Why race?: TOLT

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

race

I’m Thinking Out Loud about my potential race this weekend; about whether or not it’s wise to do it. It won’t be decided today, not unless I wake up feeling a whole lot better than yesterday (doubtful, but you never know), but hey, it’s what I’m thinking about.

And I’ll never be number one. But still . . .

Couldn’t we just always have good health for a race? I suppose it just wouldn’t be racing if there weren’t mishaps (and you can peruse some of mine on Tuesday’s blog post).

To race or not to race?
That will actually be the title of my weekly wrap this week. I am spending a lot of time sucking down tea the last few days. Mr. Judy thought he was suffering from allergies last weekend . . . he was wrong, unless I’ve suddenly caught his allergies.

So there was the hilly 10k I was thinking of doing Saturday. The potentially hilly, rainy 10k. But I was going with friends, and Darlene would be there, and it’s been more than a month since we’ve managed to meet up.

Hoping to knock out this crud


Right now I am resting. A lot. And drinking lots of tea (Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat, Breathe Easy, and Cold Care PM, *all affiliate links). Not to mention taking oscillio (also an *affiliate link), because I also have a low grade temp and mild body aches so it seems more viral than cold.

Of course I have no idea how I’ll be feeling by the weekend yet.

And if I don’t race . . . 
Then it’s a question of do I still do my long run. And do I meet at o’too early to run with the group, or sleep in a little bit and run solo (since I’d be running solo with the group anyway).

Again it just all depends on how I’m feeling. It’s a head cold/virus, so technically it’s okay to run, but I do feel like crap. I’m hoping a few days of rest and all that tea will rectify it enough to get a long run in.

And the last question would be do I keep to the 9 miles or shorten it up. Oh, and Monday we have to get to my parents, by the way, which will be a very long day. And did I mention it’s supposed to rain basically from yesterday through Monday?

My world keeps getting smaller

Why am I in jail? (Bandit update)
One of the hard things about Bandit (and there are just many, many hard things) is all the time it takes letting both Lola and Bandit out, because Bandit can be iffy when they’re goig through a small place like a doorway.

So we got an xpen yesterday. That allows me to put Bandit into the xpen, let Lola out, and then either let Bandit out after she’s done her business or after I’ve let her back in the house.

It still takes more time, but it’s much less than getting Bandit into the bathroom so I can let Lola out, get Lola back into the house, and then let Bandit out.

It isn’t all bad news with Bandit. If you’re not following me on Instagram, you missed the short video I posted of Bandit giving Mr. Judy kisses. He’s actually quite good with us. Bandit and Lola have played together a bit without incident.

He still guards: his crate, the kitchen; he again more than growled when Gizmo walked by him while baby gated into the kitchen. But they walk by each other (with Bandit leashed) often with no incident.

Would he actually do something if he wasn’t on a leash or separated by a baby gate? I’m not ready to find out yet.

Does your dog ask to go out (to potty)?
All of my dogs I have had to learn to read the signs, and they’re subtle. They don’t really ask to go out (which is how I ended up cleaning out Bandit’s crate at 5:30 am one morning).

Of course I’ve only ever had small dogs. Thank God I don’t work — how the heck would they manage?

Do you thrive on competition?
My friend Mawli1 @ Mawli1’s Blog and I were “chatting” back and forth the other day about running, the need for speed (or not), and competition.

My parents raised me to be competitive — in pretty much anything I pursued. Not win at all costs competitive, but show up and do my best competitive.

It’s why I train hard and race. I don’t have a lot of areas in my life to be competitive, and although let’s face it, I’m never going to win awards running, I like trying my best and seeing the occasional improvement.

As I commented to her, at one point, improvement isn’t linear (you don’t just keep getting better and better). It could take a training cycle, several training cycles, or even years to reap the benefits of your training.

So you have to keep the faith and keep on reaching for those stars.

