The dreaded drain

After a class last night, I got home and was starving.

So was Pete. Starving for attention.

So I popped a pizza into the oven to bake while I took him for a quick walk around the block. (He's trained me well.) It was cold out and even though I was bundled (two pants, 2 tshirts, sweatshirt, jacket, hat, gloves) we walked briskly.

All was going well until we came upon the dreaded curb drain. Cue menacing duh-duh-duuuuh music here.

Poor little guy is desperately afraid of these. In my neighborhood, they don't have grates like this, so I guess its a little scary that he might get sucked down with the rainwater. But it seriously cracks me up.

When he realized the gaping hole was the only thing between him and I, he flipped. I tugged at the leash to get him on the sidewalk with me so I could avoid a step in deep slice (that's snow, slush, ice combo). But he wasn't having it.

All four paws braced, nails gripping the cement, belly low for better leverage. I couldn't get him to move.

So I did what any good pet owner would do.

Laughed at him and tugged even harder on the leash. When I still didn't have any luck, I either had to drop the leash or step in the pile of slice. Of course, I dropped the leash. Hey, it was frigid and I know he won't run off. At least I hope not.

Around the corner and with no more drains in sight, Pete was as happy as can be. And that was magnified when we got home and took the pizza out of the oven.

Little punk is such a good beggar.

What can I say?! He's trained me well.

It's Alive!!!

Yep, I'm back to the land of the living. Made it to work yesterday, but I felt soooo tired all day. It was like if I got hit with a feather, I wouldn't be able to hold myself up. Today, huge improvement. I would say I'm back to 95% which is huge.

I'll get lab results tomorrow to know if anything else was wrong, but I know for sure that it was impetigo (bacterial infection in my lips). A little strange since usually that's a diagnosis that kiddo's get. But I guess I'm weird. When I was 4, I had shingles (normally an old-person disease) and I never had chicken pox because of it. So my health is a little backwards and mixed up. I must say that I am a huge. HUGE. fan of mupirocin ointment. It's basically Neosporin on steroids, and I could've just used the remainder from the tube the vet had prescribed for Pete's paw injury a few months back. If only the $50 itty bitty tube of Denavir would've not made things worse for me. I tell ya, being sick is expensive. It doesn't work into my debt reduction plan at all!

It feels great to be back to my normal self.

On my to-do list, set my half marathon training plan, get back to the 100 pushup challenge and investigate the "new" gym that comes with my tennis lesson Groupon.

Garth Brooks' fever was way better than mine

It started Monday... mild fever and just not feeling great. But I toughed it out to hang out with some of TGO's friends that I wanted to get to know better. If only I had known it was intended to be a guy's night... Woops.

Tuesday and Wednesday I did as much work as I could in the office, but with a good afternoon nap to try to make me feel better. Thursday I stayed home and was semi-productive from my couch. Friday I gave up. No use in trying to work when you feel this crappy.

Though my normal body temperature is a little lower than most, this week I've been averaging 99.0 and got up to 100.1 at one point. There were a few times when I thought I might burst into flames. My ears, neck, back, head, all burning up. Beyond fever and general malaise, I've not been feeling too bad.

Except for the horrific-ness that's been going on with my lips! Yikes. A few weeks ago they were itchy and now its turned into pusy, swollen, red, feel-like-they're-on-fire awfulness. Doctor said it was a cold sore and gave me a prescription strength Abreva-type cream. Not sure if I believe it or not... I'd never had a cold sore before and have no reason to get one now, and everything I've read says they clear themselves up in 2-10 days, but I've been struggling going on 3 weeks now. The stupid cream just made things WAAAAAAY worse, so I gave up on that. And just today realized that Ora-Gel is my new best friend. When something hurts so bad you don't want to move, talk, eat or drink - numbing is the only option.

I thought today was turning to a bit of a recovery, but my temp is still elevated. I know the best thing to do is to rest, but I'm. So. Bored. Out of my mind. You can only watch so many shoulda-been-made-for-tv movies. I mean AMC, TCM and those other movie channels are supposed to play good movies, not crap like "She's the One" and whatever other horrible thing I watched yesterday. So I opted for stopping by Blockbuster on the way home from the pharmacy today. And Michael Jackson, you disappoint me. Sure, the music was good, but the documentary was just boring. I was hoping for some entertainment or some insight into his life or something, but it was just pretty lame.

