Elaine and Her Rope Toy

Happy CeCe

CeCe was happy this morning. She was eager to run outside, not stiff as before. Had to take her in early though as the noise from the construction across the street was freaking her out.

Running with a Cough (& Christmas Run)

I still have that nasty cough. Interestingly, the cough does not bother me at all during the run. But as soon as I stop, wham! cough my lungs out.

Oddly, tonight's run gave me my fastest pace for a 5K.
Time: 34:38
Distance: 3.11 mi
Steps: 5299 (setting for 37" per stride)
Pace: 5.39 mph (11.09 min / mi)

I also ran Christmas evening (before the nieces and nephews arrive). It was only a short 2 miler but it was nice since I was able to run at a faster pace (for me). I may need to do these shorter runs more often to work on my speed.
Time: 23:29
Distance: 2.16 mi (Tech 4o calculated it to 2.029 miles, w/stride length at 36")
Steps: 3573 (stride length 38" for this run!)
Pace: 5.52 mph (10:53! min / mi)

Merry Christmas!

Caught in the act. Elaine went digging around the packaging and got the sticky side of a bow on her collar. Got my Treo to record her playing but she stopped when she saw me approaching. She sat up with the "what did I do?" expression. Couldn't resist the almost perfect holiday camera-phone moment, complete with the red bow. In many ways, Elaine is one of my gifts --- and not just for today. Blessings are all around us. Sometimes we're too busy searching to actually see and appreciate what's in front of us.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

CeCe - Christmas Morning

CeCe is not as stiff and not overly reacting to external stimuli today (which is good). Took the opportunity to clean her up a bit. We had not been able to clean her much (other than wet towel wipes) this past week since we had to minimize her handling to avoid causing her to seize and stiffen up on us.

Good to see her slowly but steadily improving. Click on image to enlarge.

Rudolph Running

I got home a little later than I had planned -- it being Christmas Eve and all. The family was still chaotic, my youngest brother had not arrived with his family yet. Following the don't think about it plan, I asked Priscilla if she wanted to go for a run.

She was finishing up her presents and cards but she was ready for a break. Lil' Bro arrived as we were about to take off so we stayed a little to greet them. Gosh, how the boys have grown! Then off we went.

Andre, my nephew (Priscilla's younger brother), was cool to lend me his bike light. It clips onto my iFitness belt and is visible through my tank top.It worked quite well; I may look into getting one for these evening runs. Sis wanted me to wear the light on my nose a la Rudolph. I am not that crazy :)

CeCe - Best Part of the Morning

CeCe continues to improve. The tetanus still makes it difficult for her to open her mouth wide to eat on her own. But, as you can see, she does superbly well when handfed. We slice the canned food into pieces that would easily go in her mouth.

Running Partner

Tonight was a first for me --- running with a partner :)
My niece, Priscilla, is home for the holidays. She runs most mornings at UC, about 2 miles every morning. She was game to come running with me even though she has never ran 3 miles before. We had a good run. She held her pace back a little, I'm sure. We still ran faster than I ever did for this route --- 11:21 min mi :) (did I say I am slow?).

A running partner is nice. I kept going in places where I knew i would have slowed down if I was on my own. I was also glad to see that she had a good work-out also. Part of me thought the run would be too easy for her --- it was easy the first 2 miles then she had to work harder for the last one. I'm glad to see her in such good shape though. No one in the family (other than moi) runs so it was a pleasant surprise to see her running.

Time: 35:30
Distance: 3.13 mi (Tech 4o calculated it to 3.11 miles, not bad)
Steps: 5474 (stride length 36" in setting)
Pace: 5.29 mph (11.21 min / mi)

I thanked my sister for having Priscilla when she was relatively young --- so that my niece is old enough to go running with me (and I'm still young enough to do so!).

Don't Think About It

That was close. For a moment, it looked as though I was not going to get another run in until Saturday or Sunday, one short of my goal of three runs a week. My last real run was on Monday. I ran a 2 miler with my niece on Tuesday as part of the family weekly walk but nothing since then.

Coming home from work today, I thought about doing an evening run but I did not get home until after 7:30 pm. I considered not running and just doing it tomorrow instead. I wavered back and forth during the walk in from the car. The sky was clear. The air was cool and crisp. Holiday lights were up. Got into the house and decided to go for the run. Not slowing down to give myself a chance to change my mind again, I changed and laced up my shoes and head out the door. It was a beautiful run.

Time: 35:50
Distance: 3.13 mi
Steps: 5503 *** stride length 36" in setting
Pace: 5.24 mph (11.27 min / mi)

My legs tired soon after mile 1. Not sure if it's due to low energy since I had not eaten much the whole day. But my breathing was great, nice and easy.

I love my Tech 4o watch. It was right on with the mileage. I'm going to keep the setting at 36" for the running stride for now. It's good to see my time improving even though my legs were tired.

So looks like I'll meet my goal of 3 runs this week (4 if counting the 2 miler). We have a family gathering on Sunday but I should be able to get a run in late at night. The trick is not to think about it. If I wavered back and forth then the reasons for NOT running were probably not that important. Don't dwell on whether it's a good idea or not to run. Don't give yourself a chance to talk yourself out of a run.

Don't think about it. Just run.

Too Well to Pose

Thumper is recovering amazingly well. His kidney values are stable with only the canned KD food. He still has a small lump by the right underarm but gradually decreasing in size. I cannot explain how he is doing so well. I'll take it though, no questions. Just glad that the little guy is doing so well. As you can see, he is too well to hold still for pictures now!

Miko Beanie Kept Me Warm for Post-C25K Run

Did my first post-C25K run this morning. Feels kinda weird running without a real plan. I need to work on a schedule soon to keep up with the running. I can feel the temptation to slack off now that there's no timeline. I want to continue with the 3 runs a week. Actually, I would like to run more often but it seems I'm still too sore to run every other day. Plus, I learned from today's run that I need to work on my legs; maybe some cross-training. Cardio-wise, the run was easy --- was not out of breath; breathing was nice and steady. But my legs were tired after 2 miles. Think I'll hit the gym for some weight work-out.

Time: 34:28
Distance: 3.1 mi
Steps: 5380 *** stride length was 37" this run; not very consistent, considering increase to 36" in setting
Pace: 5.4 mph (11.08 min / mi) --- my fastest pace for 5K thus far!

Stopped twice: once to re-tie shoelaces and once about 20 sec at stoplight.

Was cold this morning. Ran with my Miko Beanie (got on clearance at Sport Authority); kept me warm. Love the beanie. It has an opening at the top for my ponytail.

Overall, it was a good run. I like running early in the morning but it does put me behind schedule for everything else. Didn't get to the clinic until almost 9 am.

Will try to do 2 more runs this week. Fingers crossed.

Cat's in the Cradle

Danika starting early on her college fund.

I don't have kids (the 2-legged kinds) and don't really plan on having any. I have nothing against kids; just know that I'm not up to that commitment.

Love my nieces and nephews to pieces :). Actually, I love most kids --- as long as they are OPKs (other people's kids).

Danika reminded me why I love kids --- and why I don't have any.

I try to spend time with her after work. She would ask me to play with her while I'm eating dinner. Sure, honey, I'll play with you after dinner. But only for a little bit, ok? I still have work to do.

