M+B=E2O2

Hard Run, Wine, Long Run

I've come to realize that my fears in running have very little to do with distance. There is a brief fear of being cold- this is mostly because most of my running attire consists of warm weather stuff. I'm slowing getting things I need to keep warm, but the fear of being too cold, then getting too hot is definitely there. It was 42* Friday morning. I layered up, but not too much since this run was meant to be a "hard" run, 4.5 miles. I set The Nag to pace me at 10:45. I managed a 10:28 average pace and felt really good through out. The dogs kept up well, but it was tougher on Reina. A few months ago, she could barely walk over 2 miles without being overcome with exhaustion, tongue hanging nearly to the ground, the pads of her feet bleeding from being worn down. Now, 10 lbs lighter, she is running and walking over 15 miles a week (maybe more) and she can last 5 miles, tongue hangs low, but her feet have toughened up. Then I ran her 4.5 miles hard. She did fantastic, but both her back paws had wear spots and tracked little spots of blood all over the house! Poor thing. Good thing Saturday is our official rest day & I only take her 2-3 miles of Sunday's long day.

One other Reina note. She is a rescue, we got her when she was around 3. She has always had severe anxiety around small dogs. I have my theories on that, but I won't get into that now. If a small dog is around her whole being just amps up. Sometimes to the point of shaking all over. I don't think she wants to hurt them, but I don't trust her since she did once kill a sweet, precious chinchilla that she clearly thought was out to get us all. The groomer we take the dogs to loves her to pieces and is very good to her. Usually they have to crate her and cover her crate so she can't see the other dogs, especially the little ones. Buka usually has the run of the joint, wandering about as he pleases. Friday when I came to get them you could have knocked me over with a feather. My Reina was calmly, quietly sitting on the floor, tethered, but not attached to a person. She was sitting there watching a little dog get groomed. No anxiety, definitely very attentive, but so incredibly calm. It was amazing. I never thought I'd see the day! Buka was the one in the crate this time- he was getting to be too much of a busy body getting into everything. LOL! I am a huge fan of Caesar Milan, and have never been consistent with the most important of the three things dogs need (in order of importance). Exercise, discipline, affection. She rarely needed discipline, and she got lots of affection, but rarely enough exercise. I feel like we might be changing her life for the better a second time and it feels so good!!

 

Saturday is rest day. Sleep in day. No alarms at 5 am day. Except the car alarm that went off down the street and woke me up anyway. Grrrr. That's ok, I fell back asleep and got up at 6:30 so all was not lost. We had lots to do, Ben had to go to work, which meant the boys had to go to ballet with me. Just as we were leaving the house, right after inset the alarm, I heard a thunk on one of the back windows. I disabled the alarm and went to investigate. Sure enough a little American Goldfinch knocked herself silly on my back window. Poor thing. I held her for a minute, then went and got a tea towel for her to recover on. We were already running late for class so I couldn't stay with her to see if she broke her neck. I figured the least I could do was give her a warm little spot to recover. In the few minutes this all took she was already almost able to perch on my finger, so I felt ok about leaving. Came home to a towel with a couple of turds and no birdy! Yay!

(Please excuse my awful nails!!)

Saturday night we had a wine tasting/silent auction fundraiser for the girls ballet production. It's is our 3rd or 4th year going, I can't remember (I don't think it has anything to do with the wine either!) We always have a wonderful time. The venue is a personal estate and it is just beautiful. It was too cold to mingle outside unless you were under a heater, so I was sure to go up to the top of the property as soon as we got there to catch the sunset and take in the gorgeous view. This year was especially fun because we knew more people than we usually do. We had lots of great conversation, yummy food, a bit of wine and we bid on too much stuff, but love what we won & it is for a great cause.

(One of our auction wins...just a wee bottle of wine!! The one in the background is to give a little perspective).

 

This morning I had all my alarms set to go off in the dark, but it was 40* and the Weather Channel app said it felt like 37*. My fear of being cold kept me in bed for another hour or so, then I had no choice but to get on the road. It didn't make a bit of difference, TWC app said the same thing at 6:30 as it did at 5:30. Oh well. I put on 500 layers (of every different obnoxious color I could manage) and got moving. I didn't want to push Reina too hard so I ran the 'hood for 2 miles then dropped her off at the house along with a layer of gear. She was not happy. After the bleeding paws though, I really wanted her to heal.

