Mini-Heart 15K Race Report (lots of cussing)

This was my 4th year running the Mini-Heart 15k.

2006 1:30:34 (9:32 pace)
This was my 1st year running a 15k. When I entered the race, the farthest I had ran was a 10k. My 1st Doberman Cheeko, had just gotten home from OSU's cardiac ICU. He had cardiomyopathy. And I was running a race that benefited heart disease. And the t-shirt they gave out had DOGS running on it. I cried the entire race. Cheeko dropped dead 4 months later while we were in a pet store.

2007 1:34:50 (10:11 pace)
This was my 1st year training for a marathon. I had 18 miles on my schedule, so I ran from house, to the race, ran the 15k with a friend from work, and then ran home. I actually ran closer to 19 miles that day.

2008 1:24:57 (9:07 pace)
I really wanted to run well and I was SO happy with this pace. I blogged about it last year.

So now I have been doing speedwork, every fucking week, for the last 6 months. 400's, 800's, 1200's, 1600's. I am trying. I really am. I am running sub 8's during mile repeats, my 800's are averaging 3:45. I should be running faster. My legs should be able to handle the pain. Right?

I wanted to finish under 1:20. When I knew that wasn't gonna happen, I told myself if I can have sub 9's I'll be happy.

2009 1:23:05 (8:56 pace)

This 8:56 pace HURT. Yea, it's a PR but for me, it's not hard to PR since I suck so badly anyways. I have goals for this upcoming marathon that probably won't happen. It hurts too fucking much.

The race was miserable. Rainy, windy, and COLD. I was hurting on the hills, trying to stay under 9 minute miles. It is so fucking stupid that this pace is so hard for me. SO stupid. I also had that feeling like I have when I run on the track - the OH FUCK I AM GONNA PUKE AND CRAP AT THE SAME TIME. And for a sub 9 minute pace? Come on. Ridiculous.

Once the race was over, I was happy with my time. I was happy I stayed under 9's, but then I had to run 11 more miles because I had 20 on the schedule.

I was wet, miserable, and not looking forward to windy rainy weather we were having.

I drove home with Dominic (who rode fixed downtown while I ran the race). Changed clothes, had a EAS protein drink, gel, water, grabbed Ari and left. Me and Ari ran back downtown, to the starting line of the race. They were still cleaning up, so I was able to bum a water and a banana for Ari. Then we turned around and headed home, for a total of 20 miles.

Next year I am gonna say FUCK OFF to running. Next year I am going to ride my bike.

Testing Testing 123

About 2 weeks ago, I had really bad stomach pain. I came home from work early, doubled over in pain. I could barely drive home. The following Monday I saw my DR and she did some bloodwork and a few other tests. She called last week and asked me to get a cat scan of my kidneys. I had that done yesterday along with more bloodwork.

The CT sucked ass! I couldn't eat for 4 hours prior to my appointment time which was at 1pm. I got up at 5:30am, swam, came home, had oatmeal, walked the dogs in the woods, came home by 8:30, had an egg sandwich and coffee, and then had to stop eating and drinking by 9am.

They had to put an IV in so they could inject this dye into my veins. It's hard to find a vein on me, I always have to tell them where to stick the needle. So the dye goes in, and I get this metal taste in my mouth, and the feeling of having to pee. Finally it was over and I could eat again.

Today is a rest day after 13 consecutive days of training. I slept about 9 hours last night, though I still feel tired. I am working from home today.

Tomorrow is the Mini-Heart 15k (9.3miles) and they are predicting cold temps and lots of rain and wind. I have 20 miles on the schedule so I'll have to run 11 more miles after the race is over. Fuck.

Have a good weekend and thanks for reading.....

P.S. Claire turned me onto BuckeyOutdoors.com where I can log all my training, and link it up on my blog via a sidebar. Look to the right and scroll down if you are interested. I am posting my swim sets there, as well as my track workout times. It helps me to remember what I need to work towards. I also like seeing my weekly totals.

