp3 player. I’ll be sure to take some water with me this time!!!

This morning I met Anja at Sheepstation Creek Conservation Park for a run through the trails. It wasn’t too hot, and I managed the 6.5km without stopping this time. Last time I ran through here I needed a couple of walk breaks - always nice to see some improvement. Anja had it all figured out, she let me go first through the narrow trails so I collected all the spider webs. Fortunately I didn’t collect any spiders with them.

 Kidlets went to play with Sarah and her children for an hour mid morning and I had a personal training session with Anja at the studio. I didn’t know if it would be too much for me after the run, but it frees Wednesday mornings up for Hubby to have a run, and allows me a full day of rest. Worth a try. It wasn’t too bad at all, I felt pretty good. I discovered my abdominal muscles are incredibly weak, so the only way to go with them is up.

Just waiting for Hubby to come home so we can take the kiddies out on the bikes again. I thought about riding too, but that means the dogs don’t get out for some exercise. I really don’t want to run again today; I did that yesterday afternoon with the kidlets on the bikes and felt a bit sore in the shin. Just don’t want to overdo it. I’ll probably just walk and let Hubby do the running, but I can see the dogs not being too happy about that one! They’ll pull my arm off. Speaking of, I watched the NZ movie Black Sheep last night, about the genetically modified sheep who become carnivores and eat lots of people. Very corny, lots of gore, and I probably wouldn’t watch it again.

Had a visit from Karen and her lovely children today and we’ve made arrangements to take all 4 children horseriding on Friday. That will be neat!

Miss 8 decided this morning she wants to try and match her friend Leah, who rides 10km while her mum runs. Leah is a couple of years older than Miss 8, and her mum has been running a whole lot longer than me. I’m not going to discourage her from trying to go a bit further each time, and she was keen to go along the subway under the freeway with me. After speaking to Anitra yesterday about running with dogs, I thought I’d take my life into my hands and put Guinness on a chest harness instead of the head halter. If it wasn’t any good, we can go back to the head halter next run. He was great. He didn’t really pull at all, apart from when he wanted to say hi to another dog. He just trotted along beside me, and wasn’t fazed by the harness or not being anchored to me by the head. We did the 8km, it was starting to really warm up by the time we finished, but Miss 8 did very well.

I’ll probably end up having another short dog-free jog this afternoon. Master 5 wants to go out on his bike and practice without training wheels, and Miss 8 is now the proud owner of a much larger bike, and she’s keen to give it a try.

Yesterday afternoon when we walked the dogs, we were attacked by a loose Border Collie. As it flew at us, I kicked it under the chin to flick its head back. That usually doesn’t hurt the dog much but really takes it by surprise, and it worked; the dog turned and left us alone. However, this morning I have a large round painful puffy bruise on the top of my right foot. I might go back to carrying a stick.

Miss 8 and I made home made pizzas last night while Hubby and Master 5 put together the Hot Wheels Lava Land setup. The kitchen looked like a disaster area by the time we’d finished, and I wondered what they’d end up like - she manipulated the dough like it was playdoh. They tasted great. I’m going to have a go with the new slow cooker tonight - somebody save me, I’m becoming domesticated!

I was up pretty early this morning and went to Mt Cootha to meet with Mallani, Anitra and Nic from the Coolrunning Australia forum - yeah, internet relationships, hehe. I’d read in an old running magazine that caffeine may ease muscle aches, so I figured it wouldn’t do me any harm to have a coffee this morning instead of tea.

We ran up a fairly wide trail with a few sets of stairs, then when we got to near the lookout, headed down the road for a way. We went down the Powerful Owl trail which was narrow and rocky - I can imagine it would be a lot tougher going up - and really pretty. Back to the carpark, and we’d done just under 8km. Anitra headed home and Nic went for another loop while Mallani and I had a cuppa and croissant at the lookout. Nice view over the city, good company and a fun run - great way to start a Sunday. I always feel a degree of concern when I go out with someone I don’t know. I’m not very fast and not really strong, and I worry that I’ll hold them up. That wasn’t a problem, and I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the run was. Admittedly no massive hills, but certainly hillier than what I’ve been dealing with in the past. We’re hoping to do it again in a month or so, it’s always nice getting out with some company. I noticed that Mt Cootha trails are dog friendy - might be a nice place to take the kiddies and the dogs for a walk sometime.

This afternoon will be more tidying (yes, it’s never done) and a dog walk this afternoon, they’re feeling a bit ripped off as I was at work yesterday morning and then yesterday arvo we had smoko with the Griffins, who will be doing the Kokoda Challenge with us. They’re a lot of fun, and I think we’ll really enjoy doing the event with them.

I’ve had a good couple of weeks of low mileage now, and my shin is feeling really great, so I think it’s time to start ramping things up a little again. However, I don’t think I’ll double my mileage in one hit next time!!!

Miss 8 (gotta remember she’s 8 now!) and I went out this morning for a relaxing 6km, she’s so long legged and has outgrown her bike. We’ll have to look at something a bit bigger for her, and if she can learn to use gears, she’ll find the small slopes we go up a whole lot easier. Did a bit more tidying up in Master 5’s room (really could have used a bobcat in there), then went off to work.

What a night! Didn’t stop all night, and when you have appointments every 15 minutes, all you need are a couple of people to take a little longer and your schedule is blown. That’s what happened, and by the end of the night, we were running 45 minutes behind. I hate that! I know it’s not uncommon in the medical profession, but I find it really stressful to peek into the waiting room and find it full of dogs and cat cages. To cap it all off, we had a tiny Miniature Fox Terrier pup come in 5 minutes before closing. I couldn’t turn them away so we ended up leaving 1/2 hour late.

I picked up a bottle of Goundrey’s Unwooded Chardonnay on the way home, and thoroughly enjoyed it!