Race Review: GSA 5K

On Sunday, April 1st, I ran the 2nd GSA 5K.  Proceeds were dedicated to UT graduate student travel grants. The event took place on the roads of UT campus.  The first event was held in 2010.  This was a small local event.  I cannot find the results online, but I think 150-200 people were registered.  It was open to runners, joggers and walkers.  Registration was $25 for UT affiliates and $30 for members of the general community.  This included chip timing (although results aren't online...), a cotton t-shirt and a wide array of post-race refreshments.

Because this was a dog friendly event, Boyfriend and I took Ike and Bailey with us.  The race started at 8:30am.  Because we live close, we jogged approximately one mile from home to the race start.  We made sure both doggies did all their business before we got to the start, which facilitated a smooth and pleasant event for both humans.  Instead of porta johns, the student activities center was open and we were able to use indoor, clean bathrooms.  That was definitely a nice plus of such a small event.  It was also easy to pick up our bag when we arrived and would have been easy to register on the spot.
The event started a little later than advertised, closer to 8:45am than 8:30am.  The weather was mid 60s but quite humid and I was feeling very sweaty.  My legs were also sore from the previous day's half marathon. Boyfriend and I lined up with the dogs along with the other runners.  Walkers were given a separate start after the runners.  Although I was concerned that Bailey would be lackadaisical about the run, it couldn't have been farther from the truth.  Apparently she is highly competitive!  She took off in sled dog style when the race started and literally pulled me through the crowds.  She very much did not want people in front of her.  I was wearing my Garmin and for the first mile, we fluctuated between 6:30 mile pace and 8:00s.  Although my legs were tired, I made every effort to go at her pace and just pumped my legs and held on.  The course makes two loops around the football stadium and then in the third mile takes an out and back along 24th street.  You can see the course here: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=468066

Despite being a short race, the route had quite a few uphills with 238 feet of climbing.  Each loop around the stadium has a steady hill and the out of the out and back is uphill.  I think Bailey made some classic new racer (it was her first) mistakes; she went out too fast and had a hard time holding the pace on the hills.  I was feeling tired too :)  Ike caught us on the 2nd loop and we ran right near each other for the rest of the race.  In the end, though, his stamina and experience reigned supreme and he crossed the finish a second or two in front of Bailey and I.  They finished first and second dog!  My Garmin read 25:14, giving us an 8:08 pace.  Not bad for a warm, muggy double header weekend and Miss Bailey's first race!

A Double Header Race Weekend

This weekend will be (I think) my first dual race weekend.  On Saturday, I am running the ZOOMA Texas Half Marathon and Sunday, I am running the Graduate Student Assembly (UT Austin) 5K.  I don't run a lot of races, so it is definitely unusual for me to have two races back to back!

I signed up for the ZOOMA half because the weather in Central TX starts getting unpleasantly warm in April, making long races particularly unpleasant.  This half marathon is on March 31st, and I felt probably the last opportunity until November for me to comfortably race something of that length here in TX.  That being said, Saturday morning is looking like it could be pretty muggy and humid, and the race doesn't start until 7:30am, meaning that it will likely be quite warm when I am finishing.  Hopefully the unpleasant weather won't be too detrimental to my time.

The GSA 5K is a very small race, held to raise money for graduate student travel stipends.  It was held for the first time in spring of 2010.  I ran it that year and finished 2nd woman.  This is the second year the race is being organized.  Although I am not a huge fan of 5Ks, this race is held on UT's campus, which is very close and convenient for me.  Also, I have received graduate student travel grants to subsidize the costs of attending conferences, so this race directly benefits people like me and I am willing to support it.  I decided to run it a gain this year even though I will have run the half marathon the day before.  I realize this means I won't be able to run a fast 5K, but it will prevent me from sleeping in Sunday morning and skipping a workout.  Running the day after a hard race always seems to speed up my recovery.  The real selling point though?  I looked at the races FAQs and saw this:

Can I bring my dog? 

Yep.  We just ask that furry friends be on a leash.   

Top three finishers got their picture taken on the
Longhorns football field as a prize

Excellent!  I asked Boyfriend if he wanted to run  it as well (he also ran the inaugural GSA 5K two years ago) and he signed up as well.  We have decided to take both Bailey and Ike with us to the race.  I think we will have the boys vs. girls, so I will run with Bailey and he with Ike.  Ike is a super sled dog and runs very fast and is competitive during races, so I think he will help Boyfriend to run a strong race.  Bailey, on the other hand, has never done a race and can be very unpredictable when running.  Sometimes she really goes for it, other times she comes to an abrupt halt and won't move forward.  Because I will have just ran a race, I figured it made more sense for me to run with Bailey in her first race.  I have no idea how it will go, but bringing the pups along should make it fun.

