Days of Speed and Slowtime Mondays

Week in Training

2012-01-30T16:48:00.001-07:00

A good solid week of training, finally. Too much swimming relative to biking and running but that always happens this time of year. Would have liked to have a couple short runs in that mix, not sure what happened this week. I think I was tired with the swimming. Though it's only 7 hours of training I had another 4 hours of hiking (and more of dog walking). I don't count it as training but it does count as something, especially since some of the trails were super steep.

Had an odd revelation today when I went to enter one of my planned Xterra triathlons, the Mountain Championships in Beaver Creek, CO in July. It's a longer race than normal and you get more points for your placements but it's also more competitive and one of the toughest Xterras. There's an early bird discount fee, $75 compared to the regular $95 fee if I enter by tomorrow so I went to the registration page today. And balked. Hmmm. Such a long, hard race and the logistics of it are a pain in the ass plus the huge amount of money to spend the night in Beaver Creek though I suppose I could sleep in the car somewhere nearby. Somebody who's done it has told me about it and it doesn't sound appealing, especially the swim. It's kind of an ordeal of a race all the way around and the only reason to enter it would be to qualify for Xterra Nationals and to have something to push myself for mid-season. But there's pushing yourself and there's sucking the fun out of everything and this is kind of straddling the line. The thought of bagging it makes me heave a huge sigh of relief but then leaves a hole. I think for now I'll leave off entering and just suck it up and pay the higher price later. But that feels like wimping out. If I enter now, I'll start pushing myself now and be uber ready in July. But while goals should be challenging they should also be fun and I'm not so sure this race sounds like fun. Then there's the matter of I was doing these jumps in the shallow end of the pool today per the masters coach to practice pushing off the wall and even though I was jumping in water my knee was all, 'What the . . . ???!!!##%^$%#%#' Seems way too early in the year to be stressing over races. What is May going to be like?

This week and next will be disrupted again by an agility seminar and a trial but then it's back to business.

Swim: 8100 yards/3 hours, 17 minutes

Mountain bike: 17.94 miles/2 hours, 10 mins.

Run: 6.38 miles/1 hours, 38 mins.

Total training time: 7 hours, 5 mins.

Hiking: 9 miles/4 hours, approx.

Hiking at Hall Ranch

2012-01-29T20:18:00.001-07:00

Another attempt at photographing a sundog, or perhaps more accurately Iridescent Clouds, but I like sundog better even if it's maybe not precisely correct.

Some beautiful, strange things going on with the clouds today whatever you want to call it. I only had my cheapo point and shoot though and the two of us struggle with the sky.

Was too windy for biking so Jonny and I decided to go for a hike at Hall Ranch. Dogs aren't allowed there but not to worry, they had a nice long hike of their own in the morning on our neighborhood trails.

Classic Hall Ranch view before the skies turned weird

We went up the trail that allows bikes rather than the hiker only trail that we normally take because we figured it wouldn't be busy and it wasn't. I haven't been riding on this trail in probably 15 years and here's why.

I don't have the biking skills for a 'trail' like this and several years ago they opened another trail that's far less technical so that's the one I always ride. This trail has become way more eroded and technical than when I rode it lo the many years ago and back then it was already too hard for me. It was fun to hike up though and fun to watch the people with skills ride it though plenty of folks still had to get off and walk.

The prairie dogs are fat and sassy this time of year. This one had some words for me.

The views at Hall never disappoint.

Some of the residents enjoying their lazy Sunday.

There are actually 4 deer lounging but some were hidden behind bushes so I left them out of the shot.

Jonny was laughing at me for taking pictures of the deer since we see them all the time in our neighborhood, out our windows, etc. but sometimes it's nice to get a picture of them in their natural habitat rather than lounging in someone's front yard.

The hike was only 6 miles/2 hours, 42 minutes but I'd gone for a 6.4 mile trail run yesterday plus the 1 hour 20 minute hike in the morning with the dogs so my legs were tired before we even started. It was worth it though, can't remember the last time I've been on a hike outside the hood.

Tomorrow I get to meet with an artist that's hiring me to help him with an art project. It never occurred to me to market hypnosis to artists and I doubt there's a huge demand but this project will be interesting anyway. Never a dull moment in the hypnotherapy world.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T14:12:00.003-07:00

Week In Training

2012-01-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Another low volume week but I got a couple of key workouts in nonetheless. Clients cancelling and re-scheduling and cancelling again completely messed up my training schedule. Finally went to a masters swim workout that wasn't drills and it was fun to just hammer out a bunch of 100's. The main set was:

1x100 on 2:05
2x100 on 2:00
3x100 on 1:55
2x100 on 1:55
3x100 on 1:50
4x100 on 1:45

for a grand total of 15 x 100 yards. I made all the intervals too and led for the first part of the set then begged off and drafted for the last half. There was more stuff before and after but that was the meat of potatoes of the workout.

Had in interesting long run on Sunday where I got the idea stuck in my head that I wanted to run the Hogback Loop from home even though it was windy down in town. This was not one of my brightest ideas. Why didn't my husband talk me out of these shenanigans rather than egging me on? It's about 6 miles from the Wonderland Trailhead plus .4 or so miles of walking to and from the trailhead. Can't remember the last time I ran that far but I wanted to get some steep hills in and increase my mileage. I had this plan of running loops of the Hogback all winter long to build up my climbing muscles and improve my pathetic run times but the trail's been covered in snow and ice up until a day or two ago. Even yesterday there were a few snowy patches on the north side.

Anyway, it was 47 degrees and sunny but windy at my house and I felt under dressed when I started out because of the wind. But I figured I'd get plenty warm once I got going and it was so sunny and warm when the wind stopped. There was only the occasional gust but those gusts were icy cold. This was also not one of my brightest ideas. The wind got a little crazy heading up the steepest part of the Hogback trail on the approach to the ridge and by the time I got to the top of the ridge the wind was howling like freight train and so freezing cold. I crouched down on the trail a few times because I was worried I'd get blown over. I'm guessing the winds were at least 40 mph, maybe more. I turned a corner and got hit by a blast so strong and cold it felt like I had the wind knocked out of me. I stopped behind a tree for a minute or two to see if the winds would stop but I soon realized it was going to be windy the whole time up on the ridge so I decided to press on and get off the ridge lickety split. Luckily you're not up there for very long, maybe 5-10 minutes but the trail is rocky so you have to be mindful. Sure enough as soon as I got off the ridge the winds were back to occasional gusts of about 20 mph and periods of calm. The last couple few miles didn't feel so good though, kind of crampy and wishing I was done. Looks like I need to do more longs runs to build up endurance. Good news is my knee was fine despite having problems with it while walking the dogs all week.

No biking due to messed up schedule, wind, fence repairs, etc. Excuses, excuses. No agility training either for much the same reasons. I'll get back on both of those this week.

Swim: 7800 yards/3 hours

Mountain bike: Nada

Run: 10.18 miles/2 hours, 43 mins.

Total training time: 5 hours, 43 mins.

Somebody posted this on my Facebook and it gave me a laugh this morning. 'These are my casual compression socks.' Heh. Melanie McQuaid is an accomplished pro triathlete, won XTERRA Nationals the past 4 years or something as well as many other accomplishments.

FIrst USDAA Trial of 2012

2012-01-22T16:30:00.001-07:00

Strummer and I had some big fun at the trial last weekend. This was our first chance to start picking up Q's for Nationals and it was my first time ever running in the Championship division of Grand Prix since my other dogs were lifetime Performance dogs. What a kick in the pants that was and Strummer had a beautiful run and a Q. So many people in the stands cheering us and everybody else on, I'm not used to that though to be honest I didn't even notice the crowd until we were done. Except for when he pulled off a really nice dogwalk, I did notice the crowd then though I promise that's not why we have a running dogwalk. The Grand Prix course was fun and when I walked it I was confident we could do it, all the challenges were within our skill set and the dogwalk set-up was a good one for Strummer.

I watched a bunch of runs before mine and when I didn't see a single person with a fast dog do the same thing I had planned I started to wonder a little. But I didn't like the options most people were doing for us so I stuck to my plan and it worked great. Most people treated 3-4-5 like a serp with their dog on their right and did a rear cross on the flat between 4 and 5 but I ran to the take-off side of 4 and put in a front cross between 3 and 4. This allowed me to be far enough ahead to get a front cross in between 7 and 8 while most people with fast dogs were stuck with their dog on their left at the A-frame. Some people then had problems between 8 and 9 with some dogs even going into the #3 tunnel. I had a bobble after the teeter when Strum ran his teeter causing me to bring him around to get a messy front cross in between 15 and 16 but I didn't trust a rear at that point since he was running a little crazy after the teeter and I wanted to get him back in control a bit. This cost us time and dropped us down to 4th place but I didn't care, I was so happy for the nice run and the Q for Nat's. and anyway 4th place is not so bad in the big competitive 22" class. I'm not a big placement person anyway. The trial was huge for our area, lots of people who don't normally do USDAA were there to qualify for Nat's. and the hosting club had to switch from one ring to two.

After my run I did see one other person with a fast dog pull off that front cross between 3 and 4 and a couple of people with small dogs did it too. I didn't watch every run so there may have been others.

Strummer Grand Prix

Steeplechase was the other Q I was hoping for and again the course looked fun and do-able for us. The only part I was concerned about was 3 to 4 because earlier in the day Strum had missed a similar kind of weave entry but I called his name before he took off for 3 to collect him then easily picked him up and got him in the weaves no problem. After that I figured it was just a matter of working all the jumps and keeping the turns efficient. I did a rear cross between 9 and 10 as did most people but a few threw in a Ketscher turn at 10. Strum had a tight enough turn with the rear but it worked nicely for some of the dogs that did it. Then between 13 and 14 I'm not sure what went on in Strum's brain but he leaped off the A-frame, missing his contact and going over the #7 off course jump. I hadn't even considered that when I walked it and not many dogs, if any, made that error. Somebody who saw my run said I had cued him properly and I thought I had as well so I don't know. That's the fun of competing with dogs, in the end they have a mind of their own. Strum doesn't usually shoot off like that though, it was weird. I called his name while he was descending the A-frame to warn him of the turn and maybe this stressed him a little, causing him to leap the contact and run away as a stress response. Or who knows. Other than that though it was such a lovely run and he was clean for the rest once I got him back. Ah well, at least it's only January and we still have a few more chances to Q.

The rest of the trial was in the Starters ring and I was not so thrilled to be back in Starters but it turned out to be o.k. The Starters class was full of really good dogs who are normally in Masters in AKC, was funny to see such a big, competitive class for Starters though maybe the true beginners didn't think so. I was in the stands waiting for the class I was supposed to work to start and asked to see someone's Starters Snooker course map and next thing I knew a crowd had gathered around and I was holding a beginner Snooker clinic. I have this inexplicable and disturbing love of explaining Snooker to people so I didn't mind. I guess it's the engineer in me.

Strum got his first ever Standard Q in USDAA as well as a Pairs Q which is my least favorite class so I was happy to be done with that. Unfortunately he missed his dogwalk contact in his other Standard run, dropped his only bar of the weekend in an otherwise lovely Jumpers run, got called for his teeter in Gamblers and holy cats I don't know what happened to my brain in Snooker. Deer in headlights syndrome and poor Strummy was trying so hard to figure out what I wanted. A snowball effect of confusion finally led to the wrong side of the #4 tunnel in the closing.

There was one bad incident of the weekend when Strum noticed a fast BC that he knows in the other ring while Strum was on the table for his Standard run. There was no space at all between the rings, just some snow fencing which I was sure would be fine for him but the dogwalk happened to be right up against the snow fencing and fast dogs on the contacts particularly get him overexcited. To his credit he stayed in his down on the table while he watched the other dog screaming around the ring, got off and did the weave poles then the course looped back to face the other ring and as he ran over the A-frame he had a perfect view of the other dog racing across the dogwalk right in front of him. He hit his A-frame contact then ran over to the ring gating to stare at the other dog. He didn't bark or rush the gating, just stood there and stared. I called him back and he came eventually, it seemed to take forever but he came back and finished the course, still about 11 seconds under course time for a Q and 3rd place. I found the other person after her run and asked if Strum had screwed up her run. Thankfully neither she nor her dog had even noticed him. But I was not happy, not happy at all. I was talking to the judge later that day and he said I'd handled the situation well and he was impressed Strum hadn't left the table but still. I've been working on this issue with my training partner and he's been getting so much better but clearly there's a lot of work left to be done. Not sure if Nat's. will even have fencing for the rings. I know they didn't in Scottsdale. If I'm not confident that he can control himself by Sept. then there will be no Nat's. for him. But we have plenty of time to work on this so that's a big thing on our list.

I also had some drama of my own when Strummer suddenly lifted his right back leg while I was walking him around the grassy area behind the arena on Sunday before his first run. At first it looked like he'd stepped on a sticker but I couldn't see anything in his paw. He seemed fine right away but that leg has always had a hitch in it and I'm worried at some point he'll have an ACL tear or something. I asked someone to watch his run and she said he looked fine. Then I took him out of the car again later and again he lifted his rear leg then started limping on his front leg as well. There were no stickers in his feet but I ran my hand over the dirt by the car and immediately felt tiny stickers in the dirt. I'm used to the dogs getting big goat heads stuck in their paws and these stickers were so small and thin, not the sort of thing that sticks in paws but Strum's so sensitive about his feet that apparently just touching them was enough to make him limp. At least I hope that's all it is. Limping right after getting up is always a big red flag so I was still worried about him though he ran just fine the rest of the day and when I stopped walking him through the dirt with the stickers he was fine. Still I've been keeping my eye on him, especially when he gets up after lying for a bit. I hate that feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think the dogs are sick or injured. So far this week I haven't noticed a single funny step so I'm feeling good about the sticker theory.

Overall a fun trial despite the 2 rings and inherent conflicts and short tempers. I was done by 4:00 on Saturday and 1:40 on Sunday and it felt so good to be done so early. The trial site was less than 20 minutes from my house too which is always nice. During the week I was hoping we'd be done early on Sunday so I could get a bike ride in since the weather was so nice but, yeah, that didn't happen. In short I was tired and nursing some middle aged Crazy Dog Lady aches and pains and didn't feel like it. Instead I attacked the ice flow on my driveway which was probably worse for me than going for a bike ride but at least now there's almost a clear path from house to street. Poor Cody slipped on the driveway ice a few days ago so I've been doing my best to try to clear a path for him.

Trial Stats

Championship Grand Prix Q, 4th place

Starters Standard Q, 3rd place

Starters Pairs Q, don't know place

Dogwalks: 2/4 (50%)

A-frames: 8/9 (89%)

Weave entries: 4/6 (67%) Popped out of poles in Gamblers, completed all other poles.

Knocked bars: 1 in Jumpers

Teeters: 3/4 (75%)

Table: 2/2 (100%) And he stayed on while watching a dog in the other ring, both tables were fast
into a down, one was right after the dogwalk

I Have a New Hero

2012-01-21T16:24:00.003-07:00

And his name is Sergio. He built us a new fence at a fraction of the price that the fence company wanted. Which was a whopping $950. Plus he did it today and only took 4 hours. Most people in my neighborhood are only first getting their estimates of way too much money today from the fancy fence companies. Lots of people walking by stopped to get Sergio's number. In fact I worried someone would kidnap him for their blown down fence while we were at Home Dept buying the supplies but when we got back he was still there, digging holes and putting up lines of string to make sure everything was nice and straight. It was quite the party in the fencing department at Home Depot this morning by the way. Everybody and their granny and their granny's Chihuahua was in the fencing department at Home Depot this morning. Lots of fences down in Boulder with that last windstorm. Winds went over 100 mph in some parts of town, were up in the 90's in my part of town I think.

The dogs are very thankful to Sergio as well. Though maybe not so thankful to me for making them pose. Cody was also in the picture but had moved by the time I snapped the shot. He doesn't hear so well any more so he didn't hear me say 'Stay'. That's his story anyway.

Sergio did a really nice job too. He put in really nice connection joints. I didn't even ask him to do that.

The existing beam/post connections were simple toenail connections.

I know, this is probably something only a structural engineer can appreciate but I was weeping with joy at the sight of those lovely new connections.

Funny what a big impact a fence has on your life when you have 3 dogs. We're all very thankful to our friend Joy for hooking us up with Sergio. The dog ladies with fences down in my neighborhood were all comparing notes about their fence guys - 'I'll have my fence guy call you', they promise. Well my fence is fixed and so far nobody else has called me so Hooray! again for Sergio. I suppose that's one more facet to being a Crazy Dog Lady, I now have a fence guy.

Strummer is very happy to be back at his games.

Haiku Thursday

2012-01-19T07:32:00.002-07:00

Winds they are howling

Seventy five miles per hour

Dogs must poop on leash

Poor fence. At least it didn't land on any Wicked Witches. Who needs that kind of liability?

Week In Training

2012-01-17T11:14:00.001-07:00

A great week all the way around though light on triathlon training volume due to a trial over the weekend but still not too bad. Highlight of the week had to do with work. I had a couple with marital problems come into my office absolutely seething at each other. You could practically see the waves of hostility emanating off their bodies and at some point early in the over an hour drive to my office they had stopped talking to each other. Well, they left my office smiling, laughing, high five-ing each other, I was so happy for them the rest of the day. They've got kids as well so it was particularly satisfying to see them work things out. I love my new job.

Also had a break through in my swimming this week. I didn't have any workouts with timed intervals so I don't have hard numbers but I felt faster and was getting stuck behind people who are normally faster than me and sort of, kind of keeping up with the really fast people in my lane. By Friday I couldn't wait for masters to start. I've upped my consumption of 'super greens' (kale, spinach, chard) having them at least once a day, sometimes twice, in addition to regular salad greens and I definitely felt better and had more energy. Popeye has nothing on me.

