Day 7/9 of Marathon Training, and Law Day luncheon

Today was week 1, day 2 of my marathon training program.  I didn't run yesterday.  Yesterday was a horrible day for me and I just didn't have the time.  Today I ran 3 miles along a Rio Grand trial with my friend Carey and her dog Tux. Sadly I didn't bring Venus because I had to go straight to my writing group meeting afterwards. It was a hard run but a nice trail. It is close to the Flying Star in the North Valley which is pretty close to where I live and not far from where Carey lives on the West Side. There's a dirt path along each side of the ditch bank and it goes very far. There are some pretty houses and yards to look at while passing by, and it's a nice place for the dogs. At one part it is very clumpy with sand, which was annoying. Other than that I like the route a lot and want to do it again soon! It took me 34 minutes which is s-l-o-w but it really felt hard! Carey kicks my butt and I have to get into better shape to catch up with her!

Also today I attended the Albuquerque Bar Association luncheon, which is held the first Tuesday of every month, and today was the Law Day lunch.  The national purpose of the American Bar Association was to celebrate the legacy of John Adams, and this was mentioned at our lunch but no one really talked about it in depth.  Instead Chief Justice of the NM Supreme Court, Justice Charles Daniels, gave a really interesting talk on technology in the Supreme Court and the law, from the quill to the computer. It encompassed a lot of things from early New Mexico history about how at one point the territorial map put us in Texas (the line was drawn to the Rio Grande) and how at another time the territory of New Mexico stretched through Nevada, making "Caesar's Palace a place in New Mexico." It was quite funny and entertaining. I also had the opporunity to visit with a lot of friends, former law school classmates and former colleagues (I've worked at four firms in the past five years, so, I have a lot of former colleagues. ;)

In other news, I put my deposit down for the apartment yesterday, so I'm definitely moving! I have a couple weeks to sort through my stuff and then I think I'm going to start moving in around May 14th, but I don't have to be out of my house until May 31st because I already paid for the last month's rent. I like that I have a lot of time to do it and I want to make sure I set up my new place very nicely, because I never really got around to setting up my current place at all. I always thought I would either move back into my own house across the street, or move back home to Pennsylvania/Maryland where my family is! Now I'm still here and it's time to get organized and finally settle in.

Day 5/6 of Marathon Training

Today I did my long run, on the treadmill at Riverpoint Sports & Wellness because I was over on the West Side to get a pedicure with my friends Jessica and Jena. (We went to Nail Time at Montano Plaza-- it's where Jena always goes and they were very good. They're a bit on the expensive side but in my opinion, well worth it.) I ran 4 miles; I alternated my pace but overall my time was 44 minutes. I always run faster and get more of a workout on the treadmill; it's my preferred way to run but I try not to do it too often because I need the altitude and incline training that's more in line with a real road race, and my dog Venus can't exactly run with me on the treadmill.

I signed up for the Run for the Zoo 5K tomorrow. I'm not in race shape but I figure it will give me a good starting time to build off of. I've never done the race but I've heard it's a fun time.

Speaking of races, I received some bad news: our group did not get chosen in the lottery to run the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. :( I'm so bummed because I was really looking forward to it. My sister and I are going to pick another marathon to run around that same time period. So for now I'm training for a marathon, but I'm not sure which one!


Yesterday was a much-needed rest day. I was so busy I didn't get time to run; plus it was time to give my body a break anyway!

I took Katie to the physical therapy vet and they said she is doing very well in her progress of recovering after surgery. :-) They put her in the water treadmill for a little bit and she loved it, even though she usually hates water! They also showed me some exercises to do with her on a fitness ball. The vet pinched her front paw with pliers and she felt a little bit of pain; the vet said that's a good sign for sensation returning to that leg that they were worried about due to nerve damage. So that was great news, and then I brought Katie into the office with me. She was pooped and I think a bit overwhelmed by the visitors; she basically just slept by my desk until I took her home. Everyone at work was so concerned about her and happy to meet her; it was sweet.

