Let me formally introduce you to...

...Lordie and Diddy. Running buddies extraordinaire. A long due formal introduction. It's about time! Here we go!

Lordie

Come on, let's go already, woman!

Nickname: Bunnychaser.

Favorite distance: 25K+.

Day job: sidekick to Silly Girl Running. Keeps him busy 24/7.

Favorite running gear: Zero DC blue/orange harness.

Favorite recovery food: Dried beef.

Favorite recovery drink: water.

Quote:

"10 miles? That's my warm up."

"I have Greyhounds for breakfast."

"Running is better than chasing cats."

"Poodles do it better."

Diddy

I'm going that way. You'd better follow...

Nickname: Birdchaser.

Favorite distance: Anything up to a Half Marathon. Loves the sprint.
Day job: service dog (seizure alert dog to my mom).
Favorite running gear: Zero DC blue/orange harness. And Musher's secret paw cream.
Favorite recovery food: Pedigree brand Schmackos.
Favorite recovery drink: water. Well...you can't really give him a protein shake, can you?
Quote:

"Ha! That's what you call fast?"
"Eat my farts."
"I'm with stupid." (Yep, he's referring to me...)

"Service dog by day. Superhero by night."

Lordie doing what he loves to do. Drag me across the trails.

Who's your #1 running buddy?

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Let me introduce you to the latest addition to the Canicross gang. Meet our new service / assistance dog in training 'Frits'! And yes, that Canicross harness might still be a tad too large for the little guy. Don't worry, he'll grow into it before you can say 'cutie pie!'. :)


Oh yeah, those are Christmas decorations in the background. Let's just pretend I'm 'early' this year.


"Why the bleep did she make me wear this? It's pretty obvious that it doesn't fit, right?"

"Don't touch me, woman! Stop that!"

"Harrrrr!!! I told you to stop touching me!"

Tuesday makes me wonder...

What bleeping point was I trying to make in this photo?

Uhm...yep... Up to you to find a subtitle for this photo. :) [And please don't say my #ss looks huge, because it does...what the bleep!]

It's a dog's life

Well, I've cheated on the taper. Beginner's mistake numero uno.

Lordie and moi - 5K. I absolutely love this photo.

And I know my body and especially my legs will make me pay for it in Paris (Paris marathon, if everything goes according to plan...). And I'm fine with that. Because, A. I had an amazing time cheating on the taper, B. I wouldn't run anywhere near an 'okay' time in Paris anyway (overcrowded course and too much photos to be taken), and C. I had a kick #ss time cheating on the taper!

My dear mom cheering us on at the finish line.

How did I cheat on the taper? I raced (well, I didn't want to puke, so it wasn't really racing, was it?) a 5K canicross with Lordie. And a 2.3K canicross with Diddy. In my defence: I did plan on just running those distances at marathon pace. No lie.

Well...that didn't work.

Lordie and moi about to finish the 5K in 22:03. He had stopped dragging me along after 500 meters, so I had to do this thing all by myself. Oh, and he decided to greet the trees with what I'd like to call "the longest pee session of 2011"...Yeah...during a race. What the bleep!

Still ready to finish... This race reminded me of the fact that I do NOT like 5Ks. At all...

I was just trying to focus on staying in front of the other runner (Monique). Lordie was just focussing on taking it as easy as possible (Okay...in his defence...he was hot...it was a hot day).

Diddy kicking it into gear. My abs are still in pain because of this.

Andrew described it as 'a dog flying a Silly Girl kite'. He was quite right.

Diddy and moi about to finish the 2.3K in 9:10.

Those are not my quads. I borrowed them from one of the guys. My real quads are nice and feminine.

Lordie and I placed first in our AG in the 5K. Can you tell Lordie feels like he's above the other dog? ;) Prize: dog food. And lots of it. Not fair...considering the fact that I had to work this one on my own, while Lordie was too busy finding a tree. ;) By the way...being in the same AG as a 16-year old (that does track by the way...ouch) is...different. It made me feel 'old'...

