Leap day, leap dog

Ok, I admit I don't really know what day Sky was born on. She's a third-hand dog. Someone dropped her off at the Humane Society (her first name was Sadie) as a puppy, saying she couldn't be housetrained. I got her from the woman down the street who'd adopted her (and renamed her Hazel) and found her exuberant nature a little tough to deal with.

The vet figured she was about six months old when I got her right around Labor Day in 2000. Her feet were still too big for her and she hadn't been spayed yet. She didn't drink out of a bowl very neatly, either. She was afraid of men, specifically men wearing baseball caps. Now, she doesn't mind them, because the boys (they were 11 and 8) she grew up with are now tall men with deep voices.

The first time I took her to the dog park she ran up and down the fenceline for a solid hour. And she's always so happy and jumpy. What other birthday could she have? I should have started running sooner, Sky would have appreciated it, although being a dog, she's as happy as anything with the past 3 years of us running together.

The ice situation has not improved much, so she has to wait a little until we go out again. But wait she will, with just this cute expression on her face, although now she has grey fur around her eyes and her eyelashes are white.

Ouch x 2

So it's icy here. No snow, of course, because this is Minnesota and it doesn't snow here (that's Wisconsin you're thinking about, but then when I lived there, it didn't snow much, either.... hmmm....). I made a giganto enormo mug o'coffee this morning and slipped and fell at the end of the driveway, breaking said mug into three large pieces and making owie on my right knee. Grrrrrr. There's 1. The mug was really cool, too. And they seem to be sold out of the one I need to replace it.

Then, on to the dentist. Today's adventure involved drilling out a very old, very large filling and doing the build up for a crown, which goes on next Monday. Gee, that sounds almost harmless, doesn't it? It might have been, if only my mouth were a little larger. Strange: small head, small mouth, go figure. So, my very sweet student dentist drilled on that sucker for at least an hour. Or a month. I think I blanked out for awhile in the middle there. But she was very good at the novocaine. Much better than the last two people who shot me up. So, as long as I don't try to chew on the right side, things are ok. Except my jaw hurts from being forced open for two hours (this is ouch #2, for those of you keeping score at home).

I ran 12 yesterday. It was alright. The first 6 outside with the dog were fine. I was running right around a 9:00 pace, which is weird cuz I really have no idea how fast I'm running when I'm treadmilling all my miles, but I don't feel like I'm in 9 min. per mile long run shape. That's probably why I felt like I was dying when I ran the last 6 on the TM. Of course, SO had the fire on in the basement and it was about 90,000 degrees down there. Un fun. I have 5 on the schedule for today, but what with falling this morning and all the drilling and my swiftly advancing headache, I think I may be putting it off until tomorrow.

I'm thinking about wine for dinner.

11, 7, 5: keeping up with the schedule

It's all TM all the time here in my world. My imaginary internet running buddy (ok, ok, I've known her long enough and should admit that she's not imaginary. She is real.) fell last week and reminded me how I really shouldn't be running outside in all this cold and ice. After all, "ice is for drinks, not for running!" (c) 2008 Melis, aka cranegirl. I'm still waiting to find out if her wrist is broken or just sprained all to hell (torn ligament sounds very, very ouchie to me). But, like a true runner, she is back on her treadmill ("I am running, but on the TM and slowly"). Uh huh. We're a weird lot.

I ran 11 on Sunday, watching The Abyss; 7 on Monday, watching The Full Monty (never saw it before, I actually liked it, I was surprised by how much); 5 yesterday, while finishing up A Fish Called Wanda (I don't think I'd ever seen the whole thing before, the scene where John Cleese is stripping and reciting Russian verse had me nearly falling off the treadmill). So here it is Wednesday and I feel a little creaky, but everything seems to be holding up and I'm staying with the self-imposed schedule. Last week was 33 miles, this week 35 miles with a 12 mile long run, next week cut back! I'm really hoping that something good weather-wise happens this weekend. I'd really like to get myself & my dog out of the house! No ice no ice no ice... no below zero no below zero no below zero... no wind no wind no wind. Right. That'll work.

So Milwaukee, where my mom and my Big Boy live, got more snow this past weekend. We, here in the Twin Cities, did not.

Now, it (it being weather.com) says that the season to date snowfall for St. Paul has been 22.5 inches. I call BS.

It was, however, -11 this morning as I drove to work. Cold we have aplenty.

Et fini

Ok, so I don't speak French and can only just barely read some. Big Boy's credit/IB situation at UWM is still unresolved, his professor was not being helpful, and "Chucky" the assistant dean still has his head firmly stuck up his... you get the idea.

Sadly, as is usually the case with Big Boy, he procrastinated too long. The last day to change a class from credit to audit was Monday. I told him to drop the class. He shouldn't be in it anyway, being as he took it in high school (and got an A+), but still I'm a little sad for him. And annoyed at him. He's only got 13 credits now and he's free every day beginning at 11 am, except for Mondays. It's also too late to pick up a class, of course. He is going to work on transferring to UW-Madison in the fall, which actually has a Russian program. He needs a 2.6 to transfer and he's going to have to work pretty hard to achieve that this semester.

