February 13, 2015

Joey meets Bailey

We have had some SUPER cold weather the past few days. The temp has been in the single digits, and the windchill brings it well below zero degrees. When it's this cold, it's so hard to get motivated to do anything.

On Wednesday, I walked Joey to my parents' house, and Nathan (my younger brother) came over with his dog, a black lab named Bailey. I was really excited to introduce Joey and Bailey, because I could tell that Joey has been dying to play with other dogs (every time we go for a walk, he gets super excited and playful when he sees a dog).

When Nathan and Bailey got there, we let the two dogs loose in the yard, and as I expected, Joey was ridiculously excited. Bailey seemed a little annoyed at first, because Joey was right in her face constantly, but once we started throwing the tennis ball for them, they were running all over the place. Joey normally loves playing fetch with the ball, but he was so distracted by Bailey that he just did whatever she did. I'd throw the ball, and Bailey would take off after it; Joey, who was always watching Bailey, took off, too--although he had no idea why he was running, haha.

Needless to say, Joey was always a few steps behind Bailey, so she won the race to the ball each time ;)

This picture says it all: Bailey got the ball, and Joey is watching her with
a big old grin on his face.
My feet were super numb from the cold after about an hour, so we didn't stay long.

Yesterday, I didn't go to the rec in the morning because there is no open swim on Thursday mornings, but I decided to just go in the evening and walk the track while the kids played basketball. I tried taking Joey for a walk outside in the afternoon, but my face hurt from the cold--we only went around the block, and my legs and face were beet red.

A package was delivered in the afternoon, and I knew I hadn't ordered anything, so I was curious what it was. Then I saw that it was addressed to Joey.



The note read: "Joey, We can't wait to meet you. Here is some of our favorite treats. Love, your cousins, Lucy & Remi". Lucy and Remi are my sister's basset hounds. They are pretty spoiled, so I knew that the box would contain some great treats for Joey! There were a couple of toys, an elk antler chew, and several different treats--including bully sticks (which I learned are actually dried bull penises!). Joey loved everything. The elk antler chew is awesome--he chewed on it for a couple of hours yesterday, and didn't even make a dent in it, so it'll last a long time.

Last night, I took the boys to basketball, and while they were playing, I walked on the indoor track at the rec. I turned on a podcast to listen to while I walked, but I was still bored (12 laps equals 1 mile, so the scenery is limited!). I felt like I was full of energy last night, but I had no way to really release it--I wanted to run so badly, but I have to be patient and wait for my stress fracture to heal.

While I was walking, Renee ran past me and waved. I was really jealous seeing her run! She kept lapping me, and I'm sure she ran three miles in the time it took me to walk half that. At one point, I wanted to pass a couple of people ahead of me, so I had to go into the "runner's lane" to pass. The track is so small that you can't really see if anyone is coming up behind you until they're right there, so without thinking, I just hopped into the runner's lane and then ran ahead to pass those people. I immediately realized I shouldn't be running, so I got back into the middle lane; but I was really excited to realize that my ankle feels much better than it did the last time I tried running a short distance.


It didn't really hurt, but I could feel the spot where the fracture is, and definitely noticed it, so I know it's not healed yet. But I felt really good after that, thinking that maybe in a couple more weeks I might be able to start running short distances. After I was done with my walk (an hour and 15 minutes), I was going down the stairs when I realized that I didn't feel any pain doing that. Normally, when I go down those stairs, I feel a little tug of pain when my foot hits each step, but it wasn't happening. After that, I felt so encouraged that my ankle is actually healing!

We have a super cold weekend ahead, so I'm going to have to bundle up to walk Joey. Jerry is crazy enough to play a "Snowball Softball" tournament this weekend--there are about 30 teams that get together to play this tournament, and it's supposed to be single digit temps (with windchill below zero). Crazy, right?!

4 comments:

  1. I would first like to say that your website is really very inspiring. Reading through it and reading about your weight loss and transition into a runner has given me a sense of hope. I am looking forward to reading more of your posts over time.

    I am really sorry to hear about your ankle fracture. I had to chuckle though to myself about you running when you aren't supposed to. I still have a memory of a photo of my sister (avid runner as well) with a cast on her knee after she had torn her ligament. In the photo she is reading the latest issue of Runner's World. Even when she could physically run, she was still running in her head :)

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  2. Are you going to be a spectator at the snowball softball tourney? I think that'd be worse than playing. SO COLD! Since my weight loss (and my advanced age might contribute) I get so much colder now, I used to be too hot all the time. Glad the ankle is healing, slowly, but healing. LOVE the pictures of Joey. I wish Juno (my Bulldog) had some playmates. When we take here out in public, she loves everybody--people, other dogs, etc. I know she'd love a playmate full-time, but I'm not ready to take on the training of another dog, at least not for a while. She likes to play with Neymar, the cat, but she plays too rough for Neymar's liking. So for now, we are Juno's chief entertainers, and I have to be honest, there are times when she is every bit as needy as a small child! But I love her so! I bought her a new toy yesterday, it was a rubber heart with a rope attached for tugging. She loves to play, "Try to get this out of my mouth!" with us. Within an hour, the rubber heart part of the toy was in pieces. Hard rubber is no match for Juno's massive Bulldog teeth! But she can still play with the robe. She is like a kid when she gets a new toy--just LOVES it! Aren't pets fun???

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  3. I LOVE the picture of Joey and Bailey...what a fantastic action shot that says so much!!

    I'm so glad that your ankle is starting to show signs of healing. I know it's SO hard to not run, but it will only be a short blip of time in the overall scheme of things! You will be back and better than ever before you know it!

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  4. Yay! So glad you are healing.

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