Weekly Review: Good or Bad, Happy or Sad

Closest local park. Not too shabby.

I'm finally back with an official Weekly Review post with Hoho Runs and MissSippiPiddlin! (I posted last week, but was a bit late). It's good to be back! Also, I apologize in advance for slacking on blog comments. I've been reading posts on my phone, but not commenting.

June 5–June 11
Monday: RUN 2.5 mile
Tuesday: RUN 5 mi
Wednesday: RUN 2.5 mi
Thursday: RUN 2 mi
Friday: RUN 4.1 mi
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: RUN 10.25 mi

Total: 26.5 miles / 1,145 ft

I'm training for a crazy 25k THIS weekend (ack!), but beyond that I'm just trying to have fun and enjoy Montana life. We're three months into this move and it's been pretty fantastic. We're lucky to have great mountain trails within 10-15 minutes. The neighborhood trails and locals parks are also excellent (see above).

2.5 trail miles for Global Running Day w/Alex

I ran pretty easy this week because my legs were super sore from last week's hilly hikes. I kept up my almost three week run streak until Saturday. Friday morning's run was a slow run/walk and I realized I needed a break. No need to maintain what started as an accidental streak.

From Sunday's long(er) run

After a bit of rest my (still tired) legs were better on Sunday's long run. I wanted 14-15 miles, but when I turned onto the single track trail around 4.5 the mud levels skyrocketed and my fear of being alone in the woods kicked in. Sure, I carry bear spray and yes, maybe there weren't bears nearby, but after I went 15-20 minutes without seeing anyone I decided to turn around. 10.25 was still tough. I walked a lot, but ended with an 11-something pace, which I was pretty happy to have with hills.

Pretty cool to see horses along the trails

Sad

On Sunday

I didn't have any hiking miles this week. Ugh. This is tough: On Friday, Tobias fainted. My friend came to get me for a hike and my dog Tobias got really excited to see her, started running around like he normally does, then all of the sudden he collapsed on the living room carpet. I started yelling and went to grab him. He was limp, but stuck in his position– if that makes sense. He wasn't having a seizure. After a short while he came to and shook it off. He didn't seem phased. He's 11 and this has never happened before (in my presence, at least).

My friend was amazing. She'd never met him and we've only know one another a month or so, but she immediately said, "lets go to the vet." I don't have a vet here (he got a check up before we left) so she drove me to hers and after a bit of a wait we got in. I described what happened, the vet asked questions, then listened to Tobias's heart. He knew what was wrong immediately. Tobias has a heart murmur. I texted my old vet (she was our neighbor and is awesome) who responded, "he didn't in Ohio!"

A sudden onset is not a good sign. The vet said it was a level 4.5 of 6 (also not good). We didn't run tests and have to go back Monday (he wanted Tobias to be calm), but of course I've been googling everything. The vet said he has 1 day to 10 years to live. Helpful. Of course, I'm freaking out. There's no "cure," just ways to delay an eventual heart failure. I hope so much they were mistaken. I hope it was all a fluke. But deep down I know it's probably true. He has displayed many of the symptoms in the last month (coughing, heavy breathing). What bugs me is he didn't before we moved here. Was the move stressful? (He seemed fine and enjoyed a few hikes.) Was it because we boarded him while we traveled last month (which we've never done before)? Untreated heartworms can cause a murmur. Were his heartworm meds not enough?

Anyway, we will know more tomorrow. Regardless, I've been very sad since Friday. Alex has been great trying to cheer me up and Tobias has been extra cuddly. I just thought we'd had many, many more years together. I hope we do.

Maybe it's stupid to share this here, but Tobias means a lot to me (and Alex). I really hope science prevails and we find something that can help him continue to lead a long, happy life.

I apologize for ending on such a sad note, but it's truly the only thing on my mind right now. [Update here]