So here's to a running filled weekend!  I will try to take some pictures and next week will have not one but two race reports.
GSA 5K Race Report Here!
ZOOMA Half Marathon Report Here!

Puppy Running

Workout: (Yesterday) 2.7 miles with Bailey and 5.9 with Ike for 8.6 total

Ike and Bailey know how to run

(Today) 8.0 miles solo

Yesterday I ended up postponing my run until the evening because I was lazy and didn't get out of bed in the morning.  Both dogs desperately needed exercise, having been holed up all day while I was busy doing very important research.  I decided to split them up and take Bailey for the first part of the run, then swap her for Ike for the last 6 or so miles.  It would be ideal to run with them together, but that is an impossible task.  Their running styles are not at all compatible (Ike likes to run very fast and Bailey is in it for the experience -- i.e. she's slow).

Separating them was not an easy task.  Bailey was forlorn to leave Ike behind, and frankly Ike was mad at me. He loves running with me and knew that that was what I was doing (every time I touch the sneakers, he knows).  He cried at the door and the Garmin was taking an extensive amount of time to sync.  Finally, Bailey and I were off and we ran two laps of a nearby park.  Overall, Bailey's running is improving, but you wouldn't have known that from yesterday's experience.  She wouldn't budge from her slow and steady 10 min/mile pace and was totally resistant to any efforts on my part to speed things up.  In fact, every 5 or so minutes, she would just come to a complete stop and refuse to move as I tugged the leash.  So I would stop too, and watch her sniff the air, sniff the grass, and watch some stranger walk by.  After about a minute, she seemed to be over whatever it was that initially brought her to a halt, and we would resume our steady plod.  A few weeks ago, we ran 4.3 miles together (her personal distance record) and she seemed much more motivated than she was yesterday.  Sometimes she seems to really enjoy getting out on a run with me, and other days she just seems uninterested.  I can't say I'm not disappointed; I would really love for her to be a constant running partner.  I wonder if this is the universe preparing me for the possibility that I will have human children that reject recreational running?  That might be a rough pill for me to swallow...

While I don't know whether Bailey loves the running, I know she loves ME!  Yesterday when we were on our run, I tripped over my own feet (actually on a wooden step at the top of a rough and steep trailed hill) and went down hard on my shin and hands.  Bailey immediately came over to revive me and lick me back to health.  My face, hands and shin were thoroughly checked out before she felt safe having us continue.  Glad to know she won't leave me for dead if something serious happens.  She knows who buys the peanut butter in the house.

Ike, unlike Bailey, has thoroughly made up his mind about running, and he loves it.  As soon as he got on the leash yesterday, he took off at full speed like a sled dog.  I've found that trying to reign him in is more effort than its worth, so we typically do some or most of our runs on trail so I can let him off the leash.  Instead of fighting with him, I usually run hard and fast when he is on the leash, and then take it easier on the off-leash trail sections.  It's like a surprise tempo workout!

This morning, I ran solo because I wanted to do a route that had no off-leash sections.  Ike knew what was going on as soon as the alarm went off and was really annoyed at me when I shut him in the bedroom and left without him.  He's back at his house now, so tomorrow morning it will just be Bailey and she doesn't seem to notice me in the morning.  She is a late sleeper.

So that is probably more than you ever wanted to know about the time I spend running with dogs.  However, I love them both and running with dogs is a lot of fun and I think it is funny how different their personalities are. And for illustrative purposes, here are a few pictures from their adventures in the park this weekend:

Ike enjoying a juicy stick

Ike chasing Bailey.  She probably stole his stick

Bailey shaking it out

A brief moment where both are still; Ike is concentrating on the stick

Bailey

Bailey, on 'her' couch

In a short amount of time, my new dog has become firmly ingrained in the family and quite spoiled.  She had lots of toys, biscuits and bones keep arriving from her grandparents in the mail, she has two dog beds, is allowed on the couch, and even has her own jar of peanut butter.

Bailey and Sadie, resting

She is a social butterfly.  She regularly gets invited by the neighbor across the street to play with Holly, the German short haired pointer.  She has a second playdate with Sadie, a lab hound puppy, tomorrow.  She goes to the dog park with her pitbull friend, Raisin.  And, of course, she has sleep over parties with her beloved cousin Ike.

Bailey (with the bow) and Ike

She has lots of energy and spunk, which we take advantage of with lots of playtime, trips to the park, and of course, runs.  Because she is so young, we do not run for more than 20 minutes with her, but we go on jogs between 1 and 2 miles regularly.  She is definitely fast, but when we started, her leash/running manners left much to be desired.  She would often run across my body, tangle her legs in the leash, lunge after a squirrel, stop dead to stare at a cyclist or lag behind me.  By applying a consistent running style and some basic leash training, I have noticed a dramatic improvement, making running with Bailey much more fun for all of us.