I found out my road bike cyclometer is messed up so I hadn't ridden at a 12 mph pace the other week. Phew. My pace for the same route this week was 14.4 mph which is still woefully slow but I hardly ever ride my road bike and there were a few good hills plus I'd gone for a run earlier in the day and had tired legs. Plus I don't have the best attitude about riding my road bike but I wanted to get some biking in this week and it's better than the trainer.

Strummer got his first Grand Prix Q with a beautiful run. I'll have a full post on the trial but I'm waiting for the video of his Grand Prix run since someone else filmed me on their camera. It was my first time ever running in Championship Grand Prix and it was kick in the pants with all the people yelling in the stands. Very fun.

Swim: 7000 yards/3 hours

Mountain bike: Nada

Road bike: 14.28 miles/59:23 mins.

Run: 9.22 miles/2 hours, 29 secs.

Total training time: 5 hours, 59:52 mins. (let's call it 6 hours)

Would love to rest on my laurels but another week awaits.

Oh I've Got Some Words for your Wednesday

2012-01-11T13:54:00.001-07:00

Namely, 'One to two inches my ass!'. That's what we were supposed to get. And it wasn't supposed to happen until this evening so I was planning on squeezing in a practice this morning before our trial this weekend. But by the time the practice field opened at 8:30 it was coming down good. Heck by 6:00 a.m. I had a good idea practice wasn't going to happen.

Lola is a big fan of sticks. Even stationary sticks.

Sadly Hermes lost his head last year in a wind storm so I know longer have a good snow gauge. You'll just have to trust me that this stuff is never going to melt off the practice field by Friday.

I think the weather folks should have to come shovel my driveway.

Week in Training

2012-01-09T09:00:00.001-07:00

I went to enter Sunday's long run into my online training log and realized I hadn't entered a single workout for the week. Great way to start out the new year. So I'm going to go back to posting a weekly training post. Though lately I'm having (more) doubts about how useful time/distance metrics are. Speed work brings the numbers down but is probably more beneficial or at least as important as long slow workouts. I've been pondering a way to track the numbers so they're more useful but haven't come up with anything solid yet.

Highlight of the week was biking on trails in shorts on Thursday. Was in the 60's and sunny, warm, fabulous. Then back to snow on Saturday, just a light layer of less than an inch but enough to make the trails slippy for Sunday's 'long' trail run. Knee was plaguing me for that one but got better after a while and I managed a whopping 5.2 miles including some short but steep hills. I may need to take Lola into the chiropractor so he can adjust my knee. My regular chiro. is awesome but that's the one adjustment he doesn't do. He doesn't like it in general but it works a charm for me and dog chiro. guy doesn't even charge me when I come in with Lola. Did I really just type all of that? Life takes us down weird and unexpected paths.

Swim: 6700 yards/3 hour, 4 mins.

Mountain bike: 18.32 miles/1 hour, 48 minutes

Run: 11.25 miles/2 hours, 39 mins.

Total training time: 7 hours, 31 mins.

I keep forgetting to weigh myself at the Rec. Center, will have to remember for next week. Got to a weight I was happy with and lost interest with the scale.

It looks like August 2 was the last time I posted a weekly training report and I was still on a walk/run schedule. I can't even remember when I made to transition to running with no walking and I'd forgotten I'd even been doing it. I was feeling a bit like my running was still so slow and going nowhere after Sunday's run but now I realize I've come quite far to be able to run 5 miles with no walking. Barely even noticed my hamstring either. By this summer's races I should be running like a runner again.

Got in 2 agility training sessions as well. Strummer was 100% on the dogwalk for both of them. First session I had quite a few reps., maybe as many as 8-10, and I had the stride regulator on for all of them. Second session I only did 3-4 reps and took the stride regulator off for the last rep. I set up a handling exercise for practicing weaves and he did awesome with the weave entries but my handling, wow, I'm out of practice. Was much better by the second session though. I've got a USDAA trial this weekend, better get a couple of more practices in so I feel sharp for those tournament classes.

Channeling the Tarahumara

2012-01-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Running Injuries?

I finally got around to reading Born to Run, the book that more or less launched the barefoot/minimalist running revolution. I'm not giving up my cushioned running shoes any time soon but there is some interesting info. about the relationship between running shoes and injuries. I've been aware of the general ideas for years now but it was interesting to see the details behind the arguments in favor of minimalist shoes. It's a very one-sided presentation though and I'm a bit skeptical. One of the main ideas is that cushioned shoes prevent our feet from building up strength so if we run barefoot or in minimalist shoes our feet can flex and move and build up strength. The problem with this argument is that the Tarahumara, or the sandal wearing distance running tribe in Mexico that the book is based on, live their lives on their feet so they have plenty of opportunity to build up the strength in their feet and even the proper gait for moving about in bare feet. I consider myself a fairly active person, especially for an American, but still I spend a small amount of time on my feet compared to the Tarahumara. Native tribal life is hardly comparable to the relatively sedentary life of even most active Americans. Living your day to day life on your feet is not the same as an hour or even 2 or 3 hour training run and puttering about your house or office.

However the form they run with-small steps, high turnover, short strides, bent knees when the foot hits the ground, forefoot/mid-foot striking, straight back-is something my chiropractor has been encouraging me to do for the past year or so. The minimalist shoes encourage this form but I don't see why you can't incorporate it even in padded shoes. It's harder of course but I've been working on it over the past year and even more so after reading the book. I'm definitely feeling better for it, especially my hamstrings, and even my gimpy knee seems to like it. But I'm so slow and though it's starting to feel more 'normal' still feels a bit unnatural. Over striding is my biggest issue and I've found that if I keep my back straight and pull my belly button in toward my spine/pelvis tilted forward it's harder to take big strides. And I keep thinking to myself, 'itty bitty steps, pitty pat, pitty pat.' Kind of silly when I write it out but it makes sense when I'm running. It's too mentally draining to focus on form for a whole hour long run so instead I'll think about form for a few minutes then let my mind drift away and just run for a bit then a minute or two of focus, etc.

The more interesting part of the book to me though is the idea that the pure joy the Tarahumara have for running is the 'secret' of their success. This seems so obvious to me but I know a fair number of people who have lost their love of their sport or hobby in the pursuit of unrealistic goals or goals that deep down they don't really want. Who says you have to go to agility nationals or do an Ironman or be as good as the people in your training group, whatever you're training for? I had a client come in the other week for help with her hobby which involves performing in front of other people. She's been doing her hobby since childhood and loves it but joined a practice group where she felt her skills were inferior so she was taking lessons and practicing to try to measure up. Unfortunately the pressure she was putting on herself was causing her problems that were manifesting physically and interfering with her ability to perform. There's a lot of things you can do for this in hypnosis but mostly the idea is to bring back feelings of the initial love for the activity and after one session we got rid of the physical problem but she still wasn't able to perform as she wanted to. A snow storm delayed her next session so she was able to listen to the CD I'd made of her last session a couple more times and when she finally came in she said she'd had the best performance in years over the weekend but more importantly had felt the joy and love of her hobby more so than she had in a long time. And that's what it all should be about in the end, right? Who cares about ribbons and titles and nationals and finisher's medals if the day to day training or the competition itself doesn't bring you joy? A bad day or even week of training is normal but the good days should far outweigh the bad or something is wrong somewhere.

'Born to Run' is an interesting book even if you're not into running. In addition to learning about the Tarahumara tribe of ultra distance runners there's studies/theories about human evolution and how our ancestors' ability to run shaped our evolution. I've run into a lot of resistance from family members over my distance running. Most of them think it's bad for me and they're not shy about telling me so. I've been running since I was 12 and I wish I'd had this book back in the day as an argument for them that running is part of our evolutionary DNA, we are literally born to run. Lately I've been running with an extra big grin on my face, channeling the joy of the Tarahumara even if I am wearing cushioned neon pink and yellow running shoes.

Shameless Plug

2012-01-02T09:34:00.002-07:00

I have an article on using hypnosis for mental management in dog agility in the January issue of Clean Run. You can still get this issue with a new electronic subscription, not sure about the print subscription, or you can get an individual electronic issue for $5 here.

Great 1 hour trail run and an agility handling/weave pole exercise for Strummer to start the new year out yesterday. Beautiful sunset over the mountains after practice. I think it's going to be a good year.

Last Post of 2011

2011-12-31T16:06:00.003-07:00

A rare photo of all 3 hooligans. Lola hoarding all the toys of course and Strummer looking sad about it.

SO glad the holidays are over. I'll spare you my ranting but in general, not my favorite time of year and because the retailers and my grandmother started in on the season extra early (she started hassling me the first week of October) I had my first holiday induced breakdown before Thanksgiving and usually I can make it until the first week of December. We had friends over to our house for X-mas and that was fun but otherwise kind of a rough holiday season. And aside from my grandmother I don't even exchange gifts anymore. But it's finally, finally, mercifully over and my brain can relax and heave a sigh of relief.

I suppose I should go over the year's stats for agility and triathlon and post a wrap up for the year as well as list of goals for the future but, meh, I don't feel like it and I've already posted next year's goals back at the beginning of October. In short as a recap, USDAA Nationals and Xterra Nationals. Short and sweet. And if one or both of those fall through, DOCNA Champs. We've already qualified for that though so it's not so much of a goal as a safety school.

I'm also teaching myself to speed read. I've always thought I was a painfully slow reader but it turns out I'm average. So far after a few days I'm about 50% faster but still not reading super fast. Supposedly should take a month or so of practice to shift my brain to read without sub-vocalizing. In the meantime I've got a ridiculous amount of books checked out from the library. At least I had the sense to read the speed reading ones first.

The agility field is finally free of snow. Too windy to go today, strap your chihauhaus down windy, so no agility today but starting tomorrow I've got a bunch of exercises lined up to work on our weaknesses and some that simply look fun. My training partner is out with a broken elbow so I'll be flying solo for a while but Joy is back teaching lessons and I've got a seminar with Mary Ellen Barry and Jennifer Crank in February so I'm not completely on my own.

The first USDAA trial of the year is in 2 weeks and the entry was so big that they changed it from 1 ring to 2. I didn't think USDAA Nationals would be that much of a draw for the AKC-only crowd but boy was I wrong about that. At first I was twitchy at the thought of such a busy, cramped trial. I'm not a fan of crowds and the arena area is tight for 2 rings . But on the other hand it will be great practice for Strummer and me for the chaotic atmosphere of USDAA Nationals and there will be snow fencing between the rings so he should be fine. Plus they'll have crating in another building so he won't have to listen dogs doing agility all day and hopefully will be able to relax a bit more than if he was crated in the arena.

Our first USDAA trial with a Team event is in March and I've got a good team lined up for that so I'm looking forward to it. Everybody on the team wants to go to Nationals and if we qualify we'll stay together as a team. Of course September is a long way off but it's nice to have a plan lined up so soon. The best part though is that we're all on the same page of it's supposed to be fun and nobody is going to get bent out of shape if we don't qualify.

Triathlon training is chugging along as well. Swimming and running are going well but I've been slacking on the bike due to all the snow. I finally went out on the road bike after swim practice yesterday and I won't sugar coat it, it wasn't pretty. An average speed of 12 mph or something for only a 14 mile ride. All I can hope for is that my cyclometer was on the fritz. Or maybe I was overly tired from swim practice and a hike with the dogs in the morning. The trails should be dry by next week and predicted warm temps. of 50's-60's and sunny so I'll get back to the bike.

I'm also working on a little movie with the dogs that requires training some simple little tricks. At least I thought they were simple. Turns out I had my casting all wrong as they each learned each other's tricks more easily than their own. It's coming along slowly though since it's a for fun thing with little point to it and on the back burner to everything else. Plus I need to buy some props to progress any further.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

Mud Lake

2011-12-24T16:48:00.003-07:00

Sadly I never made it to Merry Clashmas last night. The roads were clear but due to some changes to the show's schedule, namely changing the start time from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. and adding another support band I figured it would optimistically be 11:30 before the Nuns of Brixton took the stage and more likely could be closer to midnight which is WAY past my bedtime. Plus the support band they added was a Screeching Weasel cover band and having been friends with Screeching Weasel back in the day I endured more of that band than any human should have to. Not going to relive that at the ripe old age of 47.

Ben Weasel circa 1990 at their 'last' show the first time they broke up. They went on to reform and break up for at least another 10 years, maybe more, but that was the last time I saw them since I moved to Boulder shortly after this show. And yes, that is a Madonna tattoo.

For some reason the band thought it would be a good idea to dress in ladies lingerie. And a friend of mine thought it would be a good idea to bring broccoli to the show and throw it at them. I guess somehow it all made sense at the time.

I have even more revealing photos but I'll spare you as well as the band members who may have respectable lives these days.

Um, where was I?

Oh yes, we bugged out on the Nuns of Brixton because Indian food with a group of friends at the civilized hour of 6:00 p.m. sounded like a much more realistic plan. We'll see the Nuns another time. Instead I sang a few lines of 'Police and Thieves' before falling dead asleep in a pile of drool at around 10 pm.

The other good thing about this decision was that I jumped out of bed bright and early and full of energy for the first ski outing of the season. We met our friends who were also supposed to go to the concert with us but who also bugged out in favor of Indian food and who were also happy to wake up without a screaming headache.

Mud Lake, just outside of Nederland

Trail conditions were awesome after Thursday's storm. I think Ned got 27" or so.

I'm usually a bit wobbly that first time out but I did o.k. today considering all the twists and turns through the woods.

Finally some pictures of Boulder Canyon taken on the drive back home.

Sure beats battling the crowds at the mall or the airport.

You know what they said? Well some of it was true.

2011-12-22T12:38:00.002-07:00

The part about the snow was true. The part about the 4-8"? Not so much.

It took me 1 1/4 hours to shovel 14" of snow off half my driveway, sidewalk and various paths around my house. Shhh, don't tell my chiropractor. I think another inch fell while I was shoveling.

Shoveling is good cross training, right?

Lola has some words for the weather men/women.

We can play ball?

Please throw ball? I'll be ever so good.

Watering Can is a fun game for both summer and winter.

This post's title is a quote from The Clash in honor of Joe Strummer's passing on this day. I'll leave you with a little Clash in his honor.

Police and Thieves

The Nuns of Brixton's 'Merry Clashmas' show is on in Denver tomorrow and I'll cry if the roads are too icy to go. But not as much as that video made me sob, sheesh.

Playing in the dirt

2011-12-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

There are last little bits of snow that stubbornly refuse to melt so the trails have been mostly impassable for bikes. I've been running on them but the mix of mud, icy snowpack and crusty snow don't make for good biking and it's bad for the trails to ride them when they're muddy. But yesterday was so warm, no wind, I had to get a ride in so I grumpily hit the dirt roads out east on the plains. But grumpy soon turned to happy when I remembered that the plains have their charms.

Beautiful views

Haystack Mountain

The other nice thing about the dirt roads is that you can ride and not worry about technical skills. Was nice to let the brain relax, mind wander and ride, ride, ride. I pushed up the hills in a harder gear than I normally do for a nice strength workout and did some Fartlek on the flats (sprint for a bit then easy catch your breath then sprint again, whee, fun.). The sun was warm, the winds were calm and the dirt was dry, inviting and clear of snow.

Plus I made a new friend.

I signed up for Xterra Curt Gowdy and Xterra Lory a couple of weeks ago since they had an early bird, package deal reduced price for the 2 of them. Xterra Curt Gowdy up in Wyoming is 6 months away. Seems like a lifetime right now but I know it'll be here in a blink of an eye so it's time to get back into a more regular training schedule. I managed 3 masters workouts, 3 runs and 1 bike ride this past week, not bad for December. I think it's a good idea to back off the biking as I work on my running which is my big weak spot right now. I'm a fair weather biker and I don't like the trainer so it'll be all about the run these next couple of months.

Wordless Tuesday

2011-12-13T09:39:00.003-07:00

Fun with DOCNA

2011-12-05T15:32:00.001-07:00

Finally some interesting DOCNA courses this past weekend, at least in Standard. We even had the back side of jump in one Standard course! Very fun. I screwed it up by not rotating far enough out of the front cross and sending Strum to the tunnel rather than the #13 dogwalk but still was fun to have the challenge.

Overall a fun trial and some good stuff from the Strum man. Nice dogwalks, he only got called on one and while none of them were that horrible outright leap there were some that I wish were nicer but overall good. All his A-frames were pretty fabulous, didn't get called on any teeters but some weren't so fabulous. DOCNA is very generous with acceptable teeter performance. Still struggling with weave poles but he got quite a few this weekend. Only 2 bars down all weekend and of course they had to be on an otherwise perfect run. At least they were on the same run.

Saturday didn't look so great on paper with only 1/5 Q's but really I couldn't complain about any of the runs except Jumpers at the end of a very long day. It was after 6:00 and the 5th run of the day and both of us were tired. I pulled him off of one jump then he ran past a jump on a long straight line at the end, something he did more as a baby but if I let up at the end he'll do that sometimes still. They're talking about eliminating a standard run from February's DOCNA trial so the day won't be so long and if it turns out they can't then I won't enter Jumpers because it's too long of a day and silly for me to run when I'm so tired and out of focus.

We made up for it Sunday though with 4/5 Q's and some really nice runs, 1st places in Standard, Jumpers, and Trigility.

Strummer's 1st place Jumpers run from Sunday

Was happy to pull off that rear cross between #11 and #12. Maybe practicing those rears is finally paying off. Otherwise nothing too exciting here, DOCNA's typical pinwheel to serpentine to pinwheel Jumpers course. At least the Standard courses had some interesting challenges.

Of course the only Standard run I don't have on tape is his perfect 1st place finish but oh well, here's the map anyway.

