Running With Dogs

I have just eaten a large chunk of chocolate macadamia fudge and half a bag of gummy bears, and feel quite ill!

I’m finding it hard to fit in a run at the moment. It’s dark by the time Hubby gets home from work, and it’s dark in the mornings until fairly late. I could probably fit in a half hour run in the morning, but I’d rather go a bit further than that. So, I’ve been encouraging the kidlets to come out on their bikes with me. They can easily ride 10k, and although the run is usually interrupted by drinks and rest breaks, it’s all time on my feet. I’m planning on extending them to 12k very soon. I have a fairly flat 12k loop mapped out around home, so we may try that next week. Yesterday I took them into Redcliffe, thinking they’d enjoy a ride along the foreshore while I ran. It was really nice, they enjoyed it, and I was hopeful of getting a bit of distance. Unfortunately Master 5 rode his bike into a pole, both were okay but that was the end of that. We had an ice cream on the beach, then came home. I wanted to go out this afternoon with them, but after a full day with a homeschool group, they were tired, but sigh, they’d come with me if I really wanted to go. With that level of enthusiasm, I could see it just wasn’t going to be a success, so I decided to give it a miss. They’re just going to have to get out there and ride with me if they want me to continue to take them to all the activities they do.

I took Guinness out the back yard for a bit of obedience training this afternoon. He was really fired up and easily remembered how to heel, automatic sit, and drop. He’s dodgy on the stand, and is totally useless on the stays . However, he’s so enthusiastic and did so well after a long break from training, I can see it won’t take him long to get back up to speed. I want to have a modicum of control before we go back to obedience classes, so he doesn’t totally embarrass me. I’ve also found agility classes close by, that are privately run. That may be an option. I have to get some pipe for the metal frame I have and then I’ll have a set of weave poles we can practice with. I’ll also get the hurdle out of the shed, and get him jumping a bit more.

I vaccinated and microchipped the whippets last week. Tiger screamed like a banshee, Sherbet was so laid back and didn’t even flinch, even when the huge microchip needle went in. They’re such different personalities. Sherbet is around 5 months old now, and with the whippet’s smaller size, they should be mature enough to go running very soon. The kidlets will be thrilled with that.

Some more fun from the Japanese (have you seen their Human Tetris game? ) - Treadmill Game!

It’s been still a bit lean on the running side of things, it’s dark in the morning and I just don’t feel like going out in the dark. Cold, too. I’ve been shaking the kidlets up and getting them out with me on their bikes at a more civilized time of the day, and I get a couple of runs in a week that way. I’m very much looking forward to at least spring!

The legs are good now, nothing really to whinge about any more . Steve the physio left bruises on my calf yesterday, but gosh they feel good! Speaking of Steve the physio, he’s flying to Barcelona for two weeks - he won the trip in a competition. He took a car for a test drive and didn’t know he was put into a lucky draw until they called him to say he’d won. I don’t think he even bought the car. Wonder what I can test drive?? I’ve entered a competition in the paper to win a weekend at Airlie Beach, I’d be happy with that.

We went up to Caloundra early on Sunday morning for the Caloundra Foreshore Fun Run. The 10k option started at the bottom of Golden Beach and meandered north along the coastal path and along the boardwalk to Moffat Beach. It was icy to start with, it took until the 2k mark for the tip of my nose to thaw. What a glorious place to run!! The route overlooked quiet beaches and rocky outcrops all the way along, and the sky was a clear blue. I loved it, it was so pretty. The path was narrow at times, but with just under 300 runners, there weren’t really any traffic jams to slow me up. I started off chatting to Robyn from CRR, then when she decided to slow a little, I spent the next 4 or so km talking to a man from Noosa. There was a bit of a hill at the end but I finished in a respectable 53.53, 5 seconds outside my pb. I was pretty happy nonetheless because I had no leg pain!! Maybe I could have gone a bit faster if I hadn’t been bumping my gums so much, but that’s never been a motivating factor for me. I’m just a social butterfly.