Bailey wears a bow!

And while she isn't perfect and sometimes drives me crazy (can you say separation anxiety?), who can stay mad at a pup this cute?  I sure can't for very long...

Summer Running in Austin: Part 2

I think I'm getting the hang of this summer running thing...

Previously, I wrote a post about the difficulties of running during the intense, long Texas summers.  And while the heat has not abated, I am am impressed by the adaptability of the human body because my runs seem to be getting better and logging miles in the heat seems to be getting a little easier.  Good thing too, because I have at least another 6 weeks of pretty high temps.

Walnut Creek, Austin, TX

This weekend, I had two great runs.  On Saturday morning, I took Ike to Walnut Creek in North Austin for a 72 minute trail run.  We both love running in that park; Ike because he can be off the leash and explore (he once flushed a massive, male deer), me because there is over 11 miles of trail network that twists and turns and covers all kinds of terrain, so it is pretty hard to get bored.  I started out at a relaxed and comfortable pace, tackling the steep uphills and screaming downhills with grace.  Around 50 minutes, I was still feeling good and conscientiously picked up the pace, finishing sweaty but strong.  I was pleased that I felt no soreness and hardly any fatigue in my legs.  I know the same distance on road would have a very different result, got to love those trails!

For the rest of the morning, Ike came over to my house for a play date with Bailey.  Unfortunately for Ike, she is full of energy and had had no exercise yet that morning.  The result was an unrelenting desire to play, which manifested itself as jumping on Ike and following him wherever he went.  Poor Ike!

Yesterday, I had a 12 mile long run on my schedule.  Instead of getting up bright at early at 6am, I snoozed my alarm and slept until 9am.  The lack of sleep throughout the week had caught up with me.  I was pretty bummed about not getting the run in, and set my mind to getting it done in the evening, something I have really never done with a long run, and especially not in the middle of the summer, when temperatures in Austin can persist above 95F well beyond 10pm.  Well, I ate a late lunch and made sure to drink plenty of fluids.  At 7:45pm, I headed out the door, 20 oz of water in my hydration pack and prepared for my first ever evening long run. Fortunately for me, late afternoon cloud cover had kept the temperature below 100F.

I started sweating about 5 minutes into the run and was pretty well covered 20 minutes in.  I ran west, under the MoPac expressway, and continued on a hilly course through the affluent neighborhoods surrounding Tarrytown and Mount Bonnell.  I watched a beautiful sunset, and 45 minutes in found myself running in the dark.  I was careful to watch for cars and stay out of their way.  Otherwise, I really enjoyed running in the dark, which was quiet and tranquil.  I had plenty of material on my iPod and tackled hill after hill with gusto.  Before I knew it, I was crossing back under MoPac with only 2 miles left on the run.  At this point I was pretty thirsty and finished off my water, and while I was tired, I never felt extremely fatigued and was able to hold a strong pace all the way through.  I finished 12.38 miles in 1:46:41, giving me an average pace in the 8:30s.  Considering all the obstacles: summer heat, long distance, dehydration, night time running, hills, I was very pleased.  Of course lots of cold water and a cold shower helped too.

So what is the take away point?  Pushing through uncomfortable conditions, be it hot or cold weather, will eventually pay off.  The human body is an amazing machine and can adapt to a lot of conditions.  Eventually, the rewards will come, and in this case, it was two great weekend runs.  Hoping the momentum will carry me through the rest of the week!

Bailey: The New Kid on the Block

I haven't previously mentioned this, but I spend a lot of time volunteering with dogs at my local shelter, the Town Lake Animal Center.  This shelter is currently the largest No Kill shelter in the country, striving to maintain a 90% live outcome rate for dogs and cats.  I work with the dogs, taking them for trail walks, play and potty breaks, and working with customers interested in adopting them.  I find it to be a very rewarding use of my time, especially because I love dogs.

This past week, with extreme heat in Texas (over 50 days above 100F) and overcrowding, the shelter found itself dangerously above capacity.  Boyfriend and I decided to foster a dog and bring her home, out of the heat.  Her name is Bailey and she is a 10 month old female, 40lb Plott hound mix.  She is very energetic, playful and affectionate and has been doing wonderfully with us at home!  She doesn't bark or chew on things and seems to be housebroken.  She already knows 'sit' and 'shake'.  She is also very friendly with other dogs and really enjoyed meeting (and pestering) Ike.

Last week, I took Bailey for a few, short runs.  At the end of my run, I took her for a 1.75 mile loop nearby our house.  She was a little distracted by noises and passerbys, which made it difficult to run at an even pace, but overall, she did really well!  The pace was slower than I'd like, but I expect that will improve with practice.  I used a yuppie puppy harness, which makes controlling her very easy.  Her biggest joy came from a few squirrel sightings, which caused her to go nuts!  She was trying her hardest to get after those poor squirrels and could not be distracted even when we were a 100 yards away.

