Another week at home, although I had a false alarm midweek. Physically my Dad is regaining some strength, but mentally not so much and it’s only going to continue going downhill. Even with an aide, it’s very hard on my Mom. On everyone, really.
Joining Kim @ Kimrunsonthefly and Deborah @ Confessionsofamotherrunner and sharing how I am taking another shot at that 5k PR.
And linking up with Jenn @ Runswithpugs, Brandi @ Funnerrunner, Anna Louise @ Graciouswarriorprincess, Briana @ Matsmilesmedals, Meghan @ Meghanonthemove, and Elizabeth @ Trainwithbainfor RIOTS(running is our therapy)
Workouts update
- Monday: Yoga (40 min), 3 miles easy
- Tuesday: Yoga (40 min), Shoveling icy snow, Taught Yoga (60 min) Dogwalk
- Wednesday: Yoga (Kudalini 40 min), Dogwalk, St (20 min)
- Thursday: Yoga (90 min), 7 mile LSD
- Friday: Yoga (40 min), Cardio (20 min), Dogwalk
- Saturday: Yoga (40 min), Girls on the Run 5k + .9 mile warmup, Practiced Yin with a friend (60 min)
- Sunday: Yoga (40 min), ST (15 min)
Mileage: 14 (+1)
JY = Jasyoga
PB = Killer B
TM = Treadmill
YFR = Yoga for Runners*
WU = warmup
CD = cooldown
SB = Stationary Bike
YFPR = Yoga for Pain Relief
YTU = Yoga Tune Up Lower Body*
*Disclaimer: Amazon affiliate links; I will make a small amount of money if you buy through these links
Running Update
Monday
I seriously had no desire to run today. Considered waiting til tomorrow and taking it to the mill if the forecast wintry mix showed up (it did, along with some snow). I also know that there will probably be lots of treadmill days in my future, so why retreat when there’s no reason? Ran into another cat on the trail. Why is the universe throwing cats at me lately?
I’ll also add this tip to my post on winter running tips (read it here): plan errands around your run. It’ll get you out the door when you just want to hunker down at home.
Thursday
The one where I discover #alltheneighborhoods. I set out for a long run (planning on a 5k Saturday), but the path still had some lingering slushy/snowy bits, and I feared the opposite way would be even worse (it was).
So I took one of the side paths that led into a neighborhood. Many neighborhoods, in fact. Hilly neighborhoods. I discovered you could run for miles back there. Would I brave walking 3/4 of a mile on a snowy path to get to those neighborhoods to have someplace new to run in the Winter? Dunno.
This part of the path doesn’t generally have as many people on it as another section I frequently run, but it’s closer to me. If I’m running later in the day, I’m mostly alone. So knowing the neighborhoods are right there is a nice alternative.
Saturday
The weather was pretty atrocious this week, but I caught the one nice day for my 5k. I signed up early this week, and since it was the Girls on the Run 5k (read about them here), I knew if the weather was really bad it would just be a donation — but I got lucky. So how did that work for me . . . I’ll recap it on Tuesday. Yes, I love to tease. 🙂
Favorites of the week
Somewhere in this week, I’m pretty sure, was Lola’s fourteenth birthday. I have been doing some organizing, rearranging, and decluttering — and somehow all her records aside from the past few years have gone missing. I havehad the records from Simba, Chester, and Gizmo still (gone almost 7, 4, and 1 years) — and Bandit’s records with his three different birth dates (not kidding!) — but Lola’s has gone poof! So we simply celebrated her all week.
At times Lola is still possessed of puppy-like energy, but we definitely see her age. She’s gotten a little snappy about being handled sometimes. She has a lot of trouble jumping (and we already have stairs in our bed & living rooms for her). She doesn’t want to eat first thing in the morning these days (although evenings are a very different story).
In general, though, considering her age she’s doing well. That’s definitely something to celebrate.
Do you like the challenge of the 5k or prefer the longer distances where you don’t have to go full out all the way?
Do you celebrate your furkid’s birthdays? My SIL is having a “bark mitzvah” for their dog. I kid you not.
Do your furkids love “real” food?
Chocolaterunsjudy 
I’m glad you had good weather for your 5K. Now I have that song in my head.
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Well, that song perfectly fits the weather most of the week this week. 😦 If it were cold enough to be snow today, we’d be buried in the white stuff!
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I’m glad that you had great weather for your 5K yesterday. The weather was great here too – not too cold or windy which was perfect!
That’s so funny that you keep seeing cats on your runs! I wonder if the universe is telling you to adopt another pet?
