Running With Dogs

Well, my big black boy survived to reach his 1st birthday, and isn’t he handsome!! Nice photo by Deb from Wide Exposure Photography. - I’m planning on doing a little bit of subtle photoshopping to remove the tree from stabbing him in the top of the head. Good dog photos are hard to get, especially when sitting still is not one of your strong points. Hee hee, if you look at the picture at the top right of the blog taken when he was quite a few months younger, it looks like he has grown into his ears!

Hubby and I roped in the grandparents to mind the children for a few hours last night, and we went out to Glasshouse Mountains for a trail run organised by Ian Javes. A nice low key event, we planned on doing the 20km option. It was a pretty flat circuit with a couple of crossings of a shallow creek and quite a few boggy areas courtesy of last week’s rain. My new trail shoes got well and truly tried out. It was a really clear night, lots of stars and not at all cold, and the trail was really well marked. I was trotting along thinking that it’d be kind of fun to be out there on my own, with just the dark and the trees and a headlight, it’d be very solitary. We then came across a ute parked in the road in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, with two guys and a big bull arab type dog. Maybe out hunting pigs, who knows. I may be a bit conservative or paranoid but the idea of being out there on my own suddenly didn’t seem quite as fun. They were more than likely just a pair of decent blokes out for a boys night, but really, who knows, and in trails, no one can hear you scream (to paraphrase the Alien movies). Even if I had Guinness with me, this dog would have swallowed him in two bites. We finished the 20k in around 2 1/2 hours, and my legs were tired but okay. They’re arranging another run in May, and I may think about doing the 30km option. I’m not very fast so I think I’ll see if we can start an hour or so before everyone else, so Ian isn’t out until midnight waiting for me. I need to start going out for longer runs, or the Kokoda Challenge will wipe the floor with me.

Today is a quiet day. Kidlets were up very late last night so will be cranky by mid afternoon. Hubby is mowing the lawn, I’ll be sorting laundry and tidying up, and we’ll take the dogs for a hike. I’d like to get over to Anaconda, I saw a nice hydration pack that has room for a bicycle helmet. I don’t want to carry a bicycle helmet but the helmet pouch is a great size for my digital SLR and zoom lens. Anaconda has 25% off packs this week, but I’ll see what Hubby thinks of them first.

I went to Caboolture Road Runners again last night. They had a 3km handicap on the track. I don’t particularly like running on the track, it’s quite boring, even more so than running around the same streets around here over and over again. Anyhow, I’d guessed I’d do around 6 min/km, I usually average around 6 1/2 but thought I’d probably go a bit faster without a dog to worry about. Ended up doing the 3km in 15 min 06. I’m not too unhappy about that. The 3km is 7 1/2 laps of the 400m track, and from what I saw, I was the only one with my fingers sticking out at odd angles - I had to count the laps on my fingers so I didn’t do any more than what I had to.

Legs were quite sore afterwards but they’re feeling a ton better today. What’s the difference? I’m doing a ton more stretching, and I’m also giving them a good massage with some Tiger Balm. I’ve been stretching in the past, but perhaps not enough. I’ll keep going with this regime and see how things pan out.

We’ve got our regular Mt Cootha run on Sunday week, but I’ve just found out there’s an Australian Cycling convention or something on, and there will be thousands of cyclists up and around that area. Given a chunk of our run is on the road, and given the coffee shop just won’t accommodate thousands of cyclists as well as us, I’m very tempted to give it a miss. We could maybe organise a run on the Sunday after the half marathon instead. I’ve passed it by my regular co-conspirators to see what their thoughts are, but I’m really not into crowds like that, so I’d be happy to skip this one. The Pinnacles run is on the Saturday after and that will be a nice workout. Looking at the calendar, it’s only 3 weeks to the half marathon. I probably should enter this weekend to avoid a late fee. 

If I don’t do Mt Cootha, I’ll probably go and do the Sanctuary Cove 10km race instead. Goal pace 5.20min/km and a sub 54 minute finish. It’s an early start and a bit of a drive, we may have to go and spend the night down the coast. What a tragedy!!

