Third Half-Marathon = Success!

I ran the Indianapolis half-marathon this past Saturday and had a fantastic time with a few good friends/classmates. My friend C and I drove to Indy on Friday afternoon to check out the "expo" and pick up our race packets. It was a very small expo, but still fun to walk around and check out all the races I want to do next! I bought a super cute hot pink headband to wear for the race that says "I run for BEER" which I thought was very awesome and totally me. Afterwards, we met up with four of our classmates and went out for a fabulous Italian dinner in Indy - so incredibly delicious my mind waters just thinking about it. I had a seafood pasta (with shrimp, scallops, clams, squid, and mushrooms) in a white wine garlic butter sauce. HEAVEN. We were all sad that we couldn't try out the wine list to go along with our amazing meals, but we ate just enough of the freshly baked bread and olive oil to sustain ourselves. Anyway, this sort of sounds like a restaurant review, so I might as well tell you where we went! It is called Mama Carollas Old Italian Restaurant. Go try it if you are ever in the area!

Saturday morning, we woke up at 6 am (5 am our time, yikes!) and I ate my standard Thomas blueberry bagel with peanut butter and a banana. I always eat this before races, its one of my weird quirks. I swear no other blueberry bagel tastes this good. I got dressed, tried to put on my paceTat (tattoo with mile times - basically where you need to be - time-wise - at each mile to get your goal time) and forgot to remove the plastic... so I tattooed the plastic and wondered why it wasn't sticking to my arm... fail. I wrote them in pen, which gradually faded during the race, but oh well!

Got to the race start, waited the customary 30 minutes to use the port-o-potties, didn't really warm up at all and got in my spot in the B corral. Apparently I had signed up with a really excellent goal time when I registered... classic me. Between registering for the race and the actual race, I barely trained. I ran twice a week... if that. I wasn't good about my long runs - my longest run was the Monday before the race at 9 miles and I thought I would die on the side of the road... so I was using this race as an experiment to see how little training I can do and still have an okay race. The neat thing about Indy was that they had printed our first names on our racing bibs, just above our numbers - so people cheering could actually yell out our names, which I thought was just awesome.

Race starts - I cross the start exactly 2 minutes after the start in the usual pack of people. I love the start of races. I love jockeying to find a spot and passing person after person in the first mile. I love seeing what people wear, and their running styles, how they use their water stops, if they are running with a friend, and a million other things. This is why I enjoy racing. I know I won't win awards (not in a field of 9,000) but I know that I can compete against myself and have a great time doing that. Plus, I get to people watch for 2 hours!
I was exactly on my goal time for the first mile. I wasn't really happy about that - I like to be under and give myself a buffer for later in the race - so I picked up (a little) speed. We hit a large uphill and downhill that I ran my little heart out on - then I realized I should conserve some energy! At mile 2, I was a full 30 seconds under my time - and as the race went by, I worked myself up to a full minute under. I was feeling okay, but my body was getting a little achy as the miles passed. I ran past my friend M around mile 7, and on the way back, I passed C (at the same place I had seen M, but on the other side!). Mile 11 is where I hit my wall. I was right back even with my pace time... and I had started to die. I knew I could gut it out for two more miles, but right when that thought passed through my head, we turned and approached what looked to be a monstrous hill. I didn't walk, but I definitely shuffled up the hill and my pace slowed dramatically. At mile 12 and 13, I couldn't really see my pace times anymore because sweat had blurred my writing. My goal time was 1:52.30 according to my paceTat - I finished at 1:53.29. Not bad! My personal best is 1:52.14, so I can't complain about this time with the little training/preparation that I did!

My next race goal time (if I train the way I want to) is going to be breaking the 1:50 mark. I know I can do it, I just have to be relatively injury free (unlike this time!) and train properly. I'm proud of my accomplishments, but my competitive nature always wants more.

Congratulations to everyone who raced at Indy! They put on a beautiful race with fabulous volunteers - what a beautiful Saturday for running :)