I put a blind cross between jumps 13 and 14 and it worked great since I was easily able to complete the cross and pick him up on my left before he took off for #13. It's the only blind cross on a jump that I attempted for the whole trial because it was the only place that seemed a good choice.

The Standard runs I do have video for each have some minor errors, 2 dropped bars on the first video (Standard Rd. 4 map) and Strum misunderstood my flailing arms on the second video (Standard Rd. 1 map) and thought he was supposed to come up on my left after jump 14. It's tempting to blame that on the blind cross from the other run but this run was before the run with the blind and aside from a few exercises at the seminar I haven't done them at all on a jump. Was simply a miscommunication. I don't flail my arms nearly as much as I used to but old habits die hard. Even Jonny noticed it on the tape and thought it was confusing to the poor dog.

Standard Runs

Overall I'm pleased but definitely room for improvement. So much snow and cold right now though, don't think the practice field will be clear anytime soon. We were supposed to get 1-2" of snow on Friday night and I woke up to 4-5" in my yard and it was still snowing. Almost rolled over in bed thinking I didn't want to drive but it's only 18-20 mins. to Boulder County Fairgrounds on a good day so I decided to chance it. Roads were fine, just snow packed so I drove nice and slow and thankfully the few other drivers out on the road didn't do anything stupid so it was no problem, about 33-34 mins. and I was there. I walked Strummer around the grounds before the trial started and the snow was all sparkly and magical. I don't mind it if I don't have to drive in it. It stayed in the 20's all day but the sun came out and the ground was so warm, was shorts weather a couple days ago, so the roads were clear for the drive home. Thankfully my Jan. and Feb. trials are also at Boulder County Fairgrounds so it's not a long drive if it does snow.

I had a dinner party on Saturday night after that long long day, was so tired and was late to the party but I couldn't miss the 2nd Annual Soup Off. Last year the competition was casual with no voting or prizes but this year we had official ballots and prizes. There was some controversy over the scoring and some possible shenanigans from the Russian judge but after the smoke cleared Jonny took 1st place in the vegetarian category for his Sweet Potato Chipotle soup. Was too spicy for me but I gave him high marks anyway. Was a very fun night with our mountain biking friends but I didn't have time to shower and felt obliged to explain my grubbiness and (hopefully) faint aroma of horse arena. Everybody else scrubbed up nicely and dressed all fashion forward but they forgave me, at least to my face anyway. I only made it until 9:30 though then pure exhaustion set in and I had to make my apologies and go home. I think the only reason I was able to get up at all on Sunday morning was that I jolted awake from a bad nightmare about the dogs and couldn't have gone back to sleep if I tried.

Somebody at the trial asked me if Strummer was neutered which I thought was a strange question at first. When I told oh hells to the yes he is neutered she was disappointed and I realized she wanted to breed one of her dogs to him. I told her it's just as well, he's crazy and she said she likes crazy. But still. I love Strummer to pieces, wouldn't part with him for the world and I love his personality but I'm telling you, the world is not big enough for any more Strummers. Plenty of fast Border Collies that would make great agility dogs sitting in rescue anyway, no need to pump out any more onto the planet.

There was a winter Farmer's Market/holiday gift market going on in another building next door to the arena and on Sunday someone reminded me about the awesome tamales from last year. Mmmm, vegetarian spinach tamales, sooo good on a freezing winter's day. I brought some into the stands to watch the Starters class and soon everyone left to go get their own they smelled so good. Have to remember that for both days next year.

Next trial is USDAA in January. It'll be my first time ever entering the Tournament events in the Championship division - very exciting. Otherwise we're back in Starters. Not very exciting. Now if only the snow would melt so I can get back to the dogwalk and weave poles.

Final Stats

Specialist Traditional Gamblers Saturday Q-2nd place

Specialist Standard Sunday Q-1st place

Specialist Strategic Time Gamble Q - 3rd place

Specialist Trigility Q - 1st place

Specialist Jumpers Q - 1st place

No titles that I'm aware of.

Dogwalks
4/5(80%)

A-frames
100%, not sure how many we did, somewhere between 8-10

Teeters
7/7 - 100%, though some were close

Weave pole entries
Can't remember exactly.

Bars down
2 bars down, both in the same run one right after the other.

Crazy Dog Lady Goes to a Swim Meet

2011-12-02T16:19:00.001-07:00

Some of the masters coaches got together and decided to have a swim meet for the beginners. And while I'm hardly a beginner, I've never been in a swim meet before and the meet was open to anybody who wanted to go. As it turned out plenty of fast, experienced folks turned up. I wasn't going to go because I still don't have my flip turns figured out and I hadn't been swimming a whole lot the past few weeks. But peer pressure from lane mates and the chance to do more diving off the blocks won out in the end. It turns out I like diving from the blocks now that I sort of kind of know what to do. And it was free so what did I have to lose?

It was funny how many people were nervous before the meet. It was just supposed to be a fun thing to give people a taste for what a swim meet is like. I wasn't nervous but was looking forward to seeing what my times would be for the various distances and my goal was to swim each one as hard as possible. I signed up for the 200 yard freestyle, 100 yard free, 50 yard free and 200 yard relay (each person swims 50 yards). 200 yards was the farthest distance they had and only 4 of us signed up for it. We had to put down estimated times for each event so they could seed us into waves and I grossly underestimated all my swim times because I didn't realize how much time you save by diving in.

In the end I had a blast and was shocked at how fast my times were. It's long been a pipe dream of mine to swim 100 yards in under 1:30. Best I've ever done in practice is maybe 1:34 and that was with some serious drafting. But there's no drafting at the swim meet, you have the lane all to yourself so I figured I'd be a little bit slower than in practice and estimated my 100 yard time at 1:40. In the end I swam it in 1:26. I couldn't believe my eyes when I got out of the pool and saw my time. Now this is not a fast time for a real swimmer but I was so happy to finally break that 1:30 barrier.

The other great victory for me was the 200 yards. I guessed I'd swim it in 3:40 and swam it in 3:09, beating a guy that usually swims in front of me at workouts by a whopping 10 seconds. And he was doing flip turns. He was in the lane next to me and led for the first 100 yards then I noticed I was catching up to him and next thing I knew I was ahead and he never passed me again. And I had the disadvantage of being in the end lane where the wall creates extra drag. So happy with that result as well.

I'd guessed 45 seconds for the 50 yards and came in at 38 secs and in 2 place of 5 women which surprised me since I'm not a sprinter.

Our relay team was randomly assigned and came in 2nd out of 3 teams. My 50 was 38 secs. for that one as well.

Afterwards a bunch of us went out for dinner and I had a fun time hanging out with my lane mates. It turns out that when you're a hypnotherapist people are much more interested in your job than when you're a structural engineer. And nobody mentioned dog poop the whole night.

Final Stats:

200 yard freestyle
3:09.81
2/2 women
3/4 overall
(1st place was 3:01.42, 4th place was 3:19.89)

100 yard freestyle
1:26.04
2/3 women
(1st place was 1:03.34, 3rd place was 1:33.9)

50 yard freestyle
38.14 secs
2/5 women
(1st place was 36.86, 3rd was 40.01, 4th was 42.86, 5th was 43.20)

200 yard freestyle relay
2/3 teams (1 male, 3 females on our team)
my leg was 38 secs.

Maybe pigs will fly and I'll do another one some day.

Chicken Hypnotist to the Stars

2011-12-01T17:31:00.001-07:00

Don't ask me how I found this. Criminal Minds fans will recognize Mathew Gray Gubler who plays the geeky/brainy Dr. Spencer Reid. 'Hypnotizing' a chicken.

As an aside Criminal Minds has been on t.v. since 2005 but I only just discovered it maybe 6-8 months ago when I found that they play old episodes for hours on end, sometimes on 2 channels at the same time. It's seriously twisted for network television. You can witness many dark and disturbing atrocities like a taxidermist killing people and scooping out their eyeballs so his handiwork will be more life like or a psychopath who chops off his victims fingers then force feeds them back to his victim or Gavin Rossdale trying to sing 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' while dressed as a vampire. It's not quite as good as Dexter but a reasonable substitute for those of us who don't want to pay for Showtime and if you go turn your t.v. on it's probably playing on some channel.

Anyway, back to the chicken. Speaking from the point of view of a hypnotist I wouldn't exactly call that hypnosis but then what is it? The best explanation I've been able to find is tonic immobility, basically a 'deer in the headlights' type of response. But the explanation doesn't totally fit. Why does the chicken snap out of it when Mathew snaps his fingers? And why doesn't the chicken snap out of it when the rooster crows in the background before Mathew snaps his fingers? And how is it that a Hollywood actor type can catch a chicken so easily let alone hypnotize it? And will Jonny finally change his mind about keeping chickens so I can hypnotize them? We need an animal behaviorist here. Where's Patricia McConnell when you need her?

There are many other ways to hypnotize a chicken but I'll let you have the fun of investigating that yourself. Who knows what celebrity chicken hypnotists you may find?

Running Dogwalk w/ Stride Regulator

2011-11-30T11:19:00.001-07:00

Finally had a chance and the motivation to head out to the practice field for some running dogwalk practice. This is my first ever try with the stride regulator that Rosanne recommended to me at the seminar last week. It worked a treat, he was 6/6 though the video only shows the first 3 reps because the battery died.

I didn't push my luck and remove the stride regulator this practice session because I have a trial this weekend and a snowstorm coming tomorrow so no other chances to practice and I wanted to end with success. I'm also debating whether or not to fade it at all. My training partner always puts stride regulators on the A-frame for her dog, the only time he doesn't see them is at a trial. He's got a beautiful running A-frame and in several years of competition I think has missed only 1. There's a certain logic to leaving it up all the time. For now I think I'm going to use it every practice until the mid-January USDAA trial and see how he does at the trial. Nothing to lose at this point really. If the behavior holds up in the ring I'll continue with it, if not I'll work on fading it. I'll probably test him without it once or twice at course run-throughs between now and the Jan. trial but I'm going to try to set up the regulator at most course run-throughs as well.

I'm not thrilled about using a prop but I'm out of things to try and preliminary results are promising so we'll see what happens with this experiment.

I put the A-frame up to USDAA height and he had a few misses so I'll have to work on that as well for the next few weeks. His A-frame was perfect at the seminar and it was USDAA height so no feedback for that. I think I just need to reward the successes and stop the sequences when he misses same as I've been doing. His A-frame is back to being very reliable so I'm not too worried about that.

Worked some teeters and weaves as well to sharpen him up a bit for the weekend. Also did some easy Ketschker work with jumps. I had a handling practice session with my training partner yesterday and Strum and I were struggling with the Ketschker, mostly with him refusing to take the jump so I worked with just one jump then 2 with me stationary with back to jump. It wasn't until I added motion and turned into him to get into position for the Ketschker that he started refusing again mostly because he was too focused on his toy. But we worked through it and he finally got it. Definitely not something I'm ready to use in a trial but I can see how useful it'll be once we get a handle on it. No good places for practicing blind crosses yesterday, we'll see if there's a good place to use one during the trial.

Blue Skies on the Blue Sky Trail

2011-11-27T17:18:00.001-07:00

Another miserable day out biking on the trails.

Sun and dry trails and shorts weather, life is rough I tell you.

Colorado sucks.

The Epitome of Poor Planning

2011-11-26T17:55:00.001-07:00

4 pack roll of toilet paper from local Whole Foods: $3.00

Not having to go to Target on Black Friday: Priceless

My dog ate my Chocolate Crack Pie Recipe

2011-11-24T12:12:00.001-07:00

StrumMER! This is a common refrain at my house.

It wouldn't be the holidays without Chocolate Crack Pie and it's also one of the very few things I can make that people like. In fact Jonny went riding with someone yesterday who asked him if I would be making Chocolate Crack Pie this year. So when a friend invited us over for Thanksgiving I said I would bring it even though she didn't request dessert. Because you can never have too many desserts and if I make the pie for everybody I can have a piece and not have a whole pie sitting around my house for weeks, er, days, er, maybe 2 days if we're lucky.

I made the pie part yesterday because it needs to congeal in the fridge and left the recipe sitting out for today so I could make the mascarpone whipped cream topping. Unfortunately I had drizzled melted butter on it because I'm kind of, well, very messy when I cook. And that Strummer, he doesn't miss a trick and even though I'm careful not to leave food on the counter it never crossed my mind that a piece of paper drizzled with butter was a delicacy if you're a goat of a Border Collie. He was careful to eat only the part that had butter on it but this was not helpful to me.

I thought that maybe this would be the last ever Chocolate Crack Pie. I scoured my hard drive for the recipe to no avail. I had to dig out the external hard drive for my old computers and dig through various file directory systems until I finally found it, of course in the very last possible location. Naughty naughty dog, always causing me so much extra work.

I denies it.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Hopefully your dogs aren't as naughty as mine.

Rosanne DeMascio Seminar

2011-11-22T10:58:00.001-07:00

Strum and I had a fun 3 days but now I'm very tired. Saturday we had a Running Contact session then a full day of Masters Handling on Sunday and a full day of International Handling on Monday. Lots of running, lots of new handling stuff and an idea for moving forward with the dogwalk. I don't have any video, was planning on asking people to shoot at least a few sequences but kept forgetting about it or remembered too close to my turn.

Lots of international flavor to the courses, even the novice/advanced folks had some back sides of jumps if I remember correctly. It turns out it's not really a hard skill to learn and Strum and I have been getting better at it with practice. We practiced all sorts of scenarios with back sides of jumps and I feel a lot more comfortable with them now and I have exercises for practicing the basic skills for them, especially sending through a gap. I also did a lot more running backwards then I'm used to for handling threadles, wraps, pulling through a gap. And the blind crosses! I do them occasionally after tunnels, the A-frame, weave poles but pretty much never after jumps. But wow, what a useful skill for certain scenarios and so easy and natural to learn. Wish I'd had that skill for some of those courses at DOCNA Champs. Will be fun to try them out at the upcoming DOCNA trial if the course calls for them.

I also learned how to use a Ketschker turn to handle a wrap. When Marco Mouwen was here a million years ago he taught them to us and everybody was freaking out. Nobody was terribly enthusiastic about the idea of sending their dog behind them and I never saw anybody do it at a trial. It was back when I was running Cody and it turned out Cody was the one dog at the seminar that naturally did really well with it but aside from a 180 degree turn we didn't learn very many scenarios to use it and I never did see a use for it at a trial. But it turns out to be a handy thing for handling certain types of wrap scenarios and Strummer picked it up fairly easily which was surprising because generally if I face him too soon it's too much collection and he'll refuse the jump he's headed for. But he did well with it at the seminar. Will have to practice that one a bit more before trotting it out at a trial.

Another handy little thing I learned was calling his name before a straight tunnel to alert him to a tight turn coming out. At first I was skeptical about this because we already have a problem with very late commitment to tunnels and I was certain that calling his name would pull him off. But surprisingly this turned out to work well for him. I do sometimes call his name before he takes off for a jump to indicate a tight turn or convergence so it does sort of make sense that it should work and it's a consistent use of my cues.

And finally the dogwalk. My next move for the dogwalk is the dreaded stride regulator. I've been considering it and rejecting the idea for years now partly because I don't want to have to fade a prop but mostly because I wasn't sure where to put it. But Strummer was doing his extend and leap move at the seminar so Rosanne was able to see where it should go and showed me where to put it. It worked great at the seminar though, we'll see how he does out at the field and if it'll transfer to the ring.

Lots of running this weekend which was fun for me. I've been watching some European handlers on YouTube and puzzling how it is that they run so quickly and aggressively on such technical courses that you would think would require a lot of collection but now I'm starting to understand. I was tired by the end of each day and had to quit one exercise early both days. We covered a lot of ground each day and I feel like I've got more than enough to work on for the next few months. Rosanne was a great instructor, explained everything very clearly and had several different handling options for most of the handling challenges. Was interesting to see myself as well as the others in the class able to handle such difficult stuff without a huge amount of struggle. The handling seemed to come naturally without too much brain drain or over thinking, just going out there and doing. Very fun. The other attendees liked her as well, I woke up to a lot of positive feedback in my email box this morning.

And at the end of the seminar I was surprised to find out that the club was giving me vouchers for organizing the seminar, something I wasn't expecting at all and I was even more surprised at how generously they paid me. It amounted to several whole trial entries, tournaments and all! I was so excited about that. I may even be able to afford to go to Regionals now if we can qualify in time since I won't have to pay for trial entries for several months.

Normal people's normal dogs are tired after a seminar with lots of running. Strummer had a relatively quiet morning then decided a run around the yard with his watering can was in order.

What is this 'Rest Day'?

He may not need one but I do. No agility until at least the weekend or maybe even next week. I didn't make it to masters today either. I wish a couple full days of agility were not so exhausting.

Fun With Seminars

2011-11-17T08:05:00.001-07:00

I somehow ended up in charge of the yearly seminar for one of the agility clubs I belong to because I made the critical mistake of going to a club meeting and not understanding how they work. So when somebody said that I should be in charge of the next year's seminar in a half joking tone I figured everybody would forget about it by the next meeting and as long as I didn't go to any more meetings I'd be safe. Now here's where you agility club meeting neophytes should perk up and pay attention and learn from my mistakes-it turns out they take notes at these meetings. So imagine my surprise when several months later someone from the club emailed me offering to help me with the seminar. On the one hand this was just what I needed to take on (what is the internet convention for indicating sarcasm?). On the other hand there are certain advantages to being in charge. For one I got to pick the presenter. For another I get to attend for free. And how hard can this be? I somehow ended up in charge of putting on punk rock shows back in college and I was thinking that if I can deal with folks from the music industry I can deal with the dog agility folks. I once had to stare down and remove a hostile football player suffering from roid rage or mental instability or something plus his psycho little accomplice because they were using the mosh pit as an excuse to beat the crap out of everyone with the misfortune to come within punching distance. But knowledge is power and someone told me the football player had been arrested the previous week for wrapping some guy around a railing at a hotdog stand and this was not his first assault. In fact he'd been in trouble so many times that the professional football team that had hired him to play the following fall had threatened to cut him if he had but one more incident. And despite his dearth of brain cells and overabundance of testosterone he was able to do the math (just) and decided that maybe assaulting a puny little female engineering student was not worth his multi-million dollar NFL career. Then there was the girl with Borderline Personality Disorder who would try to insert herself into the operation with the sole purpose of sabotaging things and I had a hard time explaining to people why we couldn't let her 'help' because for those unfamiliar with Borderlines they are very charismatic and manipulative and nobody would believe me that she was going to be a problem. Until she was a problem, then they believed me.