Bailey had her spay surgery yesterday, so she is not allowed to run with me for the next week, only walks allowed.  I will definitely miss taking her out for a jog, but we will go for walks instead and the week will pass quickly enough.

For any animal lovers out there, please consider adopting from a shelter or rescue group, in the process you will save a life!  Of course, you can always foster or volunteer, which is another great way to help.

Summer Running in Austin: Part 1

It's that time of year again in Austin, TX.  Day time highs above 100F (yes, that is hotter than body temperature...), overnight lows between 73 and 78F and temperatures hovering in the 90s long after 10pm.  While morning temps in the mid 70s may not seem terrible, the humidity averages 90% at that time of day.  In summary, Austin summer weather is nothing short of unbearable for outdoor running.

Despite that, I try to make the best of it, getting up bright and early to run in the "cooler" morning temps.  My paces are slower and I feel like I'm running through a wall of humidity.  The sweating starts almost immediately and somewhere between 10 and 12 minutes in, my body is literally coated in sweat.  In my desperate attempts to keep myself cool, I am wearing very little clothing and have nothing with which to wipe sweat from my eyes, ears, forehead, shoulders etc etc.  I let it pool all over me and just go with it.  Lawn sprinklers are a welcome sight and offer a brief moment of reprieve.  When I finish, all the sweating leaves my core body temperature dangerously high, which can be alleviated pretty efficiently with a 10 minutes cold shower.  I follow this up with massive quantities of cold water, and it usually takes me the entire day to properly rehydrate.

Thirst on the run has been a major issue lately.  I have been trying to do longer runs in the range of 10 miles.  In cooler weather, I can easily run 16 miles without any water, but the summer heat has made that impossible.  I finish 7 mile runs totally parched and can recognize that the lack of water on the run is impacting my performance.  I finally caved in and got a hydration pack (actually boyfriend bought it for me as a birthday present!).  I got the Nathan 2-speed waist pack.  As a minimalist runner who hates taking "stuff" with them, the idea of a handheld was not appealing and the Nathan waist packs are not supposed to bounce.  I am hoping these extra 20oz can help me build up to the 14 mile range through the summer months.

On Sunday, I made the fatal mistake of sleeping in.  Sadly, I was very tired and had also gotten up early on Saturday morning to run.  I silenced my alarm and didn't get up until after 9:30pm, far too late to brave the morning heat.  This left me no choice but to run in the evening.  As previously described, evening temps stay in the 90F range up until about 10pm, so I decided that I would make the best of it and run at 8pm, a half hour before the sun went down.  I am babysitting my friend's dog Ike, who loves to run, so I took him along.  Ike is an incredible runner and has a lot of endurance, so I was surprised when both of us were lagging about 45 minutes into the hour run.  At our last intersection, Ike even lay down on the ground, something I never see him do, indicating he was hot, exhausted and running on empty.  We slogged through the last 5 minutes and celebrated with  frosty glasses of water.  The worst part was that, even though I had my new hydration pack, I elected NOT TO BRING IT WITH ME!  A 7 mile run is a standard distance for me, and I convinced myself I wouldn't need it and should wait to use the pack for longer runs.  A mere 3.5 miles into the run, I desperately regretted my decision.

So what have I learned with all these hot weather running?
1) The weather isn't going to get better for awhile.  Don't wait for ideal conditions, just motivate yourself and go out and do it
2) Running in the morning is almost always better than the evening.  Unless there is a massive rain storm and you happen to synchronize your run with the rain
3) Hydration makes a big difference.  Drink drink drink leading up to the run
4) Even dogs hate hot weather running.

When I finally use my new hydration pack, I will write a review with my thoughts about it.  In the meantime, stay cool and run long!

A Long Run Recap

Workout
Yesterday: 7.25 miles with Ike (7:43 pace)
Today: 22 miles in 3:01:50 (8:15 pace)

Suspension bridge across Brazos River in Waco, TX.
The Miracle Match Marathon finishes across this bridge

Today I got up and out early for a grueling long run.  Boyfriend and I are babysitting Ike, who was pretty disappointed that he didn't get to go with me.  Unfortunately for him, 22 miles is just too long, so he had to stay home.  This was my final long run in preparation for the Miracle Match Marathon in Waco, TX.  I signed up to run this race and it takes place on January 30th.  This race is only 4 years old, and is held on the same day as the very popular Houston Marathon, so expect it to be small and low-key, just how I like my marathons!