While I'm at the computer, she wants to read me a story. OK, hon, can we make it a quick one?

She wants to play tea party. Sure, hon, but make it quick.

You see, I thought I was being a good Auntie. Playing and spending time with her. Making time in my schedule for her. Then it dawned on me. That's no way for a kid to grow up. She should grow up knowing that she is an important part of your world, not some responsibility that you have to squeeze in between your work schedule or social life.

Earlier tonight, it was freezing in our house. I was working at the computer, shivering in my Snuggie (yes, I have a Snuggie) when Danika walked by. I grabbed her and said, "Brrr, it's cold. How about a hug to warm us up?"

She smiled sweetly and replied, "OK, but make it quick."

She's not even 4 years old yet.
The things they pick up from us.

I gave her a quick hug and let her go.
Cats in the Cradle played in my mind.

See why I don't plan to have kids? I feel this bad when she's my niece; imagine if I have kids of my own!

C25K Graduation!

Yeah! Today's run was the graduation run for C25K. I finished the 9-weeks program and can now run 5K (3.1 miles) non-stop. I'm still slow; takes me about 37 minutes to run the 3.1 miles (about 11.5 min mile). But just think, 2 months ago, I couldn't even run 2 minutes without huffing-n-puffing.

I wish the week has been good and the run was filled with happy thoughts. Unfortunately, this week was a continuation of last week with some more losses to cancer. It's always difficult for the families but it must be more so during the holidays. At times, my hugs at the end feel so inadequate. Some have families to share the sorrow; some are by themselves. The elderly clients living alone are the ones who get to me the most. Sigh.

I ran after work. It was around dinner time. The local market must have had a fish special or something --- fried fish was the predominant smell tonight. Not nice at all. The run did not feel as good as the last one. My right knee felt too loose most of the run; did not settle into a stride. Oh well, guess some runs will be eh.
Time: 37.0
Distance: 3.13 mi
Steps: 5617 *** stride length was 35" this run; will leave the setting at 35" for now.
Pace: 5.08 mph (11.50 min / mi)

My right knee is still a little sore. First time that I have problem with it since I overdid things in October. To make matter worse, my form was all off because I was trying to compensate for the right knee. I'll take it easy and see how it feels this weekend; sort of want to start my post-C25K run this Saturday but will postpone if the knee does not feel right.

I plan to continue running 2-3 times a week (3 is ideal but some weeks are crazy) and want to improve my speed so I can then increase distance. With a current pace of 11.5, I have plenty of room to improve :)

C25K W9D2

I thought of taking Kobi with me but he had other ideas :)

It was freezing this morning; temperature must have been under 40F, which is cold for us. I had wanted to do W9D2 today. Felt a little bad that I chose to do the run instead of the walk with Mom & Sis --- that walk was scheduled for yesterday but we got rained out. I think Mom was hoping we do the walk today. I was up early and just could not wait for Sis to get up. OK, that's just an excuse. I wanted to do the run.

I head out without the heart monitor again. I liked the non-restricted feeling and think I finally can judge my effort now. I tried leaning forward a little more from the ankle; faster pace without much extra effort. I think I've been off on my running form. I was so focused on the tilting-pelvis-upward --- leveling the pelvis --- that I think I was actually leaning or holding myself back a little. I must be tilting it wrong or something. Anyway, I relaxed the tilting a little and things felt more natural. Must have helped since I finished the 3.14 miles in less time than before.

Time: 35.37
Distance: 3.14 mi
Steps: 5493 *** seems I maintained the increased stride from 35" to 36"; will adjust my setting.
Pace: 5.29 mph (11.21 min / mi)

Felt good. I think I could have gone longer. Which lead me to think about what I want to do after the graduation run later this week. At first, I was going to do the One Hour Runner or Gateway to 8K. But both are based on time. I prefer planning & mapping my runs by distance. So I may make my own schedule based on the One Hour Runner (i.e. instead of 30 min 3 times a week, I would do 3.1 miles 3 times a week, etc...). I'm thinking of keeping the first 2 runs of the week at about 3.1 to 3.5 miles and work on improving my speed and increase the distance gradually as my speed improves. The third run of the week will be the longer distance one where I gradually increase from 3.1 to 6.2 miles (10K). At this time, I don't plan to go past 10K as I can't realistically set aside over 75 minutes of running time a day. I'll just work on improving speed. Once I can run faster, I can add more distance.

Exciting that I'm about done with C25K!

First Rain is not Elaine's Friend

It's been pouring since this morning. Elaine is not much of a rain girl.

She didn't know what to do; just stood there frozen.

Then she realized the quicker she does her morning business, the sooner she gets back inside.

We waited for the rain to stop so we can go outside. But no such luck; it was raining even harder than this morning. Decided to dig out the reflective coat we got last year for the late night walks.

Don't think Elaine is too pleased even with the coat :)

Thumper's Feeling Better

Thumper continues to improve and is now up and prowling for his food.

The swelling by his right front shoulder and underarm is not as painful as last week. The warm compress seems to help. He's a good sport and tolerating (dare I say enjoying?) the warm compresses 2-3 times a day. Did the aspirate and no purulence so not an abscess as I feared. Seems to be more of an inflammatory reaction. Just worried that it seems to surround the lymph node. We'll give him some more time since the swelling has gotten smaller and he's improving. Hope we don't have to explore it.

W9D1 Run. Finally.

5K of silence but for the passing cars & my breathing.Alone w/the sounds of my footfalls & thoughts for a woman missing sweet baby tonight.

I finally managed to get the W9D1 run done tonight. I was not sure what to expect since I had not ran since Tuesday morning. I know, that's not even 4 full days between runs but, hey, I'm a baby runner. I've been following the C25K plan with 3 running days a week (except when I was injured / sick). Maybe I thought I would backslide running just 2 days this week.

What a feeling to learn that's not so. Tonight's 5K was even easier than my accidental one last week. I ran the same route and did not have the problem on the upslope. Tonight was also the first time I ran without the heart monitor -- it was great not having that restrictive band across my chest. I confess, the heart monitor was my security blanket in many ways. I was never good at judging pain and listening to my body so I was worried about overdoing it in the beginning. The heart monitor was a way for me to gauge my effort so I don't keel over dead on the street :)

Without the distraction of checking my heart rate, I must have fallen into an easy pace and kept it up the whole run. I finished the 3.13 miles almost 30 seconds faster tonight!
Time: 36.43
Distance: 3.13 mi
Steps: 5505 *** seems I increased my stride from 35" to 36" for this run; progress!
Pace: 5.11 mph (11.44 min / mi)

It was a quiet, cool night for the run. I hit a nice pace and was able to think about the day. It was a busy day --- make that a crazy week. Ended the day with humane euthanasia of a dog with an inoperable tumor that had finally compromised her quality of life. We knew the day was coming; actually thought it would come sooner than today. The diagnosis was made over a year ago but we were able to maintain good quality of life for her with pain management. In many ways, she lived as though nothing was wrong --- "ignorance" is a blessing for our patients --- until the tumor got too big and impaired her bodily function. Much as it saddened us and pained her human companion, it was time for farewell.

We can prepare all we want, make our checklist of things to monitor, etc... but I've come to believe that it's almost impossible to ever be ready for that moment. And that there's never a right time. Just because it was time does not necessarily mean it was the right time. How could there ever be a right time for something like that?

