i didn't even bother to wear my garmin for the run with brandy this morning. we ran the same route from the other day.

we encountered a few folks and their dogs, or rather avoided a few folks and their dogs. i'm very careful to reel her in when i see another dog approaching. depending on the other dog and their human i can tell if it's a good idea or not to let them "check in" with each other. often times it's just a benign "sniff, sniff ok, see ya around". it's usually some yippy ass midget dog that seems to want to stir up shit, and at the other end of the leash is a brain dead human allowing the dog to go on end of the leash and lose it's mind. it's a toss up as to which is more annoying: dog or human. i'm leaning towards the human.

don't get me wrong, brandy is a sweety pie. she's just easily mislead. she's seldom the one to instigate an altercation, but if another dog gets in her face she'll throw down and it seems to be moreso on leash, she NEVER gets in a scrap off leash, hence the condition leash aggressive. right now i just want her to focus on what we're doing, she'll have plenty of chances to socialize at the dog park. passing by a house a dalmatian charged at us from the other side of her white picket fence giving me a slight coronary.

running around the neighborhood is convenient. it often means the difference between running or not. it's not my favorite place to run but it's something. home with M today, not sure what were going to do with ourselves. the house is cleaner than it's been in ...a really long time. i can actually see the top of my dining room table. i've been checking out allot of craft and quilting blogs lately and am starting to feel inspired again to return to M's quilt.

sometimes i hate this blog...

i can't write for crap.

i'm not currently training for anything, just running and exercising for fitness, personally very satisfying, but not so fun to write or read about, hence even less activity on this ghost town of a blog.

don't even get me started on posting pictures.

can you tell i haven't run yet today?

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i ran 2 miles to the Y, did 1 hour of yoga, when they started "playing around" with balancing sideways on your arms i slipped out and ran back home. the bright sunny day is a welcome change from yesterday's gray drizzle.

i'm tired! as one level of fitness gives way to a lesser one, i swear to god i can see my arms starting to pudge out. this may or may not be true and i really don't need to start obsessing about that now.

it's a start

i hate to admit it but i don't like taking my dog brandy with me when i run around the neighborhood. she's wants to go all over the place, tugging the leash as she feels compelled to sniff every bush or dog ass along the way. she's definitely leash aggressive.

we went for 3 miles along residential streets. i left the ipod home along with any thoughts of getting in a quality run. by paying attention to her and being firm without getting angry the whole experience was actually pleasant. we bonded and we both got some exercise. a few times she tried to stray but i just reeled her in until she relaxed. by the last mile or so she was calmly trotting along my side, zero tugging or running on end of the leash. a mix of fatigue(no doubt)and better leadership (i hope). ceasar, the dog whisperer would be so proud.

i plan on taking her with me allot more of these shorter runs. she got a good workout w/o over doing it and she's been pretty mellow all day since. now if i could just get M out there....though she did at my suggestion ride her bike out front for about 20 minutes today. it's a start.

i went over to berkeley city college today. the new campus located in the heart of downtown berkeley was quite impressive. i had no idea it was even there. i filled out an admission application and scheduled my assessment and orientation. i have about a month to brush up on my basic math skills. this is kind've a big deal for me. i've been thinking about doing this for a very very long time. today i took action. just acknowledging this baby step towards going back to school makes it more real. it's a start.

ebb and flow

a lighter caseload at work has made pre-work not-running-in-the-dark runs doable again. i ran 4 miles in 41 mins yesterday. these 4 mile runs are not to be downplayed. they remind me of the runner i am. they keep me in the here and now. they are an oasis in an otherwise hectic and trying time.

my father-in-law was admitted to our facility ...again...and it's evident that things are taking a turn for the worse. decisions need to be made, answers are slow to come. my sister-in-law is in hawaii and for the first few day's we tried to avoid calling her, but then the hospital did...she's so desereves this time-off, having devoted every weekend for the past year with either mom or dad...it just sucks her trip being spoiled, she's not coming home early but the trip has suffered, hard to relax when the wheels are falling off at home. she had 3 good day's before shit hit the fan. she's coming home monday and we're just hoping for the best, whatever that may be. speaking with her on the phone yesterday from work, i once again found myself torn between the professional me and the family me. trying to maintain an objective front it was all i could do to hold back the tears. he's 87, has lived a good life. still the appropriateness of it all doesn't make any of the decision making easier.

