Summer? Helloooo Summer???

Not sure what happened to our weather this year.
Winter decided to keep it's distance.
And now summer has made itself scarce.

I will admit we've had humidity... and we are not used to that where we live.
Not high humidity mind you, but warm enough that I cannot run the dogs with the scooter.
I decided to run by myself this morning at 6... and I was sweating buckets by the time I was done... There is no way my fur kids would have done it.... well, they would have, and would have happily... at least until the heat hit them, and then that would have been the end of it. 
My dogs trust me to not over do it with them... and heat with my kids is an over do.... I suppose it is their summer holidays too.

As I write this it is about 12 degrees... and raining... but it feels colder.
If this is what we've been dealt then the snows might as well come.
Bring on winter so I can work on training my pups..... I cannot wait to get started.

Winter better happen this year... or.... or.... well.... or else!

I shared this bumper sticker on facebook, and thought it worthy to put here... our 'girl' team for Percy needs a name... and I'm wondering if Mush Girls would work.. or Mushing Mamas? 

One Week to Go!!!

Met up with the 'Wonder Woman', AKA, leader of the running group and her husband this morning.

Sunday morning and no one else ventured out to join us.. at least not at the time we ran.  Sundays are suppose to be for staying snuggled under the blankets enjoying the comfort of a soft warm bed.

I wish.

Even if I didn't have dogs that needed to be loved and cuddled and fed.
Even if I didn't have plans to run.
I just cannot sleep in.   Sadly it is not in my genetic makeup... nor is it wired in my brain properly to allow me such pleasures.

So, I might as well head out and go for a run... why not?

I ran 5K again this morning, however I decided that I would continue to run 10 minutes with a 1 minute break in between.  Figured I might as well get used to this before moving on.. .makes sense right?    I thought so too....

That is until my hubby asked me what we had planned for next weekend...

I saunter over to the calendar, thinking there were no plans that I could remember.... slowly my finger moves to Saturday June 23rd.... uh... no.. wait.. that was yesterday!! 
Next weekend is the 5K road race that I've entered!!!

Yikes!!!

Panic sets in.
My heart rate rises and I'm standing still!
Butterflies come alive deep down in my stomach.

How did July 1st come so quickly???

Breathe

I can do this.

Piece of cake... I have 4 more days that I can run before Sunday..

I can and I will run the entire route without stopping..

I can

                                    I can

                  I can

                                                                                      I can!!!

Good Day Sunshine

The longest day of the year has come and gone having left us with 18 hours and 44 minutes of light. (although if you consider the nautical sunrise and sunset it was more like 21 hours)
I have a love hate relationship with the length of daylight that spills in though my window.  It's not the warmth or soul lifting that it brings into my life.  I crave sunshine no matter what day in the year.   I Love the way it warms my face on a cold winters day, or how it brings out the diamonds that lay on a field of snow.
No, it's the fact that I am already an early riser and don't really need the extra prodding to open my eyes at 4:30 in the morning that leaves me with a hint of displeasure.  
This could be fixed with darker blinds in my room.. but for those who know me, that'll never happen.

I will admit however that this last week of early rising has been a gift as I sit watching the sky change into the most magnificant colours to announce the coming of a new day.
Having to watch it through my living room window covered in the art of doggy nose prints added to my happiness as I was reminded of what a wonderful and full life I have.

Has it been aging that has finally let me see the joy in life?
Or can it be as I physically become healthier my mental health too has improved?

I have now run 5K more than once and have been so proud of myself.
I'm not quite ready to do the entire distance in one shot, however I do have to remind myself the location I am training on is all hills.   With my running group last night I did 10 minute runs 3 times.. it ended at the bottom of the long hill that is a killer everytime I run it... At the top of this hill is the 5K mark and it would have taken me all of 5 minutes to finish it..
I just couldn't find the energy to do it last night.

The sunshine that I crave and love was beating down upon me making it hard to breath as my sweat soaked through the t-shirt trying to cool me.  
We haven't had much heat as of late and I found it hard to complain, but it was the main reason I could not find the reserves that are usually buried deep down to run that hill one more time.