No Running :(

My last run was on Tuesday (sounds like a confession, eh?). I had planned to run last night and when that didn't pan out, I thought I'd try this morning. But no luck there. It has been 14+ hour days this week at work and am having problems fitting in my runs. I was looking forward to starting Week 9. I am still slow so a 3.1 mile run takes at least 35 minutes; add the stretching and showers (my co-workers would appreciate that, I'm sure) and I need to budget 90 minutes to do the run in the morning and get to work on time. So far, it's not happening :(

I was doing the runs in the evening last week but has not finished with work until after 10 pm this week. By then, safety concerns kept me inside. So I thought of getting up early for pre-work runs. Well, I didn't wake up until 5 this morning; not enough time to do the run and get to work by 6 am. It's a catch-22. I need to go to bed earlier to get up in time for the morning runs. But I can't get to bed early because of work. Besides, if I get done with work early, I would just do my runs in the evenings then, not go to bed so I can get up early :)! Maybe I should reconsider the treadmill at night. Sigh.

C25K W8D3

I really like my Tech 4o watch. It took some fine tuning but after the second adjustment to the stride length, I think it's pretty accurate for a non-GPS device. Tech 4o got the mileage at 2.83 miles, compared to the 2.82 miles from the map.

I head out early this morning for the 2.8 mile W8D3 run. It's a route around my parent's home in OC. It was cold this morning (for me) so breathing hurts a little at first. It wasn't until mile 2 that breathing was easier and the legs were moving smoothly. I found myself leaning forward at the waist and had to make a conscious effort to tilt my pelvis and lean from the ankles.

If only I can start feeling how I feel at the last quarter of the run earlier in the run, that would be great! I was worried about running this morning since it was the shortest time between runs since recovering from my knee pain. I ran the 5K the night before last so was worried it was too soon. But it was the few chance I have to run in the morning so I took it and hoped for the best. It worked out well.

Time: 33.41
Distance: 2.82 mi
Steps: 5127
Pace: 5.02 mph (11.57 min / mi)
Min HR: 80 bpm
Ave HR: 161 bpm (89% MHR)
Max HR: 168 bpm (93% MHR)

The wiring in my reflective armband got too bent (stuffed in my gym bag) so the blinking red lights are malfunctioning. May have to get a new night light for the late night runs. At least the armband is still reflective.

I felt good at the end of the run and know I can do the 3 miles in week 9. I plan to make it 3.1 miles because I like the way 5K sounds :) The trick is getting through the first 1.75 miles --- everything is so difficult those first 20 minutes; breathing and strides are labored. Then, as if a switch is thrown at 2 miles, everything comes together and the rest of the run is almost effortless.

Hopefully, those struggling 20 minutes dwindle with time and training.

Found another newbie runner to follow for inspiration (and sympathy!). In addition to marshmallowrunner and runningman, there's now runnoobrun. I still check in the C25K forum but try not to so often because it tends to eat up the time and I don't get any work done. Selecting some blogs to follow helps cut down the web-surfing procrastinating time.

Weekly Walk with Mom and Sis

Sis joined Mom and I for our morning walk this morning. She did very well for the 2 miles around the neighborhood. We may have to pick up the pace or risk boring her. I have to think of something to keep her motivated but at the same time, not be too much for Mom. Maybe have them do walks a couple times a week together then the one day I join them, I can do the run/walk with Sis. I can consider that my "off" day. I just don't think she would do it on her own.

She was barely out of breath during the walk. She can so easily do the C25K plan. I've read on the forum people who are more overweight than she and able to do the program. Hopefully, I can convince her to try.

The nice plus is she wears shoe size 8.5 --- the exact size of the practically-new Brooks Adrenaline GTS6 I have from last year (when I was going to start running). When I tried it on a couple months ago, it's gotten too small for me and I had to get a size 9. I was going to give it to another runner --- who knew it was going to be my own sister! :)

Thumper Looks Tired Today :(

Thumper is one of our clinic cat with kidney failure. He's been doing well with his K/D (kidney) diet and subcutaneous fluids. He looked fine yesterday and got his fluids in the afternoon.

But this morning, he's moving slower than usual and he did not finish his dinner from last night --- very unlike him.

Hopefully, it's his arthritis. We had to discontinue the joint supplements when he had some soft stool. We'll restart the supplement with Adequan Injections if it turns out to be joint related and not his kidneys.

Wrong Turn Gave Me My First 5K for W8D2!

My folks were not too surprised about my wrong turn but they were shocked by the 5K (sounds so much more official than 3.1 miles!). Let's just say I don't have the best reputation when it comes to directions. It did not help when years ago, pulling out of the driveway on my way to San Diego, I had to stop and gesture my sister to come to the window to ask: "How do I get to the 405 FWY?" The 405 is a major freeway in SoCal and I drive on it almost everyday but heading north. I don't often have to go on the 405S so was not sure where to get on the south 405. My family shook their heads and wondered how I ever made the road trip from Wisconsin to California on my own during vet school years.

Well, I mapped out the 2.75 mi run for my Week 8, Day 2 run of the Couch to 5K. The first part was up-down the streets of our neighborhood. In the dark, I missed the turn and did not do part of that run. I knew that would make me short on the 2.75 mi and spent part of the run thinking about how to make that up. I contemplated just making it a short run but after yesterday failed run (it stopped drizzling after I got home yesterday but I decided not to go back out), I didn't want another no-go on the record. So when I took the last turn of the mapped run and still have some oomph left in me, I passed the turn towards home and made another loop around the block.

The Tech 4o watch said I ran 3.144 miles but I wasn't sure how accurate that was since I'm still fine tuning the setting. Well, I just re-mapped the run on RunningAhead and it was 3.13 miles! Woo Hoo! My first 5K!

I ran the whole distance; no walking. The first mile was fine, not great but I wasn't struggling. The second mile gave me some problems as that was up a gradual slope but I still managed to keep the same (slow) pace. Then heading into the third mile, my breathing got easier and my legs were turning over without me having to think about it too much. I was able to work on increasing my stride length again. I must have kept it at 35 inches since the Tech 4o was almost right on with the mileage.

Time: 37.15
Distance: 3.144 mi
Steps: 5101
Pace: 5.04 mph (11.55 min / mi)
Min HR: 80 bpm
Ave HR: 161 bpm (89% MHR)
Max HR: 170 bpm (94% MHR)

Part of me want to keep doing the 3.1 miles for W8D3 but I think I'll stick with the planned 2.75 miles and maybe try to pick up the pace a little. I think I've been taking too short of a stride while running -- the running stride is barely 3-4 inches longer than my walking stride. Either that or my walking stride of 31 inches is too long :) Plus, I can always work to improve the running cadence. I think I'm currently running at about 136; maybe I can try for 140 with the metronome (which has been gathering dust on the desk).

It was a great night to run. Cool but still comfortable in my sport bra and tank top. Yeah, I still wear cotton tanks. I just have not feel the need to spend money on running tees and shorts/pants yet. It's still about 3 days 'til full moon but it looked full to me. Yesterday's "rain" and wind gave us a crisp clear sky.

