I came home tonight from a great three-miler with Amber, who was kind enough to slow down her normal running pace to run with me tonight, all filled with good energy and ready to get some things done since the boyfriend was going to be working until 1:00 a.m. However, Mother Nature had other plans for me. There on our newly constructed, beautiful rockery complete with fountain and pond was a bird. A bird that was very clearly in some seriously bad shape. Aw, hell. I thought briefly about ignoring her but once you see it, it becomes your problem. I couldn't just sit inside and eat my dinner knowing there was a living thing outside suffering and in pain and probably dying. Of course this happens all the time; circle of life and all that crap. Something is doing all those things right now but they aren't doing it in my backyard.
So after a quick bathroom trip I tried to find a place to take injured birds and luckily there is a clinic in Bellevue that will hold them for a wildlife rescue in Arlington to come get. When I picked this bird up and got a good luck at her I realized there was no rehabilitation possible but hoped she could at least be quickly euthanized. She was missing her right eye and the entire side of her sweet little birdy head was stripped of feathers and was bald and bloody. I couldn't just let her suffer so I put her in a shoebox with a towel and made the trip to Bellevue, made my donation to the wildlife center and went home trying to convince myself that being picked up by a big pink lady, stuffed into a shoebox, put into a car, driven on the freeway and then placed in a cage while you waited for your inevitable death was somehow less traumatic then dying in the dirt in our backyard. Not sure it really is any better but it is the decision that I can live with myself for making.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Time To Run With The Big Kids
It's official. I just registered for next year's Eugene Marathon.
I am questioning my sanity a bit. Not for running a marathon but for scheduling said marathon two weeks prior to my wedding. Half-marathon training absorbed quite a bit of time, I can only imagine what training for a full will be like. And oh won't my feet be pretty little blistered messes on my wedding day!
I am questioning my sanity a bit. Not for running a marathon but for scheduling said marathon two weeks prior to my wedding. Half-marathon training absorbed quite a bit of time, I can only imagine what training for a full will be like. And oh won't my feet be pretty little blistered messes on my wedding day!
2010 Goals Update
Since we are at the half-year (plus two weeks) point of 2010 I thought it would be a good time to revisit my goals for the year and see how they are progressing.
Running
1. 5K PR - Done! I did this at the April Top Pot Doughnut Dash with a whopping 29:14. I am pretty certain I can get this record to fall again this year.
2. Run a minimum of 650 miles. I am over the half-way mark but I expected to be much further over at this point in the year. May and June were just sort of wasted months for running and exercise. So far this year I have clip-clopped my way through a total of 344.61 miles.
3. Half-Marathon PR - Done! This was done at Eugene with a 2:21:56. I am going to tackle another half this year but it is a hillier course so this one might stand for 2010.
Health
1. Lose 40 lbs. Well, I am half-way there. I lost the 20 lbs and then have been treading water for the last two and a half months. That really isn't too bad since I have been putting almost zero effort into trying to lose and it also means that I can at least maintain this weight. Starting this week I am back to focusing on the weight loss and see if we can't kick it up a bit for the rest of the year.
Personal
1. Visit one place in state I haven't been before. Nope, not yet. There is a wine tasting trip to Walla Walla in our future though.
2. Visit one place out of state I haven't been before. Done! We stopped in McMinnville on our way to the Oregon Coast two weekends ago. Cute little town and we got to see the Spruce Goose. Also, Oregon gets waaaaaayy too much of our vacation dollars.
3. Travel outside the country (Canada doesn't count). Nope. I was originally looking at a trip to Costa Rica in May but didn't feel comfortable leaving with Dad's health the way it was. Now that that is no longer an issue I am looking at a Costa Rica trip in late October. This is my belated graduation present to myself and I think it is particularly important to do it before I get married.
4. Drink more. We are on track with this one although just barely. We are at a total of 30 bottles for the year. I would like to point out though that that includes bottles shared with others and since we had two dear old friends over on January 2 where the four of us consumed eight bottles of wine that kind of throws the curve off a little.
5. Complete 40 hours of volunteer time. Nowhere close on this one. I have done six hours total including time spent donating blood and attending a volunteer inservice for the Humane Society. I did help out for four hours at the Girls on the Run spring 5k by working the registration booth.
