Although the past two weeks have kept me from blogging, the running continues. Once again, I had to deal with stomach aches and sleepless nights on top of the transfer of my website to a new server, which became an ordeal until I finally outwitted the Internet and found a shortcut that saved me a lot of headaches.
The trouble with the website was worrisome for me. For years, my site, www.edbond.com, has been a source of information about a treatment for canine distemper and it continues to be a main portal through which people now find the Kind Hearts In Action site.
But the server was recently hacked, and long story short, I had to make a move. When the discussion board didn't make the transfer, I was beside myself. A lot of personal stories about people's fight with distemper and advice on how to care for dogs could have been lost.
But it's back now!
Anyway, the computer trouble left me with no desire to spend any more time than necessary typing in front of a screen. So, I let the running blog slide. Sorry.
But the actual running continued. It was a week ago Wednesday that I finally got back to one-hour runs. The earlier layoff was still holding me back. I don't seem to run with the same energy as I did back in June. But I'm running. I decided to not stress about finishing more distance in less time and just be glad to get a good one-hour workout.
Amy had sent me a column on running that pointed out that getting an hour of exercise was key because at that amount you've raised your metabolism to a level that will stay elevated all day.
I've been alternating between 1-hour runs and 48-minute runs. On days when I run for 48 minutes, I try to run a mile with the boys and sometimes with Romeo. But a few of those had been truncated because the boys might complain about various aches and pains. Especially with Liam, at 7-years-old, I see no reason to make him run through pain. At that age and even at Jack's age, I think pain should be taken as a warning to stop and take a break.
Liam's time in the mile has been improving dramatically. He's dropped from 18 minutes to 17 minutes to 16:26 and then 16:06. On his last run, he finished in 15:19 and he beat everyone, including me and Romeo. Jack was dealing with stomach pain and knee pain and finished last.
They both need to keep up the running. They've both started practice for fall sports, Liam for soccer and Jack for baseball. Liam's soccer field will be larger this year, so he will have a lot more running to do.
As for me, I like my running routine, especially the tiny little adventures that happen on my route. I noticed the other day that a house on Redwing with a Green Bay Packers mailbox was next to a house with a Steelers mailbox. And the Steelers mailbox was right across the street from a Patriot's mailbox. I bet that neighborhood has some great arguments during football season.
The other day I got chased by a dog on Meadowlark. It came off its front lawn and crossed the road after me. I kept running in the same direction I was, didn't even change my pace until the dog finally gave up and went home. You'd think after my adventure in helping to save Rusty back in July that the dogs in the neighborhood would have gotten word that I was an OK guy. I guess not.
Oh well, the dog is doing what it believes to be right. It may need training, but dogs are innocent. It is the owners and how the owners treat their dogs that are responsible for their behavior. The dogs look to us for everything, and when we bring a dog into our lives as our pet, we make a promise to do whatever we can to give them a good life.
That is one of the reasons why I work so hard on the issue of canine distemper. It is because I know that dogs do not need to die of this disease. If you like, please check out our Kind Hearts In Action site to find out why we think that.
It is a belief that goes against the doctrine of the mainstream veterinary community, and I guess I'm pretty stubborn if I'm going to stand against the opinions of so many important people. The bottom line is I'm trying to prove that the impossible is possible.
For the past few years, I had considered a return to running impossible. My weight had gotten so out of control there was little hope of getting back into fitness. But then it occurred to me -- I'm very stubborn guy and I don't like giving up. If I wasn't going to give up on dogs, then I shouldn't give up on myself.
That was when I decided to start running again.
Showing posts with label running with dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running with dogs. Show all posts
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
August 9 to 16, 2011
Sorry, I have not been blogging. I have actually been running, just not blogging about the running. But I know people like to know that I am actually running. So, here we go.
Let me give a roundup so we can all be up to speed.
Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011
I had trouble sleeping that Monday night, and by 4 a.m. Tuesday I knew there was no way I'd be able to get up at 6 a.m. I shut off my alarm. I did actually get up at 6:30 just in case anyone really did want to join my running club. I then went back to bed.
I had it in my mind that I would try to go for a run with the boys later, but then it was raining.
Ok, so I definitely slacked off.
Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011
I went on a 48-minute run at my usual time. Some unusual sights from the run:
Someone had scattered playing cards all over Greenridge Drive.
Coming back on Wygant, I spotted Amy's Great Uncle Glenn on the way out to get his morning newspaper. I waved at him, and he recognized me. He raised his hand at me.
"Can I come along with you?" said this 90-something year old man.
"Sure," I said, "Come along."
He very gently waved off the idea. "I don't think I could," he said.
Then, back on Greenridge Drive, just as I was reaching Ridge Road, I see my nephew Bradley driving his car, making the turn from Middle Road onto Ridge. He'd been visiting his friend's house up the road.
Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011
I ran a mile with the boys, but with a twist. This time, Romeo joined us. He'd been whining while we were stretching in the front yard. The thought occurred to me that maybe he should come along. But while I was stretching -- with my back to the house -- I was watching Jack at the tree swings. Something startled Jack and he hurt himself slightly on the swing.
What startled him was the sight of Romeo bounding through the front door. We quickly grabbed him and put him inside, but when we were done stretching, I went back in and got Romeo.
He ran with just, usually just in front of Liam. The interesting thing about that is it was similar to the Wii Fit running program where your character runs by following a puppy. Liam liked that.
Jack did not finish his run. He had some pain in the right side of his chest, so I had him stop. Liam finished the run in 16:26 which would be a new record for him, until his next run. He finished ahead of Romeo, who was clearly "doggin' it" by the end.
After the run with the boys, I did a 40-minute run on my own.
Friday, Aug. 12, 2011
I started out the run with lots of optimism and energy, intending to run for a full hour for the first time in a while. Unfortunately, I just completely ran out of steam at about 20 minutes. I felt not just tired, but shaky. I decided I had not eaten enough pasta recently. I walked home, so my 20-minute run was followed by a 30-minute walk.
I felt tired and shaky for most of the day.
Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011
I ran a mile with the boys again. Romeo did not join us this time. But Jack had the chest pain trouble again, and it reminds me that I need to get him in for his annual checkup at the doctor's soon. To give you a heads up, he did not feel this pain on Monday. But he did get himself overheated.
Anyway, Liam ran well. He finished his mile in 16:06, another record.
Afterwards, I ran 48 minutes on my own. I am still not covering as much ground as I did a month ago, but I'm slowly making improvements. The week that I laid off is still affecting me.
On Sunday, I did not run, which I had planned on. However, I ate too much at the breakfast with Amy's family at the American Legion. So, I walked home to help burn that off. That was about a mile and a half.
But then Sunday night, I had a stomach ache. I do not know if it was related to what I ate earlier. But I still felt discomfort in my stomach on Monday morning, so I did not run Monday.
Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011
I ran 51:31 on my own. I ran out for 24 minutes and came back much slower than I went out. Oh well, I seem to remember reading somewhere that it is on the very slow jogs that you actually burn off more fat. So, either way it was good for me.
When I got back, I took the boys and Romeo on the mile run. But Jack got overheated. He did not drink enough water beforehand. And this time Liam complained of pain that he felt in his foot, and then his knee, and then his other knee. So, no one finished the mile run today.
The moving pain that Liam describes reminds me of what it was like to have Lyme Disease. I woke up every day with pain in a different joint. But I would be overreacting to think Lyme Disease. It is more likely that he hurt his foot slightly, then by favoring that foot, he strained his knee, them his other knee.
He seems fine now, so this is not a long-term problem.
Sorry for the lay-off in writing. I'll be posting more often now.
Let me give a roundup so we can all be up to speed.
Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011
I had trouble sleeping that Monday night, and by 4 a.m. Tuesday I knew there was no way I'd be able to get up at 6 a.m. I shut off my alarm. I did actually get up at 6:30 just in case anyone really did want to join my running club. I then went back to bed.
I had it in my mind that I would try to go for a run with the boys later, but then it was raining.
Ok, so I definitely slacked off.
Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011
I went on a 48-minute run at my usual time. Some unusual sights from the run:
Someone had scattered playing cards all over Greenridge Drive.
Coming back on Wygant, I spotted Amy's Great Uncle Glenn on the way out to get his morning newspaper. I waved at him, and he recognized me. He raised his hand at me.
"Can I come along with you?" said this 90-something year old man.
"Sure," I said, "Come along."
He very gently waved off the idea. "I don't think I could," he said.
Then, back on Greenridge Drive, just as I was reaching Ridge Road, I see my nephew Bradley driving his car, making the turn from Middle Road onto Ridge. He'd been visiting his friend's house up the road.
Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011
I ran a mile with the boys, but with a twist. This time, Romeo joined us. He'd been whining while we were stretching in the front yard. The thought occurred to me that maybe he should come along. But while I was stretching -- with my back to the house -- I was watching Jack at the tree swings. Something startled Jack and he hurt himself slightly on the swing.
What startled him was the sight of Romeo bounding through the front door. We quickly grabbed him and put him inside, but when we were done stretching, I went back in and got Romeo.
He ran with just, usually just in front of Liam. The interesting thing about that is it was similar to the Wii Fit running program where your character runs by following a puppy. Liam liked that.
Jack did not finish his run. He had some pain in the right side of his chest, so I had him stop. Liam finished the run in 16:26 which would be a new record for him, until his next run. He finished ahead of Romeo, who was clearly "doggin' it" by the end.
After the run with the boys, I did a 40-minute run on my own.
Friday, Aug. 12, 2011
I started out the run with lots of optimism and energy, intending to run for a full hour for the first time in a while. Unfortunately, I just completely ran out of steam at about 20 minutes. I felt not just tired, but shaky. I decided I had not eaten enough pasta recently. I walked home, so my 20-minute run was followed by a 30-minute walk.
I felt tired and shaky for most of the day.
Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011
I ran a mile with the boys again. Romeo did not join us this time. But Jack had the chest pain trouble again, and it reminds me that I need to get him in for his annual checkup at the doctor's soon. To give you a heads up, he did not feel this pain on Monday. But he did get himself overheated.
Anyway, Liam ran well. He finished his mile in 16:06, another record.
Afterwards, I ran 48 minutes on my own. I am still not covering as much ground as I did a month ago, but I'm slowly making improvements. The week that I laid off is still affecting me.
On Sunday, I did not run, which I had planned on. However, I ate too much at the breakfast with Amy's family at the American Legion. So, I walked home to help burn that off. That was about a mile and a half.
But then Sunday night, I had a stomach ache. I do not know if it was related to what I ate earlier. But I still felt discomfort in my stomach on Monday morning, so I did not run Monday.
Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011
I ran 51:31 on my own. I ran out for 24 minutes and came back much slower than I went out. Oh well, I seem to remember reading somewhere that it is on the very slow jogs that you actually burn off more fat. So, either way it was good for me.
When I got back, I took the boys and Romeo on the mile run. But Jack got overheated. He did not drink enough water beforehand. And this time Liam complained of pain that he felt in his foot, and then his knee, and then his other knee. So, no one finished the mile run today.
The moving pain that Liam describes reminds me of what it was like to have Lyme Disease. I woke up every day with pain in a different joint. But I would be overreacting to think Lyme Disease. It is more likely that he hurt his foot slightly, then by favoring that foot, he strained his knee, them his other knee.
He seems fine now, so this is not a long-term problem.
Sorry for the lay-off in writing. I'll be posting more often now.
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