Keep 'Em Separated...

Minion and Mayhem had a vet appointment this past Monday to get their latest set of shots and a checkup. Things were looking pretty good. They are gaining weight just as they should (which made me feel better because Minion has not been the best eater!). And the vet let me know that she felt that they were doing very well. She started Minion's physical exam and that was when I got the news. Her hernia had gotten bigger. Apparently as a puppy grows, it is common for an umblilical hernia to grow too. In fact, the vet insisted that at this size, she felt that we needed to go ahead and repair it before it strangled out her intestines. 

The girls waiting at the vet's office

We had originally planned on spaying Mayhem and having her cherry eye repaired at 4 months. And then at 6 months, we were going to spay Minion and have her hernia repaired. So, I had not purchased the second crate and started separating them yet. Since the vet seemed concerned, I decided to go ahead and have Minion spayed and her hernia repaired the next day. I spent most of Monday picking up a new crate and trying to prepare for dropping Minion off for surgery the next day. I was a bit worried because she is so tiny and I just could not imagine her undergoing surgery at only 10 weeks of age. But a good friend assured me that they do this all the time and there was no need to be concerned.

We decided to put Minion and Mayhem in their separate crates on Monday night. I was a bit sad about it and the girls looked kind of pitiful that night too.

First night apart

The next morning I woke them up just a little bit early so they could play together. The vet had informed me that they would have to stay separated for about 7-10 days so that Minion could heal. I knew going in this was not going to be fun and that they were both going to have problems with this. So, we played for awhile and then I took both puppies with me to the vet's office to drop Minion off. I headed home with Mayhem and she was so lost and depressed. She barely ate at all and wandered around for quite awhile. She had a rough day on Tuesday. I did my best to give her lots and lots of extra love and attention but she was still very depressed.

I picked Minion up Tuesday afternoon and she was kinda out of it. She barely registered that I was there when I got her. The surgery went well and the vet said she would not have to wear the "cone of shame" unless she started licking that area, but the majority of her spays don't have to wear it. Mayhem perked up when I got her home but Minion was so out of it that she did not know she was there either. Minion cried quite a bit and had a hard time getting comfortable. I did manage to get her calmed down and settled in my arms.

Poor drugged up puppy :(

The following days were difficult and filled with a lot of crying and whining from both puppies. Separation was not their idea of a good time. Minion was on pain meds for several of those days but she still wanted to be with Mayhem. I did try to give them some supervised visitations but they always ended up trying to fight which was why they had to be kept apart.

I ended up having to take Minion in for a recheck on her incision on Friday and they informed me that she was healing nicely. They told me that as long as the girls were not all out fighting and hurting each other that they could start playing together some. So yesterday, I let them play for awhile and they were so happy. They fought quite a bit but I monitored them and separated when it got too intense.

This morning, I took them both out together for the first time since Minion's surgery. They were so thrilled. And then I let them play and fight a bit this morning. After they got all their aggression out, they settled down and played together. It was great to be able to let them enjoy some quality time together.

Right now, they are in their crates enjoying an afternoon nap. Depending upon their demeanor when they wake up, I will likely let them enjoy some more play time together. I am hopeful that their sleep habits will return to normal because the 5:30 wake up call is not my idea of a good time! This morning they let me sleep in...until 6 :( I miss the days when they slept until 7.

For now, I am just happy that they are playing well together and that Minion is feeling better. Bad news...I have to do this again in about 5 more weeks :(

Divas Half Marathon North Myrtle Beach Race Report (05/20/2012)

I have been wanting to do an all girls' race for some time now. The Divas Half Marathon looked pretty inviting but the locations were so far away and would involve quite a bit of funds. So, when I heard the Divas Half was coming to North Myrtle Beach, I knew it was the race for me. After all, I really need some girly bling, right? :)

Having competed in the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon and then the NC Half Marathon, I had become acquainted with Kendrick Ribeiro through his running tips, encouragement and advice, I knew I wanted to meet him. Unfortunately, he had not been able to make it to either Myrtle Beach Mini or the NC Half. As the official coach of all of these half marathons, he stays pretty busy but always finds time to send out encouragement and advice to the runners and I had really been helped and inspired by him. So, my first stop at the expo after getting my race packet was by his table to give him a big hug and chat for a few minutes. He was just as awesome in person as he has been online. So, it was great to get the chance to talk shop with him for a little bit. I did get to give him a big hug and he insisted that I had to wear the tiara and wrapped the boa around my neck for our photo :) LOL

I did a little bit of shopping at the expo. I bought a Sparkly Soul headband that I loved. It never slipped or moved the entire race. I love my Sweaty Bands but I didn't have one that matched what I was wearing, so I thought I would give this a try. I think they are awesome!!