Counting today, I've had 4 good long runs leading up to this race.  Towards the end of November, I ran a 30k trail race, followed by a 20 mile training run and a 30k training run, and of course today's 22 miler.  Today's weather was cool and calm.  I ran from my apartment, 4.3 miles to Town Lake, around Town Lake with a loop of the steep Stratford Hill Rd, and 4.3 miles back to my apartment.  I was happy with the overall pace, but the last 3 miles of the run were very tough for me.  I had to take a couple walking breaks, my legs were really beat up.  I did however, seem to get a fresh wind around 21 miles, go figure.  I'm hoping that a long taper will give me the extra energy I will need on race day to power through 22 miles, and run 4.2 more.

Speaking of taper, I will have an extra long (and easy one) for this marathon.  Next Saturday, I'm headed to New Mexico for a ski trip with my parents.  I will be out of town for the next two weekends, which is why my longest run had to be 4 weeks out from the race (as opposed to the 3 I would prefer).  I will definitely be bringing running attire with me on the trip, but I know I won't be able to run as frequently or as far as I would prefer.  However, now that I live in TX, its really important to take every skiing opportunity seriously, they are few and far between.

I have been experimenting with my long run nutrition.  A cycling friend of mine mentioned he likes to take dried fruit with him in lieu of gels, bars or sports drinks.  I tried both apricots and dried apples on my run this morning and found them very palatable and (fairly) easy to digest - no harder for me than a sports gel is.  I think I'm going to explore this further for several reasons.  First, I buy dried fruit in bulk, which means that calorie for calorie, dried apricots are way cheaper than GU.  Further, I hate consuming GU without water, it makes my mouth sticky and gross, and it gets all over my hands if I'm not careful.  I didn't have either problem with the dried fruit, which surprisingly I handled well without water.

For Christmas, I received some EnduraSoak bath salts as a gift.  This product is designed to be added to a warm bath as a post-workout recovery system.  The product claims to be gentler than an ice bath but deliver the same results.  I was feeling some serious leg fatigue when I finished my run this morning, so I gave the Rosemary Peppermint salts a try.  I have tried ice baths in the past, and they are extremely effective, albeit uncomfortable, especially in the winter.  So how did the EnduraSoak compare?  At the very least, the bath smelled delicious, and being in warm water was much more comfortable than cold.  At the time, I definitely felt like I noticed the difference, and my legs were significantly less sore today than after previous long runs.  I'd like to say the product was effective, but I won't know for sure until I wake up tomorrow.

Because Ike couldn't run with me this morning, I took him for a consolation walk this evening.  It was a good excuse for me to stretch out my legs.  We practiced walking through the neighborhood off the leash.  Ike was extraordinarily well behaved, staying on the sidewalk and never going into the street without my permission.  Whenever he reached the end of the street, I told him to "wait" and he would stop and wait until I caught up to him.  He is very obedient, which makes him easy to go running, walking and hiking with.  He did get into a little scuffle with a cat, and the cat smacked him on the snout.  I don't think he'll get close enough for that to happen again :)

Put Your Egos Aside and an Ike Update

Workout
Yesterday: 7 miles recovery at 8:46 pace
Today: Rest day, maybe 3.5 miles this evening

Thursday morning I did a track workout.  Like most distance runners, I never look forward to track workouts, because it isn't very fun and it requires effort.  While a leisurely hour long run is relaxing and never leaves me too winded, a track workout (done correctly) is exhausting and uncomfortable.  Also, it has been so long since I did any regular track work that I had to guess what pace would be good for me.  I decided on a ladder starting with a 1600 (7:19), followed by a 1200 (5:23), two 800s (3:27, 3:29) and a fast 400 (1:36) to finish for a total of 3 paced miles.  As the distance decreased, I aimed to increase my pace, which I was (happily) able to do.  This part of the workout was a success.  However, I am not sure I pushed myself enough and next time I will have to aim for a faster pace.  I guess I at least have a starting point now.

So a funny thing happened to me on the track.  I was running on UT's recreational track (i.e. not for the varsity...) and the ROTC groups were doing a morning workout.  A bunch of marines were running paced laps on the track.  I know they were marines because of their shirts.  I start my workout with a 1600 and in a few laps I find myself right behind one of the marines.  We were running almost the same pace, but his was a little slower than my goal pace, so I move to the outside and try to go around him.  He speeds up.  I stay on the outside for a while, in lockstep with him, and then fall back behind.  He slows down.  I try to go around again and he speeds up.  When I go to do my 1200m, the same thing happens!  I end up behind this guy (now running with his buddy), their pace is slower than my goal pace, I speed up to go around, and they both speed up boxing me out!  This same thing starts to happen on the 800m, but by now my pace is more than 20 sec faster per mile than in the 1600m, and I am able to pass the guy without any yo-yoing, although he attempted it.

