Happy Anniversary Drunk Otis!

The Incomparable Drunk Otis.

One year ago today, our lives were forever changed by a huge, slobbery, brown, frat boy who came BOUNDING into our lives, full tilt boogie. One minute he could be on the cover of Field and Stream, then next he could be the centerfold of Campus Lyfe, complete with a cone on, throwing back Jaeger Bombs and doing keg stands. He has his own Instagram. He’s huge in the New England Cyclocross Scene. He has a sick and expensive sock fetish. He’s our Drunk Otis Brown.

It’s all fun and games until someone winds up in a cone.

And he’s a hot mess.

Happy Rescue Day, Oats!

It’s great to be ALIVE! And RESCUED!

For all of his “drunken” antics, that boy loves to RUN. I’ve said it before, he is the Scott Jurek of Dogs on the trail. Focused. Driven. Happiest. He aims to please you in a way that our other pups, Leon James and Pearl “Evil Beagle” Anne just don’t do. Leon James is the sensitive, sweetest boy. He’s a loyal mush ball. My Most Handsome Leon James is what I call him. Sweet Butterbeans. Such a good dog. I adopted him during Colby’s Life Part 1, from a local rescue group. He was a love from the go. Evil Beagle on the other hand, is a different beast. Evil Beagle could frankly give a shit less about loyalty.  

“Whaaaaaat?!?!? Oh Heeeeeeyyy Everybody!!”
*ticky tacky, ticky tacky*  

That’s her.

Evil Beagle.

She is a non-stop, tri-colored wag fest. But show her a baby bunny and she’ll have that thing pinned and de-fuzzed in 3 minutes flat. I’m not kidding. She’s gotten two. I give her some slack. She’s a former laboratory research beagle I rescued from a pharmaceutical company. It took her a while to become A Real Dog. Much of it I owe to Leon James.

Three Amigos.

He was so patient with her. Now? She’s one of the best things that has ever happened to me. She’s a DOG. A real dog. Who fetches. And runs like hell. She’ll lay smack dab in the middle of the yard, sun on her face, tattooed ear flipped, like she’s posing for her Glamour Shot. Drunk Otis adores her. And quite frankly, other than antagonizing the snot out of Evil Beagle, and pissing off his brother Leon James for sport, he’d much rather be with his Humans. I’ve never had a dog like Drunk Otis. He’s just…well…different. He’s a lab. And a chocolate one at that. Which I swear is a totally different thing. I keep asking My Other Half, who always had labs “Uh. Babe. Is he ALWAYS gonna be like this?” He shakes his head yes. Ever so slowly. Every single time.

Two Peas.

Rescue a pup. Don’t buy one. There are so many Evil Beagles, Leon James’ and Drunk Otis’ out there. A rescue dog’s capacity to love unconditionally knows no bounds. Sure, they’ll drain your bank accounts, eat your socks and wreck your hard wood floors.  But trust me.  They are worth it. Each and every silly one of them. 

Squad goals.

Have you ever rescued a dog? Did you grow up with dogs? Do you run with your pup?

Page 1 of 366

I love a fresh clean slate. That’s just what I woke up to. This morning, I woke up with a mild grade New Year’s Eve hangover. Yet, I was excited. The day seemed ripe with new possibilities despite my slight haze. Shit. Even my breakfast was happy.

View this post on Instagram

Good Morning 2016! #breakfast #happynewyear #avocado #ezekielbread #sriracha #healthy #food #rungry #runner #fuel #run #fit #fitfam #happy #smileyfacesriracha #toast

A post shared by C O L B Y (@runcolbyrun) on Jan 1, 2016 at 7:15am PST

Which of course made me happy. So, in Pure Colby fashion, I drank a gallon of coffee, chased it with a tall glass of SkratchLabs and searched for my new trail kicks. I was stoked for the first run of 2016.  Not to be over shadowed by the Last Run of 2015, which was a glorious seven mile jaunt on my favorite route. It was a beautiful, contemplative 7 miles of happiness. 

