I’m joining Marcia @ Marcia’s Healthy Slice a little ahead of time, because she’s running just another marathon. Well, not just another, she’s running London to wrap up her quest to run all 6 major world marathons — how awesome is that? Let’s all send her some great running vibes! Marcia’s moved the Runfessional to next Friday, along with our Coffee/Tea dates, but since I’d already written this post I’m just going with it.
I runfess . . .
It’s Spring. Sort of. No blizzards here, but we still had a lot of rainy, very windy, and some days almost winter-like temp during April — even some snow in the beginning. Motivating myself to run outside, when there are no goal races out there, has been hard.
Most days when I do get out there, it’s really not as bad as I think it is (although some days it really is). I also know my body actually appreciates some treadmill runs. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
By the end of the month we got some beautiful Spring weather, allowing me to run outside and shun the treadmill again, but it’s still back and forth (hello 30s overnight a couple of nights ago). There’s a lot of rain in the forecast this weekend . . . stay tuned.
I runfess . . .
The debates on foam rolling rages on. Some Doctors swear by it, others say it’s a waste of time. On the few days I run and skip it (yes, it happens), I absolutely feel much tighter the next day. Foam rolling won’t cure everything that ails you, but it helps (and my chiropractor agrees with me).
I runfess . . .
I thought I would be doing a 5k before the 5k in June that I’m mentoring for. I haven’t found one that really calls to me on a weekend that’s good for me. I do kind of want to run the inaugural one mile race in May — hey, it’s a guaranteed PR! — but none of my running friends seem interested and I wouldn’t be able to run the race and mentor that day.
I found another race I thought could be fun this weekend, a nice little road trip, and then the forecast got pretty crappy. I would like to find a race in May . . . somewhere.
I runfess . . .
We are trying to teach some old dogs some new tricks. We have repurposed Gizmo’s kennel for the dogs, and put a dog door into our storm door. The hope being that we can be out longer without having to worry about accidents. It also allows the dogs some access to grass while still being somewhat protected.
Bandit, luckily, is not the problem when it comes to accidents. He does have separation anxiety — heavy emphasis on the anxiety. He doesn’t have accidents and he’s not destructive, but you can almost see him heave a sigh of relief after running around like a nut when we come back from being out.
Lola is a different story. She’s 13, and she’s always had those once in a blue moon accidents. As she gets older it’s harder on her when we’re out. Sometimes I’d like to be out for more than just a couple of hours!
Lola is a little familiar with a dog door (although it was a cat door) from our time in TX, and tried to get out that way a time or two when we lived in TX. She’s taken to the new set up fairly quickly, but we still have the flap tied up so they don’t have to push through (as I’m writing this the flap is now down, and she still goes through like a champ). Unfortunately she doesn’t want to actually use the kennel for pottying (although she has a time or two).
Bandit is somewhat balky about going out through the door, even with the flap tied up, but once he’s out there he’ll pee on most anything. Boy dogs.
We have upped the treats we’re using. High value treats are always very important when training a behavior that is hard for a dog. We used them to get Bandit used to the crate initially — he loves it now. A little hamburger is working miracles. If we hold the flap just slightly and entice him with hamburger, we can get him in and out.
Lola will actually go in and out on her own sometimes if it’s a nice day. Will she realize that she can just go out if we’re out and she really needs to go? Stay tuned!
I runfess . . .
On a hot steamy run last week I made every rookie mistake:
- I waited too long to get out the door. 10:30 on a hot day, anyone? Thank goodness it was cloudy!
- I way underestimated the way the sudden humidity would make me feel.
- Because of the point above, I did not have enough water with me, and I sure felt it. I should have had double the amount. Thank goodness the water fountains are now on.
- Not only did I not have enough water, I should have done half the run, stopped to refill my one very small water bottle, and completed the rest of the run.
- I should have worn an even lighter top — I have one, but I just didn’t anticipate (again) how much a humid 70F run was going to effect me.
- I probably could’ve nixed the compression socks — no doubt they contributed to the feeling of overheating.
- I didn’t bring sandals to change into after the run.
Ever taught a dog to use a pet door? Any tips?
What was the last rookie mistake you made in running?
Do you get out too late and really regret it afterwards?
What do you have to runfess from April? Come join us
I am also linking up with:
Chocolaterunsjudy 
There are so many 5ks. Bacon hill, spring run off, summer Smith (which I am running) and more. Not as many in the summer.
You know I would do the mile race if I were around. There’s another June 9 that I do.
Rookie mistakes. All the time. Like skipping compression socks in my Florida race. Starting out too fast in my last race. I could go on and on.
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There are many, but I don’t want to do one in the rain (hence not doing the one I found Sunday), and then there are other weekends I have family obligations. It narrows it down significantly.
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I also underestimated the sudden humidity this week. I need start carrying water again all the time. Foam rolling always makes me feel better and never hurts! You are way better than I am about it
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This week we didn’t have the humidity, and now we’re back to some nasty weather (but thankfully no snow).
