I love my friends. Don't get me wrong with the following bitching. But organizing the Summer Solstice Fun Run is alot of work. Well - not the organizing, but getting the yard ready to do this. It would be different if the yard was already hardscaped and landscaped and I had the furniture. But it's not and I don't.

I love all the plotting we're doing so the organizing is so much fun. The decisions on where to send them, which public transportations would (or would not) be allowed, hills or no hills, what cities are going to be covered and what locals are in those cities, etc. That is fun.

So trying to build 2 more benches and the frame for the cast iron sink (to be used to hold ice/drinks - hopefully will be really cool) has been stressful. I might be stuck in the garage for the rest of the week and may have to miss bootcamp on Wednesday. This is not what I want. And the weather may not cooporate with my plans :( And the thought of spending all day cleaning the house is the last thing on my list of "things I want to do on my birhtday." I also may have to skip my annual trip to the museum so I have time to .... clean. Oh what fun.

Trying to do this, while still trying to work with the new puppy (which training is now non-existant) and trying to keep my dog from "over-disciplining" the puppy, and still trying to fit in bootcamp, and the vet appts, and trying to get a glass piece out for this month's contest, and fitting in all the social requirements (family-required graduations, dinner),and socializing with friends on events, and trying to get the house cleaned, and ....

I'm hoping the 50+ people will all fit into the backyard comfortably. I have no idea how 50+ people are going to have room to do pushups and situps, let alone just sit or stand and socialize afterwards.

When Jim and I first bought the house, my first requirement was the patio because I wanted to have dinner parties out there. Well it never was installed until after Dave moved in. Dave reminded me that I wanted that patio so we can socialize. So be careful what you ask for. HA. I guess 50+ people is a good test. I'm just very anxious about this. And if they are all going to fit.

There are worse things in life than trying to figure out how to accommodate 50+ friends. That, in itself, is a nice thought.

Deep cleansing breaths....

So some may not consider this a workout, but I beg to differ. Take 2 dogs - one puppy and one who is trying to get rid of the puppy, on a 2 mile jog, run, walk.

First-if you've ever tried to run with a dog, sometimes the trees and all the smells are too tempting and sudden stops are required. Secondly, if you've ever run with a dog, many times agility and speed is required to stop suddenly, take off suddenly, avoid the leash that's all of a sudden in your path, the agility to do a 90 degree turn on a dime, the strength to hold on to a leash being jerked out of your hand, etc.

Secondly, if you've ever run with a puppy, the attention span is even less than an 8 1/2 year old dog.

Thirdly, if you've ever run with 2 dogs, well....

So the workout was to tire out my older dog so she wouldn't have the enery to try and bite the puppy. A 2 mile run to the Academy and back to see "Daddy Dave" work out was in order. I didn't forsee the fact that she's attached to him and the thought of leaving him alone was way too much. So for 3 blocks I had to drag her away from her favorite play toy AKA Dave back to the house. Apparently 2 miles wasn't enough to tire her out, since she immediately decided the puppy was way too excited and needed to put a stop to that. Poor Dingo.

So the next part was, instead of just taking the puppy, I would brilliantly take both dogs. The minute I shut the door, I had the feeling this would be a BIG mistake. I thought exercising was supposed to relieve the stress!

Boo's main focus was to get back as quickly to Dave.

Dingo's main focus was...EVERYTHING.

It really wasn't a bad walk, although it was a walk more than the jog/run I was hoping for. I think we ran about half the time.

So far so good. Then we hit the Academy. For some reason, the sounds of box jumps and actions and all the people just freaked Dingo out. She was pankicky and couldn't wait to get out of there. But mean mommy made her sit and wait before bolting outta there! So much for doggie crossfit ;)

Funny thing was that when we ran, I could really feel the push off my foot, felt like I had a better "kick" and worked more on the core, worked on lifting the knees to avoid the raised sidewalk, etc. I thought I looked better since it felt like I was running with better form.

And end result was that both dogs were asleep on the floor for the rest of the evening. Whew! It also meant that our dinner wasn't until way after 8pm. Guess a run to the Academy might have to be a routine for Dingo (get her used to the sounds and all the people) and just a run for Boo. What I won't do for those dogs!