(Me in all my colorful glory- sporting my Santa socks)

 

Buka and I then took off for the beach. I am testing out various things as I go along this journey. Today I wore a water belt. It holds two small bottles. In one I put plain water and in the other I put one that was flavored and had caffeine type stuffs. I also brought chocolate flavored Gu. Before leaving I ate half an Ezekiel English muffin. The water belt has a pouch that could fit my phone, but it would be on my back, I don't think I would be able to hear The Nag, so I also wore my regular pouch on the front. Everything seemed to fit well and was comfortable. For the long run days I actually do not use The Nag, however I do have her tell me each mile point. Helps me know when to turn back for home and also let's me know my pace, though I am not concerned with pace, just comfort.

 

 

I had to take a quick peek at the ocean, it was so clear you could see Yellowbanks out on Santa Cruz Island. I let Buka take a quick dip in the ocean and were off again. I felt great for the whole run, very comfortable. My left foot had some pain in the spot where I tore the tendon two years ago, and at one point my lower left butt cheek hurt, but nothing was run stopping and mostly I felt awesome. The only time I picked up the pace was in my last mile. I wanted to negative split and I want to get used to picking up the pace and pushing the last bit of the race. When. I hit 8 miles I dropped to a walk and checked out my splits. Have to say I am very happy with them! I averaged 12 min miles which is great as far as I'm concerned. Except for mile 5, I was either at a 12 min/mile or 11 min/mile. Mile 5 was nearly 14 min. Might have been when I was on the beach, not sure, will have to look t the map. The best part was that mile 7 was a 10:09 split, then my last mile- 9:55! I won't be bringing home any prize money, but I think I have a good chance at being a strong middle of the pack finisher LOL! I spent a half hour stretching, using the foam roller and working out any aches. All in all a great week of running, time with friends, and we will finish it up celebrating Gampy's birthday tonight.

 

And for those of you that are wondering, no sign of Mr. Cranky Pants, Barefoot Bathrobe or the Odd Couple. I think I have scared everyone off.

 

 

 

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In case you hadn't noticed

I weighed in on Monday and I have officially lost 5 lbs!  (since the end of April & the beginning of a little contest between my friend and I).  Our final weigh in for the first month is on Friday the 30th.  I've already met my goal (4 lbs) but now I have to spend all week worried that I'll have some sort of freak 10 b weight gain. Ok well mostly I'm worried about a 2 lb fluctuation gain.  Over the course of a month, even when losing weight, I add a few lbs here and there- usually around or during my period.  I should

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Weird.  This post was supposed to be in draft mode- not published until I said- Publish.  (Hence the sentence that was left hanging.  yeesh. )

Well I did keep all my weight off (YAY) and me and my girl went to a local wine bar and had a perfectly wonderful night.  I'd go into detail but then you'd know that we indulged in yummy cheese, wine, Tuscan style fire baked pizza and (shhhh) we shared a piece of chocolate cappuccino pie thingy. Mostly it was great girl talk while the boys watched all the kids.  (That is a whole 'nother story)

Anyhow my intent was to blog about my crappy day today, but upon finding this here post unfinished I didn't get to do that did I?  Actually the day wasn't crappy, I was just in a crap mood right from the get go when a freakin bird started pacing my roof at 4am.   (We have a cathedral ceiling so I heard every dang step).  I am trying desperately to let go of my negative mood even now at 945pm.  Honest to God if that bird walks the roof again tonight I'll be out front in my jammies tossing rocks at the damn thing (and I really like birds normally- honest).

Peace out all-  maybe tomorrow I'll have my chance to write.  (Jenny I was also all geared up to share about the whole yearbook thing I'm doing too.)

The Birds Part 2

Well, I had other thoughts I intended to write about, but I was privy to a scene  today that I feel I must share since I posted about the crows & the hawk yesterday. 

I was up in my room, talking to a loan agent on the phone (remember the whole house problem? This is a post for another day).  I had just opened up the curtain which faces the street.  On the house across the street were two white doves.  One had it's tail feathers flared and was clearly agitated.  A crow was hopping around nearby on the roof.  As I am idly watching, waiting for the loan lady to get back on the phone, the agitated dove takes off over the tree to the house next door.  Out of nowhere swoops in a hawk.  Took that dove right out of the air onto the ground. 

The crows came out in force.

There was one on the ground next to the hawk, but the hawk was not about to surrender its booty.

There were crows lining the eves of the house,

in the tree

and on the street lamp.

