The Drizzt Diary

Rain in South Texas all weekend–but at least it is warm.  My left achilles tendon area was a little achy after my bath so i iced it.  My son is in PT for ‘jumpers knee’ ( he is a big time skateboarder) and we have all these little bathroom cups full of ice for ice massages.  Worked like a dream.  I feel so strong.  My mind is so clear.  I am addicted to this little sport.  I have been training for one month now and have not missed a beat.  I know to go slow–strong before long–even so, I may have to find a race earlier than August!

Thanks for all the posts regarding my ferret, Arwen.  Yes, she was the one bitten by the copperhead but her demise was not due to that.  I have to find another one soon because my other ferret, Pei-Pei, needs a sleeping buddy/playmate (don’t we all LOL)

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 03/30/2008
• Time: 08:00:00
• Total Time: 1:03:15.00
• Distance: 7.2 miles
• Average Pace: 8:47.09/mile

I was scheduled to do strength training today but opted for yoga instead.  My ferret, Arwen, died unexpectedly yesterday.  I found her in cardiac arrest and rushed her to the vet–again–but we didn’t make it.  Necropsy couldn’t tell me what actually caused it.  Last night I had the urge to run–just run and run but couldn’t due to prior commitments.  This morning found my post traumatic energy lagging so I decided to take it easy.  My long run tomorrow is for Arwen.  I miss her so.

Good luck to all those racing tomorrow, I read your blogs.  And to those just getting started–it does nothing but get better and better.  I have a horse to ride now, if the rain will hold off.

Workout:

• Type: Flexibility
• Date: 03/29/2008
• Time: 08:00:00
• Total Time: 00:50:00.00

wind gusting again today. worked on getting my heart rate up, keeping it there for three minutes and resting for 30 seconds. i know there is a formal plan for this out there, but i am just flying by the seat of my running shorts. i was tired afterwards and it felt good. did pilates ab work.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 03/27/2008
• Time: 10:00:00
• Total Time: 00:28:22.80
• Distance: 3.3 miles
• Average Pace: 8:35.76/mile

The wind was gusting out of the south at 20.  I did not want to ‘run’ on the treadmill so I made up a little routine where I picked it up to 7.5  for three minutes  with a 1.0 incline (I usually do the treadmill at 7.0–are all treadmills the same?) and walked for 10-15 seconds (I just stepped off the treadmill then back on).  The last ‘run’ was four minutes.  I discovered that the  smoothies  I made me and my kiddos for breakfast was perfect for energy and that I am more comfortable with a longer stride.  Maybe it was the music I was listening to but I ran with a longer stride and liked it.  It took more work…..

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 03/26/2008
• Time: 08:38:09
• Total Time: 00:33:30.00
• Distance: 4 miles
• Average Pace: 8:22.79/mile

My run today was very uncomfortable due to an incident I had yesterday.  My mare, who hadn’t been worked much due to yard work and to the ferret incident, was quite the performer out on the trails yesterday.  My daughter even remarked “wow, she looks like a professional bucking horse”.  So, if I wasn’t hanging on for dear life in that itty bitty english saddle I was half halting almost to cantering on the spot (that would be like jogging in place with four legs).  I think we should have lunged first. nk  Even though I am getting in excellent shape, the lactic acid build up in my inner thighs and upper shoulders was enough to keep me in bed an extra 30 minutes this morning.  I pushed through the run just because….that is how I operate.  All or nothing.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 03/25/2008
• Time: 10:00:00
• Total Time: 00:25:10.00
• Distance: 3 miles
• Average Pace: 8:23.5/mile

Up early with the ferret (giving meds, hand feeding).  Had a tiny bit of indigestion–must have been that homemade dill dip I was eating last night.  My mind really wasn’t on this today–almost put my run off until this afternoon but knew that was just an excuse.  So, got going and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Every part of me felt wonderfully strong.  At times my mind wandered back to the thought “I don’t want to do this  right now” and I just told it “doesn’t matter what you want–you are running with me”.  It is almost 10am–time to feed Arwen again.  She goes to the vet tomorrow for more blood work.  I put mothballs under my porch (was told this makes snakes leave the area) and I wired the areas where small animals can go under–we do have a cat that goes under the porch on occasion.

