Running Heroes

Role models. When you aspire to improve in your sport, it only makes sense to have a few people to look up to, right? Distance runners might follow Meb Keflezighi. Track stars love Flo-Jo.

Maybe where I'm going wrong here in trying to run a sub 2 half marathon is not connecting with the usual heroes...

Here are my top 5, in no particular order:

Julie Culley. Not a household name, just someone I ran track with in high school. She competed in the 5k in the 2012 Olympics. She runs her 3.1 miles literally twice as fast as I do. Perhaps I should have spent more time following her training plan instead of goofing off at practice.

Quicksilver. Although X-Men's Quicksilver is preferred, Avenger's Quicksilver will do in a pinch.

Forrest Gump. I'm taking liberty in assuming everyone has seen the movie. If things like paid employment were not important to me, I'd take off tomorrow to go run across the country.

Ridiculously photogenic guy. He's the reason I am all too aware when there's a photographer on the half marathon course. Maybe my new goal should be to get a photo at my next race that's even half as good as his.

Homestar Runner. New Strong Bad emails were the highlight of my Mondays during my early years in the workforce. Rumor has it they are making a comeback, which means I've got something else to distract me from actually going out running myself. 

If you've got a bunch of hours to waste in a day, catch up on all of the old SB Emails. Here's a good one:

And then when you're done with those, I recommend Teen Girl Squad (TGS). And if you'd like to try your hand at a game, go for Peasant's Quest.  

Who are your running heroes? Let me know in the comments!

Project Pup

Today I brought my dog in to have him screened to become a certified therapy dog for a local nonprofit called Project Pup. Members of this group bring well-mannered pets to visit with the sick and elderly at nursing homes and hospitals. I've really been looking forward to counting myself and my dog, Joey, among their members.

Look at me - all kinds of volunteering for things lately.

Ben, Joey, and I left bright and early for his appointment at a nursing home... a good thing too, as we missed our exit on the way there. Normally, it's not a big deal to miss an exit, but when you miss the last one in St. Petersburg, Florida, you're stuck going on a really long bridge to Tampa.

Oops.

So we went from being 15 minutes early to being 5 minutes late really quickly. My anxious self was certain the Project Pup volunteers weren't going to let us in.

But they were, of course, very nice and understanding. The volunteers reviewed his paperwork and then gave us instructions for the screening.

Joey's first test was to meet and greet one of the volunteers, who was sitting in a wheelchair. I lead him up to her and asked if she would like to pet the dog. She nodded, and I picked Joey up to her level (Joey's a little bit too small for someone in a wheelchair to reach him).

Next, Joey had to greet a volunteer using a walker. Same drill... ask the guy if he wants to pet the dog, pick up him so he can say hello, and move on our way. Only this time, the volunteer knocked the walker onto the ground with a loud crash to see if he could rattle Joey.

My dog didn't even flinch. So proud.

And then the real test began... meeting actual residents of the nursing home.

He was a huge hit.

EVERYONE wanted to meet Joey, even the nurses. We met one nice elderly lady who was confined to her bed and asked if Joey could sit on the bed with her. I asked the screener if that was acceptable, and she shared that if the residents ask for it, it is definitely ok. So I picked Joey up and placed him on the bed, and he wasted no time laying down right next to her for some snuggles.  The resident was all smiles, and her daughter took a few photos of her mom with my pup.

Needless to say, he passed his test with flying colors. I never had a doubt.

And for one hour today, I had my mind on something other than my own depressive thoughts. My dog not only helped other people smile today, he reminded me there are still things to look forward to in life.

I can't wait for our first volunteer gig together. He's going to make so many people happy.

Anyway, I couldn't take photos of him at the nursing home, so here's a few of his graduation party:

Celebrating at Dog Bar St. Pete

Bart the French Bulldog. My second favorite patron after Joey.

Joey fell in love with Bertha the Japanese Chin.

Bart. I just can't take how cute he is.

Better slow down on that wine, Joe.

I told you so.

Laser Focus

Ok, back to normal running today. I am still not sure what happened yesterday, because I felt exactly the same this morning as I did yesterday.

I'm so happy the weekend is finally here. Monday was a holiday, which was great, but I think my employer then expects us to get five days worth of work done in just four. It's impossible. It doesn't help that I have been having trouble lately focusing on getting any one task done.

It doesn't help that I let myself get distracted by reading articles about distraction.

There's a theory out there that suggests getting easily distracted is a sign of intelligence. So, naturally, I needed to find something that would tell me how easily distracted I get so that I know how intelligent I am.

Totally logical.

I took the one-minute quiz in the link above when I was looking for a distraction today, and apparently, I don't get that easily distracted and therefore must not be that smart:

The quiz is flawed, IMHO. What my score really represents is a desire to do something perfectly, even if it takes longer to do. As soon as I was tricked by one mismatched pair, I slowed down to ensure it didn't happen again.

And I know I'm still guilty of distraction, although it's not like I'm just spacing out - my distraction comes in the form of multitasking. I can attend a phone-based meeting, respond to work emails on my work laptop, and check Facebook on my cell phone, all while trying to get my cat to stop knocking things off my desk.

While distraction is a sign of intelligence, apparently it's only a good thing if I'm distracted by one thing at a time - because multitasking is actually making me dumber.

So, really, I should work to commit to being laser-focused on doing one thing at all times, including being distracted.

Don't worry, I'm confused too.

I guess that means I'm not that smart.

Or I just need to slow down during the workday like I have during my runs.  Gonna try implementing some of these ideas to help improve my focus.

57 days left.

Today's Exercise: 7 miles:

M1: 15:20
M2: 15:08
M3: 15:47
M4: 15:16
M5: 15:10
M6: 15:08
M7: 15:31

Breakfast	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
3 eggs with spinach, BP mocha	Tuna salad, TJ's Kraut	Almond butter	Chili, mint tea