Off to the Races

    2011 has been a good year; I've been running as much as I can work into my schedule, and the dogs are almost always at my side. According to the awesome iPod Nano that Mom gave me for my 2010 birthday, I had run 169 miles by the end of 2011 (and I started using Nike+ in February, so that's 11 months' worth).

   None of the miles have come close to my personal bests (as fast at 6'34"!), as I'm trying to overcome the hip injuries I sustained in summer 2010—and so far, successfully avoiding surgery, with little pain! My ankle, however, which I injured approximately 25 years ago, is another story. But I'm thrilled that I have *finally* been diagnosed—which *only* took THREE specialists! And the orthopedic surgeon feels sure that removing a ganglion cyst from deep in my ankle joint will do the trick. (Unless tendon or ligament damage is discovered while they're in there—stitching those up would make the recovery in the 18-week range. Ugh.)
   So I'm excited to go under the knife this Wednesday morning. If this works, I can do more running, more yoga, more swimming... all of the stuff that bothers my ankle when I overdo it. Here's hoping I'll have a speedy recovery—and be even speedier afterward!

Dogs 101

   We just returned from our Sunday morning run (almost 4 miles), and Dogs 101 just so happens to be showing a special on best breeds for active lifestyles. As you can see, Aki is completely enthralled by the story on the Shiba Inu! And rightfully so: my dogs have run over 160 miles with me since February this year. Small but mighty, these guys are awesome athletes, and I'm thrilled that they were one of just a few breeds mentioned. (We get the funniest looks from drivers as we run by like a miniature sled team, with Tay out in front, dragging me, dragging Aki!)

Random Hallmark Moments: Challenging

   I use a Nike+ with my iPod Nano to track my running—mileage, speed, calories—the works! It's very cool. (Thanks, Mom.) If you're on Nike and want to challenge me to a race, I'm "shibarunner." Let's see what we can learn from a couple of recent runs, shall we?

Running alone:

"Running" (yes, in quotes) with two Shiba Inu:

   I do love running with them, but based on these scientific results I am guessing it's not helping me prepare for the KC Corporate Challenge track meet next week... Nor is it helping for Dog-n-Jog on June 12th, come to think of it. I need to tell these mutts to MUSH!

   Speaking of Corporate Challenge, I got suckered into joining the co-ed flag football team, and have unequivocally proven that I. SUCK. AT. FLAG. FOOTBALL. My greatest contribution to the team seems to be trash-talking, which I enjoy very much despite my complete lack of skill. So hopefully in that, I have served an important purpose. Hopefully a better (and safer) purpose than blocking opposing team members by accidentally being in the way and not being capable of moving out of the way fast enough to keep from being trampled, sometimes by my own teammates, for which I also am quite gifted.

   We scrimmaged against a crew from Shook Hardy & Bacon for 2 hours last Thursday, and 2 hours tonight. Through this I have learned that law school better prepares you for sports than art school.
   Our first (and hopefully not last) game is at 6:35 pm tomorrow. It's a fun way to blow a Friday night—or a knee! Wish me luck at getting out with both legs intact, because I want to run track, not be in traction.

75 degrees? Snow problem!

   Today's high temp was 75, and tonight's low is going to be 25, so it only made sense to get outside today and enjoy it. I got up early as always and headed to the gym for Sunday boot camp... only to be stood up by the instructor for the second week in a row. Rats. I was glad, though, and immediately turned around and came home for a run with the mutts. We did several loops around South Lake Park, which they love because they like a chance to get the Canada geese. 

   We ran 4 miles in all... plus the 12 we did together last week. But somehow that RunningRockChalk posted 12 just this weekend! Drat! We're going to have to pick up the pace.

   Pretty quickly after the run, I turned around and headed up to Weston for a summery day snowboarding. A t-shirt and light jacket were almost too warm. Fortunately (?), I spent enough time with my knees and butt in the slush on the hill (from falling) that I cooled off quickly. I met my friend Steve & his son Justin up there, and we were off. They're both really strong skiers, which made me, on Snowboarding Day Three, the comic relief. 

   Is it just me, or do I look like a little kid? Big head & big feet! Last time here, Adam guessed me at 22. I like that guy.

Ollie-oop!

   I practiced for the first time on the larger hill, leaving the beginner slope behind. If for no other reason, the big hill was easier because it was so much higher, which gave me more time to experiment on the way down. The steepness at certain points was really frightening. But if I'm going to CO next month, I'd better get used to that! Hopefully I will like the feeling of shredding powder after these few experiences on hard-packed manufactured snow and ice.
   If I keep falling, I may have to consider putting myself on the list for patella donors. Note to self: stop doing boot camp or running long distance on a snowboarding day. Ouch! Ironically, I found this in Fitness Magazine after I got home:

   One cool thing: I kept finding lost keys on the hill. 3 sets of them! House keys, car keys, locker keys... everything but monkeys!

   The sunset up in Weston was spectacular tonight—it gave me a nice show for the long ride home.

Thanks, Steve!