Honeysuckle, Wheezing, Running and Memories

My grandparents had a gorgeous honeysuckle vine that I always stuck my whole head into when it was in bloom just so I could inhale all of it.  The billion bees buzzing from blossom to blossom never bothered me because I had watched my grandfather "catch" them gently in his hand and then watched them drift away when he opened it while we weeded their enormous garden many times.  So why, several decades later, do I know without a doubt that my wheezing is prefaced to the sight of a gorgeous honeysuckle vine when I'm out for a run?  Alas, no matter how much I wheeze I still attempt to catch as much of the sweet scent I possibly can and drift back to those young days and the memories of the love of my grandparents.

For some reason, I have to settle into the first mile every time the weather changes for a period.  It's like I have to build my stamina up to a new condition each time we have a sudden weather change.  It used to be very frustrating, but I've learned to take it in stride now.  I wish I could say the same for my dogs who are always surprised by my "inability to deal".  I took Maddie out this evening first.  Poor dog, she caught the brunt of my mumbling "ease up", "walk", "easy now", "okay, that will do, slow down"...  Of all the dogs I've had there is only one who disliked walking more than Maddie, and that was her dam.  She was a little frustrated with me and got a few fly by grass snacks to ease the tension.  I think I saw one of her paws form a distasteful symbol usining only one digit at one point. 

Mira was the benefactor of my "2nd mile rejuvenation" and the two miles I had her out were pretty smooth with her stopping more than I.  She decided to take her time for whatever reason, perhaps the air has blown all new scents to the mailbox posts, or perhaps Maddie gave her some signal when we got home and she decided she should take it easy on the old lady this evening.  Whatever the reason, she was happy to work, but equally happy to explore the scents of the neighborhood.  So much so, that I discovered tonight in the amount of time it takes her efficiently sniff a mailbox post, I can drop up to 10 BPM on my heart monitor.  It became a game for me tonight to see how quickly I could recover when I stopped.

I plan to enjoy the rest of the honeysuckle season, happily wheezing along! Those childhood memories of scampering up the stairs until I could reach the belly of the vine with my face fully in the middle of the blossoms are some of the best memories of my life.

Nor'easter Walk

Dave and I rode the bikes 7 miles yesterday through the rolling hills in our neighborhood.  It was a great cardio workout and I kept my gears set so I was working relatively hard on the climbs.  It wasn't a long ride, but it was definitely productive.

When the alarm went off at 6:30 this morning signaling time to head down to the river to run with the dogs, my glutes were in no mood to be bothered.  Somehow in the course of the evening I negelcted to stretch, and the initial movement of the morning was all I needed to know this was going to be a day to take it a little easier than orignally planned.  All Dave had to say to seal my decision was "It's really windy this morning..." as he climbed back into bed and I was wrapped back around a couple of dogs for another hour and a half of sleep.  I hate wind, okay that is harsh; but I seriously don't like to have wind in my face.

There is a spring nor'easter headed in and the winds seem to be practicing in our neighborhood for their big debut early this week on up north.  It's not the season for pine needles or pine cones, but the maple leaves have carpeted our yard in an odd Renaissance era type pattern.

Although I was sore this morning, and it was nice to sleep in; I couldn't let the cool evening fade without taking the dogs out.  It's just too much to their liking with the cool air and yes, they (unlike me), enjoy the wind and all the scents that blow by them.  Their heads were up and nostrils flaring tonight.  It must have been sensory heaven for them to have the air filled with freshness and the wind raising the nap of their fur as we made our way along.

Maddie especially was cranked up more than a few degrees with all the blowing tonight.  She's  smiling now, quite pleased with herself for putting the sun to bed over Horestown while outrunning the dried magnolia leaves that rushed behind us on the pavement.  I think I'll give her an extra long massage tonight after we all stretch, she deserves it. 

As grumpy as I can be over a windy day, I'm very grateful that we in the Southeast only have the wind to contend with until the spring storm finishes it's fury.  We hope all of you along the path of the nor'easter stay warm and safe as it lands and passes through.

Moving Boundaries

Tonight we left the house with 74 degree temps and if any, a low level of humidity to embark on the first run of the week.

Maddie went the first mile and a half without issue.  She and Dave stopped after this first loop and I went on with Mira for another mile and a quarter.  It's the first night I've taken Mira out with the temperature above 70 degrees for more than a mile and a half.  We jumped a boundary tonight by a stride I wouldn't normally take, but the climate was very mild.  She did great, tongue out and breathing reasonably hard, but no signs of laboring through the run.