6. Take four different classes. Since I am counting individual classes or session that I register for and not drop-ins at the Y I can only count my 10 week yoga session from earlier in the year.
7. Really learn 10 new entrees or side dishes. This is one I might just let slide off the radar for the year. I have done very little with this other than I have learned a bit more about vegetables since we joined a CSA.
Not bad for a mid-year check-up. How are you doing on your goals or resolutions?
Running
1. 5K PR - Done! I did this at the April Top Pot Doughnut Dash with a whopping 29:14. I am pretty certain I can get this record to fall again this year.
2. Run a minimum of 650 miles. I am over the half-way mark but I expected to be much further over at this point in the year. May and June were just sort of wasted months for running and exercise. So far this year I have clip-clopped my way through a total of 344.61 miles.
3. Half-Marathon PR - Done! This was done at Eugene with a 2:21:56. I am going to tackle another half this year but it is a hillier course so this one might stand for 2010.
Health
1. Lose 40 lbs. Well, I am half-way there. I lost the 20 lbs and then have been treading water for the last two and a half months. That really isn't too bad since I have been putting almost zero effort into trying to lose and it also means that I can at least maintain this weight. Starting this week I am back to focusing on the weight loss and see if we can't kick it up a bit for the rest of the year.
Personal
1. Visit one place in state I haven't been before. Nope, not yet. There is a wine tasting trip to Walla Walla in our future though.
2. Visit one place out of state I haven't been before. Done! We stopped in McMinnville on our way to the Oregon Coast two weekends ago. Cute little town and we got to see the Spruce Goose. Also, Oregon gets waaaaaayy too much of our vacation dollars.
3. Travel outside the country (Canada doesn't count). Nope. I was originally looking at a trip to Costa Rica in May but didn't feel comfortable leaving with Dad's health the way it was. Now that that is no longer an issue I am looking at a Costa Rica trip in late October. This is my belated graduation present to myself and I think it is particularly important to do it before I get married.
4. Drink more. We are on track with this one although just barely. We are at a total of 30 bottles for the year. I would like to point out though that that includes bottles shared with others and since we had two dear old friends over on January 2 where the four of us consumed eight bottles of wine that kind of throws the curve off a little.
5. Complete 40 hours of volunteer time. Nowhere close on this one. I have done six hours total including time spent donating blood and attending a volunteer inservice for the Humane Society. I did help out for four hours at the Girls on the Run spring 5k by working the registration booth.
6. Take four different classes. Since I am counting individual classes or session that I register for and not drop-ins at the Y I can only count my 10 week yoga session from earlier in the year.
7. Really learn 10 new entrees or side dishes. This is one I might just let slide off the radar for the year. I have done very little with this other than I have learned a bit more about vegetables since we joined a CSA.
Not bad for a mid-year check-up. How are you doing on your goals or resolutions?
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Back
Wow, it has been awhile since I posted. There is so much to say but also so very little to say. Things are alright here. There are good days and there are bad days but the days are mostly good.
If nothing else, experiencing the death of a loved one has reminded me of the inherent kindness in people and deepened my appreciation for the beauty and fragility of life. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have such wonderful people in my life and thank you all for the kind words and thoughts. Everyone has been so kind and, with the exception of a relationship with a family member that might be irrevocably damaged, I realize that there are a lot of people who have my back if I need them.
That's enough sadness and gooey stuff for blog posts for awhile. I just felt I needed to have some sort of buffer post in here between "my Dad is dying" and "hey, I had a crappy 3 mile run". Postings of summer fun and running in heat woes to come.
Seriously though, thanks for all your support and friendship.
If nothing else, experiencing the death of a loved one has reminded me of the inherent kindness in people and deepened my appreciation for the beauty and fragility of life. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have such wonderful people in my life and thank you all for the kind words and thoughts. Everyone has been so kind and, with the exception of a relationship with a family member that might be irrevocably damaged, I realize that there are a lot of people who have my back if I need them.
That's enough sadness and gooey stuff for blog posts for awhile. I just felt I needed to have some sort of buffer post in here between "my Dad is dying" and "hey, I had a crappy 3 mile run". Postings of summer fun and running in heat woes to come.
Seriously though, thanks for all your support and friendship.
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