Hubby and the kidlets did the 3k run which was a loop from the finish line at Moffat Beach. The kidlets did very well, running all the way without stopping. Then, we had bacon and eggs on the barbecue - it was a top day.

Got a few decent trail runs coming up. Going down to the Kokoda route on Sunday for a 29k training run, then there’s the Lake Manchester Trails in a couple of weeks. I was talking to my Mum yesterday and I was saying that we start with about 25 minutes running and 5 minutes walking, but by the end it’s something like 25 minutes walking with 5 minutes running!

I had such a quiet day at work on Saturday, I ended up reading the bulk of The Da Vinci Code. I really enjoyed that book, kept the suspense going all the way through with a neat little twist at the end. I don’t know if I’ll bother seeing the movie, I don’t think it could do the book justice, but it can’t be any worse than the movie we watched on Sunday night, No Country For Old Men. It was a good enough movie, but I got so annoyed at the ending. Nothing further to say, as I don’t want to give it away, but it was totally unsatisfying and left me feeling cranky, much to Hubby’s amusement.

The sun’s up and the temperature is above freezing, I’m going to get the kidlets on the move and see if I can get out for a run before they do their schoolwork for the day.

Nice easy start to the week, as I make myself get back into some sort of exercise routine. I’ve been feeling a bit out of the loop since the half marathon and have been pretty unmotivated, what with my sore legs and the cold mornings. Monday saw me spend half an hour on the elliptical trainer, while the kidlets actually did their mathematics without fuss or fighting. They’ve been so good lately, I’m thinking about taking them to a doctor.

On Tuesday I took Guinness and the kidlets on bikes out for a 10k run around my usual route. It was slow, and there were a few stops, but Guinness was really good on his head halter. He’s learning not to pee on every tree he passes, and he no longer drops to the ground in front of me to rub the halter off. Anyway, I had no discomfort at all during the run, legs felt really good, it actually felt weird. I’m so used to some soreness that it felt totally different to feel nothing. Not that I’m complaining .

I’ve had a couple of tours of Fernwood at Petrie, it’s a stunning setup, absolutely spotless and really well laid out. Their casual monthly membership works out at around $100 per month. That’s a lotta lotta dosh. Given that the newspaper has just mentioned another likely interest rate hike, I don’t think I’ll be taking them up on it!

Nothing really interesting happening otherwise. Running club tonight, gym tomorrow then we’re making flowers for the local Sorry Day ceremony which is on Monday. Working Saturday then Sunday morning is the Caloundra Foreshore Fun Run. That’ll be nice, but we’ll have to be up there early, and it’ll be freezing!!!

I don’t know when the last time I blogged was, probably 3 or 4 days ago. I’m wondering if I’m better off blogging more frequently but with more brevity, or writing a longer post that may be more interesting, and doing it less frequently. I think the issue is that I don’t have interesting things happening in my life on a regular basis, it’s all quite routine and mundane.

I haven’t done much running of late, did a few laps at running club on Thursday night with Robyn and Anja, nice slow pace, and nothing since. I didn’t get to do the 30k at Glasshouse on Sunday, a last minute child minding problem meant I had to look after the kidlets. I took them to the kite fest at Redcliffe, and we had a nice morning out nonetheless. Just leaves me quite short as far as hill/trail training for Kokoda, which is only 2 months away now.

I was back at the physio today, he does something amazing to my calf muscles - trigger point therapy, does that sound right? He finds the sore tight spots and presses them, then stretches everything, and they end up just feeling so good!! I’ve pretty much got no pain in the calves now, and I’m being really good about stretching a lot after any sort of exercise. Hopefully that’s the end of that.

I spoke to our local Fernwood about honouring the 1 month pass, which is actually from Fernwood at Jindalee, about an hour’s drive from here. They declined, but did give me a 2 week pass to try them out. So, I’m off tomorrow for a cardio workshop, then I do a weights workshop. I may as well make the most of the two weeks. If anyone knows someone over Jindalee way who would like a free month at Fernwood, let me know and I’ll stick it in the mail.