I still can't believe I ran 5K. It was barely 2 months ago, on Oct. 1 when I started the intervals of running for 45 seconds and walking for 2 minutes, repeat 4 times. And I huffed and puffed through that first day. Wow. I hope I don't lose this I-can-do-anything-I-set-my-mind-to-do feeling. More importantly, I hope that months later when I get upset at myself for not making good time on a 10K, I can look back and remember how exciting running is and how far I've come. Remember future-self, winning is not only determined by how fast or how far you ran. You have already won the moment you lace up and head out.

Pinch myself!

Mom is so sweet. She wants to know how she was going to keep up with me tomorrow :) We plan to do our Mother-Daughter Walk tomorrow morning. Hope sis will be able to make it this week.

It Never Rains in Southern California? C25K W8D2 No-Go

After another full day at work, I decided to do my W8D2 run before joining my family for my twin niece's birthday. Would you know it, but as soon as I reach the first street corner, a light drizzle started. The clouds were ominous in the evening sky. But growing up in SoCal, any dark cloud looks threatening to me. I was going to "tough it out," ha! The drizzle continued but not that bad, didn't even get my shirt wet. But it got my eyeglasses spotted and then fogged up. I cleaned / spat on the glasses (does that really work?) but by then, I was not really into the run anymore. So I turned and took a shorter loop home.

Final time was a measly 7:51 for 0.7 mi; pace 11:13
It does put my miles total over 60 for October and November, so that makes me feel good. Maybe I can get to 100 by the end of the year.

On the plus side, the twins had a good birthday and it was nice to see my brother and his family. I'm going to try W8D2 again tomorrow.

Thanksgiving Day and C25K W8D1

Thanksgiving Day started with me sneaking out of the house while the family was still asleep for my 2.8 mi run for W8D1. I read on the C25K forum about people having bad runs due to poor hydration or not refueling. I had not paid much attention to those issues since I thought my distance was still too low to need special preparation. Anyway, after my bad W7D3 run --- done after a long work day --- I switched it up and ate half a peanut butter and banana sandwich and drank some water before I suited up and head out.

I don't know if that made a difference or if it was a morning run vs an evening (post-work) run, but it went wonderfully well. Finished the run in 33.05, a 11:44 pace. I don't think I ever did under 12 before. I worked on increasing my running stride length also -- just seems so short compared to my walking stride.

Some early cooks were up and baking already. Delicious smells wafted out of open windows throughout the run. No thoughts other than the family gathering later in the day and the food.

The Tech 4o watch was about 0.6 mile under; not bad. I think it was due to my longer stride length. I had set the watch with the old 34 inch strides but I worked on lengthening the strides on this run. The new stride was closer to 35 inch. I hope to maintain this stride so made the adjustment on the Tech 4o.
Time: 33.05
Distance: 2.82 mi
Steps: 5177
Pace: 5.11 mph (11.44 min / mi)
Min HR: 79 bpm
Ave HR: 163 bpm (90% MHR)
Max HR: 169 bpm (93% MHR)

Went to work after my run; got everyone taken cared of and got back home in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

My brother and his family came over for dinner. Above are his two girls "wrestling" with me.

Morning Walk with Mom

Mom and I went for a 1.7 mile walk this morning. Sis was supposed to join us this time but she didn't make it. I was looking forward to having her with us and have her start on a walking program. Maybe next time.

It was still a great walk with Mom. This was the second consecutive weekly walk. I hope to make it a weekly routine with Mom. Good Mother-Daughter time.

We went around the middle school that my niece and nephew attended years ago. We saw quite a few walkers out and about. Most are older folks out for the morning stroll. I like seeing that.

It's one of the thing I like seeing in OC. Active older folks. In my area of LB, I rarely see people going for walks or runs. Actually, sometimes I do see people running but not for exercise. And usually sirens would be behind the guy running! :)

Guess, that's one thing I'm thankful for --- that my folks can live in a neighborhood where I can go on safe morning walks with Mom.

C25K W7D3 - (barely) Made It

It was a productive day. We got the Focus fixed; the battery needed to be replaced. I finished the cat litter comparison, worked on the books, took care of hospitalized patients, followed up with the referral cases, and spent some quality procrastination time on Twitter and blog-readings :). Not bad for my day off, eh?

After a day of hunching over the computer, I was looking forward to this evening's run --- W7D3. I was all psyched up for a good one. It was the same 2.6 mi route from W7D2 but in the reverse direction. Oi. It was awful. About 1.5 mile into the run, my legs felt like dead weight. It was like running in place. It dawned on me, belatedly, that I'm running up a gradual slope. When I ran this route 2 days ago, I was going down the slope and did not even know it (heck, probably thought I got a second wind when I picked up the pace). Anyway, it was slow going for that half mile. I almost gave in to the walk but managed to hang on and shuffled along. Once over the slope, I increased the cadence and actually finished the run 18 seconds faster than last time. I enjoyed the last quarter of the run and felt good at the finished. But overall, it was an "eh" run.

No real thoughts during today's run other than wondering why I was struggling with it. Kept repeating to myself, hang in there, you can do it, shuffle shuffle shuffle. Oh, that and battling some intense abdominal cramps.

On the bright side, the Tech 4o watch was right on with the mileage. No fine tuning needed.
Time: 31.43
Distance: 2.642 mi
Steps: 4960
Pace: 4.85 mph (12.12 min / mi)
Min HR: 79 bpm
Ave HR: 157 bpm (87% MHR)
Max HR: 170 bpm (94% MHR)

C25K W7D2 - Falling for Outdoor Running

My wonderful sister took me home today, no thanks to my Focus. My brother-in-law thinks it's the battery and will take a look tomorrow.

Other than the car problem, the evening turned out very well. I got home in time to squeeze in a run for W7D2. I mapped out a 2.6 mi run yesterday --- nothing special, no breath-taking scenery, just the sidewalks around an urban neighborhood. But you know what, I had a great run. I'm falling for this outdoor running business, don't think I can go back to running around the indoor track. Don't get me wrong, the track was a great learning place where I did not have to worry about traffic and can use the podcast to time the intervals. But now that the runs are one non-stop run, I had no need for the podcast. I found an unexpected but wonderful joy in running without earbuds / music. I ditched the music when I ran outside due to safety concerns but now, only after 2 runs, I find myself preferring it that way. Maybe that will change when I increase the distance and it gets boring after an hour. For now, 30-45 minutes of allowing myself to think about the day and take in the surroundings are just about perfect.

Back to the run. I was able to run the 2.6 mi non-stop. The pace was slow and it took me 32 minutes to finish the run --- 12:19 min mile pace. Heart rate averaged at 161 bpm, max at 171. I was not out of breath and finished strong.

The Tech 4o watch underestimated the distance to be 2.4 mi. I continued my experiment and fine tuned the stride length from 31 to 34 inches. Hopefully, I'll get the setting close enough soon.

Some thoughts during today's run:

1. Hope it's just the battery with the Focus.
2. If not the battery, need to get it to the repair shop on Monday.
3. Hope Focus will be ok overnight in the parking lot.
4. I think there's a slight uphill slope on this block.
5. Mattress by the curb with "FREE" sign. Hmm. Tempting.
6. Amazing how easier today's run is compared to the last one just 2 days ago.
7. I'm liking this.

