Back in the Saddle Again

Today I took short slow run after 9 days of rest from running. This was intentional - I was trying to give my IT band a rest and see if it helped with pain. I had to try SOMETHING..... there's this marathon in like 12 days and it would be nice to be in some sort if injury-free state so I can attempt to finish it instead of sitting at Bratfest waiting for Mike to come over the timing mat. I could eat a lot of brats in 5-6 hours, especially if I am feeling sorry for myself for missing a race.

So anyhow I prepared to run by popping in my Yoga for Athletes DVD and doing about 35 minutes of yoga as a pre-run stretch. I took it very easy, did a little walking and waited for the familiar pain twinges to set in. Funny thing was they never really kicked in. I was a little sore from time to time, but nothing like the searing pain that has led to my extreme frustration these last few weeks that rendered me virtually unable to complete my final build in volume for the Madison Marathon. Now that I am feeling a little better, I should be tapering.

Anyone have suggestions where I should be going with these last 12 days? I frankly am at a loss. I am resolved to go for it, be undertrained, and hope for the best.

I also took the pups in for their checkups. Daisy, my 10 year old ESS, got a clean bill of health. They said she's old (DUH) and she has a chipped tooth (probably from holding rocks in her mouth from time to time). Maddy is also a pretty healthy girl too. She's about 3 1/2, and still acts like a dumb puppy, but age is catching up to her a little too. I noticed when I gave them their spring buzz cut that her hiney was a bit larger than when I shaved her in the fall. Well after setting Betty Big-Butt on the scale, we saw the cold hard truth - 56 pounds! That is an 11# gain (24%!!!) since her last visit 10 months ago. Time for Maddy to quit eating both bowls of food when her sister's not looking. Also started her on a little doggy Detrol to address her little "leakage" issues. We shall see if that works.

Getting to the vet was interesting. Maddy is a nervous car rider and requires an empty stomach and some dramamine for every trip, no matter how short. The last time we went to the vet, she barfed 3 times on the way there (the vet is about 6-7 miles away). Today, we got to within sight of the building before she let the first (and only) gutload loose. YEAH! AND she didn't puke at all on the way home. Double yeah! If your interested, the Toyota Matrix is a godsend for those with queasy dogs - when you fold the seats down, the surface is hard plastic - no carpet- making cleanup a breeze. On the downside, braking and turning sends them skidding across the car. It's also pretty little and one of my dainty girls was letting some RANK nervous farts, so it was kind of like rolling down the road in a mobile latrine.