Is it just me?

Or, does blogger not let you put a title on a post? For the life of me, I can't get it to display the little bar where I get to name the puppy. RUDE. Oddly enough, it's only this blog. My other ones are just fine. Hm.

Well, I pumped out a measly 2-ish miles yesterday. Trying to ease the beast back into jogging after his week of yarfing. He's much better now, thank you very much. Boiled rice and crushed kibble do a body good. Betcha di'n't know that, huh? I'm determined to make a jogger out of him, because it can get pretty boring tiring out a dog with NO toy-drive. That's right. No fetch, no chasing the Kong, no flying after the frisbee. Walks only. He does really enjoy playing with other dogs, but that requires near-psychicly timed trips to the park. I figure if I can wear out him AND me in one fell swoop, well, there's that much time I don't have to shlep around the neighborhood stopping to sniff EVERYTHING. Did I mention he's part beagle and ruled entirely by his nose?

This past weekend's long-slow-distance run was a complete fiasco. Seriously, people, a fee-ass-ko. See, the Lt had to work that a.m., and I'm really NOT into running at like 5:30 am on a Saturday. So, he gets home, but he's been running himself ragged for about a month and a half now, and was not in 5-mile-run mode, ya know? I'm gonna be all motivated and accountable and crap, like an idiot, so I go. At 2:00. In Okinawa, Japan. Now, for those of you who've never been, Okinawa is in the heart of the steam room that is the central east Pacific. The 5 mile LSD ended up a 3.5-mile-why-for-the-love-of-wool-am-I-the-only-twit-out-here* sweat fest.
* Because I'm the brain-dead one. That's why.

Tomorrow, I have a tempo run, and it'll HAVE to be at 5:30 a.m., cause I'm silly and schedule myself for craziness. It's ok, though, cause it's a week-day.

I've also got to share my week-maker moment. Yesterday at the dog-park, Erica and Tanisha agreed that I've lost weight. Have I mentioned that Erica and Tanisha are my new favorite people? Yeah.

Steamy like Dim Sum, Baby.

This week was ok for running. Meaning, the Lt did more than me, but I did some, which is better than none!

He pumped out 6 miles, trekking his PFT course twice. The PFT is the Physical Fitness Test, every service has its own version. The USMC's consists of a 3 mile run, a timed crunch drill, and dead-hang pull ups (for boys) or a flexed-arm hang for the girls. When I was in, I despised PFTs and wasn't too stellar at any event. Bah. The Lt, hardbody that he is, kicks ass at every event.

Last weekend's long run was pretty much nil for us both. The Lt had to work, and I went out with the dog determined to pump out 5 miles. Well, let's just say that abruptly changing your dog's food doesn't mesh with running...or eating for that matter. Homeboy's been ralphing all week. Right now, he's on plain boiled rice with about a 1/4 cup of the old kibble smashed in. That's staying down. Poor guy. He'll be back out on the road after he's successfully on full rations for a few days. I'm such a bad mom!!

I went for 3 miles the other day, it was so sad, people! It was "tempo" day. Well, as much as I know what that means, I've never run a 10K, much less timed myself doing so (a key F.I.R.S.T. tempo run ingredient), so my "tempo" is really more of a "kick up the RPE a notch." I knew there was no way I'd last for 3 miles at an uncomfortable pace. At least, not a steady uncomfortable pace. So, I set off to run my own version of tempo, 1/2 mile easy, 1/2 mile uncomfortable. Not hard, not a sprint, barely a run, really, just a notch above where I'd LIKE to be. By the last one, I was considering it uncomfortable just to NOT STOP AND WALK. I told you it was sad!!

Tomorrow is 5 miles...OY.

We were so good on Tuesday. We did our first speedwork run!

It consisted of 45 minutes of fun! No really, it started with a 10 minute easy jog, and then 6 X (1 minute fast, 3 minutes easy), and ended with 10 minute cool down. We were so amazingly sweaty. Just so ya know, a rainy day in the steam bath that is Okinawa, Japan is NOT condusive to sweat evap.

We did this workout at the track on base, and it was really nice. The Lt is well capable of leaving me in the dust, so it was nice to be able to go at our own pace but still feel like we were out there running together.

We took Barley along. He's done really well at keeping up, so far, so we figure we'll take him with us till we start going over the 6-ish mile distance. He's just 14 months old, so maybe when he's older we'll take him further. Plus, he usually runs with me, so it's a nice slow pace!!

He hasn't quite figured out that "walks are for sniffing and jogging isn't" yet, but I have confidence he'll pick it up. I just keep saying "go jogging" and hope he'll eventually make the connection. He gets lots of praise, extra milk-bones and sometimes Powerade. He likes the lemon-lime!

Now, thursday, not so good. There was no running. There was a yumm-o chicken tagine and much laughter at my girlfriend's house for dinner!

Today, Barley and I went for a short (15-ish minute) run, and then to the beach for some cool water on the belly. Tomorrow is 5 miles....wish us luck!

First things First

Our first post. So, I ask the Lt one day if he'd like to train for a marathon with me. This isn't the first time, I've asked him about it. But, the last time I asked, I ended up picking a race that went about 3 weeks after I had some scheduled surgery. D'oh! You can guess how far that went.

Well, this time, there's no excuses. Being a healthy person, very fit, and not afraid of pain, the Lt always agrees. I'm the one who wimps out. See, I don't really enjoy running. Well, more specifically, I don't really enjoy exercise. Or, let's just say, I haven't found my favorite one yet! =) But of all the ones I've tried, running is the one I hate the least. It's cheap, it's easy, it doesn't take any super-secret special equipment, and you can do it just about anywhere. Plus, it really tires out the dog, and a worn-out dog is a happy dog.

We've chosen the F.I.R.S.T. training plan. Runner's World raved about it, and the best part: you only run 3 days a week! That's what I'm talking about.

Wish us luck!