Out of Focus

Today was an odd day. Work was steady but erratic; several appointments showed up almost an hour early. Fortunately, the appointments prior to them were quick and we were able to see them before the scheduled times. Things went well but did give a disorganized feeling --- almost as if we were a walk-in clinic --- not fond of that feeling at all.

To top it off, went out to my Focus, got in, started the engine and .... nada... did not turn over. Tried again and still zip. Instead of calling AAA for a jump only to worry about the drive home, I'm sitting here typing this while waiting for my sister to pick me up. Figure I'll have the Focus looked at tomorrow and have it towed Monday to the repair shop if needed. Nothing urgent. Definitely not worth ruining this evening.

Besides, I had wanted to do W7D2 today. I had the run mapped out and everything -- a nice 2.6 mi course around the neighborhood. Looking forward to it.

C25K W7D1 - Maiden Outdoor Run

I tried out a couple of different running sites to track the miles: DailyMile, MapMyRun, and RunningAhead. Briefly tried DailyMile but the widget was quite large so I went with RunningAhead; I like the simpler look. Used the mapping feature to determine the distance for my first 25 minute run for W7D1.

It was a 2.5 mi course. Took me 32 minutes but I ran it non-stop; slowed down for less than a minute midway through but did not walk. I still can't believe it. My calves are slightly sore --- probably since this was the first time I ran on concrete (sidewalk) -- but not painful. And my knees are fine. I still don't feel like a runner yet but not feeling as out of place as before.

One good thing about the mapped distance is I was able to fine tune the Tech 4o watch; corrected the stride length calculation today. Based on the number of steps taken in 2.5 miles, my running stride length was only 31 inches. I had previously thought it was 36 inches.

I'll continue to fine tune the setting as I do more runs with known distance.

Thoughts passing through my mind during today's run:

1. This is not bad.
2. (about 5 min into the run) Shoot, I forgot to start the watch to record the session.
3. Hope the red flashing lights on my armband are visible to the traffic.
4. Why can't I see the flashing lights on my arm in my shadow? Are the lights working?
5. One inhale for each footfall or one set of inhale & exhale for each footfall?
6. Am I going too fast? Is that why I'm out of breath?
7. Is this how loud I breathe while running? Never knew that since I've always has earbuds on at the gym track or treadmill.
   
8. Wish I had music or metronome to set the pace.
9. (a bicyclist on the sidewalk zoomed past me) On second thought, better that I have no music so I can hear what's going on around me.
10. (passing car honked me for no reason) But then music would drown out those honks and make me feel less self-conscious.
11. (about 20 minutes into the run) I can do this without music.
12. (an elderly woman at the bus stop smiled & said hi; I waved back) It's kinda nice to be engaged in the surrounding during the run instead of being isolated with the earbuds / headphones.
13. I smell poop.
14. I see dog poop.
15. Maybe I should bring along plastic poop bags next time.
16. Slow down if you have to but don't walk.
17. HR only at 155, I can do this; speed it up.
    
18. Almost done. Just another block.
19. Oops. Wrong turn.
20. There's my car.
21. Made it!
    

Torn Between Two (Three) Posts

Stayed up last night to work on this week's blog post for work. I had planned to finally finish up the cat litter comparison since that got pushed back by the dental chews last week. But then I read about the change in mammogram and breast cancer screening recommendation and that got me thinking about the debate over pre-anesthetic blood tests in healthy pets. I thought it would be a timely post --- sort of drawing parallels between veterinary medicine and human medicine.

Ultimately, practicality won and I end up working on the boarding guidelines. Thanksgiving is next week. Pet boarding season is fast approaching and the boarding guidelines should have been done earlier this month.

The final post is going to be more involved than I had planned. I figured if we do these guidelines, we may as well be detailed. If readers want brief short guidelines, there are plenty on the web with basic information. It was late by the time I finished. I'm sure Elias will need to edit my extra -s and correct by grammar & sentence structure!

Update: Had some problems publishing the boarding post due to META tag error. Note to self, compose post in Notepad, not Microsoft Word. Elias removed some hidden tags and was able to publish Pet Boarding Guidelines.

C25K W6D3 WooHoo!

Woot! Woot!!! I ran those 25 minutes like I've never ran them before. Wait a min, that is true --- I've never ran 25 minutes non-stop before! WooHoo!!!

More later. Gotta get to work! But woohoo!!!

Addendum: I think the biggest help was doing this run on the track instead of the treadmill. I got tired only after 8 minutes but I reminded myself I did 10 minutes before and I can do it again. I kept at it. 15 minutes in I told myself I was getting tired. Can you believe that? I actually heard myself thinking: I've been running for 15 minutes, I must be tired by now. I couldn't talk myself out of that feeling. I was breathing easily, not huffing, my heart rate was about 161, which was still in the acceptable zone for me. I gave myself permission to slow down but not walk. I slowed down for about 20 seconds and saw my heart rate dropped to about 135 almost immediately. That gave me the leverage to tell myself, see you can't be tired! and got back to running the remaining 10 minutes. I think that's the beauty of the heart monitor. I'm not good at perceived exertion and I find I can talk myself into being tired just because running over 15 minutes non-stop is still so foreign to me. I mean, I have to be tired after 15 minutes, don't I? But with the heart monitor, I have a relatively objective measure of my exertion and am able to say no, I don't have to be tired after 15 minutes!

Anyway, some rambling after W6D3. W7, here I come!

Mother-Daughter Walk & Bonding Time

I didn't do my morning run today since I was still slightly sore from Saturday late night run. This next one is the milestone 25 minutes run of W6D3, I wanted to make sure I don't go into it with a sore leg.

Instead I walked with Mom to a local sandwich shop Banh Mi Che Cali. We got the Banh Mi Dac Biet, both the buy-2-get-1-free style as well as the baguette-style. I like this basic filling; don't much care for the BBQ pork, chicken, etc...

It was almost a 2-mi roundtrip walk with Mom. We chitchat and I updated her on my work stuff. Talked about Danika and how much she's changed this past week. It was nice to get out and spend time with Mom. Good for her too. I hope to continue this weekly ritual.

Got home and ate the delicious sandwiches for breakfast (and later, for lunch!).

Elaine's Choice for Journaling Ink

I have always used Waterman Blue-Black for my Demi Parker "51" with the Binderized 0.4 mm stub. But I have a need for some permanency with end-of-the-year memories coming up so turned to Noodler's Ink for my next refill. But which one?

Elaine to the rescue! Pendemonium's Legal Lapis it is.

Rob Thomas --- For Tyler

The whole tribute is at Rob Thomas message board. I just have to note this down as he so exquisitely expressed that combination of appreciation, honor, and grief of having known, loved, and then lost an important figure in one's life. Beneath all that emotions is one of hope. Hope comes in many forms and can be found in the most unlikely places.

"it was the single hardest moment of my 37 years.
i can't explain to someone who thinks a pet is just a pet, and i don't have to explain to those who know otherwise. everyone who met tyler said that he looked human and that he looked straight into them as if he were trying to communicate.
tyler saved our life. his passing has left a hole in our life that will never be repaired and that we will have to slowly board up so that we don't fall in. we have lost a child, a friend, and in so many ways a teacher. our life will always be "before tyler" and "after tyler".
to him i say thank you for spending your too short time on earth with us. i would never trade any of this pain if it meant not knowing you." --- Rt (I added the bolding; what touched me)

C25K W6D2

Things were crazy busy at work plus we had to take care of some former employee issues so I did not get a chance to do my Friday run until tonight.

