I'm a Monster Miler!

Today started off pretty rough.  

- Sleep deprived

- Brutal exam that I didn't feel great leaving

- Couldn't nap because I had to do something for a class that needed to be handed in

- And I was late going to my activity this evening.  So much rush hour traffic in center city!!!

At least I ended my rough day on some positive notes. 

My fun activity tonight was....volunteering at an animal shelter!  

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Tonight was my orientation to start volunteering at PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society) which is in old city.  It's one of the only (if not the only?) non-kill shelter in the city.  I'm going to be one of their "monster milers" who get to come in a go on runs with the shelter dogs!  How fun!  Its great for the dogs because they will get to come out of their small rooms and burn some energy.  This energy burn helps them get adopted because they are more calm when people come to look for dogs to adopt.  Any dog that's been cooped up all day is going to be a little crazy and hop around when someone comes in, and sometimes people don't understand its just because they have a lot of energy!  

Running with dogs is also a great way to protect yourself when you run alone.  Women are huge targets for attackers, and dogs ward off unwanted encounters.  

Also the dogs wear a super cute vest that says "adopt me".  That way is people see them in their vest they know that the dog needs a home and they can go check out paws and find more about the dog.  The monster milers are basically ambassadors for the dogs and paws.  And I am so excited to be able to give back to some great doggies!

Today we played with this adorable little pup!  Her name is Lulu and she was so sweet!  She was a medium sized pit bull terrier mix.  (Yes, most of the dogs are pits and pit mixes.  I was a little nervous because they do seem to get a bad rap.  In Philadelphia we are overrun with pits and pit mixes, and basically every dog in the shelter is a pit breed.)  She was super friendly and really lovable.  

Meet LuLu!

pretty lady!

If you are interested in learning more about LuLu, you click on the link under her picture and can get more information on adopting her!  Thanks again to Carrie and Leslie for teaching us the ropes!  I am so excited to start running with the pups next week after the holiday!  Another great thing about running with the dogs is that I will be able to run on some new routes.  The shelter is really close to the Ben Franklin Bridge and Penns Landing!  Lots of great water routes there! 

Meals today:  Two salads.  That were basically the same.  

Lunch Salad 

- Romaine

- fat free mozzarella

- grilled chicken

- wasabi ranch crispies

- fat free french dressing

Had a side of cheese and crackers.  Boursin Light and Grain First Whole Wheat Crackers.  If you haven't tried either you need to immediately!  They are my favorite cheese and cracker combo!  So good I could eat the whole tub in one sitting if I let myself.  

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Dinner Salad

- spring greens

- cheddar

- chicken

- tomatoes

- onions 

- tortilla crisps

So good!

So today was filled with ups and downs, but I'm really happy it ended on a great note.  Now I am going to relax, watch some TV shows, and clean up the apartment before I head to the burbs tomorrow for a few days over the holiday.  We are hosting Thanksgiving this year, and I'm really excited!  I didn't get a legit workout in today, but I did walk about 2 miles around the city (and I ran Lulu down the block as a practice run!).  Excited to get some good suburb park and neighborhood runs in as well as treadmill runs at at my house at home!  Gotta work out a lot the rest of this week to ward off any holiday pounds that may creep on.  :-)