It’s been a quiet couple of days run-wise. Seems to be either a feast or a famine. An hour with Anja on Tuesday as usual had me sweating, then I took Guinness to dog club on Tuesday night. The big black boy excelled himself, didn’t put a foot wrong, and was so exuberant about being there, he nearly tore my arm off. He’s going to be such fun to run in agility, but a fair challenge too. I was going to go out for a run on Wednesday morning with Miss 8, but the chain was off her bike and we’d already been locked out, so we just went for a walk instead. When I suggested we go running with the bikes later in the day, she didn’t want to. Interesting dynamics at the moment with her; she likes to try and hold the reins a bit more than is appropriate. So, half an hour on the elliptical trainer at a good speed was all I could get done in the day. I was going to go running with Anja this morning but the bucketing rain was a bit of a deterrent. Might look into a treadmill at some stage, it’d be handy to have in the shed. Would be one way to get my hill workouts in.

Just had an experience of some amazing customer service, so thought I’d publicise it. At Christmastime I bought a pair of Teva sandals, from the same outdoor shop Hubby got his sandals from - the ones Guinness nibbled. Anyway, Guinness had “nibbled” mine too, in a much more dramatic way. I didn’t post about it at the time because Hubby reads this blog and I was feeling physically sick about it - they were worth $170!!!! Guinness chewed off the whole buckle, and there was no way they were any good. I called the Teva distributors in Sydney and asked about getting them repaired. They gave me a returns number, I sent them off with my contact details so they could invoice me, and today I receive in the mail a brand new pair of Teva sandals at no cost. How good is that!

Still dabbling in websites, I’m putting together a forum, the hard part will be getting participants in the early stages - nobody wants to post in an empty forum. There are a few ways of getting a new forum moving, but it’s a bit of work. Still, I enjoy it. Something else to do in my “spare” time LOL.

We went camping for the Easter long weekend at Kilkivan Bush Camping Grounds - what a good weekend! The kidlets quickly made friends with some other children there, and spent a lot of time riding their bikes around the campsite with them. Did a bit of running along a quiet country road, and went for a good walk along part of the Bicentennial National Trail and up to a lookout. On Monday morning, we were planning on another 10km run, but funnily enough, Guinness pulled the pin. I think he was just getting a bit too hot - the days were gorgeous but not conducive to a black dog running too far. Only did 7 1/2km but at least there were a few more small ups and downs than there are around here. One thing about going camping is that I didn’t take my hair iron. If you’ve read my blog recently, you’ll know about my permanent bad hair day at the moment. Well, if it’s not ironed straight, it’s absolutely horrendous. A lot of folk would say, “ahh, it can’t be that bad!”.  Tell me, who else bumps into an elderly lady in the toilets at the campsite and is asked, “And what are you going to do with your hair today?”. Total stranger she was! I guess the lack of tact is okay in the very old and very young. I smiled politely and replied, “Wear a hat!”.

Now, I’m grabbing a few minutes to update the blog while the kidlets do their maths, then I’ve got unpacking, laundry, washing up, dogs need walking - just as well we like camping and I don’t mind the post-weekend bedlam. I’m probably going to meet up with Anja later today, then dog club tonight with Guinness. I still haven’t done my homework with him, I’m hoping he’s bright enough to wing it. I’m seriously considering looking for another club - after last time when one instructor was laying into another instructor at the top of her voice for not getting the agility course set up quickly enough. It’s just not a nice attitude, considering the instructors are all volunteers. It’s not the club it used to be.

My article pack has brought in around US$250 so far, and there’s more I can do with it, so that was a worthwhile experiment. I’ve been in contact with a marketer in the US who is interested in some cross promotion, so some networking happening there too. Not sure what I’ve got yet to promote, I have an idea for a really neat site but just need a block of time to get it moving. The blogging course I posted about was quite good, but gee, you had to jump through some hoops to get it, and sign up to a mailing list where they send you stuff every other day. I didn’t watch the videos, like I’ve got time to sit and watch videos on my computer, but instead I downloaded it as mp3’s and will put onto a CD. I’ll be unsubscribing to their mailing list too, they’ll probably just try and sell me stuff I don’t need. More junk mail.

I had a day off yesterday, my legs were sooo tired and sore. 35km in 3 days with some nasty leg presses in the middle will do that to you, I guess. I was supposed to do some hill reps on Tuesday but realistically, there’s nowhere I can go that’s not too far to drive to early in the morning, or that’s okay for the kidlets to come with me during the day. I wonder if stairs are a fair alternative because I know a great set of stairs near a playground and I could manage to get there once or twice a week. I didn’t do anything this morning either because Hubby has talked me into going along to CRR this evening, and from what I’ve heard, they work you pretty hard.