I’ve entered the Caloundra Foreshore Fun Run on Sunday, it’s 10km along the coast and should be a stunning place to run. I’ve often thought of going up there to run along the boardwalk but as it’s an hour’s drive from here, it’s a bit indulgent. I’m of two minds. On the one hand, it’d be interesting to run it well and see what I can do after around 4 weeks of not much running. On the other, I think it’d be great to have a leisurely run and appreciate the scenery. Mind you, running it well might be the same as running it leisurely, LOL. Hubby and the kidlets are doing the 3k run. It’ll be a really early start to the day, and it’s been quite chilly, so will be hard to get out of bed.

Hubby has just pointed out a fun run on Sunday too around the University that allows you to run with your dog!! Very proactive, and if I hadn’t already entered at Caloundra, I’d be inclined to enter there with Guinness, just to support them in allowing dogs. I still fancy organising a fun run for dogs and owners, but am up to my eyeballs in lots of other dribs and drabs at the moment. Maybe later in the year.

I had a nice lunch with my Mum for mother’s day today, we went for a buffet at the sports club. She’s not terribly in favour of home education and with my niece exactly the same age as Miss 8 (there’s 10 days between them) and currently undergoing year 3 testing, there was plenty of discussion! I’ve declined to put Miss 8 through the testing because I know she’s doing just dandy.

I was told that Miss 8 needed to do the testing so we could see how she compares to other children. I suggested that comparing children wasn’t a productive thing to do, because academic ability is only one thing that affects how well children do in life. Then it was, "you need to do the testing so they get used to the stress of tests to prepare for the stresses in later life". Sure, but do they need that stress at 8 years old? Perhaps when they have to deal with such things, they’re going to be much more mature. The icing on the cake was "homeschooling parents just pass their children so they can move forward, but some children have to fail". Sigh. Define "fail". And, don’t schools just pass children so they can move forward , so there are children towards the end of their primary school years who can’t read well. Mum had to agree with that. After all that, she gave up and the topic was changed. I get a bit tired of having to defend my choice when my kidlets are at least a year ahead of their peers academically, and they’re polite well adjusted children with lots of friends. We get plenty of compliments on their behaviour. It ain’t broke!!! There, finished venting.

Went out with Narangba Runners again tonight along Oakey Flat Road. I took Guinness with me and was much more comfortable running in the dark on my own. I wore my new Saucony Progrid Trigon 5 Ride and they felt really good. I was still a bit tight in the calves but overall a much more comfortable run. I probably won’t go out with them again, maybe later when I’m faster, but it’s fiddly to get Hubby to meet me after work so he can take Master 5 so I can wait for over half an hour for the other runners, only to run on my own. I can run on my own around here with much less disruption to the family.

I’m starting to think about some running plans, and seeing what I fancy doing over the next few months. My legs are starting to really feel good, there are a couple of very nice sounding half marathons coming up so there’s an option there, and another 10k run at Sanctuary Cove on the same day as some trail runs at Lake Manchester. Too many options!!

I really like this picture from Despair

I read a blog post recently that suggested that race reports are very helpful for people who are going to run that race, to help them get a feel for what they’re going to be up against. Hubby pointed out that my half marathon race report (I ran a long way, I got tired, and I stopped when I’d finished) wasn’t particularly helpful to anyone. I promise to do better next time.

I had such a nice Mothers Day Eve. Since we were going to the Mothers Day Classic on Sunday morning and having dinner with the Mum In Law on Sunday night, I had my Mothers Day on Saturday night. The most yummy roast chicken dinner with a nice bottle of chardonnay, and the kidlets made dessert. Two layers of puff pastry, sandwiched together with mixed berries and custard creme, and dusted with icing sugar. You honestly couldn’t get anything better in a restaurant. So good!! I was given a bunch of flowers made by Miss 8 at Girl Guides, they were egg cup cartons suitably decorated, and on pipe cleaner stems. I also have a new skivvy with an iron on transfer photo of the kidlets on it. It fits beautifully. I do get tired of the commercialisation of such occasions, and am so much happier just hanging out with my family rather than spending $$ on presents when really, I don’t want for much at all.