After work I did some much-needed grocery shopping and household goods shopping at Walmart. Boy do I hate Walmart and I usually try to avoid it but the vet had said to get Katie's heating pads there. I got $130 worth of other stuff as well! I finally have some food and paper towels and stuff.  When I got back home I did Katie's electro-magnetic therapy treatment while I finished watching the movie Conviction. It is based on the true story of a woman who went to law school solely to prove that her brother, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole, was innocent. It was very inspiring and happy-sad; I found myself crying! I would really recommend it. It was nice to see a movie about lawyers that seemed realistic, although there were a few things that didn't make sense or seem right to me about the process (but I don't do criminal law so I'm not sure.) As a bonus Juliette Lewis has a small but great part in the movie, and I love love love her.

Hilary Swank as a law student preparing to free her brother from prison

Oh, Juliette -- you're so good at playing crazy people!

My BFF Jessica was on a bowling date and she asked if I wanted to meet up for drinks. So I met her at Anodyne downtown. It's a pretty chill place with an eclectic crowd, mostly hippy-types and students. I was in really relaxed clothes and it was funny to walk down Central by all the girls decked out in club clothes. We had a nice chat and a couple drinks and then I went back home to go to bed! That was my Friday night-- I sure am getting old.

Start of NWM Training Program!

Today was Day 1 of my training for the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco, in October.  My sister and I just signed up for it.  There's a lottery system and we only get in if our group is pulled (we are in a group of about 300 people, which I was invited to join by a co-worker who is also in the group). If we don't get in, we'll just run another marathon around that time.  But hopefully we'll get in!

I'd been running 2.5 to 3 miles a day a few times a week with my big dog Venus. Part of it was with my little dog Katie, before Katie got hit by a car last week and required surgery, from which she is still healing and may never totally heal enough to run. :-( I had just started interspersing speed and hill intervals and some pace runs, as well as weights. So my new plan has me starting off at 3.5 miles, which I ran today. I ran along the ditch bank near Candelaria, with my dog Venus. I'll increase the distance every week from there, until I'm running 5 to 6 miles regularly, as well as a long run each week, and I will vary the workouts such as hills, speed, pace and tempo.  I also plan to do weights and cross-training. I have a Garmin GPS stopwatch to track my distance, time and pace, but at the moment (and for some time!) I'm not able to find its charger, and it's one of those picky chargers that can't be replaced with a USB cord or phone charger. So for now I'm estimating my distance based on time/feeling. It took me 40 minutes.

Our goal is to be in the best shape ever on October 16th.  Go us!  (Bikini, here I come). I'm at least 25 pounds overweight, so, I have a long way to go, but over 6 months to get there.

(This image is most likely copyright Nike Women's Marathon)

Other than for starting my training program, today was relatively uneventful. At work I found out that two of my small (metro/magistrate court) cases are set for trial in May. My BFF Jessica's car broke down so I took her to the car place -- I'm crossing my fingers for her that it's nothing major!! I took my dog Katie to her physical therapy appointment where they removed her catheter and told me she is making great process (it's been a week and a day since she was hit; she had pelvis surgery on Wednesday, and I brought her home on Friday).  Her disposition and attitude is pretty much back to its normal content, perky, low-key self, which makes me very happy!!!, but she can't stand on her right legs yet at all. I'm supposed to "walk" her with her sling/harness out to the yard to pee. Today it didn't go so well, as she didn't pee outside (she did eat a lot of weeds) but a short while after I brought her in, she peed on the floor.  Good thing it's tile! I just hope she gets the hang of it soon.  I'm considering posting a photo of her when I first brought her home or in the vet hospital, but it's very depressing.  I was sure she was a goner and I can't believe how well she's doing everyday. It's a lot of work-- meds, exercises, first changing her catheter and now taking her outside in her condition, physical therapy/electromagnetic treatment at home, taking her to the vet hospital for progress check-ups, etc... but I'm thinking it's really worth it since she is recovering so well.  Here are a couple pictures, from yesterday (she sure perked up on Easter, so she must have known it was a day to celebrate a new season and new beginnings!):

She was never a lapdog to begin with, but she's been letting me hold her on my lap and bounce her as if she's running, which the vet says is a good exercise for her legs. Here's to Katie's continued recovery. :)