We were kinda chill after the expo, grabbed dinner, grabbed some food for breakfast the next morning. And then I laid out all my stuff and clothes for the next day...of course, I would be representing Amplified Athletics by wearing one of their awesome shirts :)  For some reason, I had a horrible time getting to sleep before this race and only managed to get about 4 hours of sleep.

Since the hotel would not approve a late checkout for me until the next morning, I headed there at 5 a.m. to ask about it since they had told me the night before someone would be available. After waiting 10 minutes for someone to show up, I was informed that I would have to check back at 7 a.m....kinda difficult since I would be at the start line for my race. I ended up having to wake Jason up to have him check for a late checkout when he got up. Then as luck would have it, my GPS dislikes Myrtle Beach and got a bit turned around and I ended up getting to the shuttles later than planned. Luckily, I arrived at the start line with plenty of time.

Check out all the Divas getting ready for the race to start. The race had been sold out and there were around 4000 people registered for the half marathon. There was also a 5k which men were allowed to run that would start after us. (They gave out a medal for the 5k too which was pretty cool!)

While waiting for the race start, I chatted with a few people. I had planned to walk this race with a friend who doesn't run but she decided that she didn't want to do it about a week or so before the race. So, I had not planned to run which was probably not the worst thing ever since I had just recovered from the horrible blisters I got at the Flying Pirate Half Marathon. There was a walker back there who was terrified that she wouldn't finish, so those of us seasoned half marathoners were giving her some advice. Of course, I informed her not to get on a bus unless she was bleeding or had bones showing and to just keep going.

It was there I met my new friend, Lauren, who I found out was 26 weeks pregnant! This was her last half marathon to compete in until her next child is born in August. I loved hanging out with her and chatting as we completed the half. Her husband and son met us twice during the half marathon and Lauren actually carried Eamon as she crossed the finish line...that was amazing :)

It was a great course, we ran Ocean Boulevard for a lot of it and it was a very flat course. I would not consider the minor hills in the course anything to be worried about...they didn't last very long and their was not much elevation to either of them. The miles seemed to flow by the first half with plenty of coverage from trees in the residential areas. The course was well marked which is always nice. There were lots of water/gatorade stations which was awesome. The only time I was nervous was when we were out on one of the main roads because  I was right next to a whole lot of cars!!! And the last half of the course was full sun and all I could think about was the fact that I had neglected to put on sunscreen and had just gotten off an antibiotic!!

The boa and tiara station was right before the finish. I just got my tiara...as hot as it was there was no way I wanted a boa around my neck or to have to carry one. Lauren and I stayed together right up until the end. She was carrying Eamon and I saw the finish line in sight. So, I turned to her and said "See you in a few." I love running a finish line and this one was no different than the others.

So, I ran the finish line. I was not wearing my tiara because it would have flown off, so I ran with it in my hand.  And then I had a very hot looking shirtless guy hand me my medal. And I found the firefighters there too :)Yeah, that was a nice view.

And I saw Kendrick at the finish line and chatted with him briefly and introduced him to Lauren and Eamon :) I also found the champagne at the finish line and yes, I did enjoy every sip of it :) We headed over to get our pictures made and then to refuel.

After thanking Lauren for being my race buddy and agreeing to hook up on Facebook later, I headed back to the shuttle to get to my car and got back to the hotel with 15 minutes to spare to get showered and packed. I was very pleased that I did not experience any odd pains, no blisters, no issues. Hard to believe, I know. Perhaps my last two races took care of the worst of my issues for this one :) Let's just say I didn't question it. And I liked this race so much that I know that I want to run it next year and I will plan to run it from the start. I am pretty stoked about it!