December 4, 2008
Kathy

Onward to Texas! I have some mixed feelings about actually chosing a race. Now this goal is real, it's not some vague concept any longer. Honestly, I too, like Lyndsay, was hoping for something more towards the midwest due to financial reasons. I really hate how finances can sway things so much in life, and it seems like I'm constantly struggling with balance, kind of like the constant balance of blood sugars.

Anyway, I thought I should mention something about this crucial step of race-venue-picking, but my blog idea for this month is about training with my dogs. Well, not biking and swimming with them, just walking and running. The short background story is that I've wanted a dog ever since I can remember. My parents are of the mindset that dogs do not belong in houses (something they learned from farm life, I think) so stuffed animal dogs were as close as I could get to the real thing. Two years ago, when my partner and I bought a house, my dream finally came true and we now have a very full house with two cats, two dogs and a fish tank.

Having dogs to care for has truly helped stabilize my life. I'll spare you the details, but training these super energetic puppies into sensibly trained dogs is quite the journey. Part of this training comes in the form of running together. I'm happy to say that my 11 month old boxer/collie mix, Lyle, has helped me knock an entire 90 second off my mile splits on my four mile loop. And my 2 year old boxer/pit bull mix, Misha, has taught me perhaps the most important lesson of running: sometimes, you just have to poop!

Happy training!