Three is my Magic Number

Do I look smug? I feel a little smug. Because I just ran three miles in around 42 minutes! I say around because I stopped for the obligatory exercise shot while the clock was still running. It's not as good as the time I used to clock pre-pregnancy (33 minutes was my best), but I'm getting back to that point, little by little. It's really interesting to see how far I've come with my endurance in such a short time.

I began running with Sarah on July 2, and we managed to make it 2 miles. Remember this picture?

So, it took me almost three months, but I've managed to add another mile to the mix. The only reason I'm not doing it in 34 minutes is because it takes a lot longer to walk back from my ending point for my 30 minute-intervals than it did when we ran those 2 miles (we were basically back to our starting point at the end of the 30 minutes). 

Maybe one day I'll managed to make my way back to that awesome time. But either way, running three miles and providing six meals is good enough for me.

Hoofin' It for the Furries

So, it's been a while since I've done anything for ASPCA. The weather hasn't been great for walking dogs, so that hasn't happened much this month. I wanted to dedicate a run to getting some vaccinations for some little companions, so I hit the trail today. I wasn't expecting to get over 2.25 miles. I woke up with a sore throat, I left my running shoes at home (an old pair I use for spin was in my gym bag) and I've had a headache for a couple days. I tried to take it easy on myself by doing minute/minute intervals, but my inner coach really kicked in and set specific points to run to within those running minutes. In fact, my coach did such a good job that I broke my interval record. I was expecting to take it easy on myself. But my hard work really paid off for the furry companions!

Running (on fumes) for Feeding America

Today, my friend Sarah opted to skip the run. Her son was up last night with a cough, so she wasn't feeling the energy to run. I'm actually quite tired myself. My little Tiny Dancer has a bit of a cold, and the only way she would sleep last night was in my arms as I sat in the chair. So, I really could have ducked out of running too. But I put whatever little energy I had into doing my lunchtime run. I think I did pretty well. I tend to push myself harder than I should when I run by myself, so I managed to burn up over 2.8 miles. Not bad, but not where I want to be (yet).

I'm just happy I didn't let my exhaustion keep me from feeding some people. Over 5.5 meals obtained for doing my fumey run.

A Run for Anna

I didn't announce this, but quietly, to myself, I had made a deal that I would do all my longer runs this month for Feeding America, and that shorter strolls and walks would be for the ASPCA. So, I was all set to do my normal Tuesday run with Sarah to benefit Feeding America. But after speaking with my "work mom" Lynn this morning, I knew I needed to do a special run for the ASPCA. Lynn told me about her daughter's dog Anna, a rescue, who is quite ill at the moment. So, I wanted to do a special run for a special dog. I've never met Anna, but I know she must be special because she has some beautiful humans who love her. This one is for you, Anna, and all your furry pals.

Stroll for the Furries

This evening, I was ready to get back on track with walking the pups. Piper hasn't really had a good, structured walk this week, so I was determined to get him out tonight. And he was quite happy to get his walk. I took the Piper reins while Cliff walked our two girls. Of course, Piper doesn't respond as well to me as he does to Cliff. I walked him most of the way, but for the last quarter mile, Cliff took over to show me how to relax while I walk Piper. It's just difficult for me. Relaxing while a maniacal mutt is doing everything he can to pull my arm out of the socket isn't really an easy feat. But I'll keep trying. In the meantime, I enjoyed having a few minutes to walk my girls.

Once we got home, I was ready to finish up logging our mile. But when I stopped the Charity Miles app, I got this error message.

I started to have a little panic attack. I've gotten this message before, and it was the prelude to an app crash and my progress not saving. But luckily, that was not the case today. I did manage to get my progress saved after we finished dinner, in which the baby proved to be quite fussy from sleepiness. You wouldn't know it to look at the picture I took of her (see below). For some reason, whenever a camera comes out, she can't help but ham it up. She just loves it when we take pictures of her. And she's so smart, she knows the difference between really taking a picture and pretending to take one. She's a clever clogs!

Rain, Rain...You Stayed Away!

It's been a few days since I've logged any miles. Shame on me! But that ends now. It's Tuesday, and Sarah and I managed to get back to our Tuesday routine. Yesterday, it rained ALL....DAY....LONG. The gray sky today didn't give me much hope that we would get to do our Greenway run. But the weather gods smiled down upon us and gifted us with a gloomy, cloudy, but fairly dry run. I felt absolutely great during the run. In fact, it felt a little easy (to me), so next week, we kick it up a notch! I guess my spin classes are helping with my stamina. Anyway, we managed to run 2.5 miles in just under 41 minutes (although a little time was used for the photo op). And we gifted 5 meals to some hungry people.

Return to the Greenway for Feeding America

I didn't forget about my weekly run this week. I just had to postpone it from our normal Tuesday run because I had to attend a company luncheon on Tuesday. But Sarah and I were ready to hit the Greenway today. We haven't run together in a couple weeks, but we managed to do very well. I'll take 2.5 miles in 41 minutes. And our lunchtime run meant we were able to provide 5 lunches for some hungry folk. I think I earned that protein-packed, post-run, egg-white bagel!

Pre-Bedtime Stroll

This evening, after I got home from work, I immediately made dinner. After eating, it was time to go for our evening walk. I wanted to eat first to give the day a little longer to cool from the heat. I got to man the stroller and the Tokie today. But with thunder clouds threatening rain, we did a shorter route than we had been doing. Still, we walked for 28 minutes and still managed to provide 1.5 meals. And after our walk, I got some snuggle time with my girl right before her bedtime.

In Touch with Nature for ASPCA

Today was a scorcher, and I was worried that we wouldn't be able to go for our evening walk. When I left work, the thermostat in my car showed 96 degrees. I definitely didn't want my girl to be subjected to uncomfortable, sticky heat. But luckily, by the time I got home after running a few errands, the temperature showed about 87 degrees. And by the time we finished eating dinner, the sun was setting and the evening was quite pleasant for our walk.

I manhandled the pup while Cliff strolled our girl and walked the Tokester. Ramsey was so cute on the stroll. She kept trying to hold Tokie's leash, and she loved it when I would turn quickly to look at her. On the way back, she held out her little hand to feel the leaves of some shrubbery as we passed by. I just love watching my girl as she experiences the world. And all her experiences tonight provided 2.5 vaccinations to some needy pets.