70 laps of hell...

The marathon training is not going so well due to the streets still being terrible. Mike and I decided that enough is enough so off to the rec center we went. It was good fun except for the fact that we had to run for 70 minutes around a 0.1 mile lap. We walked about 4 minutes total in that time and did a few cool off laps so that puts us at around 70 laps of hell. The distance is getting to the point where I can feel that my body needs to fuel. I'm in absolute pain by the end of the run and the rest of the day I'm just exhausted. I'm still waiting for this mystical "runners high" to hit. Occasionally I'll feel a bit euphoric but nothing like what I've heard. I can't imagine eating during these runs but that is what the recommendation is. Our short runs are now at 38:30 so we are running just short of 15 miles a week. This is good because that evens out to about 5 runs of 3 miles each except we do it over 3 runs. Friday's run is for 75 minutes so wish us luck.



I've turned into one of those nutty dog people. I was getting very sad at the thought of leaving the Dukes behind while we were away on vacation. It seems so daunting to trust her to someone else's care. We have a great option with our friend being able to house sit but it still just made me sad. My solution: Fly dad out! He knows the Dukes so well and is very good with her routine since he stayed with us for 6 weeks over Christmas. I think I misclassified my dad. He isn't a "goo goo" dog person but rather someone who can appreciate and enjoy dogs without fawning over them. It was shocking for me to discover how much he knows about dogs and their raising. He grew up on a farm and his brother is a dog breeder so I guess that helps. Anyway, the advice he gave us while she was here was great and I even caught him petting her one time so I think it is all good. He will walk her, and feed her, and discipline her very well. Dogs really don't need the amount of affection we give them. Yeah! If she were just a bit older I wouldn't be so paranoid but she will be 5 months when we leave.



She is getting big! She weighed in at 30 lb yesterday at our vet visit. Her ears are growing so big. I think these photos are so funny.

Her ears are so big! As is usual one is up and one is down but the other one started lifting up this weekend.

Here is a picture of us together. As you can see the running has done nothing to erase the double chin I have going. I took some measurements today (since the scale is off limits forever) and my waist and thighs are both 1.5 inches bigger around than where they ideally should be. I'm back on the fit day band wagon for now in hopes that I won't look like a beached whale while on vacation.

As you can also tell from the photo I have not been able to break the couch habit. She is getting to know that she has to be invited up before jumping but she does get over excited and hop up. Okay, enough about mutt dog.

What else is going on? Work is picking up nicely which is great. I've scheduled 3 open houses this weekend to try and catch up given the bad weather. Usually I'm praying that it snows so I don't have to work and now I'm wishing that won't as I really need to get out there else I will be in big trouble later in the year. The assistant, BB, is great and it takes a load off my schedule for now but there is still a ton of training, etc.