Couch hog

Riding my bike

I went out for a solo ride on Tuesday. Not really thinking about where I was going, or for how long. I was sore from my long run in the woods on Monday so I was taking it somewhat easy. I have worn my helmet the last two rides. If you read this blog, you know I don't usually wear a helmet. I don't have any confidence right now when it comes to my cycling. I have been riding mostly on the trainer or rollers for most of the last 3 months and I don't give a shit how many hours you spend on the trainer, it's not the same as riding in traffic. You forget your bike handling skills.

At least I have.

I kept my ride around town for 30 miles, staying on busy roads, making myself feel uncomfortable in the traffic.

I was remembering the way I used to feel on a bike. I was totally without fear. We rode around SF on mountain bikes with the handlebars cut down, so we could fit between cars. We ran red lights, stop signs, etc. When I came back to Cincinnati, I rode my bike everywhere. I even rode it to the methadone clinic. I had a bike I borrowed from Emily when I lived in a halfway house for 6 months. It was the only form of transportation I had. I was never scared.

Now I ride just to ride. To go fast. To stay in shape.

Somewhere, I lost my confidence. I am scared of the cars. I am scared to let it fly, as Zanne says.

I hope this feeling doesn't last.

Monday Monday

Man I feel fucking old. I am really getting there. I feel old. Or should I say older? I am going to be 39 in July. Sometimes it feels like I have lived twice that long. I am tired. My body is tired.

Thank you for voting for me in Steve in a Speedo's short story contest. Out of 34 stories, I came in 3rd. YAY for new socks! 6 pair of DRY MAX running socks! Thanks SOOO much!

Running for Rescue update - I have raised about $600 so far for Northcoast Doberman Rescue. 5 weeks to go. $400 more to raise. Donate here. Thanks to those that have donated!

It's been a busy few days, as usual.

The schedule called for 15 miles and I ran it on trails today with Sandi and Heather. It was nice to get off the road and run trails, but I haven't been on trails much, so my muscles are very sore and tired. It's very different than road running. Different impact.

Yesterday I got in a 3000y swim and then met up with Sandi, a guy named Joe, and with Dominic, we all rode about 40 miles. It was a nice Sunday afternoon, 60's, sunny. Weather here has been dry, sunny, and 60's, just for your information.

The ride consisted of 10 miles up and down some nice hills, to the bike trail, hopped on that for 10 miles, turned around, rode back, then huge hills back to the cars. The hills were fun and my bike is fun to climb on! But the bike trail sucked!

Can I tell you how much I hate being on any bike trail on a Sunday afternoon, in warm weather? There are too many people out there riding, roller blading, walking dogs...the crowded sidewalks are an accident waiting to happen. I also hate riding my road bike on the bike trail. Give me my fixed gear, a Monday afternoon when it's not crowded, and I'll ride the bike trail all day long.




Sandy and Joe




I am wearing my helmet!




Fishie Update
This is the 75 gallon Bat Tank. Isn't it cool? That's a real Batman toy figure in the back of the tank. Dominic fabricated the entire thing. The bottom, though you can't see it, is also all Batman.

Rocco needs some rocks and maybe some fake vines. The only problem is that Rocco isn't doing well at all. He is not going to make it I am afraid. We have dosed him with meds, have done everything we can to try and save him, but the infection is too far gone. His color has faded and he seems to be fading. I am sad for him. Dominic worked his ass off on his tank too.




Bruno is doing well. He is very happy living with us, he has become a different dog. I take him to the woods every day and let him run off leash with Ari and Lucy. We have come across other loose dogs in the woods, and Bruno isn't agressive towards dogs anymore! He even got humped by a pit mix today and he didn't get mad. It is amazing.





Ok, so I had to do it. SO vain, I know. I can't help but be fucking proud. And compare it to last year.

Stick Dog

I am tired. I am sleeping in tomorrow and can't wait.

I have been having some stomach pain this week. I had some bloodwork done. Everything was normal. Waiting on some other tests the DR did on Friday. I am irritated with my DR. The lab at her office really sucks too.

Here is a cute video of sweet Bruno playing with a stick.



Have a good weekend.....