Diddy and I placed 3rd in our AG in the 2.3K.

Photo Friday - Throwback post

Well...Throwback...this photo was taken just a few weeks ago - on my 28K birthday run. But I've just uploaded it and I love it. :)

Three Things Thursday

1. Meat: As part of a healthier life style, I've been reducing my 'meat-intake' in the last couple of months. I eat a lot of fish and veggie-burger-thingies, so I'm okay protein-wise. Yesterday at dinner, I realized that my meat-intake is reduced to once every two weeks at dinner and 2 or 3 times a week for lunch (a pastrami sandwich, etcetera). Not too bad! :)

2. Canicross: For those of you that are new to my blog, or do read my blog but missed all of the canicross posts (I can't blame you...seriously...I still can't believe that my mom isn't my only follower...), I love canicross! Canicross being running with your dog, or two dogs. What it looks like? There you go:

This photo was taken in May 2010.

You know how you sweat during a run? So does my dog. He's all wet and sweaty when we get home after a run. And there's the catch. I don't always finish the run and immediately hit the shower to warm up. Sometimes I'll just hang around and have a drink with running friends. Or, on vacation, I'll have a drink at an (outdoor) bar afterwards. And I get cold. And throw on a sweater to warm up. My dog doesn't have one, and his (wet) fur won't keep him warm. And the temps are still pretty frostbite-ish out here. So...I've bought my dog a thermo coat (not the 'fancy' dog coat kind of coat, but the type of coat they use for sled dogs...real bad @ss! ;)).

He doesn't look too comfortable in it yet...

3. Throwback Thursday: 2003. My University days. Sorority Prom night. Make-up faux pas...

My love on the run

Solid proof that it is doable to capture happiness in a picture. :)



I tried an easy 3.3 miles / 5.3K last Saturday. Lordie and Diddy were happy to accompany me. :) Amazing blue sky, freezing weather, sunny...I couldn't stop smiling. :)

Plus yesterday (Sunday) I tried my luck at a long run. Runningbuddy A and I found a paved 5K path around a lake, and decided to run these 5K laps to see if The Foot would hold up. If The Foot would bug me again, I could just go back to the car, and A could finish the long run. After a little over 5 laps, 16.3 miles / 26.1K we decided to call it quits. :) When we headed out for the run I figured I would be perfectly happy if The Foot would be okay for 9.4 miles / 15K. I couldn't believe that I had actually finished the long run - without limping, crawling, etcetera due to The Foot. :) Today there's a bit of a tired feeling going on in The Foot, but I guess that's okay. :) I celebrated with sushi! :)

Hmmm...sushi...that brings me to 'post long run' snacks. :) What's your favorite 'post long run' snack?

New Year, New Run

Saturday: Ran 10.1 miles / 16.2K with the dogs - 1:32:33 hours - easy first day of the year run

Sunday: Ran 5 miles / 8K with the dogs

Today: Cycling: 30 minutes

No better way to start the New Year than to head out for a nice, muddy, mushy, slippery trail run on New Year's Day. So, on January 1st 2011, that's exactly what I did: run. 10.1 miles / 16.2K of pure fun. The dogs loved it. Diddy even ran his distance PR! :)

'Zaterdag' means 'Saturday'...

That trail was slippery and mushy, though. Tired me out completely! It sure is hard to keep your pace up when you're plowing through some serious mud/melted snow. But, on the plus side, I felt like I was flying on the last two miles of the run: these last two miles were on the road/pavement, in case you were wondering. ;)

Well...that's all for now. I will put another post up later today. And yep, that will be the first of the 'official 5 year plan bucket list' posts. :)

Happy New Year to all of you! :)

Canicross in fresh powder - The "Can you say instant happiness?" post

Saturday: ran 4.5 miles / 7.2K with the dogs
Sunday: ran 2.5 miles / 4K with the dogs

I guess I don't need to explain to you all how much fun this was, huh?

Mushy Monday - Cold weather and Trail Running

This photo was taken in March of this year, while on winter vacation in the Swiss Alps. Oh boy, do I love to go out for a run on those trails!

