This weekend was shaping up to be a good weekend but did not come out that way. As I drove home from a fairly busy night shift at the college I was excited to get home and wait for a phone call about a dog we were looking to adopt from a local shelter. We had been trying to adopt a dog since we decided we were ready for a new dog since Jake was put to sleep our family dog of 12 years. About two months ago we start filling out applications for dogs needing homes. Most never even returned a email or call. Some started the process and then just disappeared and would no return any emails. Honestly it would be easier to adopt a foreign baby than it was to adopt a dog. The whole time I am thinking I can just go to a pet store, but no, I want to rescue a dog.

This shelter was different then contacted me immediately, checked my references and was to call me on Friday. I got home and instead of going to bed I was afraid I might miss the call so I climbed into my recliner pulled on my blanket and took a nap as my cell phone and house phone lay beside me. Every noise woke me thinking it was my phone. All day I waited, but no call. At about 8pm that night I received a email from them stating that they were going to require me to enroll in dog training school before adoption was approved. Apparently this dog “Bandit” was adopted and the family returned him in two weeks because they could not handle him. I could not believe that we were this close and then they would come up with such a last minute requirement. Basically I was being penalized because the previous owner’s could not handle him. Mean while Bandit still does not have a home. I decided to withdraw my application since I did not have the additional $150 on top of the $300 I had already put aside for the re-homing fee. Also I believe that requiring us to attend dog training in order to adopt a dog is ridiculous. If I my references check out and the dog goes to a good family isn’t that the point? If we felt we needed training that should have been our decision. So no dog for now and I wish Bandit well.




Next I have been having trouble with my Direct TV satellite service. Over the past few months we have been losing channels little by little. I have called and called and each time little if nothing was done. So I called Friday night and requested they cancel the service. This finally got there attention and now they are sending a technician out on Monday free of charge with my free HD DVR. Finally my $106 pending bill was wiped out which made me happy. Ironically the Direct Tv Tec just showed up as I am typing this post.



Finally there was the 29th Slattery’s 2009 5 mile Turkey Trot this Sunday at 1pm. I was originally not planning to run this race again this year after my gale bladder surgery. About three months ago I had my gale bladder out and since it was so deteriorated they had to do open abdominal surgery leaving me with a huge laceration in my abdomen and 3 days in the hospital. I was not allowed to work or run for 6 weeks. Somehow I was able to get back and run the Fitchburg Fire Dept 5k about a month ago and right after the race decided to train for the 5mile Turkey Trot and felt I was ready. The whole weekend I found myself having trouble sleeping and not knowing why. I thought maybe I was coming down with something and made sure to take my vitamins. The day of the race I felt good. We traveled out to Fitchburg on a sunny 50 degree day. We arrived and waited in the crowd watching the kids races. A friend and his brother came down to run the race also and we met up about 20 minutes before the start. I warmed up and took my place on the start line.

As the gun went off I started running as fast as the pack I was in would allow. I reached for my Instinct and hit play…Nothing. I had set it up so all I had to do was hit play, no luck. I reset it and hit shuffle songs and bam music in my ears. The first area was a short hill which the momentum of it all running with over 1000 people carried my over. As I progressed towards the first mile my lungs were burning. This was not normal for me and I felt I may be going to fast. At the first mile the clock said 9:30, wow my normal pace is about 11:00. I felt this is why my lungs were burning so badly. I slowed and pushed on. At the second mile things were getting better but still I had that burning felling in my lungs and a metallic taste in my mouth. AT this point I slowed to a comfortable pace with a goal of finishing. I settled in to my pace and before I knew it I was climbing the last hill before the finish. I turned the corner and could see the finish line. I pushed my legs as fast as they would let me go and finished. in 56:47 @ 11:21 min/miles pace. No where near a PR but I finished and for that I was proud.

Today as I sit here writing this post I feel tired, sore, and have a productive cough. I feel like I may have bronchitis and believe this may have been a factor yesterday. If this turns out to be the case then I am even more impressed with my bodies’ ability to run 5 miles while being ill. This for me this just one more reason to continue running.

Everything Always Looks Better After a Run
FishaDad