  The hawk went to work tearing out the feathers of the dove.  At one point a man who walks the neighbor hood daily comes upon the scene.  He stopped about one house back and just watched.  The hawk, feeling nervous, picked up the now lifeless body of the dove and carried it up the grass off the sidewalk. 

He allowed the man to get with in a few feet before taking off and flying over the houses and landing on the next street.  At least 15 -20 crows followed.  Now If I were the man I'd have given the hawk a wide berth.  Left him to his prize with out the fuss.   

The kids only saw the latter half of the scene.  They were both sad and fascinated.  When we came back form piano lessons today the doves were out (our neighbor down the street has a white dove service)  but instead of all being in one large group as they usually are, there was one group of around 20 that were in a pack and the rest were sort of scattered (another 20 or so).  I've never seen them fly like that.  Within a minute or so we saw why.  A hawk was scouting the area.  Once he arrived on scene, they all flew back to the coop within a few minutes.

Ahhh Nature.

Oh and Vanessa- I completely agree with your comment- they are so totally amazing.  The doves down the street are out for their exercise every afternoon, and the awe of their beauty and flying has not diminished in the last year and a half.  I feel so lucky to see their show.

The Birds

We have a bunch of crows that live in a neighbors tree nearby.  They are often heard cawing and conversing.  There are always two or three birds hopping around our front yard, doing their crow thing.  This morning there was a big crow commotion in the trees so my sister (who is visiting) went out to see what all the fuss was about.

Apparently there was a hawk- a rather large one, too close to their territory.  They dive bombed him  while he sat in a nearby palm tree.  They worked in groups, switching out periodically. They would swoop down from straight above him then just when it looked like the crow would crash into the tree it would pull up from the dive cawing loudly.

This carried on for over 10 minutes.  The hawk went from one palm to another, 3 in all.  Eventually the crows stopped, though they were spread out through the neighborhood, keeping an eye on the tree.  The hawk moved around a bit at one point, without leaving, and 3 crows flew out of no where and started in again.  It was pretty fascinating to watch.  It kept my sister and I out in the cold, misty morning air for a good 15 minutes!

Our bounty and more than your really want to know about it.

I really get a thrill out of our garden.  Now that I sized it down I wonder if I made the right choice.  Our pumpkins are insane!  They grew and spread all over last year, but the leaves were not nearly as big as our are now- they couldn't have been.  I've had to lower one side of our garden fencing to accommodate the suckers.  I'm scared to think how much of our yard will have been taken over by the beasty plant by October.  Seriously.  The cucumbers aren't too far behind either. 

My poor green onions, carrots and watermelon are just being dwarfed by the pumpkin and cucumber leaves.  The corn is holding its own for now.  I've had to redirect some of the cucumber vines but they seem to be growing strong.  The green beans are also flourishing.  They keep climbing and winding around every pole in sight.  Oh and the tomatoes!  Those appear to be taking over the other fence.  They are HUGE.  We have already spotted many little green tomatoes too- so I reckon in another month we'll be eating a lot of salsa. 

My bib lettuce was doing great for a while- then a few slugs started having their way with it so I'm letting it be and using it mainly to keep found caterpillars alive.  We just released one as a moth today!  We have one green inchworm in a cocoon, a black caterpillar with bright green racing strips eating lettuce by the ounce and growing at a phenomenal rate.  I rescued a teeny tiny green inch worm on the last bit of lettuce that we will likely consume from our garden yesterday. If I can get those pesky slugs gone we'll get to eat more on  future taco nights! We have one more caterpillar that will hopefully do it's thing and turn into a moth like the one that we freed today. 

I also have 6 romaine lettuce heads that seem to be doing well despite the pumpkin vine that has slithered past it and now stealing sunlight.   I planted morning glory around my compost and that too has taken off.  The pile is just slightly visible.  My mint, basil and cilantro are also just growing like mad.  I have one pot of strawberries that seem to still be alive, and a flat of strawberry plants that need to be potted. 

We have regular bird friends daily- lots of them.  We've even got a green parakeet that must have either escaped or been set free.  Owen and I named her (we assume "her" based on nothing at all).   Her name is LeeLee. Soon as I can get a picture of her I'll share it.  Now we just need to sod the rest  of the yard (old garden area) and get a climbing/swing set thing for the kids and our yard will be totally complete.  As it is I feel like it is darn near perfect and it all brings me so much peace and joy.