It was an early morning on Sunday to get to South Bank for the run, and we picked up Roseanne on the way. We did the 8k run, and she kept saying, you can go on ahead if you like. I so didn’t want to go on ahead, it’s been a long time since Roseanne and I had a run together and it was just really nice to hang out with her. She did really well considering she’d never done 8k, and hadn’t had the chance to run for a while, and we came home in 56 minutes and a bit. Hubby and the kidlets did the 4km walk. My tribute card was featured on Channel 9 news on Sunday night - I guess that makes me indirectly famous? Master 5 won a months’ pass to Fernwood in the lucky draw. I’ll go along and have a go, but in these days of frequent mortgage rate rises and similar uncertainty, there’s no way I’ll be signing up for anything.

I went to the podiatrist this morning. Had some more heel lifts put on my orthotics, and have switched to a neutral shoe instead of my moderate support Asics. Got a nice blue pair of Sauconys. I must have tried on about 7 pairs and went running up and down the footpath in each, so gave them a good workout before I chose the most comfortable. I guess if you have a podiatrist help choose your shoes, they’re likely to work for you. They really do feel good.

This afternoon I went to the physio, my shins are feeling really good so I got him to tackle my calf pain. I had to lie on my tummy and hang my lower legs over the edge of the table so he could see if my calves were tight. His comment - “holy sh%t, they’re tragic!!” suggested I had a bit of a problem, . After lots of massage and stretches, they do feel better. What with the new shoes and the physio’s magic hands, I’m feeling a bit more optimistic that I may not have to go back to being a couch potato.

I’ve just finished reading a book called The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss - here’s the website. It’s a very interesting read indeed, and as an entrepreneurial type, I picked up quite a few interesting tips from it.

The only running I did this week was on Tuesday night with the Narangba Running Group which was just short of 8k along a reasonably hilly route. Being the slowest of the runners, I pretty much ran along the dark road by myself, which although safe enough due to lots of passing traffic, I didn’t really enjoy all that much. I think if I do that run again, I’ll take Guinnesss - he’s big and black and looks impressive, even though he’s a teddy bear. My legs have been sore again, and the physio hasn’t made as much of a difference as I’d hoped, so on Monday morning I’m off to the podiatrist. It’s obviously not just an overuse thing because it’s not resolving with very little use, so maybe I’ve got an injury. Might end up having an extended break then starting from scratch again. Whatever it takes. I’m at the point where I feel like quitting because running always hurts, but I figure I’ve done so well, I don’t want to pack it in.

But, before I do see the podiatrist, Roseanne and I are doing the Mothers Day Classic tomorrow morning. We got together yesterday and did some scrapbooking of our tribute cards. I think they look pretty neat.

It should be a nice morning out.

I’ve been dabbling in websites again, and whipped up another blog Trail Runner World - I’m hoping to fill it with videos, race reports and product reviews.

Hubby and the kidlets are in making me a Mother’s Day dinner, and I think it’s really trying Hubby’s patience. Happy Mothers Day tomorrow to all the mums!!

Or something along those lines. I had an easy 8k with MBRR on Saturday morning followed by breakfast. Legs felt just okay, considering all the rest I’ve had. I had the HR monitor on again and it was darned hard to keep my heart rate down, I had to walk towards the end to keep it under the 138 or so. Too hard, no fun, so I’m thinking that if I run at conversational pace, that’ll do.

