February 22, 2015

A draining week

You know you live in Michigan when you tell your children that it's going to be a toasty 30 degrees today, and their faces light up while they cheer about how hot that is ;)

Yesterday and today were both WARM--26-30-ish degrees. After the below zero temps we've had all month, I almost decided to sunbathe on my deck, but settled for going coatless today instead. It was SO nice outside! I had to run a couple of errands this morning, but when I got home, I took Joey over to my parents' yard to play.

I've figured out a very efficient way to play fetch with him (his very favorite game). I have two tennis balls (his favorite thing to play with) and I'll throw the first one. He runs to get it, and I have the second one all ready to throw. As soon as he gets back with the first one, he sees that I'm holding the second, so he instantly drops the first at my feet and starts running again (knowing that I'll throw the second). So he's basically running non-stop for 45-60 minutes, and I don't have to struggle with him to "drop it" or "leave it" or anything like that.

Today, he lost one of the tennis balls, though. It happened so fast--it was on the ground (in the mounds of snow that we have) and I was just starting to reach for it. Out of nowhere, he slammed down right on top of it, and it was like the ball just disappeared. I started digging in the snow, looking for about 10 minutes, but I never did find it. We'll see where it is when the snow melts, I guess! Good thing tennis balls are easy to come by.

Joey has been doing SO GOOD on his obedience training. I'm super impressed. Last night, we ordered pizza, and when the pizza delivery guy came to the door, I told Joey to sit and stay, and then I went to the door, got the pizza, and brought it to the kitchen--without Joey barking, or running to the door, or anything like that. When Jerry or I come in the house now, we decided to start knocking, so that we can practice with Joey (getting him to sit and stay, rather than attack the door with excitement). He's done great!

I bought him a bed for his crate, and before I even put it in there, he was sleep on it (well, mostly, anyway)...


Once I put it in the crate, however, Chandler pretty much claimed it for himself! He hasn't moved all day:


Eli actually asked me if he could sleep in the crate. He wanted to turn it into a fort! I'm pretty sure CPS has rules about kids sleeping in dog crates, though ;)

Since the class on Friday, I've also been working on Joey's leash pulling. The trainer said that when we pull back on the leash, it makes dogs just want to push forward; so rather than pull back, we should pull to the side, which will spin him to a different direction. I was very skeptical, but it seems to be working. It only lasts a few seconds before he pulls again, so we're constantly repeating, but the trainer said that with consistency, he'll eventually learn that his walk won't get interrupted if he keeps a loose leash.

This whole week has left me feeling SO drained. The kids were home from school on winter break, Jerry worked every day, my parents were in South Carolina (and I've been taking care of their house--of which the water pipes froze!), and we've been so far out of a routine that I feel like this isn't even my life ;) I'm really looking forward to getting back to normal tomorrow!

I'm going to try to run at the rec center on the indoor track in the morning. My ankle felt completely fine all day yesterday and today, even after running for a couple of minutes on the treadmill yesterday, so I'm hoping that it goes well. I can't believe it's been 11 weeks since I injured it! The indoor track is only 1/12 of a mile, so maybe I'll just start by running a lap and then walking a lap for a total of a mile or two. I'll have to see how I feel--right now, I have no idea how it's going to feel! I really hope that I don't feel like I'm just starting out as a runner (like it felt in 2010). That was SO difficult, with my lungs burning, and gasping for breath. I'm hoping that all the deep water running that I've done has kept me somewhat-good shape.

Jerry did his first "long run" for his half-marathon training today. He is going to do the Indy 500 Festival Mini as his first half, and he's been sticking to his training plan really well. I was encouraged to see that his plan is only at 4 miles for the long run this week--so there is still hope that I can be caught up midway through the schedule, and still run the Mini (I no longer have a time goal, but I'd love to be able to run the whole distance). With the deep water running I've done, I should theoretically be able to run for about 6-7 miles now, but I'll be thrilled with just 4. I'm planning to progress the same as I would as a beginner, about one mile per week for the long runs. I'll probably do three runs per week, plus two days of cross-training.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself... I need to see what tomorrow's run feels like first! ;)


Tomorrow is Motivational Monday #99! If you have a photo you'd like to submit, you can find the instructions for doing so here. I've gotten several submissions for the 100th MM post (which will be next week, as long as I have a post for tomorrow!)--it's going to be a big post, and I have a ton of work to do on it, so if you have a submission for the "100 pounds down" post, please email me by tomorrow at the latest. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, the 100th post will feature people who have all lost 100+ pounds; so if that's you, feel free to share!

9 comments:

  1. Get a "chuck it"! Best dog "accessory" ever!

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    Replies
    1. Yes!!!!! We love the chuck it!!!

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    2. I was also going to suggest a chuck it! best investment I made as far as outside dog toys and the balls are super indestructible! sometimes they come up on groupon for reduced prices too.

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  2. Also, you could try a harness vs a collar for the pulling. Only thing that worked for my girl!

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  3. Chandler in the crate -- ROFLMAO!!!! Typical bloody cat. *g* Given that I'm dripping sweat into the keyboard, I can't imagine the cold you guys have been going through. Stay safe and warm!
    Karen in Sydney

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  4. To save you throwing arm you may want to try a Chuckit! Tennis Ball Launcher

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  5. CPS on kids in dog crates! I was actually LOL-ing! HAHA!

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  6. I had a period of two months late last year where I didn't run and then started back up in January. I couldn't run as far or as fast as I was running before the break, but I definitely wasn't back at the "gasping for breath" stage either. I bet you will be pleasantly surprised how good you feel!! :)

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  7. Your posts are not helping my doggie fever, lol.

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