It's simple

Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,
so love the people who treat you right,
forget about the ones who don't,
and believe that everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance, take it.
If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life would be easy,
they just promised it would be worth it.
Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
And enjoy your life.

*I don't know who wrote this. It was sent to me by a good friend via email.

Touched the Floor

Reminders!

*Vote for me at Steve in Speedo's Blog

*Donate to Running for Rescue - only 6 weeks left!

*Buy skincare and donate to Running for Rescue!

I've got a bike, you can ride it if you like.
It's got a basket, a bell that rings
And things to make it look good.
I'd give it to you if I could, but I borrowed it.

I got all my stuff done early this week so I could ride on Tuesday. Weather predictions were looking good, sun and 70's.

First we got up and took all the dogs to the woods. Bruno's energy is up and it makes Dominic smile to see him enjoying life. There are videos here and here if you want to check them out.

After we had a huge breakfast, Dominic and I argued about where to ride. I wanted to ride for 3 hours or more and he had to be back by 3pm to work at the bike shop. I wanted to ride country roads in KY and he wanted to ride down Eastern ave.

Finally we left and headed downtown. It was St. Patrick's day and lunch time so there were tons of people outside. We had all green lights coming down 7th, we were going faster than the cars. I was leading, Dominic on my wheel. Coming across Vine st., there were two lanes of cars. I slowed to go in between the cars and Dominic comes up from behind me, on my left, out of fucking nowhere, and BAM I GO DOWN! I was going pretty fast, about 13-15mph.

I fell to the left, on my hands and hip, head up.

The 1st thoughts going through my head were OMG MY BIKE and HOW EMBARRASSING.

I get up, grab my bike, and about 30 people standing outside a bar on 7th start clapping. One girl asked if I was ok, and I was just grinning, ear to ear. Happy I was ok, my bike was ok, and that I fell to the left.

My hands were the only thing that got fucked up. I had a bit of road rash on my knee and today my wrists are black and blue.

I got back on my bike and we went on our ride.

We rode down Eastern, did a few loops at Lunkin, and then Dominic and I headed back downtown where we split up,. He headed home and I headed over to KY for some boring route 8 riding by myself.

I rode a little over 50 miles.

After I touched the floor.

Thanks

First things first. I have received so many emails and comments regarding Bruno and I just want to say THANKS THANKS AND THANKS for your support. It is awesome to open up my email and see so many positive comments.

In case you want to know, Bruno is on an assortment of stuff.

1. Prednisone. This put the cancer in remission but is only expected to work for 2 months. It's a powerful steroid that makes him pee a lot. We can't really be gone more than 3-4 hours at a time. And we have to let him out as soon as we get home, or he'll pee just waiting for us to open the back door. It has happened. And once he starts, he can't stop the flow.

2. 6000mg of fish oil.

3. Vitamin E.

4. 500mg of L-Arganine (supposed to stop the growth of tumors).

5. Detoxosode - a homeopathic remedy to undo the flea and tick meds that Dominic's Mom put on him 2 weeks ago.

6. K-9 Immunity - a very powerful and $$$$$ supplement to boost the immune system. This stuff is good but a bottle costs 70 bucks every 2 weeks. Not sure how long we can keep that up.

7. K-9 Transfer factor. You can read about that here.

His diet is all raw meat. Zero carbs. Cancer feeds off sugar and carbs turn into sugar. So he gets eggs every day, cottage cheese, whole fat yogurt, greens such as spinach or green beans, organ meat and muscle meat, including heart. He gets freeze dried liver for treats, or cheese cubes. He attacks his food.

Bruno has good energy. As long as Bruno is feeling good, Dominic seems to feel good. We took all the dogs to the woods yesterday morning where Bruno rolled in deer shit and had a grand old time. We laughed and created a GREAT memory.

Once I told Dominic it's not about us, it's about Bruno, he finally got it. We are going to make the best of his last months here with us.

Bruno has lost a ton of muscle. You can see from this picture taken a year ago.

This was taken on Sunday after my 19.2 mile run. His neck and chest have lost so much muscle, he can't wear his collar anymore. It falls off.