Oh boy, I just started running then - bad bad running form!

Looking at this pic makes me actually want to book a plane ticket and head over to Switzerland to spend the weekend in those beautiful surroundings! On the other hand, it might be better to wait to do so till I can actually run again (!%!~^!^!^!@^ calf)! ;) :)

Cold weather running rocks!

I absolutely love running in cold temps. As long as I have my The North Face Windstopper tights and my Mammut softshell on, I'm fine and good to go. :) I would honestly pick snowy cold weather running over hot summer running.Just looking at snow makes me smile! :)

Last winter was pretty freezing in Holland, so I'm prepping myself for the colder temps. I already have the Inov-8 Terroc 308 trail running shoes for running on snowy and slippery trails. Since those have a mesh upper, and might result in me having frozen toes, I'm looking into the Salomon GoreTex trail running shoes. I still have to do some research on those, and check out where I could try them on, but they sure do look promising!

Ahhh, I can't wait till my PT tells me that's it's okay to head out for (at least) a slow jog! :)

Do you love cold weather running? If so, how do you layer up and what's your pick in shoes?

Why men don't listen and women can't read maps

Ran: 6.3 miles / 10 km - Canicross Running Group - intervals

Why women can't read maps

Yesterday I was supposed to run a 17 miler. 17 miles, 27 km. But as good as I am with figuring out what's the easiest way to get from one point to another, without getting lost that is, I suck at mapping my run correctly. Honestly, how easy is mapping your run on mapmyrun.com? I just can't do it. Somehow I get more miles in than scheduled - every single time. And no, I'm not doing this on purpose. I just suck at it. And that's exactly why I shouldn't be surprised that yesterday's scheduled 17 miler turned into an 18.4 miler. 18.4 miles, 29.5 km. Just like that. Ofcourse, I did not know this until I got home and remapped my run. Good thing was, and that's the only good thing about it, that I finished the run believing that I was uber slow, but after remapping my run, my pace appeared to be right on schedule. Pfffeww!

My good friend Bunny (she's going to punch me for making this her Blogworld nickname...) came with me on my long run...on her bike. I tried to convince her of running being the way to go, but after seeing me sweat and in pain (The Hip...yep, she's back...), and seeing me eat Energy Gel (I say 'Yummy', Bunny says 'total nutcase'), I doubt if she'll ever pick up long distance running.... It was so nice to chat while I was getting my long run in, though, and she brought her camera! :)

Pretty, huh? And, nope, that's not my mansion...I wish...

Ahhhh, nothing like the sweet sight of home! And nothing like knowing that I only have a couple of miles to go!

Thanks to Bunny part of my run turned into a photoshoot. Starring: Me. Heidi Klum, move over. Here's Sweaty Long Run Barbie (well, her lunatic and not so model-like sister...).

Here I'm demonstrating how to GU properly. Don't try this at home...

And, I know, I should have bought those shorts a size smaller...good thing about it; in case I poo my pants on a long run, no one will notice.

How not to hydrate.

And how to look like a total Goofball while you're at it... Yep, I sweat like I'm paid to do so...get over it...

Thanks, Bunny, for taking such great pics! :) And thanks for coming with me at such an early hour. :)

Why men don't listen

And for today, I had a 6.3 miler (10 km) scheduled with my Canicross Running Group. Great fun, and as always nice to chat with the other runners in the group. Perfect weather; the rain was kind enough to wait until we'd finished our run.

The Hip was hurting again, so I decided to stick to a 'slower' pace. Only thing was, Lordie and Diddy took off like it was a 5K race. Too fast for The Hip! And me screaming that they had to slow down didn't help. They chose not to listen and dragged me halfway along the course instead. And then, at the point where my Hip was killing me, they decided to slow down. But by then my Hip was killing me. If only they would have listened to 'Easy', 'Slow', 'Slow down!!!'... Oh, in case you were wondering: Lordie and Diddy are both male dogs.

How was your weekend long run or race?

