Hell YES!

It's official, spring has arrived. I saw little green leaves popping open and these flowers along the run yesterday. It's been warmer and windy, feels like it usually does this time of year. And tomorrow it could snow.

I had a little setback the other day. I was taking the girls to the vet for their annual checkup and Isabelle wouldn't get out of the car. She knew where she was. She sat there and trembled, dug her paws into the carpet in the back of my car, and refused to move.

I had to get her out of the car somehow, so I moved her slowly, a few inches at a time. She weighs 60 pounds, ten more pounds than Iris. When I finally scooted her to the edge of the back door, she dug in even more and resisted. I took her front paws and tried lowering them to the ground and then pushing her butt end out the door to follow. In the process, I strained my lower back and now the muscles on my right side are screaming.

I didn't realize it of course, and later I ran 10 miles and got in the hot tub at the end of the day. The hot tub was the wrong thing to do. That night, my back was screaming. I couldn't get comfortable on that one side. I iced a gazillion times yesterday and today, I am actually more sore today. But I was able to take the take the girls for a walk. I did something like this last year that involved picking up the girls, and it took a few days before it settled down. I rested and iced and then I was fine.

I'm not overly worried, even though I have a race coming up, I needed an easy week and had planned it anyway. Today I am uncomfortable in any position, sitting, walking, standing, and lying down, so I have just been doing my usual activities except I took today off from running.

Yesterday we played with Peeps. I pulled out the orange and yellow Peeps. I planned to make a peep wreath in the colors of the woman cave and hang it on the door. But it was a disaster. I should have stuck the peeps in the freezer so they wouldn't be so soft. They were a mess, and some of them ended up falling off the string so the girls got them anyway.

Now I have a sticky mess and orange and yellow sugar all over my desk in the woman cave.

I did have a productive day, even though I was uncomfortable in between icing my back, I got my business website updated. I have some forms to work on, and then I'll meet with the attorney, and I'll be ready to go.

I found myself on this first day of spring thinking about goals and running and other things. I was thinking about Across the Years and whether I want to run the 48 hour this year. I love the 48 hour event itself, but it seems like it takes me so long to recover, and I'm not sure I want to start off next year with a long recovery. I'm trying to get faster, and 48 hours is not a way to get faster. I can get stronger training for 48 hours, but I think I can also get stronger in other ways.

I am good at planting positive thoughts in my head and focusing on strengths when I need to. I know the importance of locking into my mental focus and building on positive cues. I also know that when I don't put my mind to something, it doesn't happen. One of the great things about Wheaties Boy is that he always reminds me that there are no excuses. Last week I was talking out of my butt about being 50 in regards to my 5K time, and he stopped me. "No way. Absolutely no excuse. That is not an excuse."

He was right. I was getting soft, being squirrelly. That attitude is not going to help me achieve any of my goals. Hell yes is the attitude I need to have.

I've decided to focus on 24 hours for now. I feel like I need to do what I can do with the speed I have. I'm curious to see how this weight loss will help me and I know that it's a long shot, but I think I'm still capable of running some of the ultra performances I did years ago. The 48 hour event will be there, and I can come back to it.

Friends help with this kind of thought process, too. I was e-mailing with my friend Nick today about something else, but we were talking about our respective aging processes and performances, and staying sharp. He's getting ready for Western States and he'll be turning 40 this year before race day. I told him what my dream goal is for 24 hours, and he sent me a simple reminder back.

He's absolutely right. Hell YES! That's what friends are for.

Hedgehog: Putting Things In Perspective

We went to Como this past weekend.

It usually helps to go up there and get away from the routine and the rat race, to put things in perspective. I am very much over this hot weather. It's been hot for too long. The cooler temperatures felt so good.





Dennis is out of the boot, his foot is healed enough to go for some short hikes, so we took the girls on a short one and then just hung out at the cabin. Como rocks.

Still, I feel so unmotivated. I'm putting things into place, trying to fill the calendar with things that will help me get the lead out of my butt.

I picked out my next 5K, and it will be at sea level in LA. I got this crazy idea today when I couldn't motivate myself to run for the second day in a row, maybe I should do a week of walking. Sure, that will help the 5K time.

Signed up for my test date to take my oncology certification exam, so now I am committed. I have to study.

I have no reason to whine or snivel. I happen to know two healthy active people around my age who right now are recovering from pneumonia! One of them, a runner, was talking about how he has realized through these difficult times who his real friends are, the ones who have stuck with him despite his down time. Our conversation got me thinking about Hedgehogs.

Sometimes finding an old friend makes all the difference in the world. We lost the Hedgehog last year, it went missing despite an exhaustive search of the entire yard around the cabin last fall. But the Hedgehog turned up easily this weekend, even though he was nowhere to be found when we were here in June.

Sometimes we have to find ways to put things in perspective. When we're down and out, or just in a slump, it's important to find a silver lining. It can be an opportunity to sort through the baggage or trash from old relationships or friendships that aren't so great.

Not all old friends are as good as a long-lost Hedgehog, stinky and soggy from being left out in the rain for months or even a year. Hedgehogs just need a pass through the washing machine and they are as good as ever. Sometimes they still squeak after all they've been through.

On the other hand, or paw, there are times when we have to get rid of the toxic people from our lives, the ones who would drop you and forget about you, the ones who talk out both sides of their mouth, the ones who are so insecure with their own issues that they aren't worth the energy. Every time you're with them, it takes twice as much energy away from you just to interact with them and you leave their company wondering why you ever made the effort to get together with them in the first place?

Hedgehogs squeak, but they also listen. They don't jabber on and on and say mindless, trite things when you talk about something that's important to you. They don't claim to know how you feel, and they don't have to reply to every point you make with their own version of what they think is a similar experience.

Hedgehogs don't have codependency issues. They are content to listen and not try to fix things. They only squeak when they have something constructive to contribute, and they have a lot of empathy.

It's a good, healthy thing to do, every so often, to clean house when you realize there are things or people who drag you down. Keep the Hedgehogs, but let the energy suckers stay out in the rain.

There are times when you have to find new friends and at the same time nurture the most valuable old Hedgehogs instead of taking them for granted.

But sometimes all they need is a bath...