Speaking of running. I had an 18 mile run on Sunday. I had a 9 mile out and back mapped out, but missed the 9 mile marker and ended up going 9.67 miles so the run was actually 19.2 miles. I wasn't even sore. So that's a good sign.

One last thing. Could you PLEASE go and vote for my story on Steve in a Speedo's blog? He is running a contest and the winner gets a lot of DRYMAX socks. I need socks in the worst way. Plus my story is pretty cool. Out of 34 stories, mine made the top 10. Now you all get to vote. Go read them and VOTE FOR ME!

Thanks for reading.

xxoo-

judi

Confirmation

The vet finally returned my 10-15 phone calls I made to him yesterday regarding Bruno's biopsy.

It's lymphoma. They faxed me a copy of the cytology.
MICROSCOPIC FINDING: INTERMEDIATE TO HIGH GRADE LYMPHOMA

This asshole of a vet has zero bedside manner too. All he wanted to do is sell us on chemo. Spend more money at his practice. Does it matter that Bruno HATES being at the vet and has to be muzzled? Does it matter that maybe we don't have that kind of money? Would you want to make your dog sick from chemo the last months of his life?

We are going to have to watch Bruno waste away.

Have you ever had a dying dog?
I have. It was the most painful experience of my life.

The summer is shot. I don't want Dominic to have to go through this. I don't want to lose Bruno at age 6. It's not right. This is all bullshit.

Running for Rescue Update

So far I have raised about 300 bucks.

Come on people!

I have less than 7 weeks to raise 700 more dollars! Please donate to my cause! Northcoast Doberman Rescue is a small organization and they are broke! The dogs need the money! BAD!

5 bucks, 10 bucks, it doesn't matter how much you give. It all adds up.
ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTABLE!

Thanks for your support.

Donate online here.

Make checks out to NCDR and mail to:
Judi Rothenberg
4034 Akochia ave
Cincinnati, Oh 45205

Updates, rant and bad hair

Thanks for all of your well wishes for Bruno, Dominic and I. Bruno seems to be deteriorating at a fast rate. His glands on his neck have doubled in size overnight. The vet doesn't have the pathology reports back yet, but they called in a rx of prednisone and I am picking up an assortment of treatments from my holistic vet tomorrow morning. All we can do is make Bruno's time on earth the very best. We believe in "quality", not "quantity". I have researched cancer diets and since cancer feeds off sugar, Bruno will be getting his usual raw meat diet, with eggs, cottage cheese, a small amount of organ meat like kidney, and absolutely NO carbs.

Dominic has no coping skills and he's crying off and on most of the day. He can't handle this at all. He's in worse shape than I was when my Cheeko was dx'ed with Cardiomyopathy.




Just so this post isn't all sad, here is a picture of what I look like when I wake up. Dominic thinks I look like the lead singer of Whitesnake.

If you click on the picture, you can see one of my eyebrows is gone. It mysteriously disappeared on Sunday. I wasn't cooking or smoking anything. I didn't shave it. I didn't rub Nair on it. I just got out of the shower and it was gone. Sexy, eh?

David Coverdale, Lead singer of Whitesnake

I got my Twin Six team gear.

I ordered men's bibs instead of the women's shorts, and I have to say that the bibs totally rock. Except when you get all geared up, and realize you have to pee. Then it sucks.

Swim Etiquette

Tonight was my last time swimming with the masters class at the Blue Ash Y. I have never felt so out of place in all of my adult life (except at that first triathlon). I just can't fucking stand those bitchy, snotty, evil women and so I walk in there with an attitude every week. It's a defence mechanism. The last two weeks weren't that bad. I got an apology from the girl who was mean my 1st week. Then we had the lane leader who was nice, but kept skipping laps during the sets. This week, I walked into the pool area and not one person even said hello. It was 5:25, so I decided to start the warm up.

200 free, 200 pull, 200 kick.

Bam, got it done. The lane leader girl was back this week, and she jumped in about 5 minutes after me and wasn't quite done when I finished the warm up. Then two more people show up late and start their warm up. Well by this time I am done, and warmed up. I didn't want to wait for these people, who came in late, to finish their warm up, because DUH, I wouldn't be warmed up anymore. The lane leader just said "well, that's what happens when you start before 5:30, maybe you can try to keep up with them" and points to a faster lane.