Anyway, I figured that a dog agility seminar would be a piece of cake compared to all the meatheads and drama of the music world and let's not even get into the sleazy band managers and roadies never mind the bands themselves who often ended up staying at my house as if I already didn't have enough disruption to my life (though admittedly I did meet some interesting people). And so far I was right. I picked Rosanne Demascio for the instructor and she's been really easy to work with and other club members have been very helpful with telling me what I need to do and helping coordinate things. Of course there may be unanticipated things that happen on the day but so far everything is set and organized and I don't anticipate any big issues. The seminar filled except for the Novice/Advanced Handling class but the club was committed to offering such a class so not much I could do about that. There's also an AKC trial and another seminar going on the same weekend and I couldn't do anything about that either because the club has the same dates every year for the arena. It's very hard to rent space in this particular arena so we take whatever dates we can get. It's a very nice facility too, has heat and bathrooms with running hot water.

I'm excited to finally have some instruction. I haven't had a lesson since the Mary Ellen Barry/Jennifer Crank seminar last February. My training partner has been an invaluable set of eyes and has helped me a lot but it's nice to have some instruction and a fresh set of eyes every once in a while. I've signed up for a day of Masters Handling, a day of International Handling and a 2 hour running contact session. This turned out to be one of the most popular sessions next to the Foundation session. I'm hoping I can get some ideas for what to try next. I'm somewhat at a loss at the moment and feel like I'm beating my head against the wall. No matter what I try I can't seem to get past the 70% accuracy mark and I've lost a lot of Standard Q's to the dogwalk. Also I'd like to qualify for USDAA Nationals in the Grand Prix and I'd hate to miss Q's for the dogswalk. I'm willing to put the work in to break through that barrier but at this point I'm not sure what that work should be.

In other news I was in a swim meet and had a lot of fun and did not embarrass myself and had another mountain biking lesson but I guess those stories will have to wait for another day.

In the meantime I think someone is excited about the weekend.

Career Opportunities

2011-11-14T08:20:00.001-07:00

You are getting sleepy.

No I'm not!

Yes you are.

O.k., I guess I am.

Because as of last June I am officially a Certified Consulting Hypnotherapist with the National Guild of Hypnotists. I had to pass an exam and everything. It probably seems an odd career leap, Professional Structural Engineer to Hypnotherapist but when I was an undergrad studying engineering I was interested in psychology and took every class I could that didn't require the lab class prerequisite. Because that class made you electric shock animals and since Animal Rights movements/protests were starting to become popular back then they even warned you up front that you had to shock the animals, there was no other way to complete the course work. So if you wanted a psychology degree from the University of Illinois back in the mid-80's you had to be willing to pull the switch on the lab animals and I was so not o.k. with that. I also wasn't interested in pursuing a career where that was a common method of 'research'. Plus if you've ever taken a psychology course, yikes, the experiments they did were the stuff of horror movies. I couldn't fathom the sort of twisted minds who thought them up and didn't want any part of it really.

But I have a friend in Chicago whose wife is a hypnotherapist (as well as massage therapist for the Chicago Bears) and after talking to her I decided that that's what I have to do with the rest of my life. Because the construction industry is getting worse rather than better and predictions are for even more decline. And to be honest I was getting a little burnt out. It wasn't so bad that I was looking to change careers but so far I love my new one. Hypnotherapy is very fun and I love helping people. I'm not so thrilled with having to start my own business, never was one of those folks who dreamed of being an entrepreneur and I knew it would be a lot of work but most hypnotherapists work for themselves so that's how it goes. There's a lot to learn about running a business and marketing but I'm soaking up all I can and experimenting with different things to see what's effective. I get a little more business each month and hopefully one day enough to pay my mortgage.

In addition to my regular certification course I took a specialty course in Sports Hypnosis and I'm working on creating a little niche for myself in that area. Lots of athletes in Boulder. I even wrote an article on using hypnosis for mental management in agility for Clean Run that is supposed to run in January so keep your eyes peeled for that.

I'm also looking into doing medical type stuff, chronic pain relief, IBS, Fybromyalgia, etc. The specialized training is expensive but it sounds really interesting and how cool would it be to help people with those sorts of issues?

Creating my own website has been an adventure in itself. Like I said in a previous post, if you're looking to start a website do not let some well meaning (or perhaps evil meaning) friend convince you that Wordpress is easy, especially if you're not familiar with the jargon of website design. It still needs a lot of work and a lot more content but this is what I have so far:

http://www.newdayrisinghypno.com/

I need a more professional looking photo and a lot more content but so far it's bringing in the bulk of my business.

The one nice thing about being the boss is that I get to pick my office location and I found a place 2.8 miles/9 mins. from home. I'm in a chiropractor's office and there is also a naturopath, massage therapist, acupuncturist, etc. I've also got Skype set up because I've already got one potential client who lives a couple of hours away. Lots of hours spent figuring all this stuff out but at some point it'll all pay off.

Crazy Dog Lady Pees Her Pants

2011-11-13T15:48:00.001-07:00

Went over to the Lory Xterra website to see if they were taking registrations yet since the race sells out quickly and found out they've added a new race, Xterra Curt Gowdy. This race is in Curt Gowdy State Park up in Wyoming between Laramie and Cheyenne and I've heard nothing but rave reviews about how awesome the mountain bike trails are up there. They're somewhat newish, only a few years old and I haven't made my way up there yet but now I have a good excuse. So excited for this race. The drive is only 1 hour, 50 minutes which means I now have 4 local Xterra races to try to qualify for Nat's. even though I almost certainly won't go. Though I'll admit I've secretly been trying to convince myself I can do it, ie both Xterra and USDAA Nat's. only 2 days apart. Yeah, right, I know, I know. But I hit the trails on my bike today and it felt so good and I felt so sure I could somehow squeeze both in. I know when that race rolls around in Sept. I'm going to so want to be there. I even have a secret plan for how I'm going to make it all work. My impulse control is getting worse as I age.

And as if that isn't enough exciting news for one week I also found out that I now have a reason to live during the month of December, namely 'Merry Clash-mas', featuring the Nuns of Brixton (a Clash cover band that dresses up like nuns, Joe Strummer is smiling in his grave), The Shaloms (billed as 'The Jewish Ramones') and Coverage (a Descendents cover band). A concert with Clash, Ramones and Descendents cover bands-my brain is exploding from the awesomeness of it. Locals mark your calendars for Thurs., Dec. 22, Bluebird Theater in Denver. And if you aren't local then you still have plenty of time to buy your plane tickets. Ah the anticipation, I'm going to feel like a little kid at, well, Clash-mas.

Skanking Nuns! Everybody get your dancing shoes on.

Sundogs and Strumdogs at Walker Ranch

2011-11-11T16:25:00.001-07:00

Jonny had the day off so we went for a hike at Walker Ranch. Normally it's a popular mountain biking trail but there was still some snow and ice on the shady parts of the trail and we didn't see a single biker or hardly any people for that matter. We were greeted at the trail head by some spectacular sundogs.

One of these days I'll figure out how to photograph them. My cheapo point and shoot was struggling.

We took Strummer along but sometimes I wonder how much he enjoys hiking with the both of us. If we drift too far apart he breaks out in stress dander. Other things cause it too while we're hiking though I could only guess at what. He's such a worrier sometimes.

But he's not like that the whole hike and I'm sure he enjoys it for the most part.

Throw the pine cone and all will be o.k.

We hiked for 2.6 miles to an upper parking lot that had a nice viewpoint then called it a day and headed back.

It's times like this I really wish I had Photoshop. Or some dog pants.

South Boulder Creek

Another sundog at the end of our hike. Had a beautiful photo of it next to a peak but it didn't come out at all, was just a white blob so this will have to do.

Tomorrow I have agility practice in the a.m. with my training partner then a swim meet in the afternoon. I only agreed to the swim meet because of peer pressure and the gathering at Southern Sun afterwards. Because apparently I'll suffer any indignity for an avocado veggie burger and fries with my masters lane mates.

USDAA Nationals a boon for DOCNA Champs?

2011-11-09T18:48:00.003-07:00

At first when USDAA announced they were moving their Nationals to 3 days after DOCNA Champs I thought, 'Poor little DOCNA Champs just can't catch a break, kicked to the curb then stomped into the gutter.' But it turns out there are people out there who actually want to go to a trial before Nat's. Now I thought I'd go to DOCNA Champs because it's fun and 40 minutes away and I may as well if I'm not going to Xterra Nat's. and if I only enter a few classes it'll be a nice little warm-up. But then a local club proposed moving their USDAA trial that would normally be the week after Nat's. to the same weekend as DOCNA Champs. as a warm-up for USDAA Nat's. And people were all over it. Apparently a club in Phoenix did this one year and they were so overwhelmed they didn't do it again. Personally I think a 3 day trial with Team just 3 days before Nat's. is all kinds of crazy and I've got a high drive dog but I guess lots of people like the idea. In the end the club decided against it because they didn't want to deal with the potentially large crowd so I wonder if DOCNA Champs will get some folks coming into town early and looking for a chance to warm up for USDAA Nat's. or even some locals who dabble in DOCNA and normally wouldn't have gone to Champs? Could make for an interesting DOCNA Champs and possibly more than make up for the split with the AZ crowd. Will be interesting to see what happens and if DOCNA will try to market to the USDAA folks. If I was in charge I'd waive the qualifying requirement for people who had qualified for USDAA Nat's. since lots of areas in the country don't have DOCNA. People from other areas would have the opportunity to check out the venue and maybe somebody would like it enough to go back home and put on a trial or two. And it would be great to see some new competition at Champs. The agility plot thickens.

Dogs on NPR

2011-11-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

There was an interesting interview with Mark Derr on NPR's Fresh Air about the evolution of dogs. Mark Derr had some great quotes, my favorite being, 'Dog's are nuts. They do crazy things'. I should check for spy cams at my house. But I also have to give him props for speaking about against breeding for defect:

"I'll say it bluntly, and it has to be said: Some of these breeds are incapable of giving birth without C-section. ... I think that it certainly is wrong to produce animals that aren't healthy. It's bad for the animal and bad for the people who take them into their homes and find out that this dog they love is going to die at a very young age because of an inheritable disease. ... We really should ask ourselves whether it is fair to the animal to do that. I am of the opinion that it's not."

This quote is the short version, he had more to say on breeding issues in the interview and sadly he acknowledged that saying these things had gotten him in trouble in the past. Because even more sadly speaking out against intentionally creating breeds of dogs with genetic diseases, deformities, orthopedic and breathing problems, etc. is controversial.

SPOILED Dog

2011-11-08T09:40:00.001-07:00

Indoor drop-ins started up last night at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, a nice heated arena just 18 minutes from my house. 18 minutes when it's not rush hour that is. After 10 minutes I found myself in a parking lot of traffic doing 10 minutes miles and happily would have turned around and headed back home at the first turn-off but for my little black and white friend who had started whining his head off as soon as we hit the highway for my little friend is a clever one and he knows all the routes that lead to agility. He was so excited, I couldn't tease him like that then deny him. So I endured the 35 minute drive of traffic and whining and 45 minutes of waiting around for our 90 seconds in the ring. Because it appears that my dog is totally spoiled. But he was so happy, was worth the $4 and 2 hours all told. Just.

Eye Candy Monday - Wonderland Lake

2011-11-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

The high country is beautiful in the fall but the trails in my neighborhood are no slouches either. Took the little point and shoot on my daily dog walk around Wonderland Lake because the colors are mahvelous this time of year. I'm behind in my blogging, that week in Chicago with no internet set me back so these photos are from around Oct. 18.

Nice views of the Flatirons

Where the plains meet the start of the Rocky Mountains

Two snowstorms and several windy days later and the leaves are now brown and crunchy and mostly gone but it was nice while it lasted.

Piled on the clothes for a bike ride out on the dirt roads on the plains yesterday. Jonny laughed at me because I was wearing all my heaviest gear and as much layers as I could fit and still move but with temps. in the mid-40's and 20-30 mph winds I was happy for every layer. Sunny blue skies though and beautiful views of the dusting of snow still left on the hills, llamas, miniature horses, weird metal sculpture of a person with a pumpkin for a head, all kinds of cool stuff out there and I forgot to put a battery in my camera because I was so preoccupied with digging out my winter gear. Ah well, next time. 2 1/4 hours/21.5 miles of gloriousness on legs that felt stronger than I thought they would since I can't even begin to remember the last time I was on my bike. Been focusing on the running lately since that's my big weakness at the moment and the cool fall temps. are perfect for running. Had some agility practice too but I'll save that for another post.

Shifting Goals-USDAA Throws Me Another Curve Ball

2011-11-05T12:21:00.002-06:00

I was away from my computer most of the day yesterday so imagine my surprise to see a comment on my blog about a new date for the 2012 USDAA Nationals. I guess people were freaking out about the weather. Or something. Ironically according to a local meteorologist they've moved it to dates that actually have a higher chance of precipitation (14%-18% for the Sept. weekend vs. 12%-14% for the Oct. weekend). Admittedly these statistics are only slightly useful and the difference is probably negligible. However the temps. are likely to be warmer and if nothing else it eases people's fears which is perhaps more important than the reality of the situation because really it's probably 6 half a dozen which weekend they have it on as far as weather goes and if Sept. makes people feel better then I can see why they made the decision. I have to give USDAA credit for starting to listen more to competitors. I like the new kindler, gentler, more responsive USDAA and I'm feeling more likely to do more USDAA these days as a result.

However on a purely personal note they've moved Nationals to 3 days after Xterra Nationals in Utah. No matter how I do the math I can't see myself recovering from Xterra Nat's. in time for USDAA. Plus the 7 1/2 hour drive to and from UT, that will add to my required recovery time. Driving wears me out these days and for me that's a very long trip. Haven't driven that far in years. Plus it's difficult to gear up mentally for 2 such different, big deal events so close together. One of them has to go and I'm leaning towards Xterra Nat's. because USDAA is so close. And it's likely Strum's only opportunity to enter such a big event because I'm not willing to travel for USDAA Nat's. though maybe my mind will change depending on how the Denver event goes. But Strum is going to be 7 in March, hitting his prime really, and this is his time to go.

Before USDAA announced the date change I was already wavering a little on Xterra Nat's. anyway because I'd read some unpleasant things about the race in a couple of race reports, mostly stuff about competitors being rude and outright dangerous. Most triathletes are nice people, especially the folk doing the off-road tri's but apparently Nat's. attracts more of the over competitive assholes and I don't enjoy that sort of atmosphere. The mass start swim was a nightmare with the men in particular being really violent, kicking and punching and not only swimming over the backs of people but pushing and holding them under. Also there was a guy who started screaming at a woman who got off to walk a rocky part of the trail. She moved out of his way at a wide part but he came over to her and elbowed her hard. Then the same woman was elbowed by another woman near the finish line who was trying to prevent the first woman from passing her. I'm sorry but I have no patience for that sort of behavior and I don't want to spend the day racing with people like that. On the other hand the race reports were written by a pro and someone who is way younger and closer to the front of the pack than I would be so it's possible I wouldn't encounter such bad behavior further back in the pack.

Then there was the hoopla over Lance Armstrong which sounds like it was very annoying as I expected. But there's no guarantee he'd return. He didn't do so great for someone with an ego like his (finished 5th and 5 minutes behind the leader, his bike time was 5th as well) and he did even worse at Worlds (finished 23rd, 10 minutes behind the leader and 10th place on the bike, even got beat by some age-groupers, ie non-pro's) so maybe he's done with the Xterra lark. But who can say if he'll return next year? It's not a deal breaker but makes me feel not so bad about missing the race.

I'm a little irritated that USDAA moved Nat's. so close to DOCNA Champs. They're also the weekend before USDAA Nat's. I wish the venues would have a little more respect for each other. DOCNA has had those dates scheduled in Denver for at least 6 months, maybe longer, maybe even since last year. Ironically though this means I may actually enter a few runs of DOCNA Champs. since I won't be at Xterra Nat's. If I enter only the Jumpers/Standard runs and the North America Challenge it might make for a nice warm-up for USDAA. 2 runs on Friday, 3 runs on Sat. and 0-2 runs on Sun. (depending which if any Finals we made) wouldn't be so much that it would wear Strum out for USDAA Nat's. plus it's only 40-45 minutes away so we'd be home every day at a reasonable hour. Heck it would barely take the edge off of him.

The plan for now though is to try to qualify for everything and see what works out the best nearer the events. If Strum gets injured I have Xterra Nat's. to fall back on. If I'm good to go for both then it'll be USDAA. I feel fortunate to have so much fun stuff to choose from. What a great year for agility in the Denver area.

Happy Halloween from the worst band ever

2011-10-31T07:13:00.002-06:00

I love Halloween. And who doesn't love the The Shaggs? They're often referred to as the worst band of all time. My college roommate actually had their album and after way too many listens it begins to grow on you. Whether you want it to or not. But any band that has a Halloween song is cool in my books. Unfortunately there's no video but you can enjoy the not so melodious mayhem of the music. And when you're done go listen to 'My Pal Foot Foot'. Or something more soothing to get the ringing out of your ears, whichever.