We're home, they've been stretched, the human half of the team has eaten dinner and the girls are lazily hanging out on the cool tile floor chilling out. Mira has normal respiration and has already begun to doze off and on.  Maddie is hanging out on her pillow happily chilling.

I feel good about being able to take Mira out for this distance in temperatures that I wouldn't have considered acceptable for a Siberian only two years ago.  My philosophy then was that we didn't run in temps above 70 degrees and we only went for the mile.  It worked then.  Maybe it only worked because I was a heavy smoker at the time, or because the dogs I had at the time got enough exercise chasing each other and training/competing in agility that they didn't require more.  I don't know why that was reasonable to me then, but it truly made sense to me at that time and it worked for our lifestyle with five dogs and a full schedule of training and competition to keep them otherwise conditioned.

I don't know how far I can go with Mira and how high we can take the temps.  But her conditioning continues to improve and she continues to blow my mind with what she's able to do.  I'm hoping to get to 3 miles with the "spring" weather before I have to back down with Mira for summer.  Just hanging onto every run I can for as long as possible this season with her.  She'll be 8 years old by the time we get into great cool running conditions this fall, time just flies!!!!!!!!!!

And then there's Madison, wow, what a dog!  12 years old and still pulling us around the neighborhood.  I think she taught me as much about tenacity through my observation of her over the years than any of my own personal experiences could have begun to teach me (even being carjacked).

If you follow my blog and you run with your dog, or you want to start running with your dog, PLEASE understand that I have worked my dogs to the level of condition they are gradually over years.  Don't take a young dog under 18 months out for a long run, they are not structurally developed and you could do some really long term, or irreversible damage.  And whatever you do, don't take a dog that has sat on a sofa and become overweight out for a 2 mile run, no matter how inviting the climate may be.  They are your partner, but they are unable to "partner" with you in the decision making process.  You are fully in charge of making all decisions and setting boundaries.  You alone must make the decisions that keep them safe and healthy.

Happy Trails and Wagging Tails :)

Inspiration and Motivation

All runners run into motivation issues at one point or another and the "issue" differs for each person.  For one it may be getting out of a warm bed and hitting the road at 5 am.  Others find 90 degree temps with 49% humidity unbearable.  The problems are as varied as the sneakers we lace onto our feet.

My motivation is pretty deep and self involved - I'm pretty good at making this about me.  In many areas of my life folks would call that arrogance, self absorption, selfish...but it is a gift when it comes to running and triathlon training.  If I couldn't make this sport about me, I'm not sure anything would be worth what I'm putting into it.

Inspiration is another thing all together.  I'm moved by the runners who have survived cancer, limb loss, push their child in a wheelchair ahead of them and often find myself swallowed in tears when I read their stories or see their biographies.  But honestly, they don't inspire me to start - I may dig deeper when I'm exhausted because of one of their stories, but they are not the ones who get me out the door.  My inspiration is my dogs.  The dogs that I live with and the ones who have gone ahead of them and wait for the rest of us on the other side of the bridge.

Running began as a means to condition them.  When I began to run (jog/walk/gasp/walk) I was still smoking.  I'd take two dogs out for a mil and then have to sit for about 20 minutes and have a couple of cigarettes before heading out with the next two.  It was a labor of love combined with ignorance.

I sat down tonight to write about running and what it means to me.  As I laid my hands on the keyboard I couldn't help but notice an empty nagging feeling inside.  In frustration I wheeled around in my chair and glanced at all the gorgeous mementos of the years with my dogs surrounding me in my office.  For the first time, I noticed there was nothing in this office of Mira.  Maddie, Magic, Nakeeta, Kody, Max and BoBo are everywhere.  I am surrounded by their pictures and awards hanging on the walls and sitting on shelves.  Nowhere in this office was there a single shot of the one who makes me smile without even seeing her face.  I spent a few minutes searching for a couple of empty frames and I now have a shot of Mira at the beach and a shot of her RWB from Perry, GA years ago on either side of my PC.  The nagging sensation is gone.

Inspiration to find my motivation; that's my dog, my Mira.  She and Maddie inspire me to let myself go, to ignore all that I think I should be and embrace all that I really am.  They inspire me to dig deep within my soul to become all that I can be.  Find your inspiration, it doesn't have to be a hero, just give yourself permission to follow your inspiration.

