dog days

and then there were three.

on wednesday, we welcomed this handsome guy into our lives. his name is duke.

hi, I'm duke.

he's a wirehaired pointer-lab mix, and just over a year old. he's a fifty pound ball of energy. I mean, this puppy LOVES to play.

he's figured out that if he piles up all the toys together, he doesn't have to pick just one to gnaw on at a time

he's fully housebroken. he's good in the car. he likes other dogs, other cats, and other humans. he comes when he's called. he knows (and mostly responds to) the sit command. sometimes he nails it on the first try, other times take a considerable amount of urging. 

sit?

yikes. sorry. how did that picture get in here?! I was totally talking about the dog.

reminds me of this dog

he's a very smart and loving boy, but he's been living in a partial shelter/partial foster arrangement for the past several months, which means his training has been inconsistent and his overall obedience is a work in progress. we are hard at work on his preferred wake-up time (5:50am). kind of reminds me of the dog from the movie up. "I'M A DOG! I'M AWAKE! YOU'RE MY MASTER AND I LOVE YOU!" please go back to sleep, dog! yawn.

he's got the crazy in his eyes

lucky for duke, we found him and we love him.

finally, raised beds!

I think my camera has been drunk lately. none of these pictures are in focus. lo siento.

great news: the raised beds are built and ready for planting! this project took up all of last weekend, but I'm so glad that it's finally done.

after months of waiting for t to get home, planning the raised beds, staking the raised beds, battling the fire ants...we got it done.

the truth is that (ants aside), I was somewhat biding my time until he got home because I am strong but I am not strong enough to haul 40 cubic feet of soil from lowe's to the truck bed to the backyard by myself in the broiling summer heat. I'm GREAT at helping t do all of those things, though. so that's what we did. teamwork wins.

next, there was this. this doesn't look like much, just some broken up dirt without any grass on it. easy peasy. except not. this took 2+ hours of my slave labor. the soil here is clay, and correct me if I'm wrong, but: when clay is moist and then is exposed to extreme heat, it turns into pottery. and then I had to rip that and the horrible, vine-laden grass that's cemented into it out of the ground, and till it into something that will drain nicely when wet. misery.

meanwhile, in the garage, t was putting the beds together. sawing, drilling, hammering, staple-gunning. the next day he spent a few hours laboring to break up the grass for the second bed, and even though he was smart and did it in the morning, it was just as tough.

the finished products are lovely. we filled one with soil before we realized that we (a) didn't buy any seeds yet and (b) all those seeds that we don't own yet are still seeds, not quite baby plants that can be planted. so we left the second bed empty for now.

the first bed, finished and full of dirt

we bought basil, tomatoes, beets, carrots, broccoli, rainbow chard, and rosemary. they've all been planted in a starter greenhouse and the first of them are just now starting to sprout up. the beet sprouts are going crazy!

seeds!

seeds, planted!

the growing season down south (we straddle zones 7-8) is much longer than what we're used to from our new england upbringings, which means that it's a little iffy but definitely not too late to try for tomatoes and basil. we're pretty much guaranteed success on the rest of what we've chosen. we plan on adding leeks and maybe some other winter veggies (I'm gunning for brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes), too. it's no secret that I'm a veggie-holic, and I'm looking forward to eating our harvest! 

check it out!

look who I found! if you can't tell by my obnoxiously big smile, I am quite excited to have him home!

this handsome stud landed safely in the usa just after midnight on thursday. the wife of one of his crewmates brought me onto the base to pick him up. I'd never done this before and it's quite the production: all the families stand in the big open hangar (behind us in the picture) and wait for the jet to land. then all the waiting excited happy people walk out on the jetway and play find-your-loved-one. if you're me, you're looking for a tall handsome guy with a GIANT MUSTACHE. then you wait another hour for them to bring out the baggage, and all the returnees play find-your-bag (it-looks-just-like-everyone-else's). that part is less fun, but it's ok. still exciting. there were lots of puppies waiting in the hangar. they were a good distraction and made me less nervous. plus, the only thing cuter than a returning soldier greeting his or her kids is a returning soldier greeting his or her dogs. pups get so excited to see their people.

t would like me to tell you that his enormous mustache looks awesome. so while I will concede that the mustache is quite impressive, I must also report that it is now gone. thank goodness.