And here are some tips on how to survive the Zombie Apocalypse using science (not be confused with the CDC version). Because you never know.

October DOCNA Trial

2011-10-30T18:34:00.000-06:00

I'm a bit behind on posting a report for this trial. Was in Chicago last week with no internet except for phone internet and do not even get me started on the frustrations of phone internet. How do people stand it? I could barely answer the emails I had to answer, took me half an hour to type 2 sentences. Anyway all the blogging I had planned went right out the window.

Highlight of the trial for me was Sunday's Standard run. Got called on the dogwalk but still it was fun, 5.32 yps, fastest run in the entire class. And also the North America Challenge at the end of the day, got a Q and took 1st place. I had to do a double take at the yps though since it seemed slow at 4.56 yps but when I watched the video I realized I had some wasted time at an A-frame/tunnel turn and a wide turn somewhere else. Still was a fun run and we're qualified for DOCNA Champs in 2012 in Golden if Xterra Nationals doesn't work out. Nice to have that to fall back on and would be a good warm-up for USDAA Nat's. so I was pleased to get those Q's. We also had a clean run in Saturday's NAC so we've even got an extra Q and it was some kind of NAC title.

NAC and Standard runs

Was happy to discover some new music yesterday, a new album by a band called Banner Pilot. Song on the video is Spanish Reds. Finally some new music for me even if it sounds like Jawbreaker circa the mid-90's. At least I've stepped out of the 80's.

I fell down hard in Saturday's Jumpers at a pinwheel to serpentine section that was identical to something we had in the Finals at Champs that I blundered a little there as well. It's mostly due to not trusting Strum on a lateral send and being too far behind for the serpentine. This time around my timing was worse than at Champs and the poor dog took me out at the knees then he got scared when I fell and started running out of the ring. I called him back though and we finished the course though way over time. I thought we'd had a great run for the second Jumpers run then saw my score and people told me Strum had run past a jump. How did I not notice that? I was so sure I was watching him. Oh well, was otherwise really nice.

Missed dogwalks caused 2 NQ's (one standard, one Snakes and Ladders). Still too many missed weave pole entries. No bars down though, I'm starting to think that footing plays a big part. Teeters were mostly looking good. A-frames were perfect. This is starting to sound like a broken record.

Overall a fun trial. Still a bit bored with DOCNA courses though. I've got DOCNA trials in Dec. and Feb. because they're only 20 mins. from my house and nothing else is going on either month but after Feb. I might not do any DOCNA until the end of next year. Going to focus on qualifying for USDAA Nationals and give myself a break from the pinwheels and serpentines.

Final Stats

Specialist North American Challenge Saturday Q-2nd place (clean run)

Specialist North American Challenge Sunday Q-1st place (clean run)

Specialist Strategic Time Gamble Q - 7th place

Trigility Q - 3rd place

Specialist Gamblers Title

Specialist North America Challenge Title

Qualified for 2012 Champs.

Dogwalks
3/5(60%) Though I think we got a gift on one of them

A-frames
100%, not sure how many we did, at least 6 or 7

Teeters
7/7 - 100%, though some were close

Weave pole entries
4/8 (50%) Approx. Can't remember exactly.

Bars down
No bars down, yee ha.

USDAA Nationals 2012 Site in Colorado

2011-10-27T09:33:00.000-06:00

I was driving home from the airport on Tuesday just before the snow storm hit and decided to check out the USDAA Nationals site since it was right on my way home. I have a photo album set up here on my Facebook account so I won't re-post all the photos here. The album is public so you shouldn't have to join Facebook or be my friend to see it. You can see an overhead site map here. USDAA is reserving fields 7-12 which are the middle set of fields south of the main stadium.

Looking west from the south-eastern edge of the fields. You can see the storm blowing in.

Looking north from the south edge of the fields

Looking southwest from the north end of the fancy turf fields.

Looking north from the fancy turf field shown above. There are restrooms in this building as well as a water spigot/hose/drinking fountain (but I wouldn't use it, see why below).

Bar adjacent to the main stadium. Looking north at main stadium (main stadium field is behind the building).

Overall the site is really nice. It was built 4 years ago for Denver's professional soccer team. There are lots of little parking lots surrounding the fields as well as bigger lots that are farther away. Not sure how USDAA will make use of those lots. Lots G and H were a fairly good hike from the site, probably not practical to crate in the car if you run multiple dogs. I didn't see RV hookups but I didn't drive into every single parking lot. The grass is beautiful-lush and green and there are 2 fields of fancy short turf that felt natural (Edited to add: According to the site's website these fields are artificial turf. The turf in the main stadium is grass though). All the footing looked really good in general though I didn't go out into the middle of the fields for a detailed look.

If you look on Mapquest you can see that the site is fairly isolated. The Rocky Mountain Arsenal 'Wildlife Refuge' is to the north and west and my advice to you is to stay the heck out of it. It was a chemical weapons plant and then a pesticide manufacturing plant in a previous life and was one of the largest, most contaminated Superfund sites in the country. Supposedly it was cleaned up but some years ago there was some controversy about that with toxic muck showing up in loose topsoil. Parts of the arsenal are open to visitors for hiking and Dick's Sporting Goods Park is constructed on land that was previously part of the Arsenal. Personally I won't go hiking on the arsenal land or drink any water on the site (there was also controversy about the toxic waste leaking into the groundwater). But I'm particular like that. I'm not trying to scare people and I am planning to go to Nationals but I do think it's important to be aware of these things.

Commerce City itself is largely industrial and economically depressed. I drove around the residential neighborhood to the northwest of the site and it's run down. There were some interesting characters wandering around. This doesn't bother me but I wouldn't send tourists there for a wander in their down time. There are some hotels/motels along Hwy. 2 between 64th and 72nd and unless you're a fan of dives I would avoid them. The Denver Renaissance Hotel is on Quebec just south of I-70 and it's a nice place that I believe allows dogs though I don't know their particular policies/fees. I've never been in the rooms but I've been there for my professional engineering group's meetings and it's very nice. There are some other hotels in that area too and I'd guess it's a 10-15 minute drive from the site. USDAA is reserving rooms but I have no idea where. I'm not familiar with anything else about the surrounding area. I didn't notice many restaurants when I was driving around but I didn't explore the entire area, just got a general idea.

One other thing to keep in mind when booking hotels is the oil refinery. It's at the Vasquez/Hwy 2 exit of Hwy. 270 which is also the exit for the site. The smell from that place is something special so I'd avoid any hotels downwind of that area.

Again I'm not trying to scare anybody or put them off of going to Nationals but these are things I'd want to know ahead of time so I could avoid them. Commerce City is very small, drive for 5-10 minutes and you're out of it. Downtown Denver is about 15-20 minutes away. Nice hiking areas in the foothills outside of Golden or Lakewood are 30-40 minutes away. Boulder is 40-45 minutes away, lots of nice off leash open space trails up here if you're done with your runs at 10 a.m. and looking for something to do.

If anybody local has more useful info. about the site or area please feel free to post to the comments. I'm not from around that area and I've shared all I know though if anything else occurs to me I'll leave it in the comments.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T12:07:00.002-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T07:44:00.000-06:00

Weather for USDAA Nationals 2012 in Colorado

2011-10-17T14:51:00.001-06:00

I thought I'd keep a week's long journal of the weather we had this past week since it's the same week as USDAA Nationals next year to give people an idea of what the weather is like.

In general the weather is incredibly nice this time of year. A snapshot of a day in October is sunny, blue skies, 70's, low humidity. It's a fairly dry month as far as snow/rain goes, more or less tied with Sept. as the 6th driest month. However Oct. 15 is the average day for our first snowfall. Denver is not desert like Scottsdale, it's semi-arid so while we do enjoy low humidity most days, we also have occasional snow or rain in October. USDAA is definitely playing a game of Russian Roulette with the weather. Now I'm not complaining, I've long wished we could have more outdoor trials in October. If it does snow or rain it's only likely to do so for a day or even half a day. Multiple days of bad weather are possible but not likely. It's only rained once so far this month and maybe once or twice last month but it's not at impossibility that the rare bad day of weather could come during Nationals. And after a week of perfect weather today is cloudy and damp, 53 degrees and 49% humidity in Commerce City at 2:00 p.m. I didn't check the temps/humidity this morning but it wasn't a pleasant day to be hanging around outside. On the other hand the sun is coming out as I type. Bad weather doesn't typically last all that long here.

One thing to bear in mind when reading these temperatures is that sun, wind and humidity levels have a big effect on comfort. If the sun is shining and humidity is down in the 20's and winds are calm then it can feel up to 10 degrees warmer than it actually is. When I go home to Chicago I always have to remember to dress for 5-10 degrees colder than what the temperature is or I'm too cold. Another thing to keep in mind is that we are having a La Nina weather pattern this year so in general it's been warmer and drier than usual (though not this past week). Who knows what next year brings? If Nationals had been here this year the conditions would have been perfect all week except maybe even too hot on Saturday, let's hope for the same in 2012.

Weather conditions for Commerce City, October 10-16, 2011

Oct. 10, Monday

7:00 a.m.: 39 degrees, sun coming up, clear, light

8:45 a.m.: sporadic patches of frost on ground in shady places, no frost in sunny places

9:15 a.m.: 47 degrees, sunny, clear

10:00 a.m.: 51 degrees, sunny, clear

12:30 p.m.: 60 degrees, sunny, clear

2:00 p.m.: 63 degrees, sunny, clear, 23% humidity (compare to Scottsdale, 84 degrees/13%
                  humidity)

4:00 p.m.: 64 degrees, sunny, clear, 21% humidity

5:00 p.m.: 65 degrees, sunny, clear, 21% humidity

7:00 p.m.: 51 degrees, dark, 54% humidity

Oct. 11, Tuesday

7:00 a.m.: 55 degrees, cloudy, 34% humidity, light

Was at the agility training field at 7:30 a.m. for a practice session. Started out in cotton/poly running pants and a t-shirt under a medium weight long sleeved technical running top under a fleece pullover. Also had a fleece hat. Gradually peeled off the layers and was down to a t-shirt by around 8:45 a.m., maybe earlier. Dogs were hot by the end of practice.

9:00 a.m.: 55 degrees, 40% humidity, clear

10:30 a.m.: 61 degrees, 27% humidity, winds 10 mph gusting to 19 mph, clear

Noon: 65 degrees, 28% humidity, winds 5-10 mph, clear

1:30 p.m.: 67 degrees, 24% humidity, partly cloudy

Out walking dogs at 3:30 p.m. in shorts and t-shirt, warm in sun, cool when sun went behind clouds, slight wind

4:00 p.m.: 68 degrees, 24% humidity, partly cloudy

6:35 p.m.: 62 degrees, 30% humidity, cloudy, 14 mph winds, starting to get dark

7:00 p.m.: 61 degrees, 30% humidity, winds 10-15 mph, dark

Oct. 12, Wednesday

7:15 a.m.: 48 degrees, 48% humidity, sunny, clear, light

8:05 a.m.: 47 degrees, 46% humidity, sunny, clear

8:30 a.m., running with dogs, lycra tights with medium weight long sleeved running top, sunny and
                 clear, breezy, feels warm in sun, good in shade, no frost on ground.

1:00 p.m.: 61 degrees, 23% humidity, sunny, clear blue skies, glorious day (compare to Scottsdale,
                   91 degrees, 17% humidity)

2:25 pm.m: 65 degrees, 20% humidity, sunny, clear

4:05 p.m.: 67 degrees, 17% humidity, sunny, clear

6:25 p.m.: 59 degrees, 28% humidity, clear

6:40 p.m.: Getting dark

Oct. 13, Thursday

6:45 a.m.: 38 degrees, 68% humidity, clear (mostly light by 6:50 a.m.)

7:25 a.m.: 40 degrees, 59% humidity, sunny, clear

8:05 a.m.: 42 degrees, 58% humidity, sunny, clear

8:35 a.m.: 44 degrees, 55% humidity, sunny, clear

9:05 a.m.: 51 degrees, 40% humidity, sunny clear

10:25 a.m.: 60 degrees, 23% humidity, sunny, clear

12:45 p.m.: 74 degrees, 13% humidity, sunny, clear (compare to Scottsdale, AZ at 93 degrees,
                     10% humidity)

2:45 p.m.: 76 degrees, 12% humidity, sunny, clear, 21 mph winds

6:05 p.m.: 67 degrees, 23% humidity, sunny, clear

Oct. 14, Friday

7:05 a.m.: 39 degrees, 68% humidity, sunny, partly cloudy

7:45 a.m.: 38 degrees, 73% humidity, sunny, partly cloudy

8:25 a.m.: 43 degrees, 63% humidity, sunny, clear

9:05 a.m.: 47 degrees, 49% humidity, sunny, clear

9:45 a.m.: 53 degrees, 39% humidity, sunny, clear

10:45 a.m.: 57 degrees, 32% humidity, sunny, clear

11:45 a.m.: 62 degrees, 29% humidity, sunny, clear

12:45 p.m.: 66 degrees, 26% humidity, sunny, clear

2:05 p.m.: 69 degrees, 23% humidity, sunny, clear (compare to Scottsdale at 93 degrees, 12%
                  humidity)

4:05 p.m.: 71 degrees, 23% humidity, sunny, clear

5:25 p.m.: 67 degrees, 27% humidity, sunny, clear

6:05 p.m.: 63 degrees, 33% humidity, sunny, clear

7:25 p.m.: 57 degrees, 43% humidity, dark

Oct. 15, Saturday

5:25 p.m.: 79 degrees, 11% humidity, sunny, clear

I was at a trial all day (indoors) so only one measurement but at about 2:00 or so I noticed it was pretty freakin' hot outside. Too hot for Oct., probably 80's, probably record breaking heat, and where I was was probably a few degrees cooler than Commerce City.

Oct. 16, Sunday

I was at the trial again today but was outside a lot throughout the day and it was gorgeous, typical blue skies, probably got up to the 70's, sunny, similar to the past week.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T07:12:00.001-06:00

Crazy Dog Lady Takes a Dive

2011-10-10T14:13:00.003-06:00

Or 'How to overcome your fears to learn a totally useless life skill'. Or maybe learning to overcome your fears isn't such a totally useless life skill.

The masters coach for the beginners/skills & drills workouts has decided to have a swim meet for us. I wasn't planning to participate because swim meets involve many swimming skills that I don't have-flip turns, swimming fast and diving off the blocks. You could probably get away with missing out one of those skills but if you're missing all 3 it's probably not going to be a good day for you. So I've never done a swim meet and I had no plans to do this one.

The workout today was focusing on preparing for the swim meet and this involved flip turns and diving off the blocks. I've been working on flip turns, in fact I even asked the coach if we could work on them last spring so I could do them at a summer pool triathlon. I never did work on them enough to be able to do them for my race but I did learn the basics of them so that most of the time I don't get too much water up my nose and we started back up with them at the indoor workouts this fall. Today I finally pulled off a good one, so pleased with myself. Then the next one I ended up in the lane next door. I'll bet most of you couldn't do that if you tried. I'm sure I couldn't do it if I was trying. Maybe I should aim for the next lane over all the time and I'll end up in my own lane. Anyway, I gave up on flip turns for the day since it was a crowded workout and I got lucky that I didn't crash into anyone.

Next it was time to practice diving off the blocks. Yeah, sure, just send my 47 year old ass plunging off the blocks to my doom for no compelling reason, this sounds like a fine plan for the day. Last year I refused to even try, those blocks looked awfully scary high above the water. Plus I have no idea how to dive. The coach says she'll help me but she doesn't give me a whole lot of instruction. But sometimes you just have to do it so you can see what part you don't know how to do. Another guy also in my shoes suggests diving off the edge of the pool for starters. Baby steps is what he says. I'm all for baby steps. But maybe the blocks would be easier? But they're still looking kind of high so I go for the edge of the pool. The first dive goes o.k., I land pointing downward into the pool rather than belly flopping which is good but I feel like I'm going more downward than forward and I don't think this will help in a race. So next dive I try to shoot more forward but I land too flat. Not quite belly flopping but not terribly comfortable either. Third dive is much like the first. The coach tells me I need something in between and as she's discussing it with me a guy from the next lane offers up a bunch of advice. And next thing I know he's giving me and some other 40-50 something ladies a diving lesson. He takes us all back to the deep end of the pool with the blocks and shows us how it's done complete with a detailed explanation. He only learned himself a year or two ago so he knows what to tell us. He goes off the blocks a couple of times and then it's our turn.

Last year I would have been scared standing up on the block, like I said I refused to even try last year. But I've been working on overcoming fears this past year, and I'll write more about that later, and I'm oddly calm as I climb up and say, 'O.k., I'm going to do this thing.' I get in the position he describes which involves bending over and looking at the wall behind me, chin pressed into chest, and not looking out at the water in front of me, which is very counter-intuitive but I understand the why of it so I do it. I'm not entirely sure what to do to get into the water without incident but I do something and again I go in pointing down and not belly flopping which is good but I'm still not going forward enough. He explains what I did wrong and how to fix it and the next dive is pretty darn awesome, for me anyway. I can feel myself propelling forward in the water after I hit the water just like I imagine you're supposed to. I come up to the surface and hear the coach cheering and the guy says it was great. I decide to quit while I'm ahead. Hooray for learning totally useless life skills and overcoming fears. Maybe I'll do the swim meet after all. Just have to learn how to flip turn back into my own lane.