Its one thing to try and pass someone in a race, but a track workout?  We weren't even doing the same workout!  I think that this guy was embarrassed by the possibility of being passed by a female runner.  I've had similar experiences in small races, and some guys will even come up to me after a race and ask me in a confrontational manner questions about my training and race preparation.  Now don't get me wrong, I realize that most runners, male or female, would never fall into this category.  But for those of you out there like my Thursday morning track buddy, here is my message: Put your ego aside.

The truth is that on any given day, there are plenty of people who are slower than you and also people who are faster than you.  We all need to accept that.  It doesn't mean we can't push ourselves to reach a certain time or place goal in a race, because we should all do that.  However, it does mean we should be courteous to other runners, in races and training.  Don't underestimate someone simply because of their gender, age or physical build.  People are faster than you (and me!) and that's okay.  Runners on average are one of the friendliest and most open groups of people, so I know this doesn't apply to everyone.  Don't let yourself get overly competitive with someone because they are "supposed to be slower" than you.  We can't all be the fastest, Usain Bolt has that one covered.  That is, until someone beats him. Oh wait, didn't Tyson Gaye already do that?

Amanda, walking on the rocks at Bull Creek

Ike swimming in the water

Ok so now I think we all need an Ike update.  The weather this past Sunday was very pleasant and I convinced my boyfriend that we should take our very best doggy buddy, Ike, for a hike.  We picked him up from his Dad's house and drove to the Bull Creek Trail near Old Spicewood Springs road.  This is a very pretty, wooded trail of about 3.5 miles that runs between a ridge and a creek.  There is lots of tree cover, the sun was shining, the creek was running and Ike was delighted!  We walked for about 15 minutes before coming to a rock ledge along the creek with a waterfall.  Here it was deep enough for Ike to swim, so we hung out for a while and let him play in the water.  It was very pretty, as you can see!

Ike focusing on a target rock for his "fishing"

After a very short time, Ike realized that he could pursue one of his favorite activities here - fishing for rocks.  He began finding target rocks, big and small, in the shallow area of the pool.  He uses his paws to dig them up and then carries them in his mouth to safety.  I captured this with pictures, but feel free to check out a video I posted earlier of him doing this at Walnut Creek.

Ike digging for a rock

Ike moving the target rock to its new home

That's all for now!  I'm planning a long run for tomorrow morning and I'm thinking 12 miles.

The Dogs I've Run With, part 2

Workout
Yesterday: 90 minutes of flag football, 3.6 easy miles
Today: 6 recovery miles at 8:47 pace

This morning I ran the Shoal Creek trail from 38th St to 15th St, and then looped back to my apartment through UT Austin's campus.  The Shoal Creek trail runs North-South along Lamar Blvd and eventually connects to the Town Lake trail in the downtown area.  I am very fond of this trail.  This morning there were lots of beings, both human and canine, out enjoying the trail!

That of course brings me to my topic for today, running with dogs part 2.  Last time I told you about the dogs I grew up with, Brandy and Cella.  I have also had the pleasure of running with a few other dogs since moving to Austin.  The first is Bojangles.

Bojangles is a 160+ lb male, un-neutered great dane who thinks he is a lap dog.  He is the faithful companion of another ChemE in my program and I have babysat Bojangles when his owners were out of town.  This dog is a big goof ball who loves attention, physical contact, walks and play time.  I once took him for a 3 mile run on the Shoal Creek trail, and he looked like a horse galloping.  And of course, whenever you take Bojangles anywhere, lots of people stop to ask you about him.  Many have never seen a dog that size, nor such a large un-fixed male (if you know what I mean). I always enjoy the opportunity to hang out with Bojangles, but as far as running companions go, he wasn't the best.  He overheated easily and didn't have a lot of endurance.  Frankly, I think walks are better suited for his personality.

Bojangles, next to a queen size bed

My next running companion was Nelson, an 80 lb St. Bernard/golden retriever mix that I fostered for about 3 weeks.  He was approximately a year old at the time and had been abused and starved by his former owners.  This left Nelson very territorial around food and unable to socialize with other dogs, but deep down he was the sweetest boy.  Even in the short time I had him, Nelson and I bonded a lot and established quite a connection.  He really craved affection and attention.  To burn off some of his energy, my boyfriend and I would take Nelson on runs, varying from 2.5 to 6.5 miles in length.  Nelson was a fireball, he had so much energy that my arm felt like it was being pulled out of its socket!  The sight of squirrels and birds made me fearful because Nelson was after them in seconds and still fixated, even when we were a quarter mile away.  Despite some bad leash manners, I enjoyed running with Nelson because he was such a happy puppy, and after his abusive background, it made me happy knowing that he was still so full of joy and love.