Did W6D2 on the treadmill in OC this evening. After the 5 min warm up, it was 10 min run, 3 min walk, and 10 min run followed by 5 min cool down.

I felt good for the first 10 min run but struggled with the second 10 min. Had to slow the pace for about 30 seconds (from 4 mph to 3.6). I still ran so I guess it was ok. If I was on the track, I wouldn't have noticed the change as much.

Did good 15-20 min stretching session afterwards. Greatest thing was no pain. Knees are fine.

Plan to do W6D3, a 25 min run, no walking, on Monday. Can't wait!

Dental Chew Post featuring Elaine!

So proud of Elaine. She was so patient yesterday with me --- letting me hold her lips every which way as I tried to snap pictures of her teeth.
This was the final composite of her dental shoot.
The final post is here.

C25K W6D1

I almost talked myself out of running this morning. I stayed up late last night to write a blog post for work and did not get to bed 'til after 11 pm. The snooze button was my friend when the alarm went off at 4:15 this morning. I didn't roll out of bed until 4:37 am and told myself that it'll be too late to do the W6D1 run and be done by 5:50 am for work. Maybe I should skip today. Luckily, I've learned a way to trick myself out of this excuse. I make myself go to the gym anyway with the permission to skip or cut the workout short if I don't have enough time when I get to the gym. But I have to go to the gym, regardless. Usually, by the time I get to the gym, I'm ready (and even eager) to do the run.

So I got to the gym around 5:06 am and got on the track by 5:15 am. Did W6D1 --- was not pretty but I got it done.
After the 5 min. warm up, the workout includes: 5 min run, 3 min walk, 8 min run, 5 min walk, 5 min run. I was cutting it close so only did a 3-min instead of 5-min cool down.

I had thought W6D1 would be easier since I managed to do the 20 min. run on W5D3. Boy, was I wrong. Mentally, it was harder for me since I know I still have another 2 run intervals when I finished the first 5 minutes, etc... With the one 20 minutes, I just hung in there and told myself I'm almost done. That did not work as well today --- not even when I got to the last 5 min run. I guess this was a way to work on my endurance.

Feels good though. No pain. Knees are fine. I still feel a little awkward running, but I don't have that pretender / impostor feeling anymore.

Work looks busy this week. I may not get a chance to do W6D2 until Friday evening then will plan to do W6D3 (25 min run!) on Monday so I don't have to worry about getting to work on time.

Holiday Twizzlers

Yummy. My snack du jour. Found these at Michael's last night when I went shopping for the clinic holiday decoration. Watermelon and strawberry flavor. Love the watermelon ones.

Christmas stuff all over the place at Michael's, complete with carols. Weird but did get me into the holiday feeling.

Topped the evening off with the sighting of the first happy-couple-walking-hand-in-hand-wearing-knitted-caps-looking-Christmasy of the season. Always nice seeing happy people walking around. Seems more special around this time of the year for some reasons.

C25K Halfway Mark

I ran the infamous W5D3 (week 5, day 3) of the Couch to 5K this morning. I almost chickened out and ran day 2 again (with the 8-minute run intervals). Just the thought of running 20 minutes non-stop was intimidating. I questioned the big jump from 8 minutes to 20 minutes. Why not 10 minutes first?

Since I was listening to the podcast with the cues for all 3 days of week 5, I decided to run day 3 but gave myself permission to do day 2 if needed --- with the caveat that I jog the walk intervals of day 2.

Imagine my surprise when I was able to keep going after Robert cues the day 2 walk. After that, it was just a matter of telling myself, I can do it. I glance at the heart monitor and tell myself I'm not even exerting that much, I can do this.

I was never so glad to hear Robert's voice in my ears saying Day 3 was done with our run.

WooHoo!

Jelly Grip for Parker ''51'' Pencil

I'm going crazy with the grips here :). Couldn't resist one for the ''51'' pencil. That pencil has one of the most uncomfortable grip and it's slippery.

Besides, it's a packet of 20 grips. 2 down, 18 to go :P The nieces & nephews will like some, I'm sure.

Jelly Grip for My Decimo

This may be blasphemy and definitely takes away the sleek look of the Decimo. But ooh, it sure makes for a comfy writing session!

It's the PaperMate Grips. Stretchy, smooth, and cushiony. The clip still works. Added bonus is that the clip position no longer gets in the way.

I've always been partial to grips for pencils and pens --- for comfort as well as for personalization. Couldn't use them with fountain pens with caps but fine with capless.

Plus makes for the wider grip which is easier on my hand.

Monday Musings

A friend emailed me this picture with the note hoping that I don't look like this. Made me laugh!

Running Plan Back on Track

My knees are still behaving well. I did day 2 of week 5 of the Couch to 5K plan tonight and was able to ran both 8 minutes intervals. Yeah! End up running about 2 miles total. I am just so jazzed that my knees are fine. Guess the pain was from overdoing it the first couple of weeks. Should have just followed the 3 times a week schedule instead of trying to do more.

I was a little out of breath after the second 8 minutes run. My heart rate got up to about 171 bpm towards the end of the second interval -- only briefly, maybe a minute. I think that's 91% of my 191 bpm max heart rate (MHR) so maybe too much for me. Most of the run was about 161 bpm, 81% MHR, so I should be ok if I keep things at that effort level.

I may repeat day 2 again before attempting day 3 of week 5 which is a 20 minutes run. A little intimidating to try it. Also tonight's run was on the treadmill which is easier for me. I may want to repeat the run on a track to see if I can handle it before going to day 3.

I've also been stretching more after the runs so may be helping with the knee pain. Downside is that it's taking an hour now to do the 30 minutes run, stretch, and get ready for work. So it's difficult to be done by 5:50 am and pick up Elias in the morning for work. I would start earlier but Bally's opens at 5 am on the weekdays; can't start any earlier unless I want to run outside --- nah, due to safety. I may just have to do evening runs after work or be quicker with my stretches and showers in the morning!

Regardless, I'm happy that the pain is gone and I'm back on track with the running plan.

Catnapping with Xander

Took a Benadryl for the sneezing fits (hope it was allergies) and it knocked me out. Forgot how Benadryl makes me sleepy.

Woke up to see Xander sleeping next to me.

Running is pain-free again!

My Brooks Adrenaline GTS 9

Got my first post-cold/flu run in this morning. And NO PAIN! I had forgotten what it was like to walk back to the car after a run. Not limping and hobbling.

All I needed was to take several days off from running but I was too stubborn to do that on my own. Had to take a bad flu to force the rest. And voila, less than 5 days later, the knees are fine.

Yeah!
Now, I just need to continue taking it easy and slowly increase the work-out. Uh oh.

Did Week 4 of C25K: run 3 min, walk 90 sec, run 5 min, walk 2.5 min; repeat.

Sick Days

No running since Wed 10/28; sick with the flu. Maybe this is best for my knees also.

Danika on Halloween

She loves those clip on earrings. I think this is the first Halloween that she's old enough (almost 4) to enjoy.

C25K W4D2 (injury)

The knees are still bothering me quite a bit; throbbing at end but managed to do all runs.