Knowing what I have accomplished in just 2 months time has led me to believe that I WILL be able to prepare for 100 miles on skis with my dogs.
And thinking ahead about the training season with my dogs I can only smile and feel a bolt of excitment rush through me.  What fun we are going to have!! 

Here I am not even 24 hours away from the longest day of the year and the first day of summer and I'm already longing for winter!

My motivation for the day....

Oh, why not.... the song of the day...

Canine Crap

Obsessed?

I'm not sure what the correct term is for what I've been going through.

Consumed..... Absorbed..... Haunted...... Engrossed?

Daily in my home the Internet is opened to articles relating to dietary nutrition for racing dogs
Articles on what is best for my fur kids.... many I have to weed out that are written by people who they themselves eat a daily meal of seaweed that is infused with salmon and flax seed oils to ward off evil spirits.

For myself and running I know how I feel with what I've been eating.  What works at creating or even losing energy... and what to NOT eat if I want to continue to lose weight.

Yet for my kids, they cannot tell me what is or is not working.
Instead I keep my eye on what comes out of their body.
Their poop.

Every morning and night as I'm doing the daily chore of picking up after them I spend time examining this most disgusting particle.
Is it firm?
What colour is it?
Was there any food that didn't digest?
If it's the hubby who was out with the kids I question him.... AND he doesn't find it odd I do so, which is why we are married I suppose.

Going out in public I have to make it a point to NOT talk about this most disgusting topic.  Seriously who but another 'musher' is all that interested in what comes out of their dogs?  Most normal people spend their days working hard at not stepping on it, or if they own a dog, bribing their kids to pick up after Fido once a week.  Which sets off the gag reflex and possible temper tantrums.

Just as I'm making sure that my body receives the correct nutrition I have to make sure my furry athletes also have the same care put into what is given to them....

Obsessed? Maybe EnGROSSed is more like it.

However this doesn't change the meaning of this decal that we own... referring only to the 'white' stuff and not the brown!

Natures Therapy

I've missed almost a week of running.  Either because of travel or from that stupid flu bug that decided to hit me out of nowhere.

Sitting here on my couch wrapped up in a fleece blanket in the wee hours of the morning I was starting to feel sorry for myself.  Wondering if I would be able to catch up with the group tonight as they have now surpassed what I have done.  
Questioning if I would be able to in fact make it through the entire 5K with how much I've missed.... My mind is a rotten tool when the negative worms bite in....

.... and that is when I looked up.

My camera did not do the colours justice.  There were bright oranges and deep blues, and it looked as though it been hand painted.  Breath taking.

And just like that I forgot about the negative thoughts floating around inside my head.  I may not be feeling top dog yet, but I can at least get off my butt and run some.

This morning the 'powers that be' gave me a simple nudge.  

Darkness is always followed by beauty.



I LOVE MY LIFE

I've been planning my upcoming racing season so that I can sort out the training side of things.
I know, I know it is only June.  Summer has yet to begin.  What am I doing thinking snow??!!??

Hey... I didn't say I wasn't crazy.
Although in my eyes I seem perfectly normal.

I'm so excited about the upcoming training season.  It is all about getting ready for the Percy now.
Race dates without the training are exciting themselves..
Dec. 8th..
Jan. 18th..
Feb. 2nd..
Feb. 15th ....
*claps hands!!!*

This past weekend I met with some of the team members... Brenda, Becky and Raija whom I spent the most time with.
I came away feeling so incredibly excited about our upcoming adventure.

Nothing is going to stop us now!

Nothing.

Hanging with the ladies, talking about the race, and our gear, and the training for us and dogs I felt as if I could bounce in my seat.
Not only were we starting the whole adventure, I also had others who wouldn't get bored talking about dogs.. what they eat, how they poop, training tips,  puppy talk.

Speaking of puppy talk.

We also had 7, 5 week old pups to occupy our time.. it was wonderful... surprised I didn't come home with one... oh, right, they are too young yet.. wonder if I should be visiting in 3 weeks time???