2012 Goals: USDAA Nationals & Xterra Nationals

2011-10-07T11:51:00.001-06:00

Maybe this is biting off more than I can chew but what the heck. I certainly can't pass up USDAA Nationals with it only 43 minutes from my house. And it looks like Xterra Nationals will be back in Utah next year and the course looked so nice this year, this is hard to pass up again. I'm surprised it's back for a third year, it'll almost certainly move the following year so 2012 is my chance. Strummer will be 7 in March so I'm cutting back on his training time anyway. The trials are the main thing that will interfere with triathlon training and not even so much the trials as the recovery from them. We have 6 local trials left that don't require an overnight stay (1 hour or less away) and another 3 that are just over or under 2 hours. If we can't qualify in 6-9 trials we probably don't belong at Nationals anyway no matter how close it is. Regionals is in New Mexico, about a 7 1/2 hour drive and I figure it would cost around $500 between hotels, gas and entry fees so I probably won't go. That one trial would pay for all my triathlon entries for the summer.

Qualifying for Xterra Nationals will be challenging. I'll need to make huge improvements to my run and modest improvements to my bike. Swim is o.k. but I'd like to improve anyway. You qualify by earning points in races according to your placement and you can count points from up to 4 races. We only have 3 races in CO so I'll have to go out of state for one of them and I'm considering the Wild Horse Creek Xterra in Montana. A fellow Coloradoan did it last year and has pictures of the course on her blog and it looks so beautiful. We could make a trip of it, take the dogs and come home through Yellowstone and maybe see the Tetons as well. Been a long time since we traveled anywhere outside of Colorado aside from trips home to Chicago. The only trouble with this is that I'll have only 2 weeks to recovery between 3 of my races and 3 weeks of recovery before the 4th. I could maybe have pulled this off in my 30's but I'll be nearly 48 and I'm not sure how well my body will tolerate all that racing so close together and I certainly won't be able to train very hard in between. So for now the race plans are tentative and I'll see what sort of shape I'm in closer to summer.

Now I have to figure out the really hard part-how I'm going to pay for all of this.

Fall-O-Rama

2011-10-02T16:31:00.003-06:00

It's that time of year in the high country.

I wish it was fall forever though today felt like summer again, shorts weather even up in the mountains.

Today's hike was up at the Caribou Ranch Open Space, about 40-45 minutes from Boulder, and everybody and their granny who wasn't at Kenosha Pass was up here today. And the reason why is obvious.

I took a lot of pictures. Thankfully Jonny was tired and o.k. with all the stopping. The trail is only 3 miles and very easy, mostly flat and smooth but it took us 1 hour 45 minutes with a stop for a snack by the creek and all the picture taking.

Still hoping to get up to Kenosha Pass in time. Supposedly it's the best colors in like 15 years. Though I have to say the Nederland area is looking pretty good. We've been having unseasonably warm temps. that have made for a most excellent leaf season this year.

Aspen Alley

2011-10-01T17:09:00.000-06:00

I'm still a bit tired from DOCNA Champs and a week of sleeping poorly and back issues and wah wah wah but I had to get at least one more bike ride in up at West Mag, especially with the leaves at their peak up there.

Aspen Alley

Though the skies look grey it was actually as warm as a summer's day, shorts and short sleeves weather, with blue skies in some places. We had a little sprinkle of rain but it never came to anything.

Shoshone Meadows

The trails were even more quiet than normal, I think everyone and their granny was up at Kenosha Pass. I'm hoping to get up there sometime while the leaves are still good but we'll see. In the meantime it was a beautiful, quiet day on West Mag and half the driving time.

Holy CRAP! USDAA Nationals in Denver???!!!

2011-09-30T16:41:00.003-06:00

O.k., who saw that coming???!!! Not me, that's for sure. I swore up and down I'd never go to USDAA Nationals again until I was convinced they could organize themselves better but how can I not try to go to Nationals when it's 30.4 miles/44 minutes from my house??!! And I've already missed a USDAA trial this coming weekend because let me tell you this was certainly not on my radar and I didn't want to go to a far away trial the weekend after DOCNA Champs. And DOCNA Champs are also 40-45 minutes from my house this year just 3 weeks before USDAA Nationals. What the heck is going on? This throws a huge monkey wrench in my plans/goals for next year.

I'm warning you all though, Commerce City is GROSS. Stinky big industrial power plants type gross. And the site is next to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal which is full of nasty buried toxic waste. Like I think it was a Superfund site at one time type of nasty toxic waste. But still, 44 minutes from my house! I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it.

Anybody want to team with Strummer for the March USDAA trial at Castle Rock? He finally has his 22" Championship permanent height card.

DOCNA Champs 2011

2011-09-29T17:18:00.004-06:00

Overall we had a great Champs, lots of solid improvement over last year. A puzzling number of bars came down and that happened last year as well so I have to wonder if there's something about the footing that Strummer struggles with. Though I'll take credit for a bar or two. He only missed a couple weave pole entries compared to nearly every one last year and his dogwalks were awesome. He got 4/5 (80%) during Champs, only missed one on Traditional Gamblers where it didn't 'matter'. He did miss one on his Standard warm-up run and it cost us a Q so the percentage goes down to 4/6 (67%) for the whole weekend but still I was pleased. Missed only one A-frame out of about a million and that was the last day during the Strategic Time Gamble. I flung my arm up into the air and sent him flying early off the A-frame. I think it was the only instance of arm flinging all 4 days though so that was good.

DOCNA Champs is so well organized and well run, it's truly an event designed with the competitor in mind. I was through with my 4 runs each day by 2:00-3:00 and most days all the runs were done by 4:00-4:30. The awards were another matter, usually running until 5:00 or so. There are a lot of awards in DOCNA, in a way it's kind of ridiculous but that's another post for another day. The most excellent food vendor was back again with wonderful, tasty fresh food and vegetarian options at great prices. Weather was sunny in the mid-80's again each day but mornings were nice and cool and 2-3 of my 4 runs were in cool to reasonable temps. I even wore a fleece for Sunday morning's run.

Our best event was Jumpers. Only one bar down out of 3 runs and we finished 3rd overall compared to last year where we had about a million bars down each run, some off courses and I believe finished DFL. The courses were once again serps. & pinwheels. Somehow despite all my practice I still managed to bungle both serpentines a little, even turning into him on one of them which is something I haven't reverted to in ages. Don't know where that came from. We were in 2nd place going into the Finals even with the bar down because DOCNA scores Jumpers & Standard as time plus faults for Champs. but I had a few handling bobbles in the Final round and we ended up in 3rd.

Jumpers Rounds 1, 2 and Finals

Standard also went well. Round 1 was clean and put us in 2nd place with just under a second behind 1st. But he had a bar down in Round 2 and combined with a refusal and a missed weave entry we ended up 7th overall and missed making Finals by 2.4 seconds. The absence of any one of those mistakes would have put us in the Finals. Again a huge improvement over last year. I was so pleased, especially that he got both dogwalks with nice solid hits. In fact the missed weave entry was caused by me mentally celebrating the dogwalk and forgetting to verbally cue the weaves in time.

The North America Challenge (like USDAA's Grand Prix) was another lovely run with a beautiful dogwalk with a tricky 180 turn to tunnel (not a flip) with 3 off course options that he had to run past to get the tunnel. My training partner gave me a great handling tip and it worked a treat. We had 2 bars down but no other refusals or errors and while I wasn't happy about the bars I was so happy with the run overall. Last year we had an off course and other errors so this was a big improvement.

Sorry for the red, white and blue tie dye t-shirt fashion disaster nightmare but those were the shirts DOCNA gave us and we were sort of pressured into wearing them for the day. I was horrified wearing this thing but it's important to pick your battles in life and this one wasn't worth it.

NAC and Standard Rounds 1 and 2

Then there were the games-Snakes and Ladders, Trigility, Traditional Gamblers and Strategic Time Gamble. We ran Snakes & Ladders and our Jumpers portion of Trigility clean and took 3rd place in both. Strum did the gamble beautifully in Traditional Gamblers but I wasn't watching my footing and went thundering over the gamble line like a herd of elephants. I realized as both feet were in the air that I was going over and it must have been a comical scene to see me trying to backpedal mid-air. Strategic Time Gamble was our worst event. I flung my arm out during the opening causing the only missed A-frame of the day and sending him not where I intended him to go. He also missed a weave entry. Then I added an extra loop trying to waste time and that actually put us over time. If I'd just left the ring we would have been fine. Ah well. It was Sunday morning and I was tired and not with my heart in that run. Last year it was our best run of the trial.

Games

And what would a Championships be without an obligatory cheesy ribbon photo. I'm missing our fancy overall Jumpers ribbon because Jonny left after Jumpers taking Strummer with him and I came home later after the awards with a friend.

I love the crazy look on his face, sums him up perfectly. I should have taken my hat off but oh well.

Even though I'm cranky at the idea of splitting the West Champs into 2 next year and I wasn't planning on going I may rethink it because I had such a great time this year. If it conflicts with some other event (ie Xterra Nationals) I won't go but it's hard to pass up such a fun event when it's only 40-45 minutes away.

I was tired after 4 days and thankful that Grand Junction isn't that long of a drive. We finished with the awards at just after 2:00 and even with a long stop for gas and a few pockets of traffic we were home by 6:15 or so. The leaves are changing late this year so it wasn't as golden driving home through the mountains this year as last but it was still pretty.

Thank Goodness for Instruction Manuals

2011-09-21T17:10:00.003-06:00

Otherwise how would I know how to put on my goggles?

I kid you not, these instructions came with my goggles, graphics and everything.

The 'Directions' range from incomprehensible to inaccurate (nose bridge is not adjustable) to 'Duh!' Believe me, if I've got inflamed skin around my eyes I'm going to stop wearing the goggles whether you tell me to or not, no need to say 'please'.

I think it's a good rule of thumb that if you need directions about how put on goggles you probably shouldn't be in water over your head in the first place. I'm just sayin'.

The goggles were my consolation prize for not taking my entry to the regular Xterra race at Nationals. Lance Armstrong did end up entering so it's just as well I'm at DOCNA Champs. Wonder if that little voice in my head that told me to choose DOCNA Champs all those months ago is psychic. I saw some photos from the bike course though and it looks so pretty, leaves are starting to change. I hope they have it at Snowbasin in Utah again next year but I doubt it or I think they'd have announced it already. I suppose I should focus on this year's goal for now though.

Bad Timing and Good Dogwalks

2011-09-14T16:18:00.002-06:00

I was watching some video of the bike course for this year's Xterra Championships in Ogden, Utah and it looked so nice, at least the portion shown on the video. There's a brand spankin' new trail that the course goes on and it's so beautiful, sweet lovely smooth single track. I was so hoping they'd use the same course for next year's Champs but since they've been in UT for the past 3 years I suspect they'll move them next year. Then I check my email and see I've won a free entry ($95) to the 'citizen's race' (my wording) this year. It's the same course as Champs but anyone can enter and you start 20 minutes after the folks who qualified for Champs. And of course it's on the same weekend as DOCNA Champs. which is why I never set my sights on qualifying this year. Argh. Too late to get my entry fees back for DOCNA and I've committed to a Trigility team so can't let those folks down but I think otherwise I'd be there in a heartbeat. I'm not in shape to compete at the Champs. level but I could do the race with the regular folks no problem. Not something I'd normally pay for or set as a goal but I'd go with a free entry. Ah well. The other option for a prize was a free pair of swim goggles so at least that's something.

I've been easing Strum back into regular agility training these past couple of weeks and the dogwalk training started out depressing last week but today's practice looked good.

Last week: 4/10 - 40%
Yesterday: 3/4 - 75%
Today: 4/5 - 80%

Set-up was tunnel-dogwalk-tunnel for all reps. I used the clicker yesterday but forgot today and used my regular verbal marker. One of my strategies was to use the clicker more since my timing is much better now and I can mark the exact behavior to make things clearer for him. The hits yesterday and today were really solid and I'm hoping he'll keep this up at Champs.

I joked to myself this morning that I should stop at 3 reps. because all were perfect and it would be 100% but it was a nice cool, cloudy morning and I wanted to get a couple more in. Then he missed the 4th rep. But he got the next one and I called it good for the day. I didn't do the reps. consecutively today but mixed them in with other training, ie a dogwalk then some weaves then a dogwalk then some teeters, etc. Weaves, teeter, A-frame were all looking great these past 2 days. I think I had things set up to be too easy except the dogwalk (dogwalk to tunnel is the hardest for him). I made things harder with the weaves and he popped out once and missed one entry but otherwise perfect. Next practice I'll make things even harder but I want to ease him back in. He's in great general physical condition but hasn't been doing those specific agility movements and he's 6 now so I'm being careful with him. He seemed fine though, should do great at Champs. next week. I think I'll get more excited about it once I'm there, had a great time last year, hopefully the courses will be challenging and not too repetitive.

As long as it's agility I'm happy.

Crazy Dog Lady Goes to Boot Camp

2011-09-12T14:23:00.003-06:00

Wasn't there a movie like this back in the day with Goldie Hawn? I went to a free trial session of one of those fitness boot camps and was expecting a big burly drill sergeant type lady to make me climb things and crawl under other things and run around a lot while she blew a whistle in my face and yelled at me to get my ass in gear. But this is Boulder and instead I was greeted by a skinny yoga teacher chick who didn't have a whistle or yell even once and was perfectly pleasant. She accused us of looking like the Sleestaks from the old Land of the Lost kiddie t.v. show while we were coming at her doing our lunges but that was the only trash talk and apparently I was the only one in the whole group who even knew what she was talking about.

The Sleestaks scared the crap out of me when I was 8 years old. Their resemblance to Dick Cheney is uncanny and disturbing.

'That's what I get for growing up in Europe. I don't know what you mean,' says one woman. Ah Boulder. But here's the thing about Fitness Boot Camp, it doesn't matter how much brie you have up your butt, you still have to do your lunges all the way across the field to the big tree then do your sideways lunge-y thingies all the way back. No cheating. I'm not sure what Skinny Yoga Chick had in store for those who dared defy her because nobody dared defy her.

I went to class on 'Strength Day' which meant there wasn't a whole lot of running around or climbing or crawling. I was told to bring a yoga mat because in Boulder we have yoga mats not exercise mats. There were also stretchy rubber cords with handles and a little short step stool thingy. I don't do any strength training, at least not recently so I figured this would be good for me. Some of the exercises were easier for me than others and some worked muscles that haven't seen the light of day since Madonna really was a virgin. There were a lot of exercises to learn. Just when I was getting the hang of one and starting to feel like I couldn't do it any longer she'd say, '10 more seconds' and then we'd be off to the next. I suppose it's to keep people from getting bored and to torture as many muscle groups as possible.

The class felt challenging enough while doing it, at least the last 15 seconds of each exercise, but driving home I didn't feel as if I'd gotten much of a workout. And then I woke up the next day and could barely move. Skinny Yoga Chick had kicked my ass. Everything hurt, even my eyes. I stretched and iced and moaned and groaned. Poor Jonny got sick of listening to the drama fest and said he was going for a ride up at Picture Rock in Lyons. Of course I invited myself along because it was too beautiful of a day outside and how could I pass this up?

The trail is nice for about 40 minutes or so then starts getting rocky. I can usually gut it out for maybe an hour but I decided to turn around as soon as it started getting rocky since I wasn't looking for a huge ride. In the end I was about for about an hour. Jonny continued on and I went back to the car and swapped bike for running shoes because apparently I'm a masochist. It was a short run, just under 1/2 an hour and again how could I pass this up?

Some random guy on the trail.

Looking towards Lyons.

Summer finally let loose its death grip and the past 2 weeks have been perfect, 60'-70's. Still a little warm for agility but we've been getting in some practices in preparation for DOCNA Champs. in a week and a half. Wish I had equipment in my yard so we could do more but oh well. Weaves and dogwalk are still not where I want them but my handling is starting to sharpen up a little. I went running to get somewhere while Strum was in a tunnel and was surprised to find that I was easily where I needed to be when he came out. All the triathlon training has been good for something.

I've been re-thinking my goal for Xterra Nationals next year though. Lance Armstrong was out at this year's Nationals course checking it out to see if he might do it. While many people would be thrilled with this news for me it would be a nightmare. First of all I can't stand him and second of all it would turn the event into a circus and might make next year even worse. He's like the Kurt Cobain of the mountain bike world, commercializing and ruining everything he touches for the regular folk. Leadville 100 turned into a nightmare after he did it. Now it's a huge mainstream event. The original owners of the race sold it and now they let in way too many people for the size of the course. Even if Lance passes on Xterra this year who's to say he won't do it next year?

At first I couldn't figure out why he was sniffing around Xterra races but then it hit me that they most likely won't drug test him. And even if they do, the drug testing authority for Xterra is nothing like the one for road racing, he'll easily be able to elude them but I doubt they'll even bother. I wish he'd just retire or at least leave the off-road triathlon world alone. Or maybe the feds will finally get somewhere with the doping investigations. Seems like they were making some headway but I've not heard anything lately and obviously he's not in jail so I don't know if they gave up or what.

I wish there were more smaller, independent races around. The only one I know of in the area is in October and I fear the water will be way too cold or it might snow or I would enter it. Both the Lory and Indian Peaks race used to be independent then other race owners took them over and turned them into Xterras. Ah well, plenty of time to make up my mind before next year's season.

Hikies

2011-09-04T11:51:00.000-06:00

Jonny is on vacation this week and rather than spend money on hotels we decided to do day trips from home this year. Also it was so hot this past week, it was nice to get up high and escape the oven down in town.

Lake Isabelle
Only a 45 minute drive up to the Brainard Lake Recreation area and such a luxury to go on a weekday when the crowds were minimal and mostly spry old retired folk with the big hiking poles. My chiropractor has suggested these poles to me on more than one occasion and they do take an enormous amount of stress off your knees but they seem like such a hassle. Surely I'm not old enough to need these yet?

The wildflowers are still bashing away up there.

Lake Isabelle is a puddle this time of year.

You can barely even see it from this view. Normally those rocks in the foreground are under water.

Last bit of snow that refuses to melt.

Then there was the elk encounter we had on a different hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.