Spring Shift

Spring is here, actually it feels like it has nearly slipped through our fingers unnoticed.  Two days this week we reached the low 80's and today we are pushing 80 degrees.  I finally got my routine down with the cool weather schedule and now I find myself watching and listening and feeling my dog on the end of the line with some degree of anxiety regarding temp and climate as we have gone from running between 40 and 50 degrees to 70 degrees within a short two week period.  Soon we'll be above 70 degrees and it won't be too much farther away that 70's will be our standard low temps of the day.

We debated about where to run today since we had some rain yesterday, overnight and the forecast called for more this morning.  We finallly decided to run in the neighborhood so we wouldn't feel as "rained out" if we got caught in a downpour.  The air was a little heavy, but at 64 degrees but it didn't seem too warm or muggy for the dogs so we headed out.

The loop we start on brings us back to our driveway in 1.3 miles.  As we took the final turn from Marsh onto Barrier Road (our road), Dave decided he was going to make the second loop.  It looked like Maddie was hanging in very well, so we passed the house and began the second climb up Barrier.  Maddie slowed enough that it created a jump rope effect on the lead between us.  I was gathering up the slack and Dave and I were discussing if she really ought to go another round when she turned into a neighbors yard and began to graze.  Both dogs do what we call "fly by's" when we pass a yard that has a patch of new and tasty grass in it, but they don't stop - thus the name "fly by's"; they simply stick their head out and grab some grass and munch while we go.  Maddie actually stopped.  So I checked her over as best I could, we turned around and I dropped her off at the house.

Dave passed Mira to me and we continued up the hill for the the second loop and finished with a half mile block giving us a total of 3.1 or 3.2 miles.  It was around 67 degrees by this time.  As we rounded the last block I told Dave I wanted to get in another mile so I passed Mira back to him thinking she had probably had enough.  He turned left at the corner toward the house and I turned right to head up the hill for the third time.  He and I laughed at Mira who didn't even notice I'd passed her off, or so we thought.  For whatever reason, she turned and realized I was going the other way and stopped.  She watched me go over the hill before she and Dave went on back to the house.  He said later, "she definitely is your dog..."

Once back at the house, Mira and Maddie were ready to be stretched.  I'm sure Mira could have easily finished that last mile.  She didn't indicate fatigue or heat or stress.  I am certain that bringing Maddie back to the house was the right thing to do for her.  I think at this point if we go to the river, she'll be fine for a few more weeks.  The path is softer and there are no hills.  I doubt she'll go much past 70 degrees at the river, but that will give us many weekend morning options into the warmer months.  They both hit their recovery phase and returned to normal respiration within their typical timeframes. 

As always, the routine is subject to adjustment and change as necessary.  It just felt so good to get in so much time on the road this morning.

Training Begins Now...

Actually, the 2012 Triathlon training season officially started for me at 1:30 on Friday afternoon when I stepped into the endless pool at The Sport Factory in Roswell, GA and began to work with my new swim coach, Tracy Palmer.   I left the center after my evaluation with a list of drills and a commitment to work in the pool three times a week.  We will meet to evaluate progress again in 4 weeks.  Honestly, I'm looking forward to the work, but I am mostly looking forward to seeing my video after 4 weeks and looking at what I hope to be huge strides in lengthening my reach and bringing my legs together.  I have to say I looked a little like a frog in the video taken Friday, and I had hoped for a much better view.  That being said, the gift of video is probably going to be the single best tool I pack in my bag this season; I have great visuals of how this leg of the sport ought to look and now I know for sure what I need to work on.

So the new schedule is:  M, W, F in the pool between 5:30 and 6:00 am.  Period.  That's not going to be negotiable for the next 4 weeks.  The sessions will begin with 15 to 20 minutes of drills, followed by 15 minutes of laps.  I'll then finish each session with a repeat of the 15 minutes of drills.

Monday and Wednesday evenings will be relaxed short runs in the neighborhood.  On Wednesday I can finish with some hill work or intervals afterward.  My intention is to keep these sessions pretty simple, especially on Monday after coming off a long run on Sunday; I may find myself axing the Monday night run, or walking instead.  Regardless, I won't incorporate more than three to four miles these evenings.  Since hill work and intervals would be incredibly frustrating for the dogs and demanding for me, I will most likely do a couple of miles with dogs and Dave and then wrap with the hills or intervals afterward on Wednesday's only.

