The important stuff

Some things are just more important than others. Getting Chipotle after a long run or a race happens to rank up there among the most important things in this life. And I have just discovered that there happens to be a Chipotle inside Harrah's out in Vegas. Score! So we should be rolling back into town after ET just in time for me to get showered up and go get my burrito. Or I might make Dan go get it for me. But regardless, I will have my burrito!

Meet Fred

So if you didnt know by now, I LOVE my dogs. Almost to an unhealthy level, and Dan sometimes wonders outloud if I love the dogs more than I love him. I am that person. Crazy dog lady. And I especially LOVE Boston Terriers. We have two of them, Penny and Walter. See, arent they cute?!

Then there is our big oaf, Max.

He was rescued as a puppy by my friend Megan, who found him and the rest of his litter abandoned with their mom in a cardboard box. Who would have thought that this little 2lb malnourished puppy, who could walk under Penny while she was standing, would turn into a big, loveable, clumsy 80lb beast?? Not me, thats for sure. He got a little bigger than we expected, but that's ok. My friend Dawn has his brother, Tucker. Which reminds me, we need to get together so the boys can romp around!

Anyway. So I love Bostons (and Max) and have been helping out a bit with the rescue group that we adopted Walter from. I've transported a few dogs, and held a few over night, but that's it. We weren't really sure about fostering, since we already have 3 dogs, and our house is a circus as it is. But then last week they had a message up on the website saying that they were in desparate need of foster homes. Well I am a total sucker for trying to help out some little Bostons, so I asked Dan, and he said we could. (of course, he was getting ready to leave on a 9 day fishing trip, so probably thought it would be hilarious to leave me at home with our three dogs PLUS a foster) So I called up the rescue agent and told her we'd like to try it out. She had a boy waiting to get into foster right away, so on Wednesday night I picked up Fred.

He was found as a stray down in Arkansas, and was turned over to MABTR. He is THE sweetest little guy ever! Just wants to sit on your lap and be loved and petted and give you kisses. The first couple days he wasnt too interested in playing with the other dogs, just wanted to stay glued to my side, but today he was out in the yard running around with them and playing chase. So I think he's getting a little more comfortable and coming out of his shell. He's such a good boy, he seems to be housebroken and he does great on a leash, but doesnt seem to know any commands. So we'll work on that.

I know he'll make an excellent pet for someone, but it already makes me a little sad to think about him leaving! Luckilly though, since we already have 3 dogs, we are NOT taking on a 4th of our own. No way. Dan has been trying to bribe me with the promise of letting met get more dogs if we move to the country, but since THAT isnt happening, 3 dogs it is.

So if anybody is looking for a new little friend, you can find Fred and lots of other Bostons that are waiting for a family at http://www.adoptaboston.com/

Problem solved!

Shin splints are gone! I got in 14 miles on the 11th, and it was painful. Took me quite a while to loosen up. Then I tried to run last Monday and I just couldn't. It hurt way too bad. I got maybe half a mile before I had to walk. I was starting to get really worried considering that I have ET coming up in 3 weeks!

So anyway, I had a chiro appointment on Wednesday and I mentioned to her my problems with my shins. She said that sometimes what causes that pain is that the smaller bone in your lower leg, not the tibia but the other one, gets a little rotated which puts stress on the muscles and ligaments. The little knob on the outside corner of your knee is where that bone attaches. So she felt my knees, and said that it seemed to be a little "out" on my left leg. She adjusted it, and, VOILA! Shin splints gone!

My right leg is pretty much 100% better, I must have been compensating in some weird way for the pain in my left leg. My left leg is still a little tender, but it is WAY better than it was. I did 12 on Saturday, and it felt completely fine after the first couple of blocks. I am so glad I decided to mention it to her. So I think I should be good to go for the rest of my training for ET, and for the race itself. And oh yeah, for Chicago!

Shin splints

So apparently I have developed shin splints. I'm just assuming that's what it is, I've never had them before. Now I don't want to be overly dramatic and say that the pain is crippling or anthing, but, it hurts really bad! It feels like my freakin' tibia is going to snap in half. They do feel better as I run, but it takes a while. I ran 10 on Saturday and it took the whole first half for them to loosen up, and I ran 3 last night and they never did. Sigh.

I dont know what I did to cause this, I haven't really been doing anything that different. Unless the bit of lifting I've been doing has been enough to jack me up. It shouldnt be an overuse injury, because I haven't gotten my mileage back up very high yet. But it's not like I took a major break from running either. So who knows.

I guess the best treatment for it is rest. Well, I have a marathon coming up in a month, so I dont really have time for much rest. So I guess I will just have to ice after I run. Does anybody have any other tricks to help this feel better?

While reading fellow running blogger Oz Runner's latest post, I was reminded that I need to get a light for ET next month. They say you are required to run with a flash light or head lamp, and I know I'm not going to want to carry a flashlight in my hand for 26 miles. So I need to look into getting a head lamp. I am really looking forward to this race, it should be a total blast. I mean, when else do you get to run through the high desert in the middle of the night and watch the sun come up? Probably never! So it should be a good experience. One month from today!

Speaking of which, I asked Eladio what I should do about my long runs, since I'm following a training plan for Chicago which only gets me up to 18 miles before ET. He said I should be fine with that being my longest run. I dont know if I believe him. Seems like I should get up to at least 20! But he's the expert, so I'll trust him on this one. And I'm not planning to run it for time, so I should be fine.