Lazy Sunday

Ran: 6.3 miles / 10 km - 56 min - tempo run with dogs

Don't you just love these Lazy Sundays?

I just got back from my tempo run with the dogs. Nice and sunny. :) Showered and now I'm ready for dinner. And after that I will go to bed early and read a little (or for hours...you never know). So, for today I'll leave you with a running quote:

"Ability is what you're capable of doing.

Motivation determines what you do.

Attitude determines how well you do it."

- William Faulkner -

I hope you all have a wonderful and lazy Sunday! :)

Hello Mrs. Autumn, you're a bit early this year, aren't you?

Yesterday: Ran 11 miles / 17.5 km - 1 h 38 min - weekend long run

Today: Ran 7.5 miles / 12 km 1 h 5 min - tempo run with dogs

This truly was a weekend of wet, wet runs. And when I say wet, I mean wet; soaking wet! Apparently Autumn is early this year, and the rain kicked in this weekend; big time! Not to mention that it's a lot colder outside, than in the last couple of weeks. It's in the high 50's/ low 60's now (15/16 Celsius). A nice change from all the heat and humidity that we've had!

My schedule says that this week was supposed to be a rest week, and I'm fine with that. Promise, I'm a good girl now and I really do try to stick to the schedule and not add extra miles. So this weekend's long run was 'just' 9 miles. I got lost, so it turned into 11 miles. In the rain, that is. But it was fun anyway! :) Saw this lovely little church at about mile 6.

Do you see the roses in front of it? Pretty, huh?

And that's me at mile 6...wet, soaking wet...and yep, that's a long sleeve...in August. Do you understand now why the whole Flunning thing doesn't work for me? Look at that 'I'm on my long run' face... Not a pretty sight...

At mile 9, there was a horse. Even the horse was wearing a long sleeve.

Hello little horsie, says the Spinster...

As for today's run. I looked out of the window this morning, and this is what I saw.

It was raining...like crazy! So...I skipped the Canicross Running Group (rain rain rain + slippery trails = not the best of ideas), and decided to hit the trails later in the afternoon - with the dogs ofcourse. The rain was supposed (!) to be over by then. And it was...for the first mile of the run... Picked up runningbuddy A and we decided to hit the trails anyway. Heck, it was slippery! And wet! But woohooo, was it fun to 'dance' through the water and mud on the slippery trails! :) What can I say, I don't mind getting dirty. And neither did the dogs. The mud was literally on my back. So. Much. Fun!

And this is what Lordie's Snooki-updo looked like after the run:

And the best thing: The Hip sort of felt OK. (knock on wood!)

Forgive me, Runninggods, for I have sinned...

...because this is what I decided to wear to my Canicross Running Group practice this morning:

Spare me the soccer jokes; only heard those 1 billion times today...

Yep, that's right, that's not a runningskirt. Guess I was in a boyish kind of running mood this morning. It was also the first time in about 6 months that I had running shorts on. What can I say, I'm a runningskirt kind of girl. :)

And since I decided to dress up like David Beckham, Lordie decided to dress up like GI Joe:

Well...the fairy version of GI Joe that is. You can tell he loves the look...

Today there are officially just 11 weeks left 'till the New York City Marathon. Yikes! That means the next 8 weeks are all about long long runs and marathon pace work outs! I couldn't be more excited! :)

I'll just have to figure out what pace to choose for these marathon pace work outs. BQ-pace or safe pace? With The Hip and all, safe pace might be the more sensible choice... Like running two marathons in your first year of running is the sensible thing to do. ;)

Would you play safe or just give that BQ a shot and see how close you can get?

Ran: 6.3 miles / 10K - 60 min - intervals with water stops for the dogs

I can run with my eyes closed...no kidding, I can!

Pic from yesterday's Canicross running group training...I look like a total goofball

See? I can run with my eyes closed. And I even manage to mess up a picture when someone tells me to smile and try to look sort of normal, because she is taking a picture. What can I say, it's a gift. ;) The world should be grateful that I didn't pursue a career in modelling... ;)