Tuesday and Thursday evenings will be regularly scheduled spin classes.  At this point I think I'm getting more out of spin class than I would be to take the bike out onto the road.  I'll need to get road experience under my belt on weekends before competition begins in May; but for now the spin classes are giving me a huge bang for my time in endurance and strength.  The fast improvements Dave and I both are seeing on the runs, and that which I'm seeing in the pool have got to be related to spin work.  Many triathletes only take their bikes on the road for competition and focus their training on indoor trainers and spinning; if I had the road experience and confidence (still see those scars every time I shave my knee), I can definitely see the benefit in that.  It just takes 99.9% of the danger out of the equation if you're not actually on the road.

My only training on Friday's will be the AM pool - otherwise, that is a day off.  This is our regular "date night" and I live for that night out with Dave.

Saturday will be a run with Dave and the dogs, or a bike ride with Dave, depending on the weather.   Sunday will be reserved for a long run with Mira as long as the weather stays cool enough that she can go the distance at pace.  She's showing enough drive right now that I think I can count on her when the temps aren't much above 55 degrees.  I'll need to do no less than 5.5 miles on these days, and I need to get that bumped up to 7 before the season begins.

Because I'm working on each race leg individually, rather than bricking on a routine basis, I will need to be able to work farther/longer than that leg calls for during an event.  In example, the Sprint distance requires 13 miles (about 40 minutes of cycling) on the bike and a 5K run to finish.  So the hour of spin class puts me in good shape for the sprint distance and a 5.5 or longer run will serve me well for the last leg of a sprint. 

Well, there it is; that's the plan! 

The Pace Dog

Wednesday evening we took the dogs for our routine jog/walk/run.  Dave took Maddie back to the house after a mile and a half.  He was pretty worn out from his trip back to Atlanta from Omaha earlier that day, and she was looking a little stiff at that point, so they decided to call it finished for the evening.

I wanted to get another mile or so in, so I headed back up the hill with Mira.  We slowed our pace as we turned the corner and I decided I needed to take a walk break.  The hill proved more than I could handle the second time around.  It was the last true walk break I'd get that evening.

I measure the success of my runs by the number of mailboxes and speed humps I pass before I have to take a walk break.  I keep mental track of my fitness progression based on these visuals and have become adept as using them as my reference points for measuring improvement, or on a less than stellar outing, fatigue.  As I stepped off the first speed hump I collected the slack in the leash with my free hand and moved into a nice jog.

Things were going well, Mira was on her preferred "edge" (the very top of the curb that begins to bend toward the street).  This is her favorite spot on the road.  I don't know how she maintains this position, but she rarely lets a foot land on grass or the curb - she really walks a fine line so to speak.  I took a minute to admire her grace and realized that I was heading right up to the first stop sign.  Based on my breathy state I assumed I was in mid-range zone 3. I was really wishing I had taken the time to strap on the monitor so I could truly track what felt like great progress.

About 2 speed humps and a few mailboxes later, I became pretty short of breath, probably 2 words between breaths so I decided to back off.  I took a few quick walking steps when Mira extended, thus removing the slack from the line.  She didn't pull, but the line was taunt.  Impressed by her determination to keep at a nice trotting pace at 70+ degrees, I picked myself back up to a jog.  I figured if my Siberian Husky can trot in this temp, so could I.

After a short but steep incline, I was completely winded so I dropped to a walk.  This time it was a slower walk.  Just as the first time I began to walk, Mira took an extra pace and moved to the end of the lead taking all the slack out.  There was a gentle tug this time, never a hard pull, but definitely a noticeable communication that "somebody" wasn't moving fast enough.  Again, I brought myself back to a jog and the remainder of my outing was a nice steady jog.  Each of the times I picked up to a jog, she dropped back to hang in closer to me and gave a little slack.  I know not everyone would notice the suttle movement and feel of slight tension between the harness and hand, but I somehow always have.  I've always felt any difference in stride before I saw a limp or heard a misstep.  I think it is a gift and I'm grateful for it because I've caught some "issues" before they became problems in the past.

I cannot wait to run the next time, I look forward to this communication and partnership between us on our next outing.  Having a canine pacer is great!  A dog as pacer is so much more pleasant than having to chat with a human; when all I really want to do is watch the trees, sky and of course, my dog.  She is such a good dog - with much emphasis on good dog.