Mr. Judy made me chuckle
Hes’s going to hate that I shared this, but I just can’t help it (you may want to skip this one if you’re squeamish about doggy bodily functions).We were walking the dogs one morning. Lola had pooped. Bandit was getting all set to mark (pee) over her poop, and I was going to let him, when Mr. Judy cried don’t let him pee on that!

So I didn’t, but when I asked why not, he said because he had to pick it up.

Okay, you’re picking up dog poop with a plastic bag around your hand — does it really matter that there’s dog pee on top of there?

Notice the cat mirror behind Gizmo, to the right

Every time I think I’m getting back on track . . . 

. . . something  happens. I was going to really concentrate on some strength training this summer. Then Bandit happened. Then I decided to start exploring Pahla B Fitness, and now I’m sick. Pretty darn sure that race isn’t happening.

I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.

On the other hand, I did finally get started on the first season of Outlander and watched all of the previous night’s Olympics. I always know I’m sick when I lose my appetite!

* Disclaimer: this is an affiliate link. I make a very small commission if you buy this product from Amazon after clicking through my link.

Talk to me. Tell me in the comments:

How important is blogging to you (see this blog post)?

What about competition — yea or nay?

What causes you to bail on a race?

I’m linking up with Amanda at Running with Spoons for her:

Thursdays are for thinking out loud

32 thoughts on “Why race?: TOLT”

    1. Already decided I won’t do the race — even if I’m better, it’s just not in my best interest right now. I am assuming I’ll be better, I’m a little better today. I’m not even walking the dogs.

      Unfortunately I still have to get up every couple of hours to go out with them (because if I just let them out they look at me and come back in). Which kind of sucks, because right now I really do want to be a total couch potato.

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  4. Lovely TOLT post! Sending a big hug and lots of love you way..get well soon J! ^_^
    And blogging is so important to me…it’s really unfortunate though that I just make it here once in about three days! I wish I could spend more time here. With my mom out of town, it’s just me and dad at home. And I’m suddenly running an entire house here by myself, and this is over and above what I have to do work wise!! I’m surprised at how much there is to do to run a house… I hope I can revert back to my routine soon. And then I’ll visit you more often than now!! Cheers ^_^

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      2. Oh god Judy!! I accidentally deleted the beautiful comment you left me on my recent post! I’m feeling terrible about it. But I did read it and I wanted to reply saying I hope your long quiet mornings return to you soon!

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  5. Hmm… I would say that an injury would make me bail on a race. I’m not quite as competitive, but… when I’m racing I can actually surprise myself by being really competitive.

    I know how it is to try to juggle all the animals and take care of them all. I think you’re doing a great job.

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    1. Thank you, Emily. It has been hard. OTOH, Bandit is very lucky he landed here. I think, anyway. I’m not quite sure how he would have dealt with people who were at work all day — although that was what he had before, who knows, maybe it would have been better for him!

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  6. I’m glad to hear things are going better with Bandit!!! I’m not competitive (at least I don’t think I am), so I have a difficult understanding the people who thrive on always being the fastest (or faster) when it comes to running. Sure, I’d like to be faster, but I am not blessed with the genetics, and have a lot of other things that take priority over the countless hours of training it would take for me to get “faster.” I’d much rather run longer…. 😉

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    1. I am very competitive, but let’s face it, I’ll also always be BOTP. I’m also realistic — I know that I’m not always going to be faster, too. So I take it where I can get it!

      I’m seriously not sure my body would stand up to running longer, even at my pace!

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  7. Yes I am competitive which is why I love to race.

    Blogging is not that important – it takes so much sedentary time. But it keeps me accountable and I have met some fantastic people so that why I keep it up (minimally.)

    Hope you feel better. I was looking forward to seeing you but with this weather, I doubt it’s a good idea to run until you feel 100%.

    Maybe next week? Monday??

    Weather and race logistics make me bail such as driving over an hour with rain in the forecast (my recent DNS).

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    1. Jan will be there; I was going to go with her and a couple of her friends. It’s not the weather so much, it’s just that I don’t need to be running hard right now. Second year in a row I’ve had to miss it for one reason or another.

