Dopey Challenge Training - Week 18 Run for Tricks n Treats

This is Halloween week and I ran my final run of the week as a pumpkin princess for my first in person race since the pandemic. 

 

 

It was the monster dash 5K that takes place the weekend closest to Halloween. It’s held at one of Spokane’s larger parks and it was very chilly and hilly, however the sun came out and it was beautiful with all the wonderful fall colors. I love that everyone dresses up for this race.

My two training runs were done on the treadmill because of bad weather. I am so grateful for my “dreadmill” without it I don’t know if I’d get all my running in.

 

I took Baxter out for his first walk since the “snip snip” surgery, he is fully recovered and ready to run. 

Next week we will be leaving for Walt Disney World to participate in the Wine and Dine weekend. And I still do not have any idea what to wear during the half marathon. I may just recycle a previous costume. I also have not even started packing either. YIKS! 

 

This race weekend, I’m sure will be a very emotional weekend as it is also the first rundisney race since the pandemic. I can’t wait!

To watch this week video click here!

Dopey Challenge Training - Week 17 Hello Dear Friend

 

Thankfully this was a low mileage week because I had a very busy week planned. I did only one training run outside because the rains came in full force this week. It’s also starting to get dark after my midweek runs and I’m not a fan of running around downtown when the sun goes down.  

My very good friend from Texas flew in this week for a visit. Thankfully she can sleep through my noisy early morning treadmill runs. It’s so nice to see her, but because she lives so far away we don’t get so see each other as often as we want too. 

This was the beginning of my craft fair season and I was so happy to have a friend along to help and keep me company and laugh the whole weekend long. The funniest part was I waited until her plane landed to inform her she’d be manning a craft booth with me all weekend. She’s all good with that, since she helps her father run a booth during most of the summer time down in Texas. 

 

 

This week’s recipe is from the Unofficial Disney Parks cookbook: Baklava. Oh, boy was this interesting. I quickly learned that you have to wait until the filo dough is completely thawed before you begin unrolling it. Luckily my handy hair dryer helped, however the sheets became dried out and tore apart when I unrolled them. 

Can’t win for trying. Baxter and Blitz were hoping for something to fall on the floor. Their my little puppy Roomba vacuums. Despite all my best efforts to ruin this dish, it came out beautiful and delicious. A little too sweet for my taste, but so flavorful. 

Here's Disney's cut up all very fancy like. 

And this is mine. I thought they came out pretty great! 

If you want to see all this week's YouTube video just Click here!

Dopey Challenge Training - Week 16 Birthday Buddies

 

Both my Huskies celebrate a birthday in October so this week I had a joint birthday party. This is Baxter’s big 1^st birthday and Blitz turns 6, YIKS how time flies. 

Trying to fit everything in around 4 training days was a big challenge. My first run was after work along the Spokane river, one of my favorite routes. 

 

I did my second run on the treadmill because I’m getting to be a whimp when the weather is a little iffy. 

 

Saturday was a seven mile walk and during this long walk I contemplated what my half marathon costume would be for the Wine and Dine race weekend. Its weeks away so I better get started. I so enjoyed this walk, as the color of trees are changing and are so beautiful. This has to be one of favorite times of the year. 

 

My knees are acting up so I decided to do my long run on the treadmill and cut the run short by 10 miles. Due too several obstacles: late start (1:00pm), ran morning errands, didn’t eat enough so consequently I only completed 7 miles. I’m okay with that, I just can’t make a habit of skimping on the long runs or I’ll never been ready for Dopey. 

 

Rather than cooking a recipe from a Disney Cookbook I baked the pups their own birthday cake they received from their monthly subscription box. It looked like yummy red velvet cake, but it was really beet flavored. 

The box showed a beautiful 2 layer cake with lots of frosting, so I don’t know why my version was ONE very flat dense round cake with a thin layer of frosting. Looked more like a pancake than a fluffy cake. 

It didn’t make any difference to my two birthday pups what the cake looked like, they enjoyed it as if some famous chef had created a masterpiece of deliciousness. 

Check out all the Husky birthday fun and the rest of my training week on YouTube, just click here! 

Dopey Challenge Training - Week 15 Baxter's Big Surgery

This week as I am recovering from my oral surgery, my little Baxter goes in for his surgery. It’s that time in every young male pups life to get the “snip snip” procedure. My goodness what a theatrical performance he displayed afterwards. His eyes told the story, the loss of manhood for this once virile puppy. 