129 - wednesday

hi! guess what today is?

today is the day that t comes home from deployment!

of course, I had a lot of things to do today to prepare for his arrival. make the bed for the first time in weeks? check. paint my nails so I don't nibble them all day in a fit of t's-coming-home anxiety? check. mow the lawn so that he thinks, damn my yard looks good? check. sweep the bathroom so he doesn't realize how much I shed? check. swap the pajamas all day look for real clothes? sigh. check.

it's not that I'm putting on airs for the man - we've lived together before - it's just that, for the past two months, I have been at home alone. I like putting real clothes on and I like painting my nails. but I've had no one to look nice for in a while, so I'm going for it tonight. oh. and did I mention I haven't seen him since MARCH? yeah. it's a special occasion. he deserves me looking my best.  (ps - for all those friends who like to whine via facebook/twitter status about their significant other going away on 2-7 day business trips? suck it up, buttercup.)

so since I've been running around like crazy all day, trying not to freak out (the #1 item on my to-do list today is "remain calm"), I haven't really eaten anything. I had a bowl of cereal this morning, but I'm not really hungry. I'm too excited to be hungry. this is the opposite of stressed. when I'm stressed I eat EVERYTHING (eat almost an entire bag of almond hershey kisses and only hershey kisses for breakfast, lunch, and dinner while frantically typing out final papers? peanut butter by the spoonful? that's me!).

I realized it was almost 7pm and that I really should probably eat something, so I made greek nachos. they were delicious. I think you should make some, too. here is the super complicated recipe.

greek nachos. serves: me.

• 9 triscuits (I used reduced fat)
• oregano
• black pepper
• olive oil
• feta cheese...as much as you want. I won't tell, I promise. feta addicts anonymous.

(1) preheat broiler on high. line up triscuits on a baking sheet. I like to pack mine in tightly so the cheese stays on the cracker.

(2) using a spoon, sprinkle feta all over the crackers. make sure the cheese is evenly distributed to all edges - if you concentrate it in the middle, your outer crackers will be sad.

(3) add a few generous shakes of oregano and black pepper. it should look like one awesome, mega-triscuit covered in cheese and herbs.

(4) drizzle all over with olive oil. feta really likes to be drizzled with olive oil; so do triscuits. they drink it up. use as much as you want. again, your secret's safe with me.

(5) gently (so the mega-triscuit stays intact) transfer baking sheet to the oven. let broil for 6-8 minutes, checking occasionally to prevent exposed cracker from burning.

delicious nom on its way to get eaten

aaand enjoy! now I have something to nibble on instead of my very nice looking manicure. excellent. 

see you tomorrow! with this guy! 

128 - tuesday

yesterday, t and I registered for the atlanta 13.1 series half marathon on october 2. we're running it as a training race for the savannah rock n'roll marathon on november 5.

here's the elevation chart for savannah:

easy peasy. about as flat as they come. I like the part where we're 10 feet below sea level.

now here's the elevation chart for atlanta:

HOLY HILLS, BATMAN.

just to make this clear: the elevation range for savannah is about 75 feet, from -10 to 62. for atlanta? two hundred feet: 850-1050. I guess it's time to start taking hill workouts seriously again. 

127 - monday

I went grocery shopping today. I spent so much money (but really just what a normal person spends on groceries for two people for 2+ weeks) that my bank sent me a fraud alert email to make sure it was really me. apparently, the abrupt change from living on peanut butter and ramen noodles to buying fancy things like fruits and vegetables tipped them off that something was up. something IS up, bank! t is coming home AND I'm dying for some real nutrients = double your people, double your veggie intake, double your grocery bill.

anyway. it was pretty dire around here today before I made it to the store. I was out of everything. no, really. everything. I didn't even have any cans of chickpeas left, and those are my usual go-to, no-food-but-at-least-I-have-chickpeas savior.

now look me in the eye and tell me that isn't the saddest inside of a refrigerator you've ever seen. fast forward a few hours and many dollars later: ta-da!

sing it with me: VEGETABLESSSSS!!!!!! I'm so happy to have healthy food in the house again. I couldn't take another meal of ramen or peanut butter toast.

126 - sunday

one month of marathon training done, three to go! let's review july, shall we?