Well fuck. I didn't know what to do. I am not that slow (doing 20x50 on the 55 now, and 100's on the 1:45) On the other side of my lane, was an open lane that wasn't designated for the masters swim. There was a girl swimming in it and I asked her if she minded sharing with me. She didn't.

So I continued swimming in that lane. 1x400, 2x200, 3x100, 4x50. Then some IM's, free, drills, and I am about 2700y into the workout, when the lane leader bitch calls me back over to their lane. I said "we're aren't even on the same set". She points to some people waiting to swim in the non-designated masters lane. Well, fuck, maybe they should just wait for the lane till I am done.

Ok, so wtf. I have 6x75 left to go and I moved over to her lane. The girl who swims with fins was leaving early, as she does every week, so it was just me and the lane leader bitch. Then she says " I am going to do my 75's in that lane" and moves to the faster lane. I have the whole lane to myself, till some old guy gets in and starts kicking. I got 3 75's done and then another guy gets in the lane. By this time, I am fuming. I left without doing the last 2 75's and didn't even do a cooldown. Got out of the pool, grabbed my towel and left, while the rest of the them sat in the whirlpool.

Maybe I don't have correct swim etiquette. Maybe I just really do not fit in with these snotty Blue Ash bitches. Maybe I am just too fucked up in the head to do any type of group training.

On a last note - this is Dominic's latest project. It's the Batman collage for his 75 gallon tank. Rocco is doing better now and we'll be moving him back in his big tank soon. It's going to be named the Bat Tank. We're also going to buy a couple more baby Oscars to raise together.

A real Batman figure will be in the yellow box. I'll post pix once it's all done.



Tomorrow I have a killer track workout which is 12x400. It's going to hurt bad.

Bad news

Bruno's lymph nodes were swollen. We took him to the vet today and they are 90% sure he has lymphoma - cancer. Dominic is a mess. He puked at the vet's office.

If anyone has any happy endings on how their dog survived cancer, please leave me a comment or email me.

Thanks,
Judi

Barbie Ink

I can't believe they're coming out with a Tattoos Barbie! She even comes with a tattoo gun! I am laughing my ass off! I wish I had a kid to buy it for!

I was going through some old pictures and found this one - all those tattoos are pretty much gone now.

A lowdown on this week's miles

Update: 2009 Running for Rescue

So far, I have raised $245.00 for Northcoast Doberman Rescue! I am only 1/4 of the way to my goal though so keep the cash flow going. 5 bucks, 10 bucks, it doesn't matter, it all adds up! Thanks for your support!

To donate online, click here, or see this post for an address to mail in donations.

Training has been pretty good this week, despite the cold temps. It's warming up though!

Today
Today was 60 and windy as shit! I met Sandi, and 3 other guys, Tom, Tommy, and Rick, for a ride - OUTSIDE! All of us are registered for IMKY. We had a 31 mile ride mapped out via Sandi that started out on route 50 at the Ferry that crosses over to KY.

My legs felt pretty good. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new bike. I cannot believe how much nicer it is to ride carbon verses aluminum. We got a little lost and ended up doing most of the ride on route 50, but at least we had no lights and could keep riding and riding. I had a great time!

Yesterday
Trackwork. This is a recovery week so we just had 3 x 1600's on the schedule. My goal was to keep them under 8:00. My times were:

7:55
8:01
7:58

Sandi was fast! She ran 6:45's. I have watched her times get better and better. Trackwork really does make you faster.

After the track, we ran a couple of miles on the trail. I didn't want to, but I thought it was better to give my legs somewhat of a cool down.

Tuesday
The morning didn't start out well. Dominic discovered the back wheel on his carbon was bent. He tried to true (is it "tru" or "true"?) it. Didn't work. He decided to ride fixed. I rode my new bike for the 1st time. It was too fucking cold to enjoy it though. It was only 21 degrees when we left the house.