Happy birthday to Lola!
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Unless the universe dumps a stray on my doorstep, right now there are no plans for adoptions. 🙂
But it is kind of weird to keep seeing them on the paths . . .
Lola says thank you. 🙂
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It’s great that you had nice weather for your race! We had dry weather, and quite sunny, but it was cold yesterday. Today, however, it’s hovering in the low 50’s. Score! I;m going for a long walk after I read a few more WRD blogs 😉
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Ugh. Our weather sucks today. Wintry mix to start, raining all day. At least it’s not snow or we’d be buried — and I would’ve ditched the 5k & let it be a donation if it had been like this yesterday! That’s why I wait so long to sign up. Enjoy that walk, Kim.
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California dreaming… lol
Wow, 14! I don’t think I’ve ever had a dog live that long. Glad she’s doing so well.
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Well, Chester was our first dog as adults & he only lived to 10. 😔 Almost all the cats I’ve had as an adult lived into their teens — one to 21!
Teens isn’t uncommon for chis. Bandit has a couple more years to get there (we think).
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It’s fun to discover a new place to run — especially one close to home. I found a new neighborhood when I was doing shorter runs, and now loop through it to stretch out my regular runs. LOL on the pet birthdays. We don’t really celebrate — Scooby gets spoiled every day. I don’t feed him people food buy my husband shares his popcorn.
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Obviously they don’t get much. Sometimes Bandit gets popcorn (from my husband usually) & sometimes he doesn’t want any. They almost always get some steak!
We have celebrated pet birthdays . . . sometimes. More often not. More for the cats, really! But every year with her at this age is a gift.
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That is great that you did the GOTR race. Ours was yesterday too. Question-on days where you run and do yoga-do you run first or yoga first?
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Because I’m doing yin mostly right now, I do it early in the morning, long before I run. Actually I’m also doing a kundalini Kriya at the moment too(same answer). Sometimes I do more in the evening.
Short answer is either is fine, I think!
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You did yoga every day! Good for you.
So many dogs! That must be such good fun. Why are they in cages? Is it to calm them down? (I don’t know much about dogs as you can see).
Looking forward to the 5k recap.
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I’m a yoga teacher. 😊
We’ve always fed the dogs in their crates so no one gets snippy over food, even though generally they’re pretty good together.
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That’s funny about cats. We are cat sitting my stepson’s cat for a few weeks and today I went to cat yoga…cats everywhere this week for me.
I have run that 5k before and really didn’t enjoy it. Yes it’s great cause (I have been part of the GOTR program) but all those kids running/walking plus the coaches/parents and so it’s not very competitive. Plus it’s where I run often for free.
That being said, I am enjoying the running and brunching with friends instead of racing. Everyone has different goals for running…it’s more social for me rather than PRs.
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For me when it’s a good cause it doesn’t matter to me so much that it’s a place I can run for free — because it’s a good cause.
I actually didn’t find it too bad with the kids — I started up near the front. Not saying it was perfect, but really not that bad.
You actually race way more than I do.
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not lately…you’ve been on a 5k roll.
I haven’t run a short race since Aug.
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I’m sure there will be plenty of short races in 2020.
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Not sure. I may be concentrating on halfs. I’ve already registered for 4. Can’t do it all. Less pressure for a half. At least for me.
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Happy birthday to Lola! As you know, I don’t have a furbaby, but do have a furgrandbaby! Pablo occasionally gets human food, but would like to get it more often! We celebrate his birthday (a guess of when it is) and his gotcha day.
Did you adopt the new kitty?
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Nope, that was just a random cat I saw on the path I ran on. And I’d seen one at a different location on the path not too long ago. Both obviously have homes, thankfully (the paths have homes along parts of it).
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Various cats have liked odd human foods, it’s funny seeing what they like! I don’t like a 5k very much, prefer a longer race, but love how we’re all different.
BTW I thought of your cactus arms doing tree pose in yoga last week and managed to slide my shoulderblades further down my back than I usually do – so thank you!
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Cactus arms can be used for pretty much any standing pose where you feel your shoulders creeping up. You don’t even have to necessarily do a full cactus arms, sometimes just a little bend and then straightening your arms is enough to help your shoulders relax.
Of my 2 brothers, one loved bell peppers, but not green ones (he had good taste IMHO). The other brother wouldn’t touch them.
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Happy Birthday to Lola! That is so funny about the cat. Mateo loves “real” food. He is always meowing whenever we are eating because he also wants food. Sometimes my sister will give him a bit to try. He is a spoiled kitten. 🙂 I like 5ks because they’re short and you are done ” quickly”. However, those are still hard to do. I prefer 10 mile races.