What better time to learn how to use the video on your point and shoot camera than when confronted by a ginormous bull elk?

I got some photos of him and the girls as well. Not too bad for a cheapo point and shoot camera.

View from Lake Helene in Rocky Mountain National Park

Lake Helene

View from Lake Helene

This was a short easy hike, only one steep section at the start and about 3 miles one way. The trail was a bit rocky though. It continues on to Lake Odessa but a storm was blowing in and we'd had enough excitement for one day so we had a nice lunch at Lake Helene and headed back. The rain waited until we got in the car, perfect timing for the second or third time this summer.

I posted these photos and more on Facebook because I have friends, actual real life friends, who I thought would like to see them but who don't read the blog but I also wanted to have a copy of them on the blog so that's the reason for the double posting. I think there's such a thing as too much social media and I'm straying into it but oh well.

Final Xterra Standings, Lory Race Photos, What Next?

2011-09-01T10:26:00.001-06:00

Some links to photos from Xterra Lory:

Attack Position (bike)

Run

Slip-n-Slide

I'm not sure how I've come to a point in my life where I find myself dressed in a skin tight lycra suit and sitting on a Slip-n-Slide but oh well. At this point I'm not sure which of my sports is weirdest.

The final rankings came out for Xterra and I ended up 7/18 in my age group in the Mountain Region. If I had done the Mountain Regionals in Beaver Creek and simply finished I would have come in 5th in the overall standings and qualified for Nationals without having to do any out of state races. Or if I had done one other race and come in 4th place or better I also would have qualified. Unfortunately qualifying and being good enough to go and be competitive are 2 different things and I'm a long way from there. Also qualifying wasn't a goal for this year so I only entered 2 races and you can count points from up to 4 races.

The big question though is do I try to qualify and be good enough to go for next year? I looked at the slowest and fastest of the competitive people who did the 2 races I did and I'd have to improve 1.9-2.8 mph on the bike for Lory, 2.5-3.6 mph on the bike for Indian Peaks (more technical, longer and at a high elevation). I'd have to improve 4:10-4:45 min./mile on the run for Lory, 4:56-5:31 for Indian Peaks. My swim times are competitive (faster at Lory) with the slower person but way off the fastest person. I'd have to go from 1:54 min/100 yards to 1:25 min/100 yards and that represents a lot of work for very little overall time gain. I know I can take a few minutes per mile off of my run because I'm so slow right now. I just didn't have a lot of time to build up my running after recovering from the hamstring strain this summer. But can I take off enough in a year to be competitve? Not sure about the bike speeds either. I can certainly get a bit better but how much hammering away can these old joints take? And is the type of training going to be fun and worth it?

I could shoot for the long course Xterra's instead. But is that training going to be even worse for injuries? Not sure I have the patience and desire any more to train for a race that takes 6 hours. I know I can do it but it's tedious and time consuming. Training to be faster/more competitive might be more fun and certainly a different challenge than I'm used to. I guess I've got plenty of time to decide, they haven't even announced date/location for next year's nationals let alone all the qualifying races. I hate the end of race season, I always wish there was more and start obsessing over next year.

Strum says, yeah, whatever

Maybe if you got yourself a big stick you wouldn't worry about such silly things as races

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T16:51:00.002-06:00

Xterra Lory 2011

2011-08-28T18:07:00.002-06:00

'It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.'
-Andy Warhol

1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 4.8 mile run
6500' elevation, Lory State Park, Fort Collins area

I love this race. It's a beautiful course, well organized, fun atmosphere, a great way to finish out my triathlon season. My main goal for this race is to take some time off the bike. I did the course at a pace of 9.0 mph 2 years ago (bike course was different last year) and the realistic goal is for 9.4 mph but my secret stretch goal is 10 mph. I know it'll be a hot day, predictions are for 90's and the sun is already blaring at 7:00 a.m. so I don't want to push the swim for maybe a minute or two of time gain. I know the run will be tough in the heat but I'm going to keep my focus run it as hard as I can. I'm frustrated with my running this year and this is my last chance to improve.

I don't have any goals for placements. There are 12 people signed up in my age group and I know 2 are way faster than me but I don't know about the rest nor do I know who will actually show up so setting a placement goal is pointless.

For the second weekend in a row I'm headed north up to Fort Collins in the pitch black and hoping not to run into any drunks or deer. Or drunk deer. I start off the journey by watching a guy next to me start to turn into oncoming traffic on a 55 mph highway as I wait at a red light. I honk at him not knowing what else to do and this works in that he stops but he doesn't back up out of harm's way and I can see cars starting to come at him off in the distance. He sits there for a bit sticking out in traffic then finally decides to do a U-turn in front of me on the red light with the oncoming traffic getting ever closer. Thankfully he pulls this off and takes off in the opposite direction.

I arrive to the race 15-20 minutes later than I normally do (6:40 a.m.) and while I still have plenty of time I arrive at the same time as everyone else and the busyness is a little on the frazzling side for my sleepy brain. I get a nice spot in transition but it's crowded and eventually a guy with a huge bike racks next to me and his giant handlebars block me in.

Busy Busy

I'm #97

Then I go down to the end of the transition area to take a picture of the swim course and see a ton of empty racks so I grab my stuff and relocate. The transition area is neutral meaning it doesn't matter where you rack, the only advantage is being on the main row and not in a row that's off the main runway. I can't believe my luck and as people head down to the water they comment that they should have come down here too.

This never happens in a triathlon

Last year I didn't wear socks and got horrific blisters on the arches of both feet. They were horribly painful and took weeks to heal. So this time I'm planning on wearing socks but nonetheless I glob a ton of Bodyglide and Aquaphor onto my feet and especially on my arches. It seems like ridiculous overkill but no way I'm getting blisters this year.

I had originally planned to leave a cooler in transition with 2 big bottles of ice water but the cooler was too heavy to carry on my bike the long way from my car to transition so I grab the small cooler packs out of the cooler and place them on top of the bottles then put my backpack over that in transition. If not for this simple thing my race would have had a much different outcome.

There are lots of dogs milling about with spectators. This one reminds me of Lola a bit. She's wagging her tail at anybody who'll pay attention to her.

Swim (880 yards)
The water temp. is a balmy 75 degrees but I stick to my guns and wear my wetsuit. I'm glad I have it and I don't get hot at all. I'm in the 5th of 7 waves and they're putting around 6 minutes between waves so I have plenty of time to warm up. There's a huge area to warm up in right next to the start line so I'm able to swim right up until the start of my wave. This year the waves are organized by a combination of our swim times and biking ability so instead of being in the old lady wave at the end of the race I'm in a wave with all manner of hooligans. Men, 20 year olds, a mish mash of everybody and most of us supposedly close to each other in swim ability. This is a good idea to eliminate congestion on the single track trails for the bike. However it means I'm swimming in a mass of humanity for about half the race. I get bumped and swum into a bit and I've got to swim around all manner of people breast stroking, back stroking, etc. and no way to pass them but to swim into the mass. Normally this would send me into a panic but I've been working on this outside of the water, and I'll write more about that later, and I'm not the least bit worried, just keep siting to find an opening somewhere and keep moving forward. I try to find feet to draft off of but they all end up being way too slow and I have to pass them. I'm so preoccupied with managing the crowds that the turn-around buoy comes up before I know it. And once I turn and head back to shore there's suddenly no one in front of me. So weird. After a minute or two I feel like I've somehow drifted way off course but after looking at photos of the buoys I realize it's just the way they positioned the buoys. I make it back to shore without incident and stop for a moment in the water to take off the top part of my wetsuit and get my clothes underneath as wet as I can.

Swim (880 yards): 16:44 mins. (1:54/100 yards), 2/8 in age group, 150/273 overall

Dash to T1: 58 secs.

T1: 2:03, 5/8 age group

Bike (12miles advertised, 12.3 miles by my cyclometer)
My brain is a bit muddled after coming out of the water and I think I can get on the bike as soon as I cross the timing mat out of transition but I see a bunch of people running way past the mats so I start to get on then think I can't and get off and run a bit more then realize, duh, I can, I don't know what these people are doing. And I was supposed to be working on quick, cyclocross style bike mounts this summer but I can't even figure out when to get on the bike.

There is only one woman in my swim wave that's also in my age group and though I'm out of transition before her she quickly passes me on the flat road before the single track. I plan to at least keep her in my sights but she's way too fast for me and I have to abandon that strategy early on. The race is a little crazy for the first lap with people trying to pass me as well as me trying to pass other people but for the most part it works out o.k. There's only one woman who gives me a little bit of a hard time about letting me pass because she's already fallen once trying to let people pass. But there's soon a group of people built up behind her and she's going to have to let us by at some point. She eventually slams on her brakes to a stop in the middle of the trail with no warning then makes her way to the side. I have enough time to stop but the guy behind me nearly runs into me. Everybody else is really nice about letting me pass or nice about passing me so for the most part it's not a big deal. It always seems there's one person that you pass back and forth several times and for me it's a tall skinny 24 year old woman who I'm guessing might be doing her 1st triathlon because she did the swim with no wetsuit and wore a swimsuit for the whole race. So I try to be extra nice to her when I need to pass and at a couple points I get caught up behind her and don't try to pass because it seems more trouble than it's worth. But at some point near the start of the second lap I pass her and take off and get way ahead and that's the last of my passing difficulties.

My average speed for the first lap starts out at around 10.1 mph then goes down to 9.8 at the slower part of the course with the hills. With a possible 10 mph ave. speed in my sights and the course a bit more clear I attack the second loop, using my new bike handling skills to works around the turns and get as much speed as I can on the downhills. I can't ride the switchback/drop on the first loop because someone's in the way and there's also someone there off her bike on the second loop but she steps off the trail to let me by and I cruise down it no problemo and the person I pass is from my age group. I pass one other person from my age group on the bike but there's no sign of the person from my wave that passed me at the start.

I get over the final hill before transition and there's a mile, maybe more, and I'm at 10 mph ave. speed so I try to go even faster on the remaining downhill because maybe I'll exceed my stretch goal! I get off the bike and my cyclometer reads 10.1 mph! I'm so happy and I realize I've taken 10 minutes off my bike time from 2 years ago. But when I see my official results my time is only 8 minutes faster and my ave. speed is 9.8. I realize my cyclometer only records time and distance when the bike is moving so the time I wasted mounting the bike at the start and stopping to let people pass is about 2 minutes. But still, I know my actual riding time was 10.1 mph, can't help the stoppage time for letting people pass, and I'm very very happy about it.

Bike (12 miles advertised, 12.3 miles by my cyclometer): 1:14:48, 9.8 mph official time,
5/8 age group, 184/273 overall

T2: 1:29 (ouch), 5/8 age group

Run (4.8 miles)
T2 took a little longer than normal because I had a hard time racking my bike with no other bikes to weight the rack down and the rack moving all over but also because I took the time to dump one of my ice water bottles over my head. I was already starting to overheat on the bike, temps. were high eighties pushing into 90 degrees for the run.

I carried my other large size water bottle with me on the run. The ice packs had kept it cold enough that there were still loads of ice cubes even without the cooler. It's heavy though and throwing off my stride. After only half a mile my hip is starting to ache and I consider abandoning it on the road by the cars before I hit the single track up the steep hill. I'm cool enough from the water I poured on my head in transition and it feels like it's slowing me way down. But I remember how badly I struggled in the heat last year and I was already overheating on the bike this year. In the end I decide to keep it. And I'm so glad I do.

My plan is to wait until mile 2 then dump half of it on my head and take the rest as I need it. But soon after the 1 mile mark I'm already struggling with the heat. The hill is steep and goes on for 2 miles or so and there's no shade, the sun is beating down and I start to see how valuable this water will be to me. I end up squirting small amounts of it on my head, face, arms, chest, etc. every time I start to feel myself overheat. I take the occasional sip as well. I ration it out and it lasts until maybe the 3 1/2-3 3/4 mile mark. The heat effects me for sure but the water makes it possible for me to run the entire course unlike last year where I was sick and dizzy and had to walk a good portion of it especially at the end. My race would have been miserable without it.

Lots of Runners pass me on the uphill but no one from my age group. I used to be a Runner and it kind of makes me sad that I'm not anymore but I can't worry about that and I focus only on the trail in front of me and moving up the hill and forget the heat and the other people. Somehow despite the heat and my diminished running abilities this year the top of the hill seems to come faster and easier than any other year I've done this. But I notice what feels like a blister starting on the arch of my left foot. I can't believe it but what can I do but head down the hill? At least it's only 2 miles or so to the finish. I pick up some speed going down and pass back some of the people that passed me on the way up. The downhill seems longer this year though, I think I'm slower on it than 2 years ago because of the heat.

I get to the bottom of the steep downhill part and after a bit I can hear and see the finish line but it still looks so far off that it's actually discouraging. I hit the 4 mile marker, only .8 mile left, but somehow this is discouraging too. Can I hold on for that long? I'm so hot and tired. But again I forget all that and look only at the trail in front of me and next thing I know I'm off the single track and at the last water station. The volunteer dumps water on my head and I take another quick glass even though I'm minutes from the finish. It only costs a few seconds and it tastes so good and gives me a little boost for the finish.

That last stretch down the dirt road to the finish seemed so cruel last year but this year it zips by and soon I see the finish and the ridiculous Slip-n-Slide with the filthy tub of water at the end.

Thankfully there is not a little kid blocking my way at the finish. I think I probably would have thrown him out of the way if there was I was so thankful to be done.

I'm planning on avoiding the Slip-n-Slide this year but I'm so hot and I see a woman spraying a hose down the ramp. The announcer tells me that I'd better go faster than that or I'll never make it to the end and he's right but I don't care. I make it about halfway down and lay there in the spray of the fabulous hose. Feels. SO. Good. I get up and climb over the side to get out so I don't have to get in the horrible filthy brown pit of doom.

Yes I do know how funny that looks, didn't take the photo on purpose but oh well.

Run (4.8 miles): 1:09:21, 13.53 min./mile (not great but better than I though it would be given the heat)

Finish: 2:45:19, 5/8 age group, 56/99 women, 199/273 overall.

So very happy with this race given the conditions. My finish time 2 years ago was 2:44 but the swim was maybe 100-150 yards shorter and it was overcast and in the high 50's. My bike was 8 minutes faster and run was only 5 minutes longer.

Compared to last year's race the swim was exactly the same time (freaky!), bike was 8 mins. faster this year, run was 9 mins. faster this year in similar hot conditions but the bike course was much harder last year so I'm not sure it's fair to compare those 2 races.

No hardware this time but it's o.k., this race was better for me than any of the races that I did manage to place at. The woman from my wave that passed me on the bike right out of transition ended up in 3rd and it was her first off-road triathlon. First and second place went to the 2 super fast people. I was only 7 1/2 minutes behind 4th place and 5th place was over 1/2 an hour behind me. I was 46-47 minutes off of first place and 1/2 an hour off of 3rd so nowhere close to placing. But I'm happy about the improvements over previous years and holding up physically and mentally in that heat. Fun day out on the trails despite the hot run.

The only downside to the day, aside from the heat, was the finish line food. No food at all for vegetarians, just fish tacos and chicken burritos, some gross puffed fries and oreo cookies. Funny thing was I asked if they had any vegetarian options and when they said 'no' the 2 girls standing next to me also groaned, 'This is Fort Collins, how can there be no veggie food?!!' The caterers were apologetic and said they did have veggie burritos at their restaurant but weren't told to bring any. They kindly gave a coupon for a free veggie burrito to the women but this didn't help us right then and there. I did have energy bars in my car but my key was about 1/2-3/4 mile away back in the transition area. I missed the raffle and a good portion of the awards going back to transition then coming back to my car and the finish area. I did get to see the sides and roof of the Slip-n-Slide collapse though and it is a beautiful finish area. Can't complain too much when there's blue skies and red cliffs.

Was tired and bonky on the way home but I eventually made up for the lack of finish line food no problem once I got home. I wonder if I can spend the next week just sleeping and eating?

FINAL STATS

Swim (880 yards): 16:44 mins. (1:54/100 yards), 2/8 in age group, 150/273 overall

Dash to T1: 58 secs.

T1: 2:03, 5/8 age group

Bike (12 miles advertised, 12.3 miles by my cyclometer): 1:14:48, 9.8 mph official time,
5/8 age group, 184/273 overall

T2: 1:29, 5/8 age group

Run (4.8 miles): 1:09:21, 13.53 min./mile, 6/8 age group, 255/273 overall

Finish: 2:45:19, 5/8 age group, 56/99 women, 199/273 overall.

How to Get Hypothermia in an August Heat Wave

2011-08-26T13:14:00.005-06:00

I have a triathlon tomorrow so of course we're having a heat wave at the end of August. Last year I blew up in the unseasonable heat in this race and conditions look like a repeat for this year. I've also been struggling a bit with swimming in the Rez in my full wetsuit in the warmer weather. I'm o.k. for a lap but by the second lap I'm getting too hot. Or at least I had been for the past few weeks. Once I even took off the wetsuit for the second lap and was a little chilly after I got out but was mostly o.k. I didn't even own a wetsuit when I did my first couple of Olympic Distance (1500 meter swim) triathlons in the Rez way back in the day. So I came up with the idea of not wearing a wetsuit in the race tomorrow in the hope that I might be a little chilly when I get out of the water and I won't overheat too badly for the rest of the race. It's only an 880 yard swim, how cold can I get?