We rode all around town. From my house, downtown, down Eastern, to Mt. Lookout (hill) to Hyde Park, to Clifton, down Ludlow to Northside, up Montana hill (huge hill) to Harrison, back to my house. About 30 miles.

I was frozen when I got home.

I had a quick bite to eat and then left to go pick my nephew up from school, take him home, and head to masters swim at the Y.

This particular Y is located in a nicer part of town. Whenever I am in the locker room, I feel like I did back in high school. You know, when you know damn well you don't fit in? I was so uncomfortable listening to these women talk. One bitch in particular, going on and on about re-doing her bathroom, in all glass, yada yada yada. I almost offered up Dominic's tile services but decided to pretend I wasn't listening to them.

Last week, this same bitch, who is married to a cop, was talking about how gross the back of his squad car is. She was saying he washes the backseat out after every shift. How he didn't even want their dogs back there. Then she mentioned a kid with Hepatitus C, who was in the back of his car, and my heart stopped. I felt like saying hey bitch I have hepatitis C and you just swam in the same pool as me. Of course I just shut my mouth and left.

Anyways, I am getting the hang of swimming with people, 4 in a lane. It goes by so much faster than when I am in the pool alone. We swam 3200y total.

Monday
I went to get a massage. I forgot to mention that I fell during Sunday's long run. I scraped up my knee pretty good and it was sore that night. I kept thinking it was my IT band, but it wasn't. It was just sore from falling.

After my massage, I went to the gym, lifted weights for about 45 minutes. I wanted to swim too, but they didn't have a lap lane scheduled, so I drove to a different Y about 10 minutes away. I swam 2500y. I felt tired and hungry so I cut the swim 500y short.

Some good news - I have eliminated the back pain I was having when I swim, thanks to the video Paul did for me. He told me to keep my head down, that I should be looking straight down. Once I finally did that, it kept my neck aligned with my spine, and the pain stopped. YESSS!

Sunday
After the 16 mile run, Dominic and I lifted weights for 30 minutes. Chest, and tri-ceps.

That's it for now.

Thanks for reading!

I fixed it!

YAY!!

Will blog more later. Going riding now! OUTSIDE! It's going to be 60 degrees!

What the fuck is going on with Blogger?

All my links and stuff on the right hand side of my page have disappeared. I have no fucking clue what has happened.

Anyone???

Black and White

That's my Mom, 1955. Isn't she gorgeous?

I don't have too much to say.

Except I am getting ready to freeze my ass off and ride outside for the first time in weeks.

And it's only 18 fucking degrees.

Fuck this shit.

16 cold and lonely miles

Running for Rescue update - in just 24 hours, I have raised $110.00 for Dobe Rescue.
Thanks SOOOO much for every penny!



I mapped out 16 miles yesterday. Starting at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse, down Eastern ave, which is part of the marathon course, to Lunkin airport (5), around the bike path one time (5), add an extra mile in there (1) and back to my car (5), for 16.

Eastern ave STINKS. It's the last 4-5 miles of the Flying Pig marathon and all these hillbilly, beer drinkin' red necks come out and cheer us on. Last year some people had a keg of beer and were passing out cups of beer. And you know how warm beer just stinks? Well imagine smelling that on mile 23 - gross.

It was so cold out this morning. And windy. I had already taken the dogs 3 miles in the woods before my run, so I knew what to expect. Except, down in the woods, you can't feel the wind so much. My face is still red from that cold ass wind.

Today's run was long and boring. Nothing much was going through my head. I just wanted it to be over.

The bike path at Lunkin always draws a ton of walkers, cyclists, and runners. The most interesting person I saw there was a slender guy that really needed a sports bra. I mean, it hurt for me to look at them bouncing around like that. I felt like asking him if they hurt. He was wearing a tech running shirt too, for all the world to see.

I stopped at a UDF for water and forgot to eat my last gel. I remembered the gel when I was about 2 miles from the car and decided to save it for another day.

I am so glad that long run is over. Till next week's 17.

I have decided not to run this marathon next year. Instead I am going to do a 12 hour bike race.