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5ks are definitely hard! I like all distances, or at least all that I’ve tried so far, but I’m better at longer ones in general. But not too long. Goldilocks!
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Aww posing upside down kitty. Hope he found his humans
Happy birthday Lola.
So sorry to hear your dad is still frail. *Hugs*
A friend had a bark mitzvah for her dog a few years ago — no crazier than a stuffed animal bar (or maybe bat, I can’t remember now) mitzvah museum exhibit recently. All in good fun I guess.
It’s hard to get out of bed for 5Ks. Glad my favorite now has a 10K option as it’ sjust not worth the travel time – but I don’t mind the 5Ks themselves. NYRR does very few as there isn’t a good CP 5K route.
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Oh, kitty wasn’t lost. Just an outdoors cat who has a home. That’s a real personal decision whether or not to let your cat enjoy the outdoors (we compromised with our kennel).
I don’t actually do a lot of 5ks. Don’t like them so much when it’s summer. Fall is usually my time for them! There are definitely a ton of them around here.
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Oh glad the kitty is OK. He looked too clean to be a stray
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We always have a little party for our dogs with just the three of us and our 2 dogs for their birthdays but nothing big by any means. They are part of the family after all!
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We have done a little for them, on & off. We actually did a little bit more for the cats when they were younger.
But they do get spoiled on a pretty regular basis.
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Happy birthday week to Lola! And what a cute kitty you saw on the trail 🙂 That’s a good tip to plan some runs around errands.
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I planned today’s run around an errand, too. It works! So gray out there but the errand had to get done.
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I’m so sorry about your dad. It’s so tough. I wish you a lot of strength. Also for your mom.
We don’t really celebrate the cats birthdays anymore. Maybe we should. I only really know the actual date of our now oldest, Nena. Only because it’s the same day as my brother. They love people food but I really discourage Ron from giving it to them. Hmmmm. Maybe that’s why they love him so much and me less??
I like discovering new neighborhoods since I feel like I tend to run shorter distances on the same paths. nice to have options right?
I never really did 5K races, but there’s nothing wrong with them. In fact I hopefully have some in my future! I want to build up properly!
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My mom is the real one that needs the strength, it’s really too much for her at her age even with an aide. I just live too far away to be there all the time — especially with the weather in winter. 😦
My husband tends to give the dogs the people food more than me, but I’m the one that feeds them 99% of the time. I am definitely Bandit’s person. And was Gizmo’s. And Chester’s. Lola’s a bit more equal with her love. 🙂
Absolutely nice to have options, the same paths get really boring, especially in winter when most aren’t runnable and there are few options.
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Happy birthday to Lola! My mom was just telling me about a friend who just lost their Golden Retriever at 12, which I think is a fairly standard life expectancy for goldens, growing up both of ours passed at 12. I think of how lucky we got with Remy (16) and Carlo (19). The universe seem to give me cats too…and coyotes, woodpeckers, deer, it’s a wild kingdom here. Ozzy is super spoiled with people food and all the blame for that goes to my husband.
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We have a neighbor who had a Lab who lived to 16! They adopted a Pug at about 12, I think, which is apparently about the life span of Pugs, and it’s still going strong several years later.
We give the dogs some people food — but teeny, tiny portions. It’s a good thing they’re too small to get up on the counters. 🙂
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I think 5k’s are fun, though puke inducing 🙂 Just far enough that it will really hurt if you go out too fast…
Fun week for you! Glad your pup is aging well. 14 is great!
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14 isn’t really unusual for chis. That said, our first one died at 10 from heart failure 😦 (also not unusual for chis).
I like all distances. Thankfully I’ve never run so fast that I puked. Gotta draw the line somewhere. 🙂
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My cats do get special treats for Christmas, but other than that, nothing special. Your dog are so cute!
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I don’t have any pets but my parents and sister like to celebrate their dogs birthdays (like not anything big or anything). 5ks are so hard. I think I prefer longer races but 5ks are a good challenge!
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I really do like all distances (that I’ve tried). I always laugh when non-runners comment that 5ks must be so easy now, because they’re short. Nooooooo!
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That’s great that you did a GOTR 5K…and that the weather cooperated! We do celebrate my pup’s birthday with some extra special treats 🙂
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It was super awesome that the weather was great for the race, because the day before & the day after were not good at all.
I used to bake for the dogs, and do a birthday treat. My dogs are so small, though, that stuff like that lasts forever (plus Bandit has a very sensitive stomach).
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