Birthday party for a friend on Sunday morning, and a gathering of some the nicest folk in the home ed community. I genuinely enjoy the people who were there, and was disappointed to have to leave so we’d be home in time for the grandparents coming to mind the kidlets. There was an informal trail run at Glasshouse on Sunday evening, and, thinking I need to start to run a bit further, I’d arranged for Poppy and Grandmarl to come for dinner and then mind the gruesome twosome while Hubby and I went out. Unfortunately we got home from the party too late to eat with them, and it was a quick “here’s a pizza voucher and $20, see you in a few hours”. I felt a bit guilty about that. We covered 26km in 4 1/2 hours of running/walking, my legs were exhausted and the last few km were a bit of a shuffle. I probably could have crawled quicker. What was good though, was that my shins and calves felt fantastic, no pain at all. I’ve been paying close attention to stretching lately, so it obviously has helped. What wasn’t good was that I’ve developed a bunion on my right foot which is quite painful. I’ll probably go back to the pod to see how it can be managed before Kokoda. Long term, it may need surgery but I’m sure there’s tons that can be done before that point. I can thank my father for my genetically poxy feet, he had to have a toe amputated because it was perpendicular to his foot and he couldn’t get a shoe on!

When we got home, Grandmarl had swept the patio, done the washing up, brought the washing in off the line, done a load of laundry and hung it out… I’ve asked her to babysit again tonight

This morning the Griffins and I took Guinness and went and walked the Somerset Trial at Mt Mee. Hubby stayed home with Master 5 who had been up all night with vomiting and diarrhoea, which means that I was too. My legs felt really good after last night’s run, shins great, and I was starting to think all was going to be good! Nope, now I’m sore at the top of my ITB and it’s tight at the bottom, just beside my knee, so need some stretching and massage there. If it’s not one thing, it’s another - I’m thinking I’m destined to be a couch potato, or to fund my physio’s retirement.

As promised, here’s a whippet pic. The brindle and white boy is Tiger and the blue and white boy is Sherbet. Aren’t they just darling!! They’re quick little buggers though, they take off across the backyard and at around 10 weeks, Tiger is faster than Guinness.

The week ahead - probably start to slowly up the miles again, may go out with Anja on Tuesday night at Narangba, and Roseanne and I are doing the Mothers Day Classic on Sunday to raise funds for breast cancer research and support. My mum’s a survivor, been clear for 18 years, Grandmarl is also a survivor, Roseanne lost her mum to breast cancer and is carrying “the gene” so it’s affected us quite a bit. I’ve set up a link for donations if it takes the fancy: https://mothersdayclassic.trickytix.com.au/sponsor/view/32490/Audrey-Harvey

Time for bed, I’m shattered, Master 5 has a lot to answer for!!

Last Sunday’s 10k with Robyn was the last time I went out for a run, I’ve done nothing at all this week. Didn’t go to club last night as Hubby’s aunt and uncle were visiting so we went out the sports club for dinner. Nice red wine, but a little tired this morning All that rest, plus a physio appointment on Wednesday have left my legs feeling better than they have in a long time. It’s a good thing. I actually dreamed the other night that I went for a run and my legs didn’t hurt. I’ve also been reading more on low heart rate training and by all accounts, it’s pretty gentle on the legs so I might use that to ease back into it. One of the reports I read mentioned an accomplished half marathoner being someone who completes the run in under 2 hours. So, I’m accomplished, LOL. I need to make myself a plan and set another goal. I still think I might do the Russell Island Half at the end of June, I probably should enter that, oh, and enter Glasshouse too. Thanks for the reminder, Mallani.

I’m going to run with MBRR tomorrow morning for a short run then coffee, and Hubby and I are doing another night Glasshouse run on Sunday night. Next weekend is the Mothers Day Classic, then the following weekend is the Glasshouse race. It all even sounds tiring.

Found this blog post on why running a marathon is bad for you. I don’t doubt there’s some fact in some of the points, but there tons of reasons why it isn’t bad for you, both physically and mentally. Not that I’m planning on doing one any time soon.

Whippets are settling in very well. They’re just charming. They’re getting out for a few walks and are getting used to the traffic noises a lot more. Always a bit of a worry walking a pup that’s not fully vacccinated, but in the grand scheme of things, I think the risk of infection around our estate is less than the problems we’d have with frightened unsocialised dogs. I’ll have to take some photographs! After failing to graduate agility class on Tuesday night because all he wanted to do was play with the other dogs rather than do any of the obstacles, I’m going to take Guinness back to obedience classes. 30kg of puppy needs a bit more control!