Nelson had this funny habit, in which whenever he scratched himself he involuntarily licked the air.  It was pretty adorable, and you can see it in all its glory in this video:

Ike is my most recent running companion.  I described him in a previous post.  As I mentioned, Ike is the 1.5 year old catahoula/boxer mix belonging to another classmate of mine.  He is super adorable, very vocal, affectionate, energetic, and athletic.  He loves running and has excellent endurance.  We've run for over an hour together before.  He is really well behaved off the leash and I prefer to take him to parks where he can run around and explore.  One morning while running at Walnut Creek, he disappeared behind some trees.  I heard a rustling and then a loud noise as an enormous Buck exploded from the trees and raced across the path with like Ike trying to hold on behind him.  That was probably the closest Ike has ever come to catching a deer and it was pretty exciting for him.  He also likes to hunt toads in my yard.  

Ike has developed a keen understanding of when I'm going running and it kills him to be left behind.  He recognizes my running shoes and clothes, and if I reach for any of these things he is up and by the door ready to come along.  For example, if I take out a sports bra or running shorts, he knows!  It sends him into a frenzy of excitement.  Whenever I babysit Ike, he is a great motivational tool for keeping my morning run routine going because I feel like I'm letting him down if we don't both get our daily dose of adrenaline.  In May, we took him with us for the Schlotsky's bun run 5k, which welcomes dogs and their owners, as long as they start towards the back.  Being in the back wasn't good enough for Ike, who always likes to be in the lead.  Given that this 5k has thousands of people, this wasn't an easy task to accomplish!  Ike pulled me through the crowd, weaving through impossible gaps; it felt like human slalom.  Then, as we went to cross the finish line, he freaked out and became very skittish at the sight of a man dressed in a large sandwich costume.  I guess sandwich costumes are pretty weird though.

I'm sure you will hear a lot more of the running adventures of Ike, because every once in a while I steal him from his dad.

Until next time, A

The Dogs I've Run With, part 1

Workout
Today: 9.12 miles over hills, 8:34 pace

This morning I was up at 6:45am and out for a nice 9 miler.  The original plan was to get up at 6:05 and drive down to Town Lake to run along the river.  However, when my alarm went off, I rebelled, reset the alarm for 6:45 and decided that if I didn't drive and started my run from home, I could probably still finish around the same time or earlier.  I got out the door just after 7am and it was nice and cool, still a little dark out and quiet - my favorite!  I ran west and crossed under the MoPac bridge, headed towards Mt. Bonnell's Covert park.  For those of you familiar with Austin, west = hills, lots of hills.  I found myself on a lot of rollers and a few big climbs before reaping the benefit of the run - a picture perfect view of the Colorado river.

Whenever I do this run, I allow myself to stop for a few minutes once I've reached the top of the trail and I just take in the scenery.  This morning it was perfectly clear, the water was still, and the million dollar homes lining the river front looked as ritzy as ever.  After a few minutes, I head back down the trail and started the steep descent along Mt. Bonnell Rd.  Eventually I started heading east and ended up back home, hungry and thirsty.  Yay long runs!

I love running with dogs.  Not all dogs, but the ones that like to run - no chihuahuas here.  An athletic dog is really the perfect running companion.  They don't bother you with talking, so you have uninterrupted thoughts.  If you want to talk, you can talk to them, just make sure no one else is around.  They are usually faster than you, so they keep you from getting lazy.  They are always excited for a run, so they motivate you to get out the door.  As a woman, you can feel more comfortable running at night or in secluded areas.  And, let's face it, sometimes running alone can get...well...lonely.

As I have previously mentioned, I started running when I was 11.  When I was in 2nd grade (7 yrs old I think), my parents got our first family dog.  Her name was Brandy and she was half Irish setter, half Golden retriever.  At full size, she was about 75-80 lbs and she was beautiful!  She was red-gold in color with the feathering characteristic of both breeds and the long pretty ears of an Irish setter.  She was also very graceful and she loved to run.  My dad was a weekend runner and always took her along.  She would stay on the leash for the first 3/4 of a mile.  Then he would reach a trail that went around a pond in my home time, at which point she would come off the leash.  This was her sign that it was time to flush the birds and she would take off, making sure every goose and duck and squirrel knew this was her territory and they needed to leave.  Then she would run back to my dad and run alongside him for about a mile, at which point she went back on the leash.  When I started running, I commenced this ritual with Brandy and took her with me.  She was very well behaved on the leash.  Sadly, at the young age of 7 yrs, Brandy developed cancer that stiffened her leg joints and prevented her from running.  The cancer quickly spread, causing seizures and other side effects.  When I was 13, she was euthanized.  My dad still does that run, as do I when I am back in Mass, and we have forever named it the Brandy Memorial Run.

Here is a picture of Brandy when she was a puppy, along with my sister and I.  Thanks to my sister for providing it!