      I won’t be running Monday (and have something going on that day anyway). I’m not even sure about my long run this weekend, but I’m hoping to get it in if I continue to rest like I am. At least I feel a bit better today.

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      3. The humidity was horrible but I had a goo race considering the conditions. 5 min slower than my PR but a course PR. Rained on and off all day but not during the race.

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      4. Even the rain didn’t touch the humidity yesterday-my glasses fogged up when I had to go outside! I’m not terribly sorry I missed the race, just sorry not to spend time with friends.

        Good job!

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      6. Hmmm. I know as of Friday she planned to go, but she wasn’t going to run. So I don’t know what happened but I’ll find out.

        We were going to my folks tomorrow because my brother & his family are in town, but we’re not even doing that because we don’t want to give this virus to anyone else. 😔 it’s very contagious & spread all throughout my husband’s office.

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  8. I’m sorry that you are not feeling well, especially with an event on tap. I hope all works out so that you can run your race.

    I love the “Throat Coat” tea. It is mostly licorice, which is a love/hate flavor (I love it, obviously). Every time I drink it it makes me feel happy and soothed.

    Happy that there are improvements, even if small, with Bandit.
    I still think Gizmo is one of the most beautiful cats I’ve ever seen. Gorgeous.

    I love the Mr. Judy story. It’s really funny. I chuckled, too.

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    1. No, I’m not going to the race; I know it’s not a good idea. I’m hoping to get a long run in, but we’ll see how I feel & I won’t do it with the group so I don’t have to get up so early (and get too little sleep, which has been a real problem the last couple of months). I wasn’t registered for the race, so it’s not a big deal, other than missing being able to be with friends. 😦

      Aw, thanks about Gizmo. I’m not sure I’d really say that, but yes, he is handsome. We had a calico previously who was a really pretty cat.

      I know, when Mr. Judy told me why, I was like really? REALLY? And he reads this. 🙂

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  10. The adventures of Bandit. I like his little outdoor area…that is a nice compromise, I am sure he enjoys it. Hopefully you are feeling better by now! Bummer on no race. I have only DNS due to my foot injury. I have done a few races sick, but I ditched the goals and just went like a training run and enjoyed the water stops lol
    I am not competitive at all. I rarely have anyone except myself to be competitive against lol

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    1. He doesn’t spend a lot of time in there, just a few minutes here & there but he doesn’t seem to mind at all – at least he happily hops in for treats.

      It wasn’t a DNS; I wasn’t signed up because I hadn’t made up my mind yet & knew there was day of race signup.

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  11. I’m glad there’s been more progress with Bandit! Some dogs seem more aggressive on leashes than off (I had a dog like that, but I kept her on the leash even though it made her more aggressive because it gave me more control), so I’m glad Bandit is doing alright on the leash around Gizmo. I think the xpen is a great idea!

    When debating racing, I always feel like I’m doing math problems in my head. So many factors to consider and weigh.

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    1. Oh, I know all about reactive dogs on leash, because Lola is one of them. She’s come a long way.

      Bandit isn’t really reactive on leash (although sometimes on walks, but that’s more a low warning growl, unlike Lola who used to lunge and bark her little head off).

      No, it’s a different thing. It’s more guarding of spaces, but so far lately he’s been doing better. I’ve taken to throwing some treats around for Giz & Lola while Bandit is gated in the kitchen and giving him treats, too. Getting him used to the idea that good things happen when Giz is around.

      It’s been a while since we’ve had a guarding incident, in fact, although I haven’t walked him all week, Mr. Judy has taken over those duties.

      We continue to work with him with the muzzle, too, but that’s slow. He does really well with it, but it’s hard to work up to any significant amount of time (although my husband said he had it on him for at least 5 minutes last night, which is a new record, then again he wasn’t really looking at his watch).

      I think once we can get him up to about 10 minutes we can try to have him out in the house (still on leash) for short amounts of time).

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