Life is Sweeter with Honey (and wine)

Well that was embarrassing.

Running is NOT like riding a bike. It doesn't come back to you quickly at all. Especially if you get back on that bike in the summer in Pitt County.

I live in Eastern NC. That means running outside in the summer is the equivalent to running in the atmosphere of a large armpit. Gross, I know, but my goodness.... I am dying. Yesterday's run was brought to you by humility and the letter "F" as in failing or fainting or fat chance in hell. I had a 5 mile jaunt downtown Greenville on schedule for 5:30am. It was already 78 degrees with about 98% humidity (like I said, big hairy armpit). I had the girls to keep me company and before I knew it, I was running with Carolyn. Why do I pick the fastest in the group? I was truly thankful that at mile 2 Christenbury Gym on ECU's campus was open, thank you ROTC, and their "facilities" were functioning. I quickly abandoned Carolyn as I ran away yelling, "I'm sorry, it's necessary!" Ain't nobody got time for that! After an emergency bathroom break, I headed back UP the hill to find her again and proceeded to sweat it out with her for another mile. As we reached the top of ANOTHER hill on Charles Blvd, I instructed her (in between loud gasps of air) to go ahead, that I was about to get even slower and I was already pretty darn slow. Carolyn is fast. She is also kind so she will stay with you at any pace, but I felt real bad for holding her back and since she ran with me when I was in shape, I am a little embarrassed that I let it get this bad! I swear as I saw her bright orange tank top fading into the sidewalk ahead, all I could hear was Kelly Clarkson singing loudly, "Since U been gone, I CAN BREATHE FOR THE FIRST TIME!"

Me and Oz
working in the office!

I slowed down and had to reorganize my "running thoughts". I couldn't think about how painful it was to keep my feet moving. So I tried to think of the reasons I was putting all of this effort into this marathon. I had given it a purpose, well, ON PURPOSE. I thought of Ozzie, our Humane Society of Eastern Carolina resident of 2 years, and how he was now sitting happily in his home with his Mom & Dad of 6 months. I had just gotten an update on his progress and how in love they are with him. My pace didn't quicken, but I kept going. I thought of some of my favorite adoptions, some of my favorite stories of how one of our animals overcame a difficult situation and not only made it out of the shelter, but also made the lives of their adopter better too! When I got to my car, I still had 0.25 miles of my planned 5 mile run left. I ran right past the car and I may or may not have cried about it, but I said I would do this for the animals at the HSEC and if they could live in a shelter for 2 years waiting for a home, I could trudge another 0.25 miles. I finished the run, yet again feeling discouraged by the journey that lies ahead.

Today I was working at the HSEC and it began to thunder. I HATE a rainy day at the shelter. The dogs stay wet no matter what we do. I REALLY HATE a day at the shelter with thunder storms. So does a dog named Honey. Honey is a sweet 2 year old hound mix that isn't fond of storms and we immediately heard her start to wimper and cry. Honey is around 55 lbs, so a wimper is a lot like a crying baby in a library. Our receptionist Melissa and I are both a sucker for a dog, so our co-worker Kat helped us set up a crate and we moved her into the office to make her feel more at home. She nervously chewed her squeaky toy, but she was so thankful to be out of her kennel and with us. She was my reminder to just suck it up and get it done. She is one of the 400+ reasons I have to run. If I can raise $100 per mile for this marathon, that is about 26.2 animals I can cover the cost for at our shelter. Seems worth it to me. Definitely seems worth it to my girl Honey. So... Day 5 may be a rest day, but I was still mentally training for the race.


Day 5 of training
Tuesday- 3 miles
Wednesday- Rest
Thursday- 5 miles
Friday-Rest

Total Training Mileage = 8 miles
Total Fundraising = $395

Donors: Megan Hardee, Kay Evans, Shelley Leicht, Chad Smith, Daniel Rankin, Beth & Abbey Gallup, and a super duper anonymous donor I've never met in person, but she's pretty spectacular in every way! THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE DONATED!