Oregon 5k9 Run

 I got a chance to do a race with Lily and the proceeds went to a great cause, to the police K9 fund.

It was a super hot day and we ended up running 35 minutes and 11 seconds. Not too bad for a poop stop and a looooooong water break on this hot day. If not for those delays, we could've broke 30 minutes.

Still proud of my pup though. I love running with her!

Relaxing before the race

On our run. She's a great pacer.

Getting misted on and cooling off after the run

Drinking lots of water to cool down

A treat for doing an awesome job!

Resting before heading out

My awesome running buddy

Oops, Mom lost the car key and are now waiting for Aunt Linda

Resting after a long exhausting day

My 29th BDay

I decided for my birthday to head down to Chicago to celebrate and to visit with some good old friends of mine. Lots of eating and drinking and hanging out. We had a lot of fun and appreciate the hospitality from the Lesners and Innerfields while we were there for the weekend.

Lily and Jax in the makeshift dog park

No ball to play with but a stick will do

Out to dinner

Thanks ladies for a great time!

Boys being boys

Jaeger Bombs

Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon

So last year was the first year I had started running. I had accomplished many goals for the first year of running. The one thing I didn't do was a marathon so I set that to be my big goal this year. I was determined to train well for it. That didn't happen.

You might hate me, think I'm stupid or be in awe after reading this. My training only included the half marathon I had run a month ago, and a couple of 8 mile runs before the marathon. I know it's not an excuse but I was extremely busy working 40 hours/week on my feet and having three classes. But I did have one thing on my side. My strength and will to complete a task.

I had my cheering crew with me. Joshua, Lily, Linda and Andrew. They were such a big help. I think I saw them on the route two or three times. Every time I saw them cheering me on, it gave me an energy boost. Just when I thought I couldn't go any further, I would see them.

I really had wished I had trained more for this. When the race started, I felt good. One mile into it, I thought that this wasn't going to be so bad. Three miles in, still feeling good. I was in my stride by then. Five miles goes by then eight. My pace was steady through eight miles, which made me happy.

Then I got to the half marathon mark. It all suddenly sank in. I've never ran more than 13 miles straight through in my life. Now that I ran 13 miles, I still had 13 more to go. I felt my energy going down. However, each step I took was now the furtherest I had ever run before.

By mile 16, I was hurting...a lot. My calves were on fire, my toes were blistering and my arms were so tired. For some reason, my breathing was fine. That I can control.

Every time I stopped to walk, it hurt. Every time I started back up to run, it hurt. All this walk/run/walk/run was more painfully than just running. So when I hit mile 20, I decided no more walk and to just run through the pain.

I was running or more like jogging kinda. I think people walking could've been faster than me. But I wasn't going to stop. I even skipped the last two water stations knowing I wouldn't make it if I stopped.

I did inspire a guy though. I must've ran past him at some point and he must've seen me skip the water station and not stop to walk. At this point of the race, it was the stragglers left and most were running then walking and so on. The guy all of a sudden caught up to me. We started talking and he had told me that I was his inspiration to keep running.

That felt incredibly great and helped me continue running and not stop. We talked for a bit running side by side, each of us motivating the other. When we came upon the last water stop, he stopped for a drink and that's where we said our goodbyes since I had told him and myself that I couldn't stop running.

Soon, I could see the end was near. That made me push even harder and not stop. I was so close to finishing. Then I saw my cheering crew. What a sweet sight. I crossed the finish line and couldn't believe it. I finished a marathon. Not well, but I finished.

I grabbed some food and drinks in the finishers area and headed to my cheering section. Lily rushed towards me and I fell down. She was only 3 months at this point and almost 30 pounds and I was exhausted! We stayed for a little bit to drink some beers. Well, I deserved it! Then I continued to pass out for the next few days.

I'm hoping the next time I run a marathon, I will be more prepared. Yes, there will be another marathon. Not right away but someday.

Madison Mini Marathon

Year 2 of this half marathon for me. However, I wasn't feeling that great about it since I had been so busy with a new house and new puppy. I didn't get to run as much and never quite ran the miles I wanted to for this race.

I was lucky to have two supporters there with me this year. Joshua and our new puppy addition, Lily. We had only had her for 5 days and I thought this event would be a perfect way to get her used to big crowds and she was the center of attention.

We got to the event with plenty of time to warm up so Lily and I jogged down State Street for a bit, her first ever running on a leash with me. The sky was looking grim as I lined up with my group at the starting line. Then they announced a rain delay. Great! I was separated from Joshua too. At least I remembered him saying they were going to take a walk along the lake so I headed that way and luckily was about to connect with them.

