What’s Been Going On…
The past 3 or 4 weeks or so have been super stressful! A bunch of stuff happened all at once and I just haven’t been in the right frame of mind to blog much, or do much of anything. I feel terrible because I never was able to finish the Snappy H’appy Photo Challenge & I really enjoyed participating in it. I finally have some time with Doug today, so maybe we can get that last entry done.
Doug was in a car accident (it wasn’t his fault though!); he came out of it absolutely fine, the car ended up with many thousands of dollars of damage, which insurance is taking care of completely. We also were given a rental in the meantime, but can’t put Zeke in it because any hint of a pet and they charge a $250 cleaning fee. =P Most of the reason I have my car is to drive Zeke around to dog parks and fun places! It’s been almost 3 weeks already and our car is still not ready )=
Since we didn’t have the car, I was running with Zeke to the dog park, despite having a terrible aching in my right shin. He needs his exercise somehow! It got worse though, and two different times my pain got so bad it felt like my bone was poking through my skin. I’m guessing, runner-friends you would know best, that this is a shin splint. After hearing a story from a coworker, that continuing to run on it will just make my recovery longer, I’ve decided to completely stop running for 2 weeks and see how it feels then. BUMMER. There goes my May running goal of 75 miles. I feel like the nice cool, spring, perfect running weather for Zeke days, are being wasted. It’s definitely made me a little depressed. But, thankfully, my mom has been giving us rides to the dog park a few times a week & Zeke has been acting very “chill” with the whole inconvenience.
My big announcement is I’m leaving my job at the Central Park Zoo! I’m heading closer to home and going to work at the Queens Zoo! It was very sudden, the Queens zoo also has a small staff but a very low turnover, so the opportunity came & I took it. This will give me the opportunity to run-commute daily if I so wish-it is about 3 miles away! It will save me about 90 minutes of commuting time a day and the $100+ a month of paying for a metro-card-no more subway & bus delays! And, while I was happy at Central Park, I feel like I wasn’t actively learning anymore. I had been there for 10 years (plus 1 year as an intern) (got my full time 10 year pin) last week! It was time to challenge myself again and take a chance with a career move that will have me working with a whole new set of animal species. But, again, it is so emotionally hard to not only say goodbye to co-workers, but animals I have cared for for over a decade. Sure, I can go visit, but I will never be able to interact with them in the same capacity as I was; it is especially hard to leave April, a sea lion, an older girl who recently went blind and our troop of snow monkeys. I have spent the most time with them. I have done our 15 minute training show with April somewhere over 1,000 times these past years.
It’s going to feel weird going somewhere different every day. And, I start right away too! And the timing of this also means our springtime trip to Maine is postponed until further notice. We were looking forward to that, maybe in the fall now. I am just so glad I will have some more time in the day for running (if my shin ever heals!) and I will be closer to home so if Doug ever gets delayed at work, I can be there to walk Zeke. Oh and my weekend days off change again too. I lost the coveted Sunday/Monday weekend. Really, it was the only sacrifice in making the switch. It works out for Zeke though, because now he will only be alone all day during 2 week days instead of 3.
Zeke approves
And saving commuting time leaves me more time to blog!!! & read blogs! so I hope to catch up soon.
Any hints for shin splints? I’ve never dealt with it before. I haven’t ran in 5 days & I can now walk pain free 100% of the time. Instead of spending time running I have been taking Zeke for frequent walks and gardening a little every day to help de-stress. Any fans of gardening?
Sled Dog in the City 
Sorry to hear about the car hassle and shins! But congrats on your new job. Saving that much time commuting every day is going to be great. Shin splints are so painful. All I’ve done for them is rest and ice and don’t start running until the pain is gone. I just got all my garden beds ready to go over the weekend and will start planting a bit each day after work now. I love gardening.
thank you!! i love gardening too! I like to try different lettuce varieties each year & my favorite flowers are morning glories and there is one variety called Cardinal Climber that I get from rareseeds.com. Enjoy!
I’ve had shin splints for months – mainly because I kept running on them! Rest is really important, also getting your shoes checked. Maybe have a gait analysis in case you’ve started/stopped pronating. Make sure you’re doing lots of calf stretches – tight calves make them worse, and do lots of calf raises to strengthen them. Fingers crossed they’ll improve soon
Thank you that is great advice! I tend to under pronate so got more of a minimalist sneaker to help with that. I guess it did because my sneaker wear is more balanced now, but I think my shins weren’t used to running that way. Hope yours improve soon too!
This is most definitely a like and dislike post!
hehe! i agree
wow, as a newer reader I didn’t know about your job at the Zoo, I will have to come visit the Queens zoo next time I come over (I’m in Australia, don’t hold your breath)
Sorry about all the shaking up in the life department – the car thing is a real hassle and also the shin splints, I have been so prone to them over the years and agree its better to put a pause on the running as the last thing you want is to not even be able to walk the dog if they get worse.
I hope Zeke will soon be able to go in your car again!
haha! I always love to have visitors!
Thanks for your support, we should get the car back soon & shin is feeling much better, finally!
There should be a dislike button! What an awful time. Glad everything is on the mend though, and congrats on the new job!!
Thank you! the first 2 days went well, feel like I already know my way around
Congratulations on the new job! Some people say compression socks or compression calf sleeves really help their shin splints. Calf raises really help too. Get well soon!
thank you! Definitely going to start calf raises and more calf stretching. The shin is feeling better (=
It really sounds like you’ve had your hands full. Except for the car accident, it sounds like everything else is moving in a good direction for you, so focus on the good stuff and hope your shin gets good as perfect asap, so rest more! 😉
thank you! trying to keep the spirits up until everything settles down again (=
Congratulations on your new job! How exciting! What kinds of animals will you be working with now then? Taking the leap must have been scary, but like you said, sometimes you need a new challenge. I’ve just taken on two new dog walking clients, which has meant a busy week, but once it settles down it’ll feel like nothing ever changed!
thank you!! My new zoo is all outside, so there is a lot of hoofstock (bison, elk, pronghorn) and carnivores (puma, lynx, bobcat), lots of birds and a really large farm (where I’m starting out) with just about every farm animal possible. Good luck with your new clients! It can get boring do the same thing all the time, never hurts to try something new!