JULY

• total miles run: 93.6
• time spent lifting weights: 3 hours 20 minutes
• loaves of bread consumed: 3
• jars of peanut butter consumed: 1.5
• cross-training days: 2 
• new pairs of shoes: 1
• number of workouts skipped or changed: 12/25
• lbs lost: 2

I'm excited about some things that went really well, like...
I did a great job this past week adhering to my training plan, but that means I did more work this week than I have in the past three. my body is sore and tired. I'm going to need to make better use of mondays and wednesdays as cross-training/easy days, and be smarter about getting my key workouts done when I'm supposed to.
I did a great job of adding weight lifting into my schedule. in preparation for previous races, lifting has been a hastily cobbled-together afterthought that I try desperately to include once I'm already into the bulk of my training. as soon as my schedule gets overwhelming, it's the first thing to go. by incorporating strength training into my plan from the get-go, I've been consistent with it and I'm actually starting to enjoy it.

...but there's still room for improvement. 
I did a TERRIBLE job this month adhering to my training plan. almost half of my workouts got nixed or shuffled. I'm all for flexibility, but I can't go playing it fast and loose with the four important runs I have scheduled each week. moving forward, I will try my best not to sacrifice the tuesday tempo and thursday drill workouts, and the weekend mid- and long-distance runs. the easy low-mileage workouts on mondays and wednesdays are disposable/easily replaced with cross-training. 
I will stretch. my hamstrings have been tight from sitting in my desk chair after not stretching enough (or at all) after a run. sometimes when I get back from a run, I'm so sweaty that I'm literally dripping on the floor and furniture and the thought of lying down on my yoga mat to stretch just seems so...slippery. so I shower instead and tell myself that I'll stretch when I get out (but I never do). on a similar note...
I will be smarter about ramping up my distance. I missed my long run last weekend because I was sick, and then I hit all my scheduled workouts this week. jumping from 22mi to 35mi in one week is a lot. my shins are feeling naggy after today's double-session long run, so I'm RICE-ing them tonight and tomorrow will definitely be a cross-train day.
I will cross train. I had a one-month free gym membership in june that was great, but I've been dragging my feet for no good reason about getting in there to buy an actual membership. the gym has a decent class schedule and nice equipment. bikes and ellipticals and pilates are my cross-training friends. I refuse to get injured as a result of not training smart. cross-training is critical to keeping my injury-prone body in good shape.
I won't let marathon training get in the way of fun. t comes home in three days (squeeeeeeeeeal), and we have a mini-vacation planned for two weekends from now that involves a LOT of food and a LOT of drink (botanical garden cocktail party! bbq & beer fest!). luckily, we're both training for the savannah rock n' roll marathon, so we can motivate each other to get our workouts done. but I haven't seen the man since march, and if I want to have more to eat and drink for dinner than I should the night before a run, I will. if I want to sleep in instead of dragging myself to make coffee in a dark kitchen at 5:30am, I will. and I won't complain when that means I'm running for miles on the treadmill because I couldn't get my butt out the door early enough to beat the heat. there are going to be plenty of days when we're both up and running to get ourselves ready for november. there aren't going to be too many times when he's just come home from deployment and has some time off to spend with me.

july recap complete. now let's talk about that double-session long run. runner's world ran a piece last issue about the benefits of double sessions in improving speed and overall fitness. they suggested adding doubles into your training plan slowly: at first, one double a week, both runs done at an easy pace, gradually building to two or three a week, with some done at a higher intensity. I decided rather unscientifically that I'm a good candidate for doubles because it is so mother effing hot where we live. even if I get out the door by 6 or 6:30am (sunrise is around 6:45am these days), my long runs can take 2-3 hours and put me in direct sunlight, with temperatures in the high 80's and humidity in the 85-95% range. at the end of a long run, I want to be able to maintain good running form, not feel like I'm going to pass out from dangerous heat exhaustion. RW suggested breaking up the long run using this formula: in the morning, run 75% of the scheduled distance (today I had 13mi on the calendar, so 9.75mi). in the evening, run 50% of the scheduled distance (6.5mi). I was up and dressed by 5:30 but my stomach decided to take its sweet time, so I got out around 7:15am and ran just over 10 miles in 1:43:xx. by the time I finished it was hot. could I have run another 3 miles? yes. but was I happier to be done than still running? you bet.

my camelbak charm is the only way I survive my disgusting sweat rate of 55 oz/hour

this evening I went out for my second session. my legs felt like lead. from the minute I laced up the mizunos, I knew I was in for a sufferfest. I made it just under 4.5 miles in 42:xx, which was faster than this morning but much more painful even though my legs loosened up once I got going. I also cut the prescribed distance by 2 miles because I was so exhausted. doubling up WAS a great way to beat the heat, but it's going to take some getting used to. the mileage is only going to increase from here, so I need to figure out some strategy for getting it done.

I'm excited for august and to see how I do standing up to my training goals!