View this post on Instagram

The last 7 miles of 2015! Oh, what a run its been! Here's to a happy, healthy, badass New Year. Cheers, Poodles! #happynewyear #2016 #run #runner #running #runhappy #runforanother #womensrunningcommunity #werunsocial #runnersofinstagram #instarunners #fit #fitfam #fitness #skratchlabs #hokaoneone #janji #happy #RCRunneroftheweek #goals #ilovetorun @hokaoneone @skratchlabs @runjanji @womensrunningcommunity

A post shared by C O L B Y (@runcolbyrun) on Dec 31, 2015 at 9:52am PST

But today, Drunk Otis, My Other Half and I headed to Our Favorite Trails to run wild. As only Drunk Otis could. What fun we had! I love trail running. Simply love it. I haven’t felt that free since I was a 10 year old kid, racing through the woods next to the golf course near our house to snatch fly golf balls that would wind up in the scrub. Then we’d sell them back to the Rogue Golfers at a discount. #freeenterprise 

Drunk Otis is happiest when he is running with his Humans. I swear I heard that dog let out a whoop! He’s amazing. Picks the right line every time. He’s the Scott Jurek of dogs. He sails through the trail, turning back every so often to make sure I am there. And if not? He waits. Patiently. Tongue out. Tail wagging so fast it’s blurry. So today, I took my first page, and handed it to Otis to write.  

The Natural.

 Life for him, is a godamn party every single second. He doesn’t worry about his feet, or his ankles. He is not afraid of falling and hasn’t stumbled yet. If he did, he’d probably laugh out loud, then catch up with his peeps and tell an overinflated tale of the rock that tried to bite his chocolate brown ass. He looks for the line, and tears it up. He is fearless. He is joyful. He is confident. Otis lives life LOUD. Bullhorn Style. 

Sun’s out, tongue’s out.

 
That dog can run. For the pure joy of running. It was exhilarating watching him. Made my whole heart smile. 

What a great way to begin. 🙂

Do you run with your dog? What’s your spirit animal? Trails or road. Go! 

My Happy Place

Because I’m Happy! The Friday Five!

What makes me happy? My Other Half. Negative splits. That Perfect Run. An ice cold beer at the end of a long bike ride. And so much more. There are so very many things that make me happy, it’s hard to pin it down to just FIVE.  But alas, it’s the Friday Five. Not the Friday Five Thousand.  So for the sake of our fabulous hosts, Courtney @ Eat, Pray, Run DC, Mar @ Mar On the Run, and Cynthia @ You Signed Up for What?!? I’ll keep it on track.

1. The 3 Amigos. Leon James. Evil Beagle. And Drunk Otis. I couldn’t possibly write a ‘What makes me Happy’ List and leave these silly fool off. No matter what the theme. Look up “Happy” in the dictionary and I bet you’ll find their slobbery mugs. They are so special. They bring My Other Half and I such joy.
   
   

   Leon James.

   
   
   

   Evil Beagle.

   
   
   

   Drunk Otis.

2. My Bike.  Henrietta Pussycat. Why? Because that’s who she is. And because all bikes should have names. I love my whip. She fits me to a T.  And fights cancer. Pretty badass for a bike right?
   
   

   Henrietta Pussycat.

3. The Pan Mass Challenge.  This will be my 11^th year riding in the PMC– and Tina’s 3^rd! There is nothing that makes me happier than riding with several thousand of my closest friends in our untied fight against cancer. I can’t put it into words. Other than to say that the riding in the PMC, a 2 day, ~200 mile cycling odyssey across the state of Massachusetts, in the name of fighting cancer, has become part of the fabric of my life. It will always be. Nothing makes me happier than doing something I am so passionate about. Nothin’.
   
   

   The Finish!

