Training in Humidity

It’s been hot. I mean, really hot. Like, 110-115 degree heat index hot. Miserably hot. It’s been putting a cramp in my running. I don’t do well with exertion in such temperatures. My face gets this mottled purple-red color, and people driving by probably wonder if they should stop to offer help. But no, that just what happens.

I’ve been doing my runs after 8:00 pm the past few nights, and it has made a difference. When I walk outside the air is warm, but not stiflingly so. Saturday I walked outside around 11 and immediately felt as if my body was enveloped in a warm, damp, wool blanket. Definitely not something that makes you excited about running. Even at 8, the air is still humid and feels as if I am breathing in a fine mist, but having the sun below the horizon helps. In addition, people are more likely to be watering their lawns later in the evening, so I can usually find a few sprinklers to run through to help cool me off! Don’t worry, I’m not traipsing through people’s yards. I’m just running through the streams that are watering the sidewalk, and let’s be honest, it’s not going to grow. (So if you happen to see me running, no I did not wet myself or sweat through my shorts).

I have been making a conscious effort to start out slow, very slow, in order to actually finish the paltry 3.16 mile run. Pathetic, I know, but I just can’t go any farther right now. I’m OK with that, because my pace is gradually heading down to where it should be. Before I was really concerned that I had just lost my ability. That my six months of a decent pace was just a fluke, beginner’s luck. I am now 95% convinced that is not the case and it’s just the heat. I am now also convinced that I need to move to San Francisco, where I can run all year round in basically the same temperature and maintain the same pace. I won’t even complain about the hills – I promise.

Two Peas In A Pod

You may recall that a few months back we adopted a six-year-old hound mix named Pete. You can find his back story here and here. We are now four months past official adoption, and he and our first dog, Maggie, could not behave any more like human siblings. It is unreal (and I am hoping good experience for kids!). Their personalities are so different. Maggie is very independent, while Pete loves to be around (on top of, next to, etc.) people at all times.

Maggie is a typical bossy little sister, barking at Pete any time she perceives us to be correcting him. Most of the time it is funny, but when she decides to bark at him and herd him from one room to another at bedtime, it can be a little much. She will still occasionally try to herd him for no reason, biting and tugging on his ears and face, but by this point, Pete is over being polite and has been known, on more than one occasion, to swat her on the head.

While they have their moments of sibling rivalry, more often than not you will find them playing “monkey see; monkey do”. One afternoon I was working from home, and they were laying on opposite ends of the couch in the sun room. Every few minutes they would swap sides of the couch. Most evenings, Pete sleeps on his bed on the floor, and Maggie lies on the love seat just above him. Close, but not too close.

Despite the heat we have been experiencing, those fools will spend all day outside, many times just eating grass (we now have actual grass – it no longer looks as bad as the picture!). At night they will go outside and retreat to the far back corner of the yard behind the garage where we can’t see them. We have yet to figure out what they are doing, but they will be back there for over an hour. Sometimes they come in huffing and puffing and all out of breath. Most times we have to go out and call them in. I’m sure it has something to do with a possum or raccoon, and I dread the day that we find something dead back there.

A couple of weeks ago my husband told me they were working in tandem to trap a squirrel on the fence. Pete stood on deck blocked that route while Maggie kept closing in on it along the fence line. I can imagine what would have happened had they fully executed their plan before my husband went out to stop them.

We certainly had our reservations about how these two would get along, even once we’d made the decision to keep Pete. They can certainly be exhausting, and they sometimes get into real fights, but overall I think Maggie is happy to have a friend, and Pete seems to love living here. I’ve never regretted our decision for a second.

Popular Search Terms

I love looking at my stats page to see how people are finding my blog. Most of the time they are referred by what I can only describe as weird spam sites. But every so often someone stumbles upon me using a standard internet search. I am still baffled at the most popular terms that lead to my blog. Are you ready for it? Border collie beagle mix, or some closely similar variation.

This is weird to me for a couple of reasons. First, I am surprised at how many people are typing these search terms into Google or wherever. I guess my Maggie is not as unique as I thought, and for those of you with a border collie beagle mix, I do understand why you are searching the internet for information on said combination! Second, I find it strange that those terms frequently lead people to this blog, but not my photo blog, where I frequently post about Maggie. In fact, the searches always lead people to the same post, which was one of my very early posts.

Perhaps you are waiting for some revelation or wisdom regarding blogs and search terms, but no, I am merely rambling. I am still often in awe of the power of the internet, and wonder how I ever survived without it. I can’t wait until I have kids and say things like “Back in my day, we had to read books. There was no such thing as the internet.”

What are the most popular or unique terms that send people to your site?

In Limbo

I should be working, but quite frankly there is so much going on right now that I’m finding it really hard to concentrate on summarizing medical records. (Although I always find that difficult because it’s so boring!) It doesn’t help that things are slow right now at work and I’m struggling to find enough to do to bill seven hours in a day. I think that is adding to my anxiety.

Last week I had a job interview. It went well (in my opinion), but accepting any offer would mean relocating to a city with a much higher cost of living than what we are used to. This is exciting, scary, and stressful all at the same time. I am not sure when I will hear something, but the waiting is killing me. The feeling of uncertainty is spilling over into all aspects of life. I haven’t been writing. I haven’t been taking any pictures. I haven’t been editing the pictures I’ve already taken. I truly feel in limbo.

I know that I need to just push it out of my mind and go normally about my day. But there is just so much to think about if we have to move. Getting the house ready to sell by making repairs (both major and minor), finding a place to live in a city whose neighborhoods we are not completely familiar with, moving two dogs to the city, etc. It’s feeling a bit overwhelming.

But it’s also incredibly exciting. We have been thinking about relocating for quite a while, and we are currently experiencing some major conflict issues with our neighbors. It would be nice to have a fresh start before we have kids when moving could be much more complicated.

I am both dreading and looking forward to the phone call. I hate making life-altering decisions, and I just know that if I get an offer it will not be the proverbial offer I can’t refuse. It will require serious contemplation, discussion, number crunching. In short, it will require me to make said tough life-altering decision. I just hope I make the right choice.