Back to Cougar and A Sick Pup

Milo and I had a wonderful Halloween on Cougar Mountain yesterday. Until the ride back home. But lets get to the good stuff first!

We trecked over to Cougar Mountain in the early afternoon yesterday. I was worried about Milo in the car because he tends to get car sick and super anxious, but he did great all the way out!

It was cool and foggy and just perfect running weather! I had an 8 mile loop planned and hoped that I wouldn't get lost and that Milo would be fine during the whole thing.

Ignore my creepy expression. 

I had my map, my pup, my water and was happy as a clam! It couldn't have been more beautiful and the weather was just perfect!

There were several longer stretches where I was a little worried that I'd missed a turn, but I was always on the right track. Milo traded off between sniffing things behind me and being the leader. It was kind of helpful when he pulled right in front of me because he definitely kept my pace slower, which I needed if I was going to make 8 trail miles.

I stopped every few miles to let Milo have a drink and he would lap up the water and then tear off ahead of me.

There was one point when I was on the far side of the mountain where it was darker that I started to get a little worried that I didn't have a light with me. It was only about 4pm, but I wondered if it would get darker a little earlier up in the mountains. Luckily, we made it back to the car and even back home before it was completely dark. Next time for sure I am going to bring a headlamp just in case!

By the end, I was definitely dragging. It was getting somewhat difficult to lift my feet over all the roots sticking up. These 8 miles took me longer than my 10 miler last Sunday. But they were infinitely more fun!

Milo and I got back to the car muddy and happy. Milo was more reluctant than usual to get back in the car. I figured he just didn't want to leave!

I was fairly certain that since Milo made it out to Cougar just fine, that he would make it back home as well. Oh no no no. Poor little guy was sick the entire time back home. And, of course, I was on the freeway and there was no where I could stop and pull over for him. To make matters worse, there was MUCH more traffic than I anticipated and I was just a huge ball of anxiety by the end of our trip. At one point a bus was blocking the intersection I was at and I let out a scream. I just wanted to get my sick puppy home!

You're welcome that I didn't take a picture of the backseat of my car because that ish was NASTY! Poor little Milo bear.

So now I'm at a crossroads. Milo obviously loves trail running with me. And I don't want to deny him the opportunity to go out with me on the trails. But the car rides are just not worth it. And I'm not sure what to do. I've been consistent about bringing him out to the car for meals to help relieve his anxiety, but that hasn't seemed to work very well. Anyone have any tips for us?

T'was the Weekend Before Christmas

Happy Christmas Eve! Later today I'm heading over to my parents' house for the holiday and I couldn't be more excited for an excuse to chill out a little for a few days.

Before I left, however, I wanted to post some of what I was up to this past weekend!

Friday I headed up to Cougar Mountain for a trail run.

It had been raining off and on all morning, but my favorite running buddies and I headed out and up anyways. It ended up being a nice day for running! A little chilly (I was in 3 layers!), but I like running in cold weather, so it was fine by me!

My faves.

While we were running, it even started snowing! It was so peaceful and we all fell silent just to enjoy hearing the sound of the snow on the leaves and trees. It was also surprisingly green for mid December!

Greenery love!

We were all feeling a little beat up, so we only did an hour and forty five minutes before calling it a day. I just adored being out there. Not only is it nice to be with my friends, but trail running is so much more calming than road running for me. I feel like there is no expectation of time so I can just run how I want to run!

We had a short but sweet Crossfit workout on Friday night. None of us noticed at first, but it was an "end of the world" workout.

Can you spot it? 12.21.2012

I tore through this and the toughest part for me were the box jumps. There weren't any boxes left at the correct height, so I had to use an extra tall one and my coach held my hand so I could get up there. Haha! I'm such a wuss. But at least I did it!

I also got all my gifts wrapped. There aren't very many since I'm just having Christmas with my parents, but I'm glad to have some under my tree at last! My apartment complex is great and has an entire room leading up to Christmas full of wrapping supplies. Otherwise, you better believe I would've just wrapped them when I got to my parent's house!

I've been getting lots of Christmas cards in the mail, all of which are on my fridge, but I just had to share my favorite one! These are my nieces and nephew-pup. Aren't they the cutest? My half-brother is also an amazing photographer, and the picture is just perfect. It makes me smile every time I see that toothy grin from Kylie!

Saturday evening after work I made it down to the gym in my apartment complex for some tabatas!!!
I ended up doing the following. 8 rounds of each exercise, 20 seconds work followed by 10 seconds of rest.

V-ups
One arm row (4 rounds each arm)
Split lunges
Skater lunges

I was feeling a happy burn by the end! Sunday morning, my hips were definitely letting me know they had been worked!

I also found not one, but TWO shake weights! The "gym" at my complex doesn't have much and I'm always requesting more equipment, so it makes me laugh that we have TWO shake weights. Seriously?!?!

Merry Christmas to all! I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday!