Roll with it

So this morning I posted how happy I was that I was learning how to fit in my workouts. Well it's Wendesday evening, and I have yet to go to the gym. The plan was to go with the hubs when he got home. Instead, I find myself plowing through work in front of one of my fav. TV shows (NCIS) and two sleeping pups next to me. Sure I'm frustrated that tonight didn't go as planned. But I can appreciate the fact that the dogs are very sweet, and I'm being productive. What's the saying when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Perhaps I can try to make it to the gym for 5am. Fingers crossed.

Fitting it in

I'm a few weeks from claiming I'm back in shape. But what I can say is that I've been doing a much better job at finding time to work out. I'm up to 4 consistent workouts a week. I find that when I push too hard to go in the morning, it just doesn't happen. Lately I've been going as soon as I'm home from work. That means that the dogs are stuck in the house an whole hour longer. If I've been stuck at work longer than I'd like, then I work out at home. I take the dogs for a super long walk, and then give Willow a stuffed kong. I head to the basement and do a little kickboxing. I've taken enough classes and can keep moving for 45 min. Willow isn't quite comfortable with it yet. She checks in on me frequently. I know it's not running, but at least it's something.

Willow improved!

For the last 18 months, Joe and I have been living in terror. Every day we push our favorite items to the far recesses of the counter so that Willow, the surfing monster, can't steal our valuables. This past year she has been responsible for the loss of a blackberry, multiple socks, and has damaged countless electronic. (Please see exhibit A, the remote control.)

So you can imagine my shock when I was able to recover my snow boot, fully intact. I have been trying to leave less valuable items, within the theif's reach, as sort of a temptation. Astonishingly she has been ignoring most things. Today the urge to nab my boots must have overwhelmed her because I could hear an awkward scuffle in the kitchen. I could tell she had made off with something bigger than normal. Remaining calm, I called to her. Immediately she came to me, boot in mouth with a devious grin. Normally it's at this moment where she thinks the chase is about to begin, wags her tail feverishly, and when she can't contain herself anymore, she dashes away. Not so on this wondeful morning. I quietly asked her to "drop it," and with that my boot fell to the floor and she eased back into a sit. She waited motionlessly while I leaned forward to scoop up by boot. I might be a little embarassed to admit that I showered her with praise and high pitched squeals of how proud of her I was.

Gym buddy

Nothing is better than having someone to motivate you. The hubs accompanied me to the gym last night. We were a good team. Joe couldn't bring himself to get in the car, which is where my nagging skills come in handy. And parked outside the gym in our toasty warm car was where he pushed me to go inside. Even inside the gym all I wanted to do was get on am eliptical and glide my way through the work out. After exiting the locker room I spotted him on a treadmill with an open machine on either side. Side by side we pushed each other through a 45 minute work out. I focused on speed and tries to catch up to his distance since he had been on for 5 min. Everytime he increases his pace, I sped up too. At the end, we had each done just over four miles. What could have been a casual jaunt on the eliptical turned into a heart racing workout with my gym buddy.

New year, new sneaks

Today is the first day back on the treadmill in 2010. My new kicks accompanied me for a 3 mile walk/run. I wanted to take it slow today with the hope that I'll start training for speed next week. The new sneakers made such a difference, especially since the cushioning has that new springy feel to it. My last pair were Asics kayanos, and after 600 miles, I had matching holes on the toe box. These were my first asics and I decided to stick with the brand, and bought a much cheaper shoe, the gel 1150. So far so good.

What I want in 2010

I know most people fear the resolution because it's more of an ideal than an action item. It's a nice thing to talk about, but it's usually pretty scary to think about accomplishing. I enjoy the new beginnings of 2010. It's a fresh start and a chance to do things differently. Here is what I want out of 2010.
Focus on running all year
Last year I got really serious about running for the half, and then I kind of let things die down. I'm going to push to make running an all year goal. I've already put together a short list of races for 2010.
March - simple 5k
May - Ragnar Relay
End of June - Half Marathon
October - Half Marathon
December - Vegas Marathon
This may be a bit ambitious, but I'm just in the planning stage. I know that I'd like to run a full marathon, and now that I have a group of friends to train with, it seems this might be the best year for it.
Take Willow to Agility
Willow has more energy than my husband and I combined, and we've had the trainer come to our house several times. Her newest suggestion is to take Willow to agility classes. It'll teach her to be aware of her body, and suck up some of that crazy energy. If she likes it, we can even get some equipment set up in the backyard so she can go through the exercises at home.
Find a dance class
It's been too long, and I've made too many excuses, there is no reason I can't find a dance class.
Work on the house
The hubs really wants to finish the basement, and I really want him to have a space to call his own. After almost three years in the house, it's time to focus on making it a home. We had only planned for this to be our 5 to 7 year home, but after the market took a turn, we're thinking we'll be there a little longer.

So if I focus on these goals, 2010 might just turn out to be a pretty great year.