I always carry water, even in winter. I’m just a thirsty gal! But last Friday I was seriously low on energy & that was partly why. Luckily there was no humidity yesterday & I also brought more water!
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I have a pet door and didn’t really need to teach any of the animals to use it, they just did but they all started as babies. The cats use it as well, unfortunately they bring lots of animals(both dead and alive) in through the door. I have had snacks, squirrels, a flying squirrel, lots of mice, birds and moles running wild in my house.
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We had a pet door for the cats but not the dogs.
Ok, I’m sure snacks was a typo, but i can’t figure out what creature that might have been? The cats were limited to a kennel with a top. And they brought in baby snacks, a baby rabbit, moles yes (ewww! the grossest things), birds, lizards, chipmunks (the stupidest things — try getting them out of your house), and once a very large toad.
Some were alive, some weren’t, some played possum . . . and yes, we had birds flying through the house on more than one occasion. All while confined to a kennel!
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I think that if foam rolling makes you feel better, you should do it! I know it helps loosen up my tight muscles, much like my massages I so enjoy!
Glad I wasn’t the only one who went ahead with the Runfessions! Have a great weekend!
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Yup, I went ahead with it for the exact same reasons as you. And I’ll link it up again next week with Marcia. 🙂
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Marcia is a very good friend, I met her and her family in Rome some years ago. She is doing great with all those marathons.
Treadmill: it was my last chance some years ago but now I prefer to run under the heavy rain instead of using it.
Humidity and hot: I always run where I can find a fountain or, just in case, I hide a bottle of water somewhere.
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That’s so cool that you know Marcia — I had no idea. She is, indeed, doing great & I wonder what her next challenge will be.
I don’t mind warm rain, but I really don’t like cold rain & we get enough of it!
I was near a fountain (somewhat). They’ve been closed so long I just didn’t think about it.
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It IS getting to the time of year that we have to get out the door first thing in the morning to beat the heat. Yay!
I did the same thing with the Runfessions post. I just went ahead and published mine too.
Good luck on the 1-mile run if you decide to do it. I have never done a 1-mile race, but now I want to. It sounds like a fun challenge.
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I have a feeling I won’t be doing the one miler. Or maybe I will. We’ll see.
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I wish we could have a dog door for Baylee but we don’t have a real fence, just one of those underground ones.
I always under estimate the weather. It’s usually much warmer than what I prepare for…lol
thanks for linking up with us.
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Finishing the fence in the backyard was one of the first things we did (still took like 6 months). Seriously, going out with 2 dogs on leash is so not fun.
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Well, I am one of very few who the hot/humid weather isn’t much of an issue. Call me weird (you’re not the first LOL). Of course, the heat means I will probably have ti run a little slower, etc., but I’m good with that. YES, you should give the 1-mile race a go! It’s a tough pace to figure out, and will be a different ball game for each runner, but not knowing how fast is “too fast too soon” is a paradox LOL (but that also adds to the enticement).
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One of my running buddies also loves the hot/humid weather because she’s always cold.
I’m really not expected any PRs anytime soon & that’s ok!
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Living in Florida, I’m totally familiar with up and down weather! I think we’re the queen of ‘all seasons in one week’ deal.
I’ve made the mistake of not having enough water on a run. Especially lately. It’s like in the winter I forgot that I needed to bring water with me because I don’t drink as much. I relied on the fountains outdoors so I wouldn’t have to carry anything. But now that its heating up I need to remember to start bringing my bottles again!
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Hate to break it to you — I’ve lived in 4 states. 3 different cities in NYS. MD. VT. TX. And every single one of them had wild weather swings.
Funny, I still drink plenty of water in winter, but yes, I definitely need more when it’s hot & humid! Like a LOT more!
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Rookie mistakes? Too many to list, but these days I’m started to chalk up my rookie mistakes to old age forgetfulness. LOL
I have no tips for you for your dogs .We taught our two cats to use the cat door so they could go down to the basement to use their litter boxes, but they were kittens so it was easier.
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Yes, we taught our cats to use the cat door to get into the kennel. They were also kittens.
They’re actually doing better. Bandit is about 11ish, and change does not come easily to him.
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Great running blog! … just found through Stefano’s blog.
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Thank you.
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I was thinking of Marcia but didn’t spot her of course. There were a few people with the majors written on their shirts.
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Oh, I understand that there’s a huge amount of runners! It would be really hard to spot someone unless you were tracking them.
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It’ll be SO fabulous when they learn to use the doggy door! I wish I had an outside that was safe (coyote free) enough to do that. Hot? Sticky? I know that’s tough for running but I’d love something above 40 here and is not raining too much to ask? So sick of it!
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We are back to cold rain too. Which is sort of fine by me since all I’m doing is laying on the couch anyway.
They’ve actually pretty much got the door down now. Sometimes they still don’t want to use it, which usually just means they didn’t need to go. And they still pretty much don’t want to use it if we’re not there since if we don’t see them go they don’t get a treat. Little walking stomachs!
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