Did 2 repetitions of the following: run for 3 minutes, walk for 90 seconds, then run for 5 minutes, and recover with a 2+1/2 minute walk == running and walking for a total of about 23 minutes. Finished up with a 5 minute cool down.

C25K Skipping to Week 4

I found the Couch to 5K program and will use it to continue with my quest to become a runner. I looked at the program and considering what I've done with the 4Wto1M, think I can start at week 4.

Will be using the podcasts to time my intervals.

Did week 4 of the c25K program. OC Bally's Track. Did well. Cardio-wise, was easy but knees still bothered a little so did not go as fast as should. Feels good. Tech 4O watch seems to work well. Did a modified version since misheard the cues: walked 5 min, jogged 3 min, walked 90 sec, jogged 3 min, walked 2 min, jogged 5 min, walked 90 sec, jogged 5 min.

The intended program was as follows:

• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
• Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

4Wto1M - Last Day! (injury)

Did the last day of the 4 week to 1 mi training! Was able to run for 10 minutes on the treadmill nonstop. OC treadmill at home. still sore knees; ice and ibuprofen.

Yeah!

4Wto1M - Week 4 Day 3 (injury)

This was supposed to be the last day of the program but I'm going to repeat it once more.

Got to Bally's LB around 5:10 am. Ran 10 min but not sure since mp3 player got turned off mid-run (forgot to place a hold on it).

You see, the mp3 is like a usb key, small and light. So I run with it tucked in my sport bra; no need for armband or cord tangle! Except I forgot to engage the hold button this morning and, ahem, guess my jiggling turned the player off. I didn't want to break my stride and restart the player so I guesstimated the time.

Will repeat the run later this week. Very sore after the run. Ice and ibuprofen.

4Wto1M - Week 4 Day 2 (injury)

Did day 2 of week 4 of intervals in the morning. Knees still achy but felt good for the run then was really sore afterwards. Difficult to walk; ice and better. Day 2: 6:15 min. run, 45 sec. walk, 3 min. run Excited that I can run the 6:15 min without stopping. Can do the 10 min next time but kinda worried about the pain.

From my Tech 4O watch:
1.48 mi
4.02 mph (~15 min mi)
ave hr 116 bpm (64%)
max 170 bpm (93%)

No Running Day

Rest day today; knees still sore.
The Tech 4O Accelerator Pulse Watch arrived today. Yeah! Got it on clearance. Sorta an early self-birthday gift. Reviews were mixed but I think it will be fine for what I need, esp. the heart rate monitor.

4Wto1M - Week 4 Day 1 (injury)

Woke up still sore; did not run in the morning but did do treadmill in OC home at night ~9 pm.

Week 4 interval day 1! Day 1: 4 min. 30 sec. run, 45 sec. walk, repeat x2 Was pleasantly surprised I was able to run the full 4.5 min. May need to speed up next time but did well at 3.8-4 mph. Knees were fine during run but were killing me afterwards. Ice, elevation, and borrowed compression tights from Dad. Took ibuprofen. Could barely walk; both knees achy but miraculously fine (or rather better) the next morning.

Did some more research and guess I've been over training and needs to build up muscles around my knees. Looked over the log and can see that I've been doing some running, even if only 20-25 minutes, almost everyday. Not good. Supposed to have rest days.

4Wto1M - Week 3 Day 5 (injury)

REST day yesterday. NO running. Fell asleep at 9 pm and got up at 4:30 am but stayed in until 5:20 am. Ibuprofen since still sore knees.

Was still a little sore this morning so waited until the evening to do the Treadmill at home. Still doing week 3 since maybe sore knees are sign of not being ready for week 4 yet.
2:15 run / 45 sec walk 4 times. Knees still hurting -- almost bruised feeling but managed thru the workout. Ibuprofen and ice.

4Wto1M - Week 3 Day 4 (injury)

Sore still. Ibuprofen helped more than Tylenol. Went to LB Bally's in the morning (got up 4:30 am and got there 5:06 am); managed to do week 3 intervals 2:15 run/ 45 sec walks 4 times. Felt good; knees were ok towards the end of the run. They hurt in the beginning during the warm up but were better when I started to run. But then oooohhh, the soreness came rushing back as soon as I stopped running. Hobbled back to work. Think soreness is from weak quads etc... will take rest tomorrow.

4Wto1M - Week 3 Day 3 (injury)

Got up at 4:30 am and got to Bally's in LB by 5:10 am but knees were hurting too much to walk/run. Walked for 5 min and stretched. Decided to see how I feel later and may do a short run tonight.

7 pm got home; knee slightly sore but not painful. Did week 3 interval on the treadmill; did very well; did not try to run too fast, kept at 3.8 to 4 mph for the run portions. Did 2:15 run / 45 sec walk4 times. Feels good. Iced knees after and took tylenol just in case.

4Wto1M - Week 3 Day 2 (injury)

Got up around 5 am and went to the gym for day 2 of week 3: run 2 min 15 sec / walk 45 sec; repeat 4 times. I was tired but managed to run the full 2 min 15 sec.

Drove to Torrance Bally's to try out their Pilates group class. It was great. My first pilates class; was a lot harder than I thought. Those poses and stretches were hard.

May have overdid things. My knees were sore tonight. Not sure if from the running this morning or the pilates. Researched the running forum and think it may be my quadriceps.

Solution: need to build up muscles around my knees. Not an uncommon problem with new runners. Ice.

4Wto1M - Week 3 Day 1

Started week 3 of the program today!
2 min. 15 sec running / 45 sec walking; repeat 4 times

I did the workout on the treadmill since I was too late for the gym. Used the treadmill at my parent's place. The nice thing was I then cooled down with a 20 min walk with my mom around the neighborhood. Mom was happy with the extra mom-daughter time.

Excited that I did the 2 min 15 sec run but will even be more excited when I do the run on a track.

4Wto1M - Week 2 Day 4

Even though the program says to do each level 3 times a week, I'm doing day 4 of week 2 instead of going to week 3.
Still doing 90 sec / 90 sec intervals 4 times.

I was a little late this morning so I skipped a little of the 5 minute warm up and cut the 5 min cool down to 2 minutes and didn't do the stretching.

Ouch. Paid for it this evening. Stiff and sore.

4Wto1M - Week 2 Day 3

Skipped yesterday (Friday) as I got up late at 5:30 am and didn't have enough time to run and make it to work on time.

Did day 3 of week 2 today in the evening on the treadmill. First time I ran the treadmill. Was ok but I think it's a lot easier than running on the track or street. The treadmill did not have an incline so feels too easy. Not sure how I feel about treadmill; it's not as bad as some people make it out to be. It's boring but there's something nice about being able to daydream while I'm running and not have to worry about traffic or cracks on the ground or muggers.

4Wto1M - Week 2 Day 2

Not as early as yesterday; got up at 4:30 am. Did the day 2 of the second week. Nothing exciting; focused on breathing to get through the 90 seconds running.

4Wto1M - Week 2 Day 1

Got up at 4:15 am today and made it to the gym by 5 am. Ran the track for Week 2, Day 1.
Week 2: 90 sec run; 90 sec walk; repeat 4 times

Whew. Those 90 seconds seem long when I'm running and too short when walking!
Feels good. No pain. No soreness.
Actually felt mighty proud of the early start.