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 03/23/2008
• Time: 08:00:00
• Total Time: 00:57:30.00
• Distance: 6.6 miles
• Average Pace: 8:42.5/mile

Other commitments had me doing my strength training today instead of tomorrow.  With school out I had to change my time from am to pm and it didn’t affect me at all.  My lovely lady, Arwen, got to come home today. She is in a lot of pain and on meds (copperhead snake bites are very painful) but she is sleeping with her buddy, Pei-Pei.  My vet belongs to a forum/blog of vets across the US and not one vet had heard of a ferret surviving a snake bite.  Arwen is a celebrity–vets are tracking her progress/updates.  Her wounds are huge–this was a big ass snake and she only weighs 1.1lbs.  We are waiting for her albumin levels to elevate and then she should be in the clear.  On a lighter note, I made the best soup (asparagus, mushroom and potato) for supper.

Workout:

• Type: Strength Training
• Date: 03/21/2008
• Time: 15:00:00
• Total Time: 00:50:00.00

After yesterday’s fiasco, I managed to put in a very good run–short but fast (for me) and strong.  Thanks guys for the comments regarding my crisis–the ferret is still in the hospital but she is pulling through.  Hoping their is no kidney damage/failure.  My extremities were tingly and rubbery feeling for most of the day yesterday.  My dad thinks my problem was snake venom  seeping through my skin (copperheads affect the nervous system dramatically and the ferret had venom all over her belly); my vet thinks it was shock and my boss thinks it was low blood sugars coupled with all of the above.  I am officially registered for the race in Dallas in August.  This whole ballgame is foreign and new to me.  I am sort of nervous but I figure if I can get a horse ready for a competition I can do the same for myself.  All of you have a great Easter Weekend–watch out for snakes if you are in the South!!!

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 03/20/2008
• Time: 10:00:00
• Total Time: 00:25:04.00
• Distance: 3 miles
• Average Pace: 8:21.39/mile

Side note to this mornings post workout crisis.  The ferret was bit by a copperhead and I was going into shock as I was driving to the vets.  Lovely…but I will have you know as I was experiencing this horrible physical sensation, I was thinking–not of ever seeing my lovely children’s faces again–but of not being able to run my race.

My run was good this morning.  Thanks, andrea for the caloric advice.  As I have mentioned before, I am not much of an eater and this training has a two fold purpose for me–to teach me how to fuel my body properly then do something challenging with it.  After my run, I let my ferrets out to play.  I was stretching and they were dooking around me.  The wind blew the door open and one of my girls ran outside.  She promptly went under the porch and returned with a glazed look in her eye.  I picked her up and started wiping her off–something had bitten her (I’m thinking black widow spider).  The ‘venom’ or toxin was still on her fur and I wiped it with my hands.  After I set her down she just lay there.  I threw on a robe (I am still sopping wet and it is cold and windy outside) and drove like a mad woman to the vet (10 miles away).  As I was driving, I lost all feeling and muscle control in my hands.  My fingers were retracting into my palms and knotting up.  I couldn’t steer or shift.  I was in a state of panic.  I was looking at my poor Arwen and she lay limp in my lap.  I felt dizzy and was about to pass out.  I made it to the vet barely.  They put her under oxygen and gave her an anti venom shot.  I, on the other hand, was in dire straits for about 10 minutes before the sensations passed.  Has anyone ever been bitten by a black widow?  Could it have been something else?  After I calmed down I walked next door to the gas station to buy some chocolate milk–in my bathrobe and running shoes! lol My hands still feel funny but I am ok.  At least they work, I am typing. As a side note, the name “Drizzt” in my blog title is in honor of my first ferret who died in the fall of lymphotic cancer at the age of 7.  I love fuzzies and now have two, Pei-Pei and Arwen.  Any ferret lovers out there??

Workout:

• Type: Run
• Date: 03/19/2008
• Time: 08:30:00
• Total Time: 00:35:04.00
• Distance: 4 miles
• Average Pace: 8:46.32/mile