Unknown History

KJ adopted our big black and white "holstein"/loveable pit bull from the junior surgery ward at school where he was neutered. Exactly two years ago, he came into our lives and I've been in love with him since then. I sometimes wonder about his history, since they (and we) estimated his age to be about 2 or 3 years old before he found his forever home. He has a calm, gentle disposition - he wants nothing more in life than to snuggle on the couch with you and grab a few rays of sunshine in the backyard on a beautiful day. He is moderately leash aggressive, but at the farm where he gets to play a few times a month, he gets along with everyone and does his own thing (mostly grazing and half heartedly running after other dogs). He is a little frightened of water deeper than a foot. He loves everyone and greets every visitor to our house with a big toothy grin and a wagging tail that resembles a helicopter... but where did he come from? The other night, we were sitting on the couch watching a TV show and the doorbell rang on tv. Ben shot up like something had bitten his butt and ran to the door. We don't have a doorbell, nor has he been in any homes that have one/use one. Usually he'll check out the window first if he hears something, but this time he ran to the door. Apparently he must have lived somewhere with a doorbell... in a house. Which makes me sort of happy because I hope that he was treated nicely before he found us. His rare and random aggressive tendencies (on leash ONLY) make me wonder how he came to be that way or if that is just how he is. He is completely fine with dogs smaller than him, but if they are his size or larger, he is not a dog I would go nose-to-nose with, especially if that other dog postures in an aggressive or challenging way.

I'll never know where he lived before he came to us, but I like that if I am perceptive enough, I can pick up on small details about his previous life. He's my good boy now, but I thank the people before us who took care of him and shaped him to be the dog he is today. He's an incredible dog and it is because of him that I am in love with the breed.

Third Year Life Update

First real round of exams coming up next week. Avian Med/Renal (why they put those two subjects in one class together I don't know), Anesthesiology/Fluids, and Toxicology. We already took one CAM (Companion Animal Med) exam and I did decent on it (studied for a total of one day or so and KJ and I were dying of colds at the same time) so I'm not too worried about avian/renal. Tox will be a difficult one just because I don't love straight up memorization. I made a really scary excel chart comparing all the toxins so I only need to memorize 20 pages of size 10 font. No big deal.

Finger is doing decent. Okay, actually it really sucks not to be able to bend my finger like I used to, but therapy is going all right and they tell me it is slowly improving. We started large animal palpation two weeks ago (equine and bovine) so I get to palpate with my right hand instead of my left but its not a huge inconvenience. I enjoy palpation - I can honestly say I have never been up to my shoulder in the rectum of anything before, nor have I been projectile urinated/defecated on - truly a humbling experience - but I like it! Its a like a puzzle inside the rectum of an animal - trying to find cervix, uterine horns, ovaries, follicles, caruncles, etc. Oh the world of therio - it is a nice way to end my week. I'll probably be complaining when the weather turns and I am layered up under my bibs trying to stay warm, but hey - no one ever called veterinary medicine glamorous!

Here is an update on the fur kids:Benjamin at the farm (note KJ in the background).

Quoddy being helpful... and throwing my highlighters on the floor.

My dogs that believe they are cats by sitting on the back of the sofa.

I call Marley (the fish) Pacino-TV. He just discovered the fish that has been there for over a year.

The loves of my life. I need to take some better pictures of them! Wish me luck on the exams. I'll probably be posting more, seeing as it is exam time and I need ways to avoid studying. Cheers!

So I'm a third year... now what?

Third year has started - which means we have no more big breaks between now and graduation. We still have the standard Thanksgiving and Spring Breaks, but Winter Break is cut down to two weeks and summers off are now just a memory. May 2012, are you here yet?

The classes so far have been MUCH more interesting than the last two years. I am loving intro to surgery and actually doing something with my hands other than typing, highlighting, and writing notes. It is hard to keep our schedule straight - since it can vary from week to week depending on lab schedules and what not - but I enjoy the labs a lot. We have theriogenology this semester - so we get to palpate and preg check and ultrasound and all sorts of good stuff - most of which I'll never do again on production animals, but some of it should correlate to dogs and cats. It has been little tough with all the hands on work since I broke my finger in July. Broke my finger you ask? Doesn't sound so bad!... until you see the x-rays. I fractured my proximal phalanx on my left middle finger. "Fractured" meaning I broke it into 3 or 4 pieces (a nasty spiral fracture accompanied by a large piece of bone no where near where it was supposed to be) that had to be put back together surgically with a metal plate and four screws. Needless to say, my dexterity has decreased significantly and its really obnoxious to deal with. I actually fractured my index finger as well on that hand - but the surgeon said not to worry about it, and it has healed quite nicely. I'm in the process of doing rehab on the middle finger... stay tuned...

Anyway, our class is drama as always. Choosing seats in a lecture hall shouldn't be a cause for confrontation and ridiculous behavior. That being said, I do like my seat. Last row... *cough, caudal club, cough*... but I'm not going to fight someone over it and if I get to class late and someone else is chilling in my seat, I'll go sit somewhere else. No big deal.

Lastly, KJ and I have been engaged for a year today! We had date night at our favorite sushi restaurant in town and we dressed up and looked adorable and had a fabulous time eating sushi and drinking expensive drinks :)

Typical Morning Shenanigans...and a Lesson in Pet Care

I may be the electronic notes representative for our class, but I just learned how to post pictures to my blog. You can start judging me... now.

