My friend, Jenn1, ran her first 5K race last night. I had thought about going to root her on, and it turned out that the timing (plus Mister's Reserve center being halfway to the race site) worked out very well. She finished strong and looked amazing. That, plus the whole festival atmosphere and range of body types made me say over and over again, "I want this! I really want this!"
On the long drive home, my thighs ached to GO! I thought about doing my distance run when I got home, but I wasn't sure about the drivers at that time of night. I planned to get up at 5AM and go before Mister left for the Reserve Center. But between the Coke I had at dinner, the high from being at the race, and a head cold that is beginning to settle in, I chose sleep this morning instead.
When Mister got home this afternoon, I took advantage of marginally cooler weather and headed out by myself--not even a dog. Just me, my breath, my steps, some Beats Antique, and a light rain. I kept up a steady pace, if not a fast one. In the same time my friend ran 3.1 miles, I did 2.5 miles. I refuse to be discouraged--there's still a month to go in terms of training. Plus, finishing is finishing. And I will finish.
While I was mostly in blank brain mode, I did notice that many of the signs I put up about the dog had been removed. I had taken her earlier in the week to the vet, and she had no chip. She was put on a round of antibiotics and anti-wormer as a preventative. No response to the signs. No response to online queries. In the meantime, her appetite has significantly improved (although her bones are still prominent). She and I have also seriously bonded. I had been fighting baby animal cravings for some time. After some discussion, we decided to give her a forever home with us.
The name that rolled around my head when I first met her was influenced by her wolf-like features and pale color; it stuck the entire walk home.
Her name is Luna2
1 At the risk of embarrassing her, Jenn is one of those amazing friends everyone should have. She taught me the best things I know about librarianship (which is my day job), how to be fearless in knitting, and that the Mommy Wars can be irrelevant if you want them to be. That I am inadvertently chasing after her in this arena as well, I hope she doesn't find stalkery. Truly I did it independently.
2 To placate my daughter, her long name is Luna Faline Puppo. I admit that if I were a Good Mommy, I would have let Little Miss name her completely. But Little Miss tends to fall in and out of love with goofy names. I really wanted a Forever Name to be more appropriate to the animal.