4Wto1M - Week 1 Day 3

Did Day 3 around Gillespie Park. It was easier to do the 45 seconds run but still not feeling comfortable running. Feels a bit like I'm pretending to run, you know? Got some sport bra so a little more comfortable running now :)

One of these day, maybe when I feel more like a runner, I'll splurge on a real running bra. Those are expensive. Can you believe some are over $40? For a bra? And to think I want to be a runner because of the low overhead!

4Wto1M - Week 1 Day 2

Decided to do today's workout at Mile Square Park. Thought it was 1 mile around the park. Turns out it was 1 mile each side so was actually 4 miles around the park. I did the first side to the workout (45 sec of running alternated with 2 min of walking; repeat 4 times). I walked the rest of the way back to my car. Took me over an hour before I made it full circle back to the parking lot.

So much for a quick walk around the park! So sore but I feel good. It's nice to be active. I Bengayed my legs and took some Tylenol. Did some stretching. Hopefully not too sore tomorrow.

4 Weeks to 1 Mile

I want to be a runner.

Not sure where the idea came from. I've always admired athletes and artists. I tried to be an athlete but just did not have the competitive streak in me --- tried basketball in junior high, tennis and badminton in high school. Didn't work out. Tried art and music, have the drawing kits, the woodcarving kits, had the flute and guitar --- but couldn't seem to eek out any drop of talent.

So I decide I'll be a runner. Not a competitive runner, 'cause we all know how that would turn out. But a runner for myself. Something just for me. Not for my family. Not for clients. Not for patients. For me. Though I guess all of them will benefit from a healthier, happier me.

So I bought the 4 weeks to 1 Mile podcast from Amazon for $3.96 --- may well turn out to be the best $4 I've ever spent (Edit: this was before I learned of the C25K program but I'm still glad I started with this one because it was an easier start).

I did the first day today:
Week 1: 45 sec. of running alternated with 2 min. of walking; repeat x4
45 seconds did not seem that long but I was out of breath after each interval. I had downloaded the mp3 into an old SanDisk mp3 player; it worked well enough. I finished the workout out of breath but not like I'm about to die.

A good start.

Thank You Tuesday

Happy September!
I am so glad August is over. It started with my accident, continued with my nephew's visit to the ER for a possible broken arm (turned out to be a bad sprain), and ended with Dad's broken knee and another visit to the ER.

Dad is home recovering from his knee surgery. He seems in good spirit. I was worried he'd be depressed --- a month with a walker in a heavy leg splint and then months with a cane --- the prospect can bring an active person's spirit down.

On top of that, Lucky, the family Shepherd, had a tumor by his anus. I removed the mass last week and he is doing fine.

Our family had enough of hospital and ER. September is much welcomed.

Through it all though, I am thankful that we were fortunate and our family is physically and mentally healthy. I am thankful that I can afford health insurance. I am reminded that we don't stop to be thankful for the things we do have --- we are too busy running after things we don't have.

I used to believe that if something is important, I'd remember it and should not need to "schedule" it. Now I believe that if something is important, it should be scheduled.

So to make sure I don't forget to stop and be thankful for something / someone in my life, I am going to make every Tuesday "Thank You Tuesday".

I am thankful for a loving supportive family. And special thanks to the healthcare workers at Long Beach Memorial and Fountain Valley Hospital. I hope you all know that the current healthcare criticism has more to do with the system than with you. You all do what you can within the confines of a broken system. Thank you.

Finally Got the Paintings Up

Busy week but fumigation went without a hitch and we managed to clean up the place in time for office hours tomorrow.

Finally got the 2 pieces from Julita Jones up. The smaller one on the left side is ''Flights of Fancy" and the larger one on the right is ''The Great Escape.'' Had them framed to highlight the pink-lavender of the artwork, not of the wall borders. Thought that would be too much lavender, even for me!

World's Best Cat Litter (tm)

I decided to try WBCL before concluding the cat litter comparison. First impression: nice non-perfumy fragrance, not dusty when poured into the box, clumps well.

We will see how it holds up under use with the 5 cats!

Back in the Clinic

We got the all clear to return to the clinic. The place looks ransacked. Guess they needed to open all the doors and cabinets to get good gas circulation.

Gonna be a busy couple of days getting things back in order :)

My New-to-Me 2006 Ford Focus

Just picked up my 2006 Ford Focus ZX3. It's a maroon (burgundy), hatchback, 5 spd manual. Has some dings and scratches on it but am sure will get more from me!

Waiting with Elaine

Got all the cats out of the clinic. Still waiting with Elaine for the fumigation crew to come to tent.

It got warm in the clinic with everything off. Hanging outside with Elaine.

Portion Pacer (tm)

We've recommended clients to add a large ball, or even a golf ball for the smaller toy dogs, to the food bowl to slow down the eating frenzy. It works great to keep dogs, or even cats, from gulping their food then soon after, regurgitate it all up.

What a surprise to see this idea as a ''Portion Pacer'' at the local pet store. It looks like a nice, safe, easy to sanitize version --- at $14.99 for the medium to large dogs.

If you don't want to spend the $15 and don't have a ball large enough to avoid ingestion, you can try inverting a smaller bowl in the larger bowl. Pets have to eat around the smaller upside down bowl. Does not work as well as the large ball but will slow them down some.

Another tip for pets gulping canned food: smear the food onto the bottom and sides of the food bowl. Slows the eating as they have to lick and work at getting the food off the bowl.

Off to University

Big day today for the family. My ''first'' (i.e. eldest) niece, Priscilla, left home for University today. Wished her luck this morning before I left for work.

Got home from work and everyone home was a little subdued. Big sis was still sad her baby is grown up.

I think Mom is reliving everyone's college departures :)

Danika was asking for her big sis so I made the above sign for her.

Sent it to Priscilla. Hope she's settling in her dorm ok.

Results of Cat Litter Clumping Comparison

Despite all the dust and weight, I have to admit, the clay litter clumped the best. The clump-ability --- ability for the litter to clump into a hard, easy-to-scoop lump when in contact with urine (water) --- prowess in descending order:

1) Clay clumping litter
2) Swheat Scoop
3) Pet Essentials
4) Feline Pine Clumping

As you'll read in later posts, clump-ability is not the only factor in choosing cat litter. Hence, despite ranking first in this comparison, clay litter is not the final choice for my cats.

Cat Litter Clumping Comparison

I made the transition from 5 individual cat boxes for my 5 cats to 3 jumbo customized ones. In the process, I went searching for a better alternative to the clay clumping litter.

In the jumbo litter boxes, the clay clumping litter was very heavy. Moving the boxes to clean and scoop was back-breaking. Never mind the dust cloud that follows.

Not knowing much about clumping litter alternatives, I googled it and was bombarded with information. As usual, most major types have their own supporters claiming theirs to be the best. One is even called World's Best Cat Litter (WBCL)! WBCL does seem to live up to its name --- and with a price tag to match :)

I decided to check the different litter myself to see which works best for my situation. WBCL was a little too rich for my blood, especially for a trial. So I will start with:
1) Clay clumping litter (Exquisite cats from Petsmart)
2) Swheat Scoop (wheat)
3) Pet Essentials (corn fiber)
4) Feline Pine Clumping

I plan to do a water test for the clumping ability initially. Then through the weeks, will see how they hold up in the litter boxes.