The kidlets have the day off schoolwork today; having said that, it’s not been the most productive week with Miss 8 objecting vehemently to the maths unit she has to do at the moment. It is boring, but so are a lot of things that just have to be done. I need to tidy my desk so I can find the bills I need to pay.

I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it’s still free.

Other than that, it should be a quiet day - walk the dogs, sort the laundry, do some washing up and prepare for the Easter long weekend.

Had a session with Anja today and she had me leg pressing 160kg!! We were supposed to go running tonight, she’d be darned lucky after that, LOL. I was measured again and I’ve put on 1/2 - 1cm on each arm, in the bicep area. I’m calling that added muscle. I also noticed another little muscle on the back of my shoulders, I’m told it’s the trapezius. Haven’t noticed it before. I have also lost 3cm from my waist and 6cm from my hips.

We did go running tonight, through a rural residential area with a few more slopes than around here. At times we felt like we were taking our lives into our own hands, with no street lighting and cars flying along at 100km/hr with their lights on high beam. Couldn’t see a thing under those circumstances, and Anja did actually roll her ankle a little in the dark. We did 10km in 57.13, which is the fastest I’ve ever done a 10k. We had a drink and a stretch, then did another 3 1/2k up and around a very hilly loop. Total time around 1.18ish, so not too disappointed in that. It’s really motivating to see that much improvement - I might bookmark this post and email it to myself when I get fed up.

I’ve been mucking around with my website again. It’s a website in a box package I received from Aldian in Indonesia and it’s a really really nice blog template with a sales page for my ebook. Has Google ads on it, and I can put links to affiliate programs on it. Aldian has written out step by step instructions which make it so easy. All was going smoothly until I decided to edit the html. Yep, she who was in raptures last week because she created a functional hyperlink, this week decided she could edit html. What was working beautifully is now not working at all. So I’m going to delete the site, and start again from scratch. This time I’ll leave well enough alone.

Bloody dog has chewed Hubby’s sandals. Which dog, you ask? Oh, that dog. These ain’t no ordinary sandals, these are really expensive sandals from the big outdoor/mountain climbing shops in Fortitude Valley. They’re not badly damaged but I was going to whip them into a shoe place and have some minor repairs done then have them back before he noticed. Young Master 5 felt he just couldn’t keep a secret, so told his Dad. He then became quite distressed when said Dad threatened to strangle Guinness. Needless to say, Guinness’s neck is not in any danger, we just need to remember to shut every door in the house and not leave anything on the floor. He’s had a taste for Barbies lately, and yesterday Ken became an amputee. I remember when I was little and we were leaving Scotland to emigrate over here. My Dad had pretty shocking teeth and as the Scottish dental system was free and the Australian one wasn’t, he had them all extracted before we left. I still remember him coming home from the dentist and blood seeping from between his lips and being blotted by a tissue. Anyway, bit of a horrific picture there, but I’m wondering if it’s an option for Guinness. It could be life saving surgery for him.

I haven’t written much of late again. I went to work on Friday night and we have a guy bring around a box of books on approval. We can flip through and if we like them, we buy. I picked up some writing books for the kidlets. Unfortunately we had a quiet hour or so on Saturday, and I started reading a fiction book. I got half way through it, and by then, I just had to buy it. It’s called “Keeping Faith” by Jodi Picoult. Quite a good read.

I did 15k at MBRR on Sunday morning in 1 hour 27 and a bit, and that included a quick stop at the half way mark for a drink and a stretch. Looking back, I did 15k on Christmas eve in just over 1 hour and 32 minutes and a bit. So, that’s not a bad improvement in less than 3 months. That sort of thing keeps me motivated. Barbecue breakfast afterwards, and off to the pet expo. It was all the usual stuff, and Dr Harry was there. I don’t feel particularly warm and fuzzy towards the man after I saw him, many years ago, refuse an autograph to a little girl with long dark plaits, it would have taken him two seconds max. I really don’t have time for arrogance.

MBRR are going to Warwick for the Pentathrun in May. I’m thinking of going with them. 5 runs over 2 days, I’ll probably trash myself and need a week to recover.

Guinness has eaten my bicycle seat. There goes my triathlon career!

Haven’t posted for a few days, but it’s not because I haven’t been running. I’ve been doing a lot of writing, but more on that later.

Tuesday was a workout with Anja after a 10km run in the morning. I’m always a bit concerned when we do kicks because my aim is bad and I worry about hurting her. I’m even more concerned when she starts counting down my reps backards - from 100… 99, 98, 97!! I’m having a ton of trouble with the bench press. It’s not too heavy but my left arm is a bit weaker than my right, so when I push up, my whole body starts to roll to the left and I nearly fall off the bench. Bizarre.

