March 03, 2015

10 more days!

I'm so glad that you've all enjoyed the 100th Motivational Monday post! I think I'll do that once a year, because it was fun to work on and definitely very inspiring. Even though I've lost over 100 pounds myself, I am still in awe of people who do it--and seeing the before and after pictures always gives me a boost of motivation :)

The weekend ended up not being quite as fun as I'd hoped. On Friday night, we went to Joey's obedience class. I felt much more comfortable during his second class than the first, and I really feel like I'm learning a lot from the trainer. I think he can tell I'm genuinely interested in learning how to train Joey, and that I'm more than willing to put in the work necessary to do it. When he asked about practicing walking the dogs on a loose leash, everyone else said that it was too cold, so they haven't been walking. I've walked Joey every single day since we got him, and February was a record-breaking cold month! I can definitely tell when he needs exercise--getting really antsy and pacing around the house--so I try to stay on top of it.

I was still having a hard time getting Joey to walk on a loose leash, and I was practicing all week, so when I showed the trainer what I was doing, he explained what I was doing wrong. Instead of correcting him (by pulling the leash back) *before* he pulls the leash tight, I was waiting until the leash was already pulled tight. He said that once the leash is pulled taut, then it's too late. He also suggested getting a leash that was about 10-15 feet long for Joey, because Joey is so fast at getting to the end of his leash.

When we did the meet and greet during class (each owner walks his/her dog around the room and feeds treats to the other dogs), Joey (and I!) did much better than the first week. I'm learning when to use a "sit" correction versus the pulling correction, and it finally clicked during Friday's class.

This weekend, I tried using the long leash (I bought a 30-ft. leash, but only used half of it; I'd like to use the full thing to practice off leash training in the summer). The leash itself made a huge difference in Joey's pulling! I put it on his collar (not the no-pull harness, because I'm trying to train him to walk on a loose leash all the time, not just with the harness) and we walked a few miles. I did what the trainer taught me, and it worked great! He walked with a loose leash the entire time. The hardest part is just that I have to be paying constant attention, so I can correct him before he pulls. I just hope it'll get more natural as we practice more often.

Saturday, at around 4:00 in the morning, Eli came into my room and said he felt like he was going to throw up. I took him to the bathroom, where he puked for about five minutes. I hoped that would be it, but he ended up having to throw up four more times in the next couple of hours. I had gone to bed at midnight, so I didn't get much sleep at all.

The last thing I wanted to do on Saturday was a long run, because I was so tired and Eli was sick, but Jerry was home, so I made myself go run. The roads were still about 50% covered with snow and ice, but I decided to just take it nice and easy and run outside, because the temp was great.


I still don't feel like my lungs/cardio system is back to where it was pre-stress-fracture, but I was pretty happy with this pace. And I was THRILLED to be able to run without any ankle problems! :)

I spent the rest of the day comforting Eli, because his stomach was really bothering him, and by Sunday, he was feeling much better. My parents got home late Saturday from South Carolina after spending an entire month on Hilton Head island! We went over to their house for dinner Sunday, and I brought Joey along so that my parents could meet him. I was happy that he was really well-behaved for them!


I leave for Portland in 10 DAYS. I'm so excited! I ended up selling my bib for the Shamrock 15K, because I really didn't think it would be smart to push my ankle so hard right after the stress fracture. I could have dropped to the 5K or 8K, but I think spectating will be super fun, and if I can't do the 15K, I'd rather spectate. Now that I've been running without any issues, though, I kind of regret selling the bib--but it was probably for the best.

Thomas helped me come up with a plan of where to stand during the race. I'm going to leave Thomas at the starting line, then walk to the corner of SW Taylor and SW Broadway (which is at about mile 2.75 of the 15K). I plan to be there at around 7:40, and then at around 8:15, I'll head over to the finish line area to be there when Thomas finishes, and we'll hang out after the race until about 9:30 or so. Sooo... if any of you Portlanders are interested, you're welcome to spectate with me! Or if you're running the race, you can look for me near SW Taylor and SW Broadway. (If you do want to spectate with me, send me an email, and we can make a plan to meet up).

I realized that my flight is on Friday the 13th. I'm normally not superstitious, but considering I'm such a scaredy-pants flyer, I wish I'd chosen a different date! ;)

7 comments:

  1. Both of my parents were born on Friday the 13ths, so they're lucky days for our family. I'll gladly send some of that luck your way! :)

    Hope Eli's illness ths weekend is the first and last of the flu for your household and that he's back to his usual self now. Glad that Joey's training is going well. You're right - the human coordination can be the hardest part f animal training.

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  2. I can't believe you'll be 6.5 hours away from me in 10 days! That's crazy. I'm used to you being across the map!

    P.S. Loved your post yesterday. Very well done and so inspiring. You do good my friend.

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  3. Be careful with joey's paws in this cold weather..

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  4. I am flying to DC on Friday the 13th too :)

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  5. No worries on the flight! I heard there are a lot of Friday the 13th's this year. Wishing you a great flight and a great time on your trip!

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  6. My birthday is the 13th, the best day ever! ;)

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  7. Enjoy Portland, it's awesome! I live near Seattle so it's a quick trip for me- love it!

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