If only I'd Googled a little sooner. Turns out, that despite the shiny web pages advertising both a Russian major and minor, UWM doesn't really have a program at all. "Joe" only got his degree in 2004 and is the only full time Russian faculty. He himself called UWM's Russian program "nearly-defunct" in an alumni magazine (not UWM's magazine, of course). There is no study abroad program, and given Joe's outstanding skills in advocating for his students, Big Boy would likely have gone to Russia to study for a year only to return to a "nearly defunct program" that would not recognize his credits. Despite what is says on the shiny web page:

We strongly encourage Russian Majors and Minors to complete a study abroad experience in Russia as part of their Russian degree program — be it a few weeks over the summer or an academic year. Students can choose from dozens of study abroad programs according to their needs and interests. Transfer credits from an approved study abroad program can be counted toward the Russian degree requirements, and our students have transferred credits from universities in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Saratov in recent years.

I doubt Joe has the integrity or the clout to actually have Big Boy's transfer credits approved. I really want to kick his ass. It's probably a good thing I don't live closer. Hmm... I suppose publishing his social security number on the web would be in bad form, wouldn't it? Darn bar oath and all that swearing to be honest and uphold the law.

Running after work has been successful. 7 on Tuesday with the pooch, who got so filthy that she had to have a shower. She is white and fluffy and clean now. She even smells good. 7 this afternoon as well, but it's colder than Tuesday!

little boy heads to the dentist in the morning. The office called to confirm the appointment.

[cell phone rings]
me: Hello?
office: umm... is [little boy] there?
me: No, he's at school.
office: umm... at school?
me: Yes, at school.
office: umm... how old is he?
me: He's 15.
office: umm... well, then... can I speak to his parents?
me: That would be me.
office: Ok. umm... [little boy] has an appointment tomorrow at 9 a.m.
me: Yes, I know. We'll see you then.
office: umm... ok. Bye.
me: Bye. [click]

Then she called about 15 minutes later asking me how to spell little boy's last name. Uhh, girly, it's on his insurance card. I have had my doubts about this dentist, but we've been going to him since the boys were on MNCare when I was in law school and he was one of the only dentists I could find that would even accept MNCare, so I feel obligated. And it's close to little boy's school, so getting him there is relatively convenient. But sheesh, the office staff!

So I redid my schedule

And realized that in my mid-winter slacking, I am seriously behind in training.

Since I get to work before 7 on Tuesdays & Thursdays (which means I get to bug out at 3:30), I have time after work on those days to run. Now, I'm not generally an afternoon runner. I do prefer the mornings, but what with the ice and the dark and my general clumsiness, I feel like it would be the better part of valor to wait until spring to get in my longer, outdoor runs. And the TM (treadmill, hamster wheel, cat accessory, clothes drying rack) does really drive me nuts after about an hour or so. I've seen the Bourne Identity and the Bourne Supremacy too often for them to entertain me as I run in place. I may be purchasing the Bourne Ultimatum at Costco tomorrow night, if they've managed to get the price below $19.

So, instead of a M (easy), T (easy), W (tempo or speed), F (easy), Sat. (long) running schedule, I now have this:

M (short fast morning run)
T (longer afternoon run)
W (off)
Th (longer afternoon run)
F (short easy run)
Sat. (long run)
Sun. (off)

We'll see how this goes for a month or so. I need to keep up something pretty similar to this until little boy is done with school in June.

My mileage over the past four weeks hasn't been great, but looking it over, it's better than I feel about it: 4 runs, 20 miles; 5 runs, 35 miles; 3 runs, 24 miles; 5 runs, 26 miles. So, I'm going to try a not-terribly-strict 10% rule increase over the next two months and see how that works out. That means this week looks like:

M - 3 mi
T - 7 mi
W - off
Th - 7 mi
F - 3 mi
Sat. - 10 mi
Sun. - off

For a total of 30 miles. I want to get up to alternating long runs of 15 and 18 miles by April, which sounds scary unless you remember that I run a 4 week cycle - 3 weeks build up to 1 week cut back. That means two long run cycles over the course of two months would look like 15, 18, 15, 8, then 18, 15, 18, 8. My foot was unhappy with me after the race Jan. 26, but it hasn't acted up too much since then. I've been stretching my calves. Whether it's PF or a touchy Achilles tendon, that should help.

10 Random Things about Me

Or, yikes! I've been tagged by Mandy. To pass it on, I tag Big Boy, Mindi and Kerstin.

1. I really like my slippers. I would wear them all the time if I could.
2. I don't have ADD, but sometimes I act like I do. (although I manage not to in job interviews, my boss will tell you that I can't manage this at the office now that I actually have the job)
3. My ADD-like tendencies often lead to some creative solutions for problems and/or research projects at work. Also makes multi-tasking a natural environment.
5. My cube is very neat.
5. My house is less so.
6. I ran 7 miles yesterday.
7. I have finally realized that I have to refigure my running schedule. little boy and his 6:30 am orchestra rehearsals on Tuesdays & Thursdays just doesn't give me enough time to run on those mornings.
8. I am slightly obsessed with trains.
9. I've been a vegetarian since 1988.
10. I didn't have a real, grown-up job until I was 35, which means my retirement planning is about 15 years behind schedule, therefore I will have to work until I die.