It was great to meet with the others.  I feel so confident now.  We can do this... all of us! 

The only downside to my weekend was coming home with the flu.  So sick, no energy for even standing and eating anything is a challenge, it actually hurts to put food in my stomach.  A major pain to me as I missed my run with the running club tonight, and it was the harder one. 
Harder is all relative I suppose, so not harder... just longer... but I missed it, and I'm so bummed.

That's okay, in a couple days I will be right as rain and ready to carry on... because I have a goal now... a GOAL.. and no longer a DREAM.

I really do have an awesome life... a supportive hubby.. the best kids ever.. my entire family is actually a great inspiration to me... the best job... the greatest hobby with pups that love me unconditionally.  AND adventure. 

*Smile*

I need to share one of my favorite songs now

Edwin, Alive

I Can and I Will, Just Watch Me!

What our minds do to us it amazing.

I have advanced in how far I can run and am just about ready for the 5K run in 3 weeks.  I cannot believe how far I've come in such a short time.

On my run last night it started off easy and there wasn't even a thought of what I was doing, I just did.  At about the half way mark my mind started playing games with me.... "hey, feel those legs? Yeah they are getting tired, you should walk a bit"... Then, after berating 'mind' for it's negative thought, it was as if it went into a trance, almost like it was pouting and went to the corner to sulk.  Thoughts were empty and my body a machine that was turned on and forgotten.

If I had not been with the running group I think I could have gone on in that same pace for a lot longer.  However if  I had not been with the group it would have been too easy to listen to the whining of the mind when it wanted me to stop.

I love that I'm getting my body into shape.  I feel fit and healthy in my body... but I also feel fit and healthy in my mind, it has become stronger.
The depression that I struggle with has been easy to walk to the door and told to leave. 
I've been much happier.

AND tomorrow I head to BC for the weekend with part of the group that is working toward the same goal as me, the Percy DeWolfe Memorial Race. 
This dream will become a little more real in this crazy mind of mine and that excites and terrifies me all at the same time.

 Dreams come a size too big so we can grow into them.

My motivation for the day



My Job, yes, You Should be Jealous

Lately I've been obsessed with my running and training for the Percy... it's all I think about (or so it seems).
And why not?  What an adventure!  I tingle deep down with excitement just thinking about it.  After all the dogs and I will be running a small section of the Yukon Quest trail... *squeal!!*

As for my running, that also has me excited.   I never thought I could be a runner... and here I am in less than a month almost ready to run a 5K without stopping.

Who woulda figured at this point in my life at 48 years old I would be heading for an incredible adventure and in the best shape ever.

However that is not all that is happening in my life.
It is as if everything is falling into place.   The jigsaw puzzle of who I am is filling in nicely, the picture is clear now, and it makes me smile.
The section that is finally crystal is my job.
I LOVE my job.   It is one that I am re-hired for yearly and I cross my fingers that I will return for many more to come.

The staff, my co-workers, are an amazing group of people that take their work seriously.  It makes me feel so incredibly overwhelmed to think that my kids were educated in this atmosphere, but also opened my eyes to how and why they ended up where they have today.... I've got to say that we are incredibly lucky in this small town to have a fabulous group of dedicated teachers from K to 12.

My job. 
I go to work daily knowing that I will smile often.  I enjoy the children I work with, they are able to baffle me and some will challenge me, yet they all amaze me. 
I get to be a mentor yet at the same time am able to act silly and be goofy if the situation allows for it.  It's like being paid to be a Girl Guide leader and I LOVE it!!

Speaking of which... I'm off to get ready for a super, wonderful incredible day now... and it begins with a run which means it will be a perfect one.

Soon You'll Bounce a Dime off it

I ran last night.
It started off hard and I remember thinking, "when will this get easier?"

When I finished, the thoughts running through my head were, "wow that was easy!"

Today my butt muscles are re-living the run.... now THAT is a great reason to keep running... hard gluteus maximus muscles!!

The biggest problem I can see that has come from this running 'thing' is that it is highly addictive... I can't wait to go out again tonight!