New Best Friends...

Charlie and Abby are, as you can see, getting along very nicely. It took a little while, but they are finally best friends.

This week has been pretty good for me. Let me tell you, I was pretty dang sore after the 16-miler last Saturday. But, I got in all my training this week. Even had another deep tissue massage yesterday. Not as bad as the first one, but still pretty intense.

Btw, I had gone to see Wayne a couple of days before the big run last weekend. He put some inserts in my shoes and that really seemed to help my shins. Thanks, Wayne! :-) So, if you are having shin issues, please go see Wayne. I know he'll be able to help you.

I wanted to post some good quotes that I found a while back. I think they are just what we need at this junction of our training. See you all tomorrow!

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination." Tommy Lasorda

"Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory." Ghandi

"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." Michael Jordon

"Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great." Niccoló Machiavelli

"If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won't, you most assuredly won't. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad." Denis Waitley

Happy Birthday, Devin!

So, this was what I was doing 19 years ago. I can't believe my baby is 19 today. That old cliche, "They grow up so fast" is soooo true--in the blink of an eye. She and I have definitely had our ups and downs over the last 19 years but I wouldn't trade those times for anything (well, maybe the bad times). She is my very precious gift from God and I am so thankful for her.

So, once she gets off work at noon today, we'll go have lunch and hang out for a little while before she goes to see her boyfriend. Mothers kind of lose their place in the priority list when a boyfriend comes into the picture. :-)

Got up this morning and did my training. My shins were better after my massage last week but they are slowly getting sore again. I'm thinking a trip to Fleet Feet may be in order to see if there's something I need to try (i.e. different shoes, inserts, etc.) I probably should've scheduled another massage, but my week is kinda crazy. Birthday stuff today, Braves game tonight, Geyser Falls tomorrow. And, there's no way I'd get a massage on Friday and then try to run 16 miles on Saturday. I'll just keep stretching and hopefully Saturday will be o.k. for me. (Tim, you may be on your own Saturday if I have to slow down some. :-))

Hope everyone is having a great week and I'll see you all Saturday, rain or shine!

One More Reason to Say "Ouch"

Had my first deep tissue massage this afternoon. OMG!!!! I'm proud to say that I didn't cry but there were a couple of times that I really wanted to. (I do believe my eyes "watered" however because I had big black circles under both eyes when I looked in the mirror afterwards.) Oh, yeah. Said a few choice words during the massage, too. Couldn't help it. BUT, I can already tell that my legs/shins feel better. The real test will be Saturday, I guess. I'm not expecting miracles, of course, but hoping for some improvement. Thanks Deb B. for recommending this guy.

I am soooo glad that tomorrow is Friday. It's been a long work week. Looking forward to seeing everyone Saturday. Tim, don't forget to DO NOTHING tomorrow. :-)

Ouch, Ouch, Ouch

The first one is for my left shin, the second for my right shin and the third is for my right foot. I'm not sure if there was any part of my lower legs that wasn't hurting Saturday! :-) Since it was raining when I left my house, I didn't take my Ipod. I knew it was going to be tough without it. Thank God for Kim and Carey. I ran with them for a good bit of the time and they really kept me motivated. It would have been much harder to do the 15 miles on my own. Thank you, thank you!

I came home and got in a tub with ice and water. If you haven't tried this, you really need to. You will be amazed at how good your legs will feel later in the day. And, once you get used to the cold water it really isn't that bad.

Charlie, the kitty, is doing really good. She and Abby, the Golden Retriever, are getting along very well. We bought a toy for Charlie--a fuzzy bird that actually makes a bird sound when it's moved. Well, Abby likes it more than Charlie. We've caught her on more than one occasion with the bird in her mouth. Not sure how long that toy will last. :-)

Hope everyone is having a good week. I'm really proud of everyone who toughed it out in the rain Saturday. Even though I was hurting, I think this was the first time that I've truly known "I can do this." 26.2 miles here I come!! See you all Saturday!

And her name is...

...Charlie. Actually, it's "Charlotte Bronte" in honor of the English author. For those of you who may not know what's going on, let me fill you in. Yesterday after my run, I had cooled down and was standing around talking to Kim, Carey, Micah and Debbie. I noticed Heather heading towards the "finish line" with something tucked under her arm. Once she got a little closer, I could tell that it was a kitty. I walked over to investigate and found a sweet, wet, shaking kitty. Heather found her (we think it's a girl) on College St. by the gas station. She couldn't leave it there, and despite being highly allergic, Heather ran the rest of the way with the kitty tucked safely under her arm. Well, Christa was sitting there and said something like, "Cindy, you need to take this kitty home." And, once I held her I knew Christa was right! :-)

The picture above is right after we gave her a bath to rid her of fleas. We stopped counting after 40! She was a brave little girl. We decided to acclimate her to one area of the house at a time. So, during the day she is in the kitchen/dining room area with access to the laundry room (food, water, litterbox). Charlie isn't quite sure yet about Abby, our Golden Retriever. There was quite a bit of hissing and growling at first, but today seems to be better. Abby is being really good with Charlie and respecting her boundaries. She learned that from Dante (but I'm sure those sharp little claws of Charlie's are a bit scary.)

Of course, a trip to WalMart and Petsmart was necessary to purchase kitty food, toys, litter, etc. This "free" kitten is costing me a bundle. :-) Guess I'll take her to the vet tomorrow to get checked out and get her shots.

Last night, we put her in the hall bathroom with her new bed and a couple of toys and maybe I was just tired but I did not hear a peep out of her all night. I was expecting lots of crying--being in a new environment--but she was a precious little angel. Let's hope tonight is more of the same. I'll keep everyone posted on how she's doing over the next few weeks. Thanks Christa for encouraging me to take her home. I think she's going to be a very nice addition to the family! :-)

One last picture...