Pups and Determination

Our morning started out with a great walk, We met Tiina of One Crazy Penguin and her fun pups Orion and Koda at the park. How did I get so lucky to find a fun blogger so close to home?? Can't wait until we can meet up with some of our other blogging buddies! While we walked we chatted. There was some commiserating about the complete unfairness of how difficult it is to get weight off and how quickly it returns. Seriously, how do a couple of cookies turn into 10 pounds?? My aching legs/feet were also reminding me how quickly you lose fitness if you don't keep working at it. To be honest, we both know we are responsible for not being consistent, but it is therapeutic to whine a little with someone who gets it  - as long as they don't let you whine too long :)

The pups were happy to lead the charge!

Potty break! Millie started a chain reaction and then everyone had to go. Koda and Orion were told to stay while Tiina ran to the trash can. And they did! Such good pups. I think Millie would have tried to obey for a second and then followed. We need to spend some time on obedience refresher. Overall, Millie listens pretty well, but it is diligent training that gets good results. Hmm...I wonder if that can be applied to anything else in life :)

Checking out the lake at the end of the boat launch. I wonder if Millie would try a swim if she were allowed. Maybe we will try it later this summer.

After the walk the dogs still had plenty of energy. We let them off their leashes - shh, don't tell the park police! They had a great time chasing each other.

At one point I looked down to see Koda and Millie barreling toward me. Pitbulls and Rottweilers are not that scary, right??!?

Millie got her picture taken with the famous One Crazy Penguin :) I don't think she asked for an autograph though.

The adventure ended with a contest to see who had the longest tongue. I would have thought Millie would have won, but it was Koda, paws down :)

When all was said and done, Koda was still running circles around Millie! Tiina assured us that her pups would be asleep in the car.

I had decided prior to our walk that I wasn't going to count this as part of the 30 Day Ironman. I figured I just wanted to enjoy the time with Tiina and the dogs and not be worried about pace. I don't think I will have any trouble getting enough walking in during this challenge. For the record, we ended up walking 3.66 miles at about a 22 minute mile pace - including stops for the dogs to sniff around. My husband came to the park with us so he could run by the lake. About two miles into the run his leg started hurting, so he turned around and walked back with us. We think his IT band is causing the trouble. Time for the roller and some stretches - hope it helps!

If you enjoy blogs that feature cute pups, I recommend Runs to Get Waisted - Mary has a beautiful diva of a retired greyhound. A new addition at Finding the Skinny Geek Within is sure to make his blog debut soon. I have also enjoyed reading Runs for Cookies adventures with her new dog, Joey. Dogs can be great fitness partners!

After the walk, our plan was to go up to the gym and get in our first swim session. We stopped at the house, dropped off Millie, changed clothes and went straight to the gym. I have been nervous about the swim portion of the challenge because I am not a good swimmer. My goal is to just propel myself through the water with any stroke possible and keep my feet off the bottom as much as I can. When we walked in I was excited to see the pool was empty...no witnesses :) Turns out the pool area is being repaired after a small fire and a beam that fell from the ceiling. They are hoping it will reopen Monday. I hope so too. I don't want to get too far behind on the swim portion.

I didn't plan to ride today, but after the pool fail and not counting the walk, I wanted to have something to count toward the 30 Day Ironman today . I knew my legs were tired from jumping into the walking/biking world yesterday. Then after the walk this morning they were definitely exhausted and ached. So with some grumbling, I sucked it up and got started. I knew immediately it was going to be a looonng ride

Caution whining ahead!  I wrote this bike description immediately after the ride:

Just came in from a 5 mile bike ride. As I write, the bathtub is filling with nice warm water. As soon as I finish describing my unpleasant ride, I will be soaking my aching muscles. Today's ride was tough, tough, tough. I wanted to write this immediately,so that I could remember every terrible second of the ride. Then I can look back at the end of the month and truly appreciate how far I have come. My butt didn't hurt as much as I expected. The pain was more in my tired legs. Right after I hit the first mile my chain fell off. I walked the bike until my husband looped around and put it back on for me. At that point, I just wanted to ride home and forget the whole thing. Actually, I wanted to walk my bike home...I did NOT want to get back on. But I did and pushed on. Every loop was a new mental challenge to keep myself going. The area is relatively flat and I purposely avoided the part with obvious hills. There were a couple spots I couldn't avoid and there is no way you could really call them hills, but they felt like mountains. I was nearly at a standstill by the time I got to the top of those "hills." The last mile and a half I gave up on the loops and rode to another area of the neighborhood. I hoped a change in scenery would improve my spirits. It did a little. I even had time to think that as sore as my hiney was, I better get some good looking buns out of it! At the four mile mark my husband asked if I wanted to just ride home. Yes! I absolutely did want to ride home, but I didn't want to waste four miles of riding. My challenge said I had to ride a minimum of five to count the session. By the time I made it back to the house I had ridden 5.12 miles. I am NOT looking forward to the next ride, but I know if I stick with it, it will get easier. Hopefully, I will get less whiny.

Hours later, post bath: I am still aching, but I am feeling much better. I can start to look back and feel a little pride in the accomplishment no matter how small it is. I sucked it up and pushed through when every fiber of my being was screaming to quit. Only 102 miles of biking to go. I hope I can continue to muster this determination.

I think specific goals are good for me. If I don't have a specific goal I tend to not push myself. I have definitely pushed myself the past two days and I know I will have to keep pushing.