So I quit movies and moved on to getting caught up on my favorite blogs. And now. DAMN! I just want to go train like the rest of you! I want to have awesome injuries to win Steve in a Speedo's contest. I want to do pushups so I can show up Rockstar Tri Guy. I want to be well enough to go for a tempo run like my Someday Tri friend. And I want to spend time with my man so I have something interesting to write about like Ms. 50 J-Dates.

Why is this so much to ask?! Come on, body, tell me! I will do what you need to get better but for Pete's sake, give me something!!!

I love being loved

Man, I shoulda taken pictures of the delicious chocolate pizza and the gorgeous pink, white and red roses that TGO got me for Valentine's Day. He also cooked a tasty dinner all by himself and cleaned about 4 lbs of dog hair out of my car. I don't think it could've gotten much better than that.

But wait, it did! He also got tickets for us to see this guy at the Sprint Center in March:

I love being spoiled!!

Morning Drive

Check out the little buddy I saw on my way to work today. He was just watching traffic go by on the highway. He wasn't afraid of his shadow... If only it was Prairie Dog's Day that we celebrated....

MILESTONE!!

It's paid off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No. 1 with several to follow.

Yay, me!

The Sun'll Come Out...

I was able to eke in about 3.25 miles before the beautiful sun set. Ah, sun. How I've missed you! It was a great chance to spend some quality time with Peter - and make him realize that its ok to be mellow for the rest of the night! He's been sleeping quietly since we've been back. What a relief.

Afterwards I completed Day 2 of the 100 Pushup Challenge. So far so good. Its actually a challenge too, which is nice. The squats and situps aren't nearly as hard, but with these "massive legs" as TGO likes to call them, it totally makes sense.

Being able to run really helps my stress level. Work has been crazy busy. My volunteer work is definitely time consuming. Plus trying to figure out a new living situation while maintaining my #1 2010 goal of BUDGET is tough. Combine that with the dreaded acronym nthat many of the fairer sex have to deal with... and UGH. Makes for a tough week.

But. It Will. Get Better. It Will.

Of this, I am confident.

And for the times that I'm not, fake it til ya make it.

Sigh.

Why is it that when stress levels in one area of life are high, they ramp up everywhere else too?

Is it the same reason that you're most productive when you're busiest?

These rough couple days make so many things seem unbearable. And I know they're not. I know how blessed I am. I know how much worse it could be. I know that most people don't have things as easy or as good as I do. But its still hard. And frustrating. And exhausting.

I know I'll get through it. I've proven myself to get through so much worse in the past.

But right now... ugh. Sigh.

Sunday Funday

Sunday Funday at Minor Park with Pete and TGO was just that... a great way to spend a snowy blowy day. We trekked out to the trails since Pete had such a good time out there on Saturday and explored a few new paths and made our own way a few times too. The plastic bags in your shoes trick worked fairly well to keep me dry and warm, but the trek across the creek probably didn't help too much. Live and learn, eh?

The happiest dog in the world!

Its all fun and games until Pete finds a dead deer carcus to roll around in! Be thankful I'm not putting up the picture the the ribs with the meat cleaned off... This seriously was the most raunchy thing I've ever smelled. Well, until we got Pete in the Jeep and all we could smell was his nasty butt. He even had blood in his fur! Gross!

Needless to say we went to U-Wash Puppy afterwards and I will probably never bathe Pete at home again. Such a great deal! $14 for all the supplies, including a fur-dryer and Kennel No. 5 - and no back ache when you're done!

Everybody is happy and tuckered out after a two-hour hike through the snow.

The latest challenge

Drop and give me...

100?!

Are you crazy!?

Well that's what they told me when I registered to race Ironman Wisconsin, and that was a great challenge turned into an amazing experience.

So here I am, Day 1 of the 100 Pushup Challenge completed. And for good measure, I've already started the 200 Situp Challenge and plan to do 200 Squats once I'm three weeks in. If the plan for 25 pullups was ready, I'd be doing that too!

Saturday I completed the initial test, ekeing out 8 real pushups (not the modified on-your-knees kind like I'd been doing), 43 sit ups and 59 squats. I bet if I had really tried, I could have done more, but I didn't want to make the challenge too hard that I would want to quit.

TGO isn't so sure about this - he doesn't want me turning into a beast of a woman since he likes my curves, but I convinced him to join in the fun. It will help with his PT test this spring, which could potentially equate into a raise down the road.