as the holidays approach, i'm feeling less festive this year. i have stood my ground regarding thanksgiving and M and i will spend the day with my aunt and her daughters in hayward. truth is i can only handle a few hours with this relative and i've not been returning calls all year so i need to make-up so to speak. i haven't seen her since grandma tillies funeral in march, so it's time.

i need to secure a spot for berkeley city college orientation and assessment, i called twice and left a message yesterday but haven't heard back yet. i'm off today and will follow-up. it's kinda like registering for a race, i need to have a date and a goal....so i can crack open that pre-algebra book and start training or rather studying. LOL

for the past week my boss has been doing our annual reviews....everyone even the per diem staff have been seen and after a week rolled by i still hadn't been. i finally asked on monday and my boss said "come in" with a serious look on her face, i immediately stiffened up and braced myself for the worse. if you had seen the look on her face and had to watch all week while 9 other staff members were reviewed and then had to finally ASK when you were going to be seen...that might all add up to some uneasiness.

as it turns out, my bosses boss wouldn't approve the 4% raise my boss requested for me, so she went over his head and that person hadn't gotten back to her yet....hence, she was holding out for word from above before seeing me. she wasn't suppose to review me until then, but wanting reassure me things were good she did and for all intent and purposes i've demonstrated growth and competency in all sectors...proof that you don't necessarily have to like all that you do to be good at it. now we just had to wait until the BIG BOSS got in touch. luckily, that happened yesterday and i got my raise.

parent-teacher conferences didn't go so well. M's excessive absences and lost homework really dinged her grade wise. we're not too worried though, this has been a rough transition for her. she's getting real life lessons in personal responsibility and time management. the less than stellar marks are more a reflection of her struggles with that than her knowledge or understanding of the material. i've seen her work she's a solid student, math is shaky but were getting help.

seems a good stratedgy is in order. everything i know about running seems to apply. i just need to pace myself, keep my eye on the prize and my nose to the grindstone. any sudden changes need to be met with a deeper breath, a slower stride, a walk break or two. it doesn't really matter how fast i get there, relentless forward motion is the key for me.

gym day

i made it to the gym today before work....haven't done that in geez i dont recall when. my routine is a bit rusty and i only got 2.45 miles ( i warmed up and started out at SLOWWWWW) of actual running on the treadmill....30 minute cap on cardio machines at 6 am isn't that easy to enforce...still being the upstanding citizen that i am i followed the rules.

a bit of stretching and 2 sets of 30 crunches...i know ...i'm so hardcore.

off to work, have a great day!

LSD

six miles of pure running bliss. the long slow distance run is back. ooooh yeah!
i bought another camera yesterday, the same model so i can share the usb cable. only trouble is i still can't upload the software due to the messed up cd-rom.

i'd really be interested in feedback regarding laptops, mkay?

Gutless Wonder

as in where the hell did my abdominal strength go?


i went to a pilates class this morning. it was kinda like yoga ...on crack.
of course my newbiness didn't go unnoticed when my mat was the only one facing the wrong direction and the instructor asked me to turn it around and then asked if there was anyone new to pilates(uh, wasn't it obvious?) i just grinned and nodded my head and said "uh, yeah" which seemed to amuse quite a few people. once a class clown always a class clown.

this is the second time i've attended a pilates class, the last time was like a year ago. it's similar to yoga but not. the tempo was quick and by the time i figured out one move she was onto the next. surprisingly i wasn't annoyed and i just hung in there trying to keep up.

at times it felt like nothing was happening at all, i felt like a dork during the "pulsing" arms part but that quickly turned into feeling like a complete wimp when trying to curl back up from supine to sitting without lifting my feet off the floor.... and don't think my rock and swoosh move went unnoticed by the instructor who humorously pointed out it wasn't a gymnastic "stick it" kind of move and suggested i place my hands on the back of my thighs.

after thursday's lunch time run i did 20 measly crunches on the physio ball.
20 not 30 or 50 or 100 ... 20! i'm still slightly sore.

so this pilates business has me intrigued. it's very subtle and it really challenges me to pay closer attention.