These are the furry children from the left on a typical morning: Pacino, Quoddy, Jasmine, Ben (and KJ's face)

Ben sleeps like a little person...

They get super cuddly when its cold out and the fleece sheets are on the bed!

True puppy love.

I love these guys like no other. They make us smile and are constantly entertaining us. I know not everyone is as lucky as we are to have two dogs and two cats that genuinely enjoy each other's company - I know that we are lucky. When I have a tough day at school and open the door to see them all cuddling on the couch, it reminds me why I do what I do.

Veterinary medicine is very challenging, yet so rewarding. This summer has been a good lesson in trials and tribulations that go along with a high volume clinic, but I never doubt how much these doctors care about their patients and the lengths that they go to to help the animals and their owners. This afternoon I had a rude awakening that not all owners see their dogs as part of their family. We had an incredibly adorable and young cocker spaniel in for grooming who was a very nervous nellie and marked "careful". She bit one of the kennel girls and looked so pitifully scared while sitting in her kennel. When the owner came to pick her up, I got her out of her kennel (bite-free!) and brought her to the front while sweet talking her the entire time. She took one look at the owner and tried to run back to the kennel. I handed him the leash and he proceeded to grab her and shove her into a cat carrier that was never meant to hold anything larger than a 10 pound cat. This sweet 25-30 pound cocker spaniel couldn't stand up, turn around, or MOVE at all inside that small space. Poor baby. No wonder she acts the way she does. It really bothered me the rest of the day and although this isn't a huge problem - I just wonder how she gets treated at home...

Shared Holiday

Happy Father's day!  and Happy birthday to me!  I can't believe I am 26 years old.  Last night at my cousin's graduation party, someone asked if I was one of my cousin's friends.  My cousin is 17 and just graduated from high school.  Yikes!  Which makes me wonder - Am I going to be taken seriously as a doctor when I graduate?  Or will the clients ask for the "real doctor"?  But I was then told that it is a good thing that I look younger than my age and I will appreciate it one day :)

Interesting case presented on Thursday.  A MN three year old corgi presented with ataxia, difficulty walking/standing on his own, and couldn't keep his head up right (it kept rolling to either side).  The dog look neurologic, with no nystagmus present.  Ran bloodwork - unremarkable other then hypokalemia (value was 2.9).  Rads were fine as well.  Owner insisted there was no way the dog could have gotten into anything (typical).  Ended up recommending that they go to the teaching hospital (where I go to school - about 15 minutes away).  Apparently the owner dropped off the dog and returned home to search the house for anything the dog may have gotten into.  She then discovered that a 1/2 loaf of rye bread dough was missing that she had thrown away.  The dog had eaten it and the dough was fermenting - meaning the dog was essentially drunk!  The dog is doing fine and is home again after a nasty hangover the next morning.  

Which is how I feel right now - graduation party for six hours is a lot of time to drink a lot of beer.  I'm not really looking forward to my 8 mile run this morning... may have to trim that down a bit :)

I'm still a bad blogger.

I love reading other blogs - I check for updates daily. For whatever reason, I've been really bad at keeping up with my own blog, which is weird since I have written diaries/journals for the majority of my life! I am going to make a conscious effort to write and to let you in to the realities of veterinary school and the daily life of a veterinary student - as well as talking about the loves of life (my fiance - KJ, the animals, running, etc).

Anywho - summer is here! What a long and twisty road this past year was! I ended up with pretty great grades considering how difficult spring semester was. The funny thing is that for most of the classes, I had the lowest percentage possible to achieve the letter grade I wanted - but hey, I still did it!

This summer, I am working in the diagnostic lab at school (my regular school year job) and working at my fiance's mom's animal hospital just east of where we live and go to school. It was a large adjustment going from a sedentary student lifestyle to being on our feet all day at work but I'm getting in the groove now and really starting to enjoy it. There have been a number of interesting cases (rodenticide toxicity, possible Blasto case, and many moore) and KJ and I have been getting to "play doctor" and doing a lot of the pre-op bloodwork along anything else they let us do.

I'm starting marathon training in a couple weeks - it is a 16 week program and the goal is the Indianapolis marathon on October 16th. Side goal is to lose about 10 pounds before vacation in August :) KJ and I have been lifting/running in the mornings before work and its going pretty well so far, so I really hope that continues.

The animals are great as always. Still keeping an eye out for any lumps or bumps on Ben (our pti bull). He had a low grade 2 mast cell tumor removed from his scrotum late last year, so he doesn't have that lovely "flap" anymore!

That is life for right now. The dogs are whining at me so I guess its time for dinner!