He whined and whined as if the pain was unbearable. The vet assured me that this was not the case. The cone of shame was absolutely hysterical. He was so mortified, that he would not even attempt to lift his head and scooted backwards as if to tell me “I am unable to walk erect or move forward”. 

Big Brother Blitz tried to console little brother, but Baxter wouldn't listen. 

 

As the evening came to a close, Baxter slowly walked to the bedroom and sleep fell upon my little man. However, he would not move from my pillow and I fell asleep with the sound of quiet wimping in my ear. 

 

I was so proud of him as the week came to a close. The vet was sure he would lick the incision which could cause infection. But, nope he had no desire to lick what was no longer there. 

 

As for my surgery, I was told no running for 10 days. However I was feeling so good and my final run on Saturday was only 3 miles. I decided to chance it and go at a slow jog, which turned out fine. I’m back in business, and good thing because next week is a biggie.

 

 

Recipe this week is from the Disney Simple Family Cookbook – Pongo’s Nibble and from the Disney Princess Cookbook we are also making Bayou Meatloaf. As always I am using impossible burger rather than beef, for the simple reason that it’s not as greasy and I like the taste. Like always I just dove right into the recipe and didn’t roll the dough correctly for the Pongo Nibbles. 

I figured it out before putting it into the oven and tried to fix it, but it still didn’t come out looking quite right. But they did taste pretty good. 

Disney's version are a little prettier, but mine came very close. And just as tasty!

Okay, well maybe they don't look anything like the recipe book, but they were very tasty!

I'm a big fan of meatloaf and have made many varieties over the years so I consider myself kind of a connoisseur. This version was very tasty, however because I used plant based meat, it did hold its form like real beef does.

For the full recap of Baxter's recovery and my attempt to make these yummy dishes, check out my YouTube channel just Click here!

Dopey Challenge Training - Week 14 Oral Surgery AGAIN!

 

This week we have an additional day of training and a 15 mile run at the end of the week. However, I am heading back for my second oral surgery to put in the rods where my implants will sit. My plan is to do the two 45 minute runs as usual, run the 5.5 miles on the morning of my surgery and then either Saturday or Sunday walk 10 miles rather than run 15 miles. Well, you know what they say……”best laid plans”

 

Oral surgery morning I headed out the door in hopes of completing at least 4 miles. However when I hit the 3 mile mark I received an email that a package was delivered. Without reading it, I assumed it was my amazon order which are delivered to an Amazon locker near my house. So I detoured to the locker and when I arrived and started looking on my phone for the locker code I soon discovered it was not my Amazon order that arrived, but another package that was delivered to my P.O. Box!!!!! Because of this mishap, I did complete the 5.5 mile walk that the training plan had scheduled for today. NICE!

 

1:00pm arrives and off I go to the Periodontist. I don’t know about anybody else, but I love it when I have to be “put to sleep” for a procedure. I was especially excited today because ever since we found out that a new GM is in our future, I have not been sleeping very well.  I’ve been waking up in the middle of night for hours at a time. 

 

After surgery I came home and slept and slept and slept. All the rest of the evening, all night long and well into the morning. I woke up refreshed and ready to take on the world. Actually, I went out for my 10 mile walk, which quickly turned into a 4 mile walk. Mainly because of the lack of food and anesthesia. I’m okay with that because I at least got out and did something.

 

 

Recipe this week is from the Disney Eats Cookbook – Roasted Broccoli pizza and Sausage kale pizza.

With soft mushy food in my near future during oral surgery recovery I wanted to enjoy one of my favorite foods…. PIZZA. I love pizza so much, we bought a pizza cooker several years ago and love how well it cooks the dough. If you’ve watch any of my cooking segment on my YouTube channel, you know I use a lot of dairy and meat substitutions. Because of this the cheeses do not melt as well as their dairy counterparts. I must say though, the non-dairy ricotta was some of the best substitutions I’ve tasted yet.

 

I can’t tell you how delicious the roasted broccoli was and it’s just olive oil and salt. We actually cooked up the remaining broccoli and enjoyed it for several days after.

 

  

I think the recipe book and my pizza look very similar and delicious! 

These are my versions and yes, I am very proud of myself!

To watch the recap of this weeks training on my YouTube Channel Click here!