   
   
   

   Why I ride…

4. Beer. Especially the first beer after riding in the PMC. That’s the one beer I look forward to most. It’s after riding 110 miles. And it is shared with friends. There is nothing I look forward to more, than toasting with my friends, on that Saturday afternoon in Bourne, Massachusetts. To the PMC. To Life. To Health. To Friendship. To Those For Whom We Ride. Cheers.
   
   

   Cheers!

5. Wellfleet. Each year after finishing the PMC, My Other Half and I spend some time in Wellfleet. Reflecting on the weekend. Unwinding. Decompressing. Relaxing. Drinking. Eating. And simply enjoying one another. It is by far, our favorite time of the year. We have fallen in love with Wellfeet. It’s so special to us. It’s such a beautiful little, artsy town on the Cape. No summer is complete without a stay.
   
   

   Wellfleet.

   
   
   

   Sunset in Wellfleet.

   
   
   

   Happiness in Wellfleet.

 What makes you happy? Do you have dogs as RIDICULOUS as ours?

Get Fit With Fido!

I know two kids who were THRILLED their Mom didn’t run long this weekend! Meet Leon James and Pearl Anne. The two lights of my life. Leon James is Heinz 57, a mish mash, if you will. A little pit bull. A little lab. Some Shar Pei and a lot of Love Bug. Pearl is the Evil Beagle on the right. She’s not really evil. Although I think if she could talk, she would methodically discuss her master plan to abolish all UPS men. Globally. They’re simply fantastic dogs. They’ve also been getting serious attention lately- long walks, swimming (Beagle needs her bubble though), and a trail run for L.James. They’re exhausted!

I’m in this weird -So I Just Ran a Marathon. Now what?- space. Even though I am recovering and clearly suffering from PMWS (Post Marathon Withdrawal Sydrome), I am still getting short runs and work outs in every day. They just haven’t been of the super long run variety. It’s been a nice change of pace.  A circuit workout followed by a short run followed by a Leon & Pearl Cool Down Walk. Everybody WINS! Theses mini-workouts have been helping me combat the post-marathon blues. And keeping my pups happy!  I’m just gonna say it. I am starting to LOVE these transition periods between races. {Gasp!} Why? For 3 Super Simple Reasons:

1. They’re DIFFERENT.
2. They’re CHALLENGING.
3. They’re FUN!

As luck would have it, we were contacted by DogVacay.com and asked if we would give their Get Fit With Fido challenge a whirl. Hello?!?! PERFECT TIMING! We pawed at the chance. (See what I just did right there?) The circuit has 5 Dog-Inspired Moves created by Certified Fitness Trainer and Yoga Instructor, Julia Chan. And no. Before you ask, butt sniffing is not involved. Sassy Pants. Along with 5 Moves for you, there are 5 Dog Fun Facts that will help you understand your pooch. Did you know that when a dog does a “burnout” after doing his business, he’s marking his territory WITH GLANDS ON HIS FEET? And you thought he was just wrecking your lawn. For shame.

I did the Get Fit With Fido circuit this past weekend and it was PAWSOME! (Man, I am on FIRE here!) I haven’t done Mountain Climbers in a while and now I remember why —they’re tough! Especially if you do them fast. And I love a Squat and Jump Squat. Any time. They’re a Runner’s Friend. Leon James thoroughly enjoyed running Ladders (an interval workout) with me, rounding out the 5 Moves. I figured I’d get him in on the act. We did it for time on the trails. He was in heaven.

Check out the challenge! You don’t need a dog to do it, Silly. Although it was super fun with my stinky pup. You really don’t need anything but a little space and the will to try.  It’s a fantastic circuit to incorporate into your workout. I’ve done it several times now and am planning on rocking it again today.  It will definitely combat PMWS or just give you a little something different to keep you motivated. If you change nothing, nothing will change, right? So MIX IT UP! Get that body confused. It will LOVE you for it.

What do you do during those “in between” periods? Do you weave circuit training into your routine? Do you take you dog on vacation or hire a sitter? If you were a dog, what kind of dog would you be?