This week I’m Thinking Out Loud about the Olympics — still! — the weather (always), running (pretty much always), and of course Bandit. Because it wouldn’t be a TOLT without an animal update.
I’m digging this weather
I’m not so sorry that I missed that week of running — the weather was hot and humid and miserable that week. This week is so much nicer.
It’s going to get warmer again, but at least the early mornings are nice and cool now. I even have to throw on a jacket to take Bandit out around 5 am.
I may be going into Olympics withdrawal
Well, seriously, normally I don’t lay around on the couch all day. And while I didn’t enjoy being sick, it was nice to have something to entertain me while I was getting some much needed rest.
When will I get it through my thick skull?
That it’s okay to miss runs? If you’re sick, or feeling an ache, that is. When you’re sick, your body is telling you loud and clear what it wants — in my case, it was a lot of rest, a lot of tea, and a lot of soup.
So why do I have such a hard time with not running every run on my plan?
I am not one of those people who can just go out there and run 13.1 miles without training for it. My IT band let me know that loud and clear at the end of last week’s long run.
It said you want to run 8 miles with a previous week of 4.5 miles total? Then I’m going to make sure that the last little bit isn’t pleasant. And I’m going to continue to protest once you’re done.
I threw some tape on it this week to shut it up. It worked.
Missing out
Missing my group running buddy, who meets with the surgeon today.
Missing swimming, since the pool is closed until September.
But looking forward to a long weekend away at the end of September. Finally!
My mom’s surgery is today, by the way, so any good vibes/prayers are appreciated.
Adapting from cool to hot weather?
My next half is in Phoenix in October. Looking at the averages for that time of year, at the start it might be about mid to high 60s. Basically about 20 degrees above the average for what the weather will be like back home.
A big difference will be humidity, of course. Phoenix is much dryer.
While I would love to PR this race, as it’s probably my only chance to PR a half this year, I am not really holding out great hopes for that. Still, I’m wondering if there’s anything different I have to consider to accommodate running in a much less humid area? Other than making sure I hydrate well, of course.

Relaxing with Gizmo in the kennel. Because we wanted to, not because we had to! Gizmo now has complete freedom in the house; he has had for several weeks. Bandit, of course, does not, although he has more freedom than he had.
Bandit update
Bandit clearly made Lola nervous at first, to the point that she was throwing up a little. I don’t know if it was just the changes in her routine, or Bandit’s behavior — probably a bit of both.
One reason we wanted a second dog was that while Lola didn’t seem to miss Chester initially, she eventually seemed kind of depressed.
She seems to be much more calm around him now — maybe a bit too calm. She loves to play, and she practically rolls on top of him in an effort to get him to play, which I admit makes me nervous.
So far so good. Bandit doesn’t always play with her when she works her feminine wiles on him, but he does sometimes and they both seem to enjoy it. He is no longer on a long lead as he was in the video above, by the way (and I was talking to my mom, by the way), so when he does decide to play, they run around the entire yard.
Unfortunately he had a terrible case of diarrhea (with no other abnormal symptoms) over the weekend, and we had to take him out every couple of hours for a couple of days — day and night. And once it seemed to pass, he still needed to go out in the middle of the night for a couple of days. We are both so tired. And it’s a busy week.The next little bit might be TMI for some.
The poop department has not been good from the day we got him, and I’ve yet to get to the bottom of it. It had finally seemed normal, until we boarded him and he had his first class, and it wasn’t long after that that he had the diarrhea (which is not that unusual after being boarded, but not, I think, to this degree).
It’s looking better again, but we’ll be boarding him again next week. I’m really hoping we don’t have to go through that again!
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Talk to me. Tell me in the comments:
Any tricks for racing in a warmer area than you train in?
Do all female dogs act as slutty as Lola?
What savory snacks do you enjoy?
I’m linking up with Amanda at Running with Spoons for her:
Enjoyed this TOLT Judy! Don’t have a female dog, so no idea about the slutty behavior! I don’t run much…just some yoga in the morning! So that’s a no scorer again. But savoury snacks – now you’re talking!! I enjoy a lot of Indian snacks and we have a huge variety of those in this country..might even have to do an entire post on it…a comment section is surely not enough space 😉
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I would love to see a post on savory snacks from you!
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I forgot to mention in my previous comment that I will keep your mum in my prayers! I hope the surgery goes well and that she recovers as soon as possible!
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Thank you. Actually the surgery was yesterday when I was writing the post, and it went well; I’ve just been a bit sleep deprived lately and forgot to shift dates!
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Ah it’s not your fault at all! I’m glad the it went well though ^_^
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Awe, Lola and Bandit play great together!! So sweet!
Wishing your mom well with a very speedy recovery!! Best wishes today and over the weekend!
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Thanks, Paula! Enjoy your weekend away.
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Lola is absolutely adorable with Bandit ❤ Maybe she's just what he needs to become better behaved. My dog is female and definitely not that flirty with other dogs. That being said, she's just antisocial in general and gets a little annoyed whenever another dog gets too up in her business. She just wants to sniff her grass and twigs in peace 😆 And I feel ya on the Olympic withdrawals… I got pretty used to always having them on as well, so it feels al little too quiet now that they're over.
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It’s funny, Lola, like Bandit, had lived in a few different homes, with a few different animals.
But she absolutely adored Chester from the moment she met him. Still, like Bandit, she wasn’t very well socialized with dogs other than the ones in her pack. So she’s real reactive on leash.
She is also the only female dog we’ve had. As you can see, she loves/lives to play — would you believe she’s going to be 11 in a few months?
Chester was too sick to play with her for much of his life, although she tried the same tricks on him.
Bandit plays with her sometimes, sometimes he doesn’t, sometimes he seems a bit unsure of what to do . . . but so far so good in that department.
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Good mojo to Mom. I’m happy to see Bandit and Lola playing together. Bummer about the poop, though. I hope that the boarding this time is less poopish. Give all the animals hugs and pets for me.
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Mom seems to be recuperating well — thanks Natalie!
Yes, less poopish would be greatly desired. We shall see.
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I dig salty cashews since today’s run or cauliflower buffalo wings. Glad your mom is ok.
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Cashews can be rather dangerous for me!
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Are you allergic to cashews? You mention nut butter so I’m confused lol
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Nope, not allergic. It’s just easier to stuff the dates with nut butter than actual nuts, I think.
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I eat them separately 😀
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Ah, I see!
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thinking of you and your mom. I’m always excited to see the updates on bandit. It looks like you are making progress 😉
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Bandit has made a lot of progress. Apparently he wasn’t as willing to work at last night’s class for whatever reason.
He still isn’t free in the house, except when he’s gated into the kitchen or here in the office with me.
So at some point we have to try it, and also decide whether or not to allow him on the furniture — it’s going to be difficult to train him to stay off considering he’s about 8 yrs old!
Thanks for the good thoughts for my mom. She’s doing well.
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