Good thing too since the storm delay lasted an hour and a half. We ended up sitting underneath an eave to get shielded from the rain. It was a crazy storm too! Thunder and lightening and tons of rain. Luckily, they did not cancel the race. Joshua and I were a bit scared wondering how Lily would deal with the storm but nothing! Didn't even phase her with all the loud noises above us.

They finally called us back to the starting line as it was still lightly raining. By the time we started, it became a steady rain which I didn't mind so much running in it. 3 miles of running in the pouring rain and even though I was glad it stopped, later I wished it was still raining cause I was so hot!

Even though it poured throughout the morning, it eventually stopped and never came back. The last 10 miles were running in the sun. Really, I wished the rain had come back.

I may not have trained very well for this race but I felt extremely good and never walked (always a plus!). 13.1 miles later, I crossed the finish line at 2 hour 5 minutes and 55 seconds, 8 minutes faster than last year! I think the inspiration was Joshua and Lily. I just could not wait to see them, especially since we had just gotten Lily, I didn't want to be away from her long. I was sad I didn't get to see them at the finish line...apparently they got stuck in traffic coming back to the union but I did see them at some point in the race cheering me on.

It took awhile to reconnect but when we did, Lily was so excited to see me. And that was when I got to hear some of Joshua's stories. I guess with Joshua toting a cute chocolate lab puppy around town, he got stopped a lot for all the people wanting to pet her. Especially the ladies. If he was single, he wouldn't have been by the end of the day. Even the guys were giving Joshua props for attracting all the ladies. Joshua says to this day that all he wanted to do was see me race and not have all these people come up to him.

So after hanging out at the Terrace for a bit and enjoying my beer, we headed back to the car. Since we were out on the streets a lot during the storm, Lily became a police officer's new best friend. We passed by this officer on the way to our car and Lily recognized her. I wonder if she would again if we ever saw this officer.

The cutest thing about this day was when Lily passed out in the car ride home. All I wanted to do was cuddle with her and do the same thing. My goal next year is to run under 2 hours, if I train enough.

Lily taking a jog with me before
the race down State Street

Saying goodbye and getting a good luck kiss from her

All set to go!

Rain delay so we had to find an overhang to hide under.
Lily's first storm with thunder and lightening, and no fears!

Second time around to see me off

Getting a medal for finishing another half +
Getting greeted by my puppy = Happy day

Another half in the books

Our cute little family pic, except Lily
was more interested in my medal

Passed out on the ride home which is
what I did when I got home myself

Our First Puppy!

Ever since we talked about getting a house, we also talked about getting a puppy. I didn't want to get one until Joshua slowed down at work since I was busy with work and was about to go back to school for the fall. At first, we wanted to get a Huskie but then we decided on a Chocolate Lab.

One day when I got done bartending, Joshua made me go see some pups. Still too early but what's the harm in looking? Famous last words.

We went to Evansville, about 15 minutes away to see some Choc Lab puppies. D'awwwwww!!! They were too cute. There were three left, 2 male and 1 female. We knew we wanted a female but I still wasn't sure if now was a good time to get a puppy to train.

There was one pup that had a bum leg. We found out that he was born with some sort of bacteria in his front leg and the vet had to operate on his leg to fix it. He wasn't suppose to survive but he did which is why the breeders named that only puppy Lucky, the rest had no names. Although, he'll forever have a gimip.

I really wanted to take that puppy home but since it was going to be our first dog and I wanted a dog to run with, I had to force myself to let that puppy go. (It did eventually go to a friend of the breeder's and he is living a healthy normal life with a gimpy leg.)

We kept an eye on the female pup and boy, well, girl, she knew how to work her magic. She walked up to me and I bent down to pet her and she gave me a ton of kisses. Then next thing I knew, she laid down by my feet and put her head on my feet. Crap, I think we're about to own a dog. And yes, we had to take her home right then and there.

Best decision ever! She was so playful and kind and happy (although her sharp baby teeth were not so gentle to us). I think that if she had been trained early, she could've made a great guide dog for someone but I'm really glad she's with us.

Oh, her name? Lily. How did we come up with that? Well, Joshua says he came up with it because our flowers for the wedding were lilies. I, on the other hand, had just recently started watching Modern Family. First episode, at the end of the show, two gay guys adopt an Asian baby girl and named her Lily. Another member of the family said, "Lily. Isn't that going to be hard for her to say?". So even though we disagree on who came up with the name, at least we agreed on a name.

Lily, our new chocolate lab :)

These pics are when she was 7 to 9 weeks old. She grew up so fast!

Exploring her new home

Cuddling up to her new owner

Nap time!

She wasn't quite sure about the ball...
Now I have to put it away from time to
time cause she plays with it so much!

She's not too happy cause it's too big for her

Her first and not the last toy she destroys

I love the way she sleeps

Kisses to Joshua

This was the moment I knew she'd be a runner with me

She loves Aunt Linda