Had a rest day on Wednesday, and today I took Guinness out for about 9km. It’s still quite hot and I need to get up a bit earlier if I want to go further. Miss 8 was grumpy because I promised she could come with me, and she wasn’t awake. I can’t win because if I’d woken her up, she’d have been tired and grumpy anyway. It was a sluggish run and my calves are a bit achy, I think I don’t stretch them enough.

Back to writing - I’m having a go at writing ebooks and web content. I figure it’s one way of working from home without disrupting the family too much. My first package is an ebook on common things around the home that can poison your dog. I quite enjoy writing and I think I do a good job. I’m just waiting from some contact from a designer in Indonesia who has created a matching blog and website theme, and they’ll be offered as an upsell. I’ve got a ton of other ideas, but I think I really need to learn about html and website building a bit more. Any dog owning readers who’d like a copy to review for me (Andrew? Sara?), I’d be happy to zip it over to you.

I’m taking the children to Bunnings tonight for their Easter night. I’ll have to iron my hair I think. I had a perm about 3 weeks ago, and my hairdresser, who is usually wonderful, had just hooked up with a new boyfriend. She must have been a bit distracted because it was the worst perm I’d ever had in my entire young life. I literally looked like I’d stuck my finger in a power point. So, I went to a different hairdresser and had most of it chopped off. There’s not much that can be done with the frizz, but it’s a really nice style cut, and if I use a hair straightener, it looks really good. However, if I struggle to iron my clothes, ironing my hair is a long shot! I only do it if I’m going out.

The rest of the week is uneventful. Tomorrow I’ll probably take the kidlets out on their bikes while I run. I’m working tomorrow night and Saturday morning, and on Sunday I’ll do my long run with MBRR, and we’ll take the kidlets into the pet expo. I’m hoping to renew some old contacts so I can negotiate some industry support for my planned doggy funrun. In fact, I think my next ebook will be on running with your dog. I can have a good fiddle with that topic from many different aspects.

5200 to be exact!! I was up bright and early and ready to go when Unity arrived to babysit the kidlets and Anja arrived to pick me up. I was feeling pretty good, and hoping to do a fast time. That all went out the window when we arrived at South Bank and saw the sheer number of runners. I decided that a fast time wasn’t going to happen so I figured I’d just have a nice run and enjoy the day.

I started probably towards the back of the first third of the pack, hoping to not hold up the faster runners but not be held up by slower ones. Didn’t work - the first half km was at pretty much a fast walk. I was stuck behind a couple of walkers for a bit, then there was no way through the throng. The route was quite scenic, across the Goodwill Bridge, through the Botanic Gardens, then along the path beside the river and finally back across the Victoria Bridge and back to South Bank. Many areas were narrow and slow, and there was no way of stretching out and getting a bit of speed up. After 4km the crowd spread a bit and I managed to run faster. I finished in 29 minutes and something, which was a whole lot slower than I was hoping, but I was still pretty happy with the run. My average time was a touch over 6 min/km which was okay given the crowding, and the last 3/4 km of the run was done at 4.40min/km pace, so I had plenty left in me. I finished the run really comfortably, not puffed and legs felt great, which made me confident I’d be able to do the distance faster. Anja did the 5km in 25 min and a bit, which was excellent. The race pack had a voucher for a free run with the Brisbane running group who hang out at West End. They’ve got a well marked 5km course, so might be a better opportunity to see what I can do.

Hubby finished his 6 Foot Track run in 5 hrs 28 and a bit, he was aiming for sub 5 1/2 so he was happy with that. I initially thought the race tee shirt was a gross colour - it’s a two tone lurid green - but it actually looks really good with black shorts.

So, a pretty good weekend running wise.

The kidlets wanted to go bike riding with me today, with me on my bike too. I dug out my 20 year old, grossly neglected mountain bike and pumped up the tyres, and off we went. I quite enjoyed it, I think it could be a really pleasant cross training activity. Only problem is, the dogs don’t get any exercise - I’ll still have to go for a regular fast walk.

Guinness starts his agility training on Tuesday night. I had some homework I had to teach him in preparation for the class. Have I done it? Nope. Just as well he’s a really bright dog, I’ll do it just before we go and I’m sure he’ll be fine!! A bit like doing your school homework on the bus on the way to school, eh?