When I was a sophomore in high school (16), we got a second dog, Cella.  She is a black lab mix, about 60 lbs of pure muscle.  Cella is much feistier than Brandy, but what she lacks in grace she makes up for in spunk.  Cella is a born runner.  She loves to chase things; birds, squirrels, people, rocks, you name it.  When Cella joined our family, I was halfway through high school and running all the time.  Of course, I couldn't take her to official practices, but any other time I ran, on the weekends or off season, she came with me.  We ran anything from 3 to 6.5 miles back then.  Sometimes when I did track workouts, she would come with me and run around the fields while I did my hamster loops.  When I went to college, Cella stayed with my parents for the first two years.  Whenever they went on vacation, I would watch Cella in my dorm room.  This was not exactly a legal move, but all my dorm mates loved having her around and I was very discrete.  In the mornings, I would take Cella for a run around the Charles river or somewhere else in the city.  This prepared her for the long day of sitting by herself in a dorm room.  I once took her on my 10.5 mile Fresh Pond run, which she completed as happy as ever.  This is the longest run I have ever done with a canine companion.  Cella is a rock.

When I was a junior, Cella moved up to Vermont to finish college with my sister.  My sister now lives in Salt Lake City, and Cella lives there too, so I don't get to run with her anymore.  However, Cella still lives a very active life, with lots of doggy friends, hiking and swimming (see picture below).  She just recently got a new brother, Muscato, who I am eager to meet.  

So Brandy and Cella are the only two family dogs I have ever had, but they are not my only running companions.  I'll expand in my next post, but in the meantime, consider finding your own running companion.

Cooler weather & some flag football

Workout
Today: 6 leisurely morning miles; 8:18 pace
Yesterday: 2 hours of flag football (more on this below!)

So the cooler weather has finally made its way to Austin.  This week has been amazing, with morning temps in the low 60s and daytime highs around mid 80s.  Running in this cooler weather has been awesome!  On Monday I had a great run in the dark/dawn light.  I was watching my friend's dog Ike who is an amazing running partner.  He is some kind of catahoula/boxer mix, but ultimately one of the fastest dogs I know and he has lots of endurance.  He loves running with me, so I took him for a 6 miler along the Shoal Creek Trail, so he was off leash most of the time.  Ike is a very unique dog; for example, he likes fishing for rocks.  Check out this video:

This morning I could not run with Ike, instead I ran on my own; 6 miles with two loops around Mueller Lake, which is just east of I-35.  I enjoyed the run because it was cool out and I started just as the sun was coming up.  But, my legs were pretty tired.  That is because I played two hours of flag football last night.

As I mentioned in my first post, I am a ChemE grad student at UT Austin.  For the past 6+ years, the ladies in my department have maintained an all girls IM flag football team called the CHEetahs (get the pun?).  This is my third year on the team and because a lot of the older girls have graduated in four years, it also makes me the most experienced girl on the team.  For this reason, I inherited the captain duties, which include recruiting new people to join, holding practices, teaching the new people the rules, registering our team, and sadly playing the quarterback position.  See out previous captain was very athletic and motivated and could throw well.  Because of her, we went to the Women's finals the last two years and because much more competitive and organized.  But, she graduated this summer and because she can't play anymore we needed a new quarterback.  No one else really wanted to do it, which left me.  Having never played any competitive ball sports except soccer (in which throwing the ball is almost always illegal), I was not well equipped to QB.

Our first game was on Sept 12, and we got creamed, 19-0.  Granted, the team we played against was very good and athletic and experienced (I recognized almost everyone from previous seasons), it was demoralizing for me.  I wasn't able to move the ball up field efficiently at all, and we only got 2 first downs.  I did notice massive improvements in our defense from the first to second half, though.  All of the other teams TDs were in the first half, none in the second.

Our second game was last night and in between the two we have been practicing twice a week and working through the kinks.  We are a relatively young team, with only 3 experienced players.  In IM football, there are 7 girls on the field at once. With only a 9 person team, scrimmaging at practice has been a real challenge.  We try to drag guy friends out to play with us, but it can be hit or miss.  Fortunately, my patient boyfriend is willing to throw the football around for hours with me and my range and accuracy are getting better.  And while determination/practice have led to significant improvements, I still feel quite limited in my abilities. 

Last night's game was a relative success, we won 24-0.  Granted, the team we played was much less skilled than our first opponent, but they weren't terrible.   Two of the TDs were running plays with the running back, one was a pick-6, and one was run in by me!  Overall, the throwing game wasn't great, I still need to work on that, but it was a big morale boast for me and my teammates to have a successful game.  We of course celebrated with a trip to Amy's ice cream, where I had a delicious fruit smoothie (I hadn't eaten dinner yet!)