So if anyone else wants to join in - let me know and we can suffer and build strength together. Many thanks to Rock Star Tri for blogging about his attempts so I would know about this program!

Woof bark growl arf.

Hi guys. I decided to write a guest blog while Mom is taking a nap. Little does she know that I can type! And people always give us a hard time about having no thumbs.

I just wanted you to know that I am the luckiest dog in the world. Mom took me out to Minor Park this morning to play in the snow. I seriously love it there. I get to run around and check everything out without having to worry about getting my neck wrung from that stupid leash. I was following my nose and I found a deer! So I started chasing it and then I found another deer! Those dumb things are so fast I wasn't able to catch them, but at least I know I'm smarter, better looking and have a better family than they do. So they can be faster, that's fine by me.

When we made it to the creek, I couldn't believe Mom. She wouldn't come anywhere near it. I had so much fun wading around and getting wet. The mud feels so good in my paws. And then I smelled something so wonderful, I just had to take the scent with me. Rolling in the snow feels so good!

There were so many things to see and smell. I even found the footprints of some little animal. I have no idea what it was, but I sure tried to find it. It was pretty cool to see just my pawprints and hers for a good portion of the hike. Plus it was so peaceful to stand over the ledge of a big dropoff and hear the creek running. I felt like it was just me and her against the world. And that's the way I always want it to be.

I can't wait to go back. I heard her on the phone with that guy. She said we're going to go back tomorrow. I just can't wait! (If only he wasn't coming, I like having her to myself. He's not so bad I guess, but he better know I'm the boss!) Better rest up so I have plenty of energy for tomorrow!

Girl Power!

I feel so fortunate to be a woman and an athlete. And to live in a city that embraces the two together.

I get so excited about this concept. I just registered for the WIN for KC Triathlon. All women, sprint distance, lots of first timers, great energy and encouragement from the edge of the lake to the finisher's chute. Today only, registration is discounted, so I jumped at the chance. How many of you will sign up with me?
WIN for KC - the Women's Intersport Network for Kansas City - celebrates women and athletics today at their annual luncheon. While I'm not attending, I'm there in spirit supporting the mission of the organization and each of the women behind the scenes. Here's a great video highlighting the wonderful group.



The other local group that is so close to my heart and often on my datebook, is Girls on the Run. I'm on the board for our local council and devote quite a bit of my time to helping the organization grow. In three short years, GOTR KC has exponentially grown from 6 brave girls to now over 300! Running is what got me back on my feet after a horrific abusive relationship, and I use running all the time to get me out of a funk and back in a good mood. I just want to share that with a few other girls and women. The video below showcases just how wonderful GOTR is!



Many of us on the GOTR board have decided to be athletes together and all race the WIN tri. Hopefully some of you will join us!

My Toot-Toot

I heard on the radio today that a person passes gas an average of 20 times per day.

Your mission: Count how many times you cut the cheese in the next 24 hour period. Then report back.

I'm willing to bet I'm right on average.

Groundhog Run!

Sunday was race day! The first one since Ironman back in September. And it was the world-famous (or so they claim) Groundhog Run. It's all underground, in a cave with natural temperature control. So even though is was 20* at the start, the course was 70 except for the brief jaunt by the cave opening. 3500 people come from around KC and neighboring states to enjoy a January race that could easily be late April/September conditions.

I love pretty much everything about race day. The energy, excitement, nerves. Seeing other athletes and friends that I generally see only on the course or at the gym. Seeing people of all shapes, sizes and ages competing, against one another and especially against themselves. There was a 6 year old that finished the 5K, and an 84-year-old. How cool is that?!

It was also the good officer's first 10K and longest run ever. He's only been over a two-week bout with the flu for a few days and regardless of that, he did awesome. He negative split and was able to really rock out the last 1.5 miles. I'm so proud of him, and hoping this is only the first of many races to come for us.

For me, I wish I had done a bit of speed training, but am generally pleased with my performance. I think all my races to date have been PRs, and then today, I was about 3 minutes shy of that. But I ran the race I'd planned for. Start out easy, then pick it up for the last 2 miles. And you can't ask for much more than things going to plan. (Even though I would like to ask for a little more speed! Someday, I hope!!)

Afterwards, we had a great lunch at Jazz with some of TGO's buddies, filling our bellies to prep for the awesome nap that took over the afternoon. And then of course, criticizing the celebrity's choices for the red carpet at the Grammy's. Sunday Funday for sure.