I was a little toasty after my first 1100 yard loop of the Rez yesterday morning so I thought I'd test out this theory and take my wetsuit off for the second lap. The coach suggested I just do half a lap but I told her I'd done this a few weeks ago and was fine for a full lap. Unfortunately I'd underestimated how much the Rez had cooled down in the past few weeks and I was cold as soon as I took my wetsuit off. But I needed more yardage and there's no way I was getting the suit back on while it was wet so off I went figuring that the sun was blaring warmly on the water and I'd warm up once I got going like I did a few weeks ago. Except I never quite warmed up. I probably swam my fastest loop ever though even without the advantage of the wetsuit. Even when I got to the place where I could head back to shore for 1/2 a loop I stubbornly kept going, need more yardage, can't turn back until I get a full workout in. I was already cutting the workout short by doing only 2 laps. I made it back to shore and thought I was o.k. and even changed into dry clothes at the car but when I got in the car to drive home I starting shaking, well beyond shivering even. I blasted the heat and luckily the Rez is close to my house because it was an interesting drive home. I got in a hot shower and 50 minutes after getting out of the Rez I finally felt o.k. So the plan for tomorrow is to wear my wetsuit because the water will likely be a couple of degrees colder even than the Rez. At least I figured that out before the race and didn't have to try to navigate a mountain bike on single track while shaking uncontrollably.

Unlike last year I've been training in the heat this year so I'm better prepared. My plan is to have a small cooler in transition with a bottle full of ice water to pour over my head before the run and a small water bottle to carry with me on the run to pour over my head as needed. Last year the water supplies for those of us at the back of the race weren't so great. There aren't many aid stations which is understandable but when I finally did get to one they gave me a cup of water filled maybe 1/4 of the way. I think they let me have 2 cups but it still wasn't nearly enough. I hate to carry a bottle, it's such a nuisance and extra weight to haul up the hill, but I don't trust the race to provide enough water and I'd rather be sure to have it. Also I can have it when I need it and not have to wait so long between water stations. I'll be able to go faster if I can keep coolish so it'll be worth it.

This race is not an 'A' race, it's a fun end of season go out there and enjoy race. But I am going to race my hardest, especially looking to improve my running. But I haven't been training in earnest, no more 2 a day workouts, no more intervals. I did the bike in 1 hour 22 minutes for the last 2 years, weird since the courses were different each year, and I plan on cutting some time off of that. And I'm always trying to better my swim.

In other news Strummy finally got to go play at agility this morning.

If you throw the ball I might forgive you for ignoring me all summer.

I finally got him doing some dogwalks. Set-up was curved tunnel on one end, jump on the other. If he hit the contact he got his toy, if not I kept going until he did. He got all 4 reps with the jump at the end, all 4 perfect contacts. However he only got 1/4 with the tunnel at the end and it was the 4th tunnel rep that he finally got. I ended there but played with him a bit so he didn't think hitting the contact with a tunnel there meant the end of his fun. Even at 7:15 am it was too hot to do any more dogwalks after that.

Then my training partner and I worked on a little exercise that was already set up. We managed to work everything in - weaves, teeter, table, A-frame. Strummy was pretty perfect except for leaving the teeter when I moved ahead to front cross. His teeter had been so good but was getting sloppy at the last trial so I'm back to working it in practice. Weaves were pretty awesome even with coming at them at speed out of a tunnel and me doing a rear cross. Good practice over all but it was quickly too hot to do too much. Bring on the fall!

USDAA Jumpers Run

2011-08-24T09:50:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Julie for taping our advanced Jumpers run from this past weekend. I couldn't find anybody before our run but she was in the stands and had a great view. Those handling errors are so easy to spot when you have video. A big part of the problem with the run is that Strum broke his start line for maybe the second time ever because he was freaked out by all the flies in the arena. This was the last run of the day and he was at the end of his rope with them. He was jerking his head around to snap at them while sitting on the start line and actually I can't remember if he broke the start or I saw him fussing and released him before I had led out to where I wanted to. In any case it threw me off my plan and I got a bit behind setting a poor line and causing a run by then a back jump. That rear cross towards the end though, ugh, I'll have to practice that set-up some more.

I tried more rear crosses this trial then I normally do, mostly because they're a weak spot that I've been working on in practice and I wanted to see how they held up in a trial. I'd say the results were mixed. In some cases I really prefer a front if I can get there but sometimes I can't get there no matter how hard I hustle or I can get there but it isn't pretty.

I realized I have only 3 trials left for the whole year, all of them DOCNA. At least with the exception of DOCNA Champs. they're all 20-40 minutes away. Now if only it would cool down a bit so I could practice. It's not fair having 90 degree weather so far into August.

I Drove HOW Far for 2 1/2 Minutes in the Ring?

2011-08-22T17:24:00.000-06:00

That would be about 4 1/2 hours total thank you very much. The majority of trials I do these days are less than an hour from home but I made the exception to go up to Laramie, WY this year for one day because they were having a measuring judge. And it was totally worth it because Strummy measured 20 7/8" for his final CMJ measurement. SO happy for that. At this point it's not even so much about him getting to play in Championship as it is the ability to put him in 16" Performance when he's older. But we don't have a single Starters Standard Q so we may as well start over in Championship. I figure it should be easy enough to get 1 leg in each of the games then if I'm still lagging behind in Standard we can play in Perf. at the upper levels that he's already earned his way into until we catch up in Championship. Unfortunately there are only 2 USDAA trials left this year and I'm not entering either. One is a 2 ring trial in a confined space and when I looked up some videos from Regionals at the same site last night I about had a heart attack at how close together the rings were and only some skimpy survey tape between them. There's no way I'm taking a chance with that. The other trial is too far and the weekend after DOCNA Champs. so I'll be too fried for a nearly 2 hour drive and overnight stay and another 2 ring trial with only survey tape for a barrier.

I had such a good time running Grand Prix though, I think the focus next year will be USDAA because the courses are interesting AND we finally get to play in Championship. I'm especially looking forward to the International classes. I won't go to USDAA Nationals and I don't care about titles but I'm sure I can come up with some sort of goal to keep me motivated next year.

As for the trial, on the one hand my handling felt good on the more complicated courses. I felt some good teamwork coming through from the wee Strum man. No bars down either! On the other hand his contacts fell all to pieces. 0/2 on the dogwalk, 1/3 on the A-frame, even had some bad teeters. Sheesh. Weave poles were perfect though all entrances were very easy and after the first jump or the table so he didn't have any speed going. Still struggling with pulling him off jumps on lateral sends. It's a matter of figuring out how to balance those cues and it's just a matter of more practice.

Here's some video of his Grand Prix run and part of Starters Standard

I guess this doesn't look so good on paper but I don't know, the runs felt good, just little things here and there and those darn contacts. Guess I better get back to the practice field. If only fall would come and bring some cooler temps.

Trial Stats

No Q's or titles

Dogwalks: 0/2 (0%)

A-frames: 2/4 (50%)

Weave entries: 3/3 (100%) No pop-outs (Yay!)

Knocked bars: 0 (Yay!)

Teeters: Lost track

Crazy Mushroom Lady Finds Some Zombie Food

2011-08-21T16:48:00.001-06:00

I did have an agility trial in Wyoming yesterday and I'll get to writing about it. The important thing is that Strum got his final measurement under 21" (20 7/8"!) which was the main reason I drove up there to that trial. So happy about that!

In the meantime I think I might be turning into a Crazy Mushroom Lady. Because apparently I don't have enough quirky, time consuming hobbies that might kill me already. I found myself noticing mushrooms on the side of the trail during my triathlon a couple of weeks ago and wishing I could stop to check them out. I didn't but it surprised me that it took some restraint. Today however I had no such time pressures and I pulled off the trail to check these guys out.

Brains. Perfect for if you ever have zombies over for dinner.

I was squatting in the dirt digging them up when a woman on a bike saw me and she and her dog came over to see what the excitement was about. Turns out she is also a Crazy Dog/Bike/Mushroom Lady and she knows exactly what they are-Albatrellus Confluens-and she also knows that they are edible. This saves me a lot of time and aggravation because it turns out they are not in my mushroom book and she warns me that you don't often see them in books. But I memorize the name (Albatross confluence) and Google helps me out with the spelling when I get home.

If I only had a brain . . .

She warns me that they degrade quickly and are often full of worms but this doesn't deter me and I stuff a couple into my backpack. I think I'm going to have to get a bigger backpack for my mushroom hauls, I could only fit 2. I washed them as soon as I got home, sliced them really thin, sauteed them in butter and ate a few slices. Because apparently I'm o.k. with trusting my life with a total stranger that I met in the woods. It's been an hour or so and so far no tubes down my stomach. They tasted very mushroomy, so good. The house smells like mushrooms. I suppose this could be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective.

I can take them or leave them. Maybe if they came with a nice steak.

We had a nice but short ride. I felt o.k. when I woke up but when I hit the trail I was more tired than I realized. I hate how agility trials wear me down like that without even providing any training benefit. Jonny took me on some different trails for a change.

The wildflowers are starting to fade a little but there are still a lot.

More about the agility trial when I get my video uploaded.

Lory State Park - Getting Ready for Next Weekend's Xterra

2011-08-19T19:17:00.000-06:00

Today was my birthday so Jonny took the day off and we went for a ride up at Lory State Park. Jonny had bought me a lesson with former Olympic mountain biker Ann Trombley during the week and I was itching to try out my new found skilz. Which included how to go down a drop-off. It's sort of like riding a horse over a jump. Ann started out showing me some simple drills to do to feel what it's like to shift my weight around on my bike. She also showed me the 'Attack' position which is how I'm supposed to ride downhill from now on. In just over an hour she had me riding down a steep rocky hill into a ledge/drop off with a turn right after it. The trail is near my house and all these years I've always gotten off my bike and walked down that step/ledge because I never knew how to ride it and now it's no problemo. Plus I feel much more stable on the downhills since she showed me the proper position to be in so I can go faster and feel more in control. Very cool.

Anyway, I wasn't planning on going up to Lory to pre-ride the course again but I thought what the hey. Normally it's too hot this time of year, no shade at all and it's only at around 6600 ft. so it's not much cooler than in town which was supposed to be in the low 90's. However we had wonderful cloud cover and mid-70 degree temperatures - perfect for one more chance to check out the course.

And I'm glad I did because I found out that they've done a bunch of trail work and smoothed over a bunch of stuff including the only downhill portion that I couldn't ride so now with the exception of a very tiny piece of technical uphill I can easily ride the whole course now that I have my fancy new downhill skilz. Even some stuff that wasn't really technical but maybe bumpy/rocky or tight switchbacks or whatever has been smoothed out. It's going to be a fast and furious race for a lot of folks.

This is the one downhill part that used to be tricky, a drop-off on a switchback. I was so proud of myself riding down it using the skills Ann taught me then Jonny realized some trail work had been done and it was now much easier. But still, so happy I know how to ride it now even if it is easier.

Looking downhill

Looking uphill

Easy Peasy. In fact I wonder if I could ride this part all the time and the part with the steep drop off is somewhere else and has been re-routed or somehow filled in. I seem to remember it was rockier with a much steeper drop off.

This is the uphill that I can quite make it up.

It's hard to show the true steepness of it. I can make it almost to the top then get stuck at that last ledge of rock. It's sort of possible to go to the right to the smooth part to miss out the rock but it's a very tight turn and you need a lot of strength to have enough speed/momentum to carry you into the turn and I couldn't quite make it. Riding over the rock at the top is also possible but I simply don't have enough leg strength. Jonny can do it but he said it was a bit hard even for him. He watched me trying to do it and said I was in too easy of a gear so couldn't get enough power going to make it up. I don't have the leg strength to push much harder of a gear so this challenge will have to wait until I can build up more strength. I'll only lose a few seconds having to get off for a few steps so no big deal.

Lovely singletrack heading into where the transition area will be.

Hello Eltuck Bay. I'll see you next week.

Bike course felt fast and easy today, pace was 9.1 mph for the second loop. The first loop I stopped several times to take pictures of parts of the course and re-ride the 'tricky' parts. I rode this course at 9 mph during the race 2 years ago. My goal is to be faster this year, maybe 9.4-9.6 mph. Maybe even 10 mph! That would be cool. In any case I'm excited for the race next week.

Tomorrow I get up at some unspeakable hour to drive to Laramie, WY for one day of a USDAA trial. The only reason I'm going is that there will be a measuring judge there so Strummy can finally get his very final measurement. He has 3 measurements under 21" from regular judges and one just over and one just under from CMJ's so hopefully the CMJ tomorrow will measure him under. If so I may do more USDAA in the future since I'm tiring of the 'sameness' of the DOCNA courses. I signed up for 4 classes and I'm driving the 2 hours, 10 minutes back the same day so will be a long day. I love this trial, the site, etc. but it's such a long drive. Ah well, it'll be fun anyway.

This Charming Man

2011-08-15T18:06:00.001-06:00

Strum had a pretty good weekend on paper. Hit all his dogwalks, 5/5, and all his teeters. Didn't get called on any of his 6 A-frames but on the video it looks like he might have gotten a gift on one of them. I made a compilation of his dogwalks and most of his A-frames for the running contact freaks. SO so happy about those dogwalks, first time he's ever hit 100%. And one of those was at a distance in a gamble! He was such a Mr. Awesome Pants.

Running Contacts Compilation

He had 5/6 Q's on Saturday (maybe we can forget about the 0/4 Q's on Sunday) and finished up his Specialist (Masters) Jumpers and Standard titles. He also had only 1 bar down the whole trial and thankfully it was during a run where lots of other stuff went wrong as well. I think the footing at that trial a couple of weeks ago isn't the best for Strummer. It's hard packed dirt and while I've trialed there before and never thought of it as being a problem I just can imagine why else he had so many bars down. In any case I'm glad to see the issue was an anomaly.

Saturday's Jumpers and Standard Runs

I have video for the North American Challenge and Traditional Gamblers but it's not posted to vimeo yet and it's not all that interesting though he did get a distance gamble with a dogwalk which was something of a miracle.

On the one hand I suppose I should be happy with all the Q's. On the other hand my goal for the weekend was to have nice smooth runs that were truly clean, ie no refusals or missed weave entries, and we didn't have a single such run. A refusal here, a missed weave entry there put us out of all the placements for the weekend. Even our most awesome Trigility team came in 2nd by fractions of a second because I had a refusal in my Jumpers run while teammates ran clean. Thankfully the 1st place team had my same 2 teammates so I didn't deny them their 1st place, just shifted it to their other team.

Weave entries were iffy on Saturday. One of them looks like a handling error but the others, I don't know. No refusals on Sunday but I was tired and came out of the nine zillionth pinwheel of the weekend on a Jumpers run and briefly forgot where to go next. I hate getting lost, especially during Jumpers. Then called him a fraction of a second too late and got off course tunnels in both Standard runs. Mr. McSpeedypants needs to hear his name before he takes off for the jump before the turn. I had just practiced this on Friday too. I was tired by Sunday, I didn't finish Saturday's runs until 6 pm and even Strum was tired for once when we got home. Sunday I left after 4 runs at around 11:30 a.m. and it was a good decision. Sitting around for 4 hours in the heat for 1 run is not my cup of tea.

Sunday's runs

I know, deliver me from Pinwheel Hell.

Anyway, I was so hoping to have nice smooth runs before Champs. in Sept. The courses were so easy if not repetitive and tedious. SO many pinwheels this time. We can do pinwheels no problem but they're oh so boring. Especially by the 6th run. I'm hoping we'll see some more challenging courses at Champs. And hopefully not so many pinwheels.

I'm starting to wonder if the announcement of an Arizona Champs next year will also effect this year's entry in Grand Junction. Maybe the AZ folks won't bother to come up this year because they know it'll be in their backyard next year and they'll wait and go to that. I guess we'll find out in Sept. I know, I should be bitching to the folks at DOCNA not to you folks but I think they're busy w/ Champs. stuff for this year right now and it seems easier to pick a different agility goal for next year than to kick up a fuss. There's always something to do on any given weekend.

Final Stats

Specialist Traditional Gamblers Q-6th place (re-did the weave poles due to pop-outs 3 times so lost a lot of points)

Specialist Standard Round 1 Q-4th place (missed weave entry and a spin on a poorly managed rear cross)

Specialist Standard Round 2 Q-5th place (missed weave entry and run by at last jump when I let up at the finish)

Specialist Trigility Q-2nd place (We had a refusal in Jumpers, partners ran clean)

Specialist Jumpers Round 1 Q-4th place (lost time due to a refusal)

Completed Specialist Jumpers Title

Completed Specialist Standard Title

Dogwalks
5/5 (100% baby!!!)

A-frames
6/6 (100%) Technically perfect but I think we got a gift on one of them. All the others looked great though.

Teeters
100% , very happy w/ his teeters

Correct weave pole entries
6/9 (67%) Three of these were with the weave poles as the first obstacle

Weave pole pop-outs
3/9 (33%) Popped out on 3 runs

Bars down
Only 1 bar down out of 10 runs, pretty fantastic

A Little Touched in the Head

2011-08-11T12:19:00.002-06:00

You all are setting goals for next fall already aren't you? And by next fall I mean 2012. I got an email from DOCNA that sent a pebble in the pond ripple effect for my plans for next year. Next year they're adding another trial to 2012 DOCNA Champs (right now there's an East and West Championship) in Sedona, AZ which will effectively turn the Champs in Denver into a local trial. Sure, they'll combine the results of the NAC but that's about the only connection between the 3 events. The thing about a Champs event for me is the actual experience of the event. I want to see a bunch of dogs competing that I don't normally get to see and I want the atmosphere of a bigger event. That's a big part of what makes a Champs event special and fun for me. I don't care about combining a bunch of numbers on paper and declaring someone a winner. I had to choose this year between DOCNA Champs and Xterra Nationals and I wisely chose DOCNA because no way am I good enough for Xterra Nats. at the moment. Not even in the ballpark. But this new format of DOCNA Champs doesn't interest me in the least. If I have nothing else to do I'll probably go because it's only 40 mins. away but if Xterra Nats. are on the same weekend again and in a fun sounding place or in Utah again I think that may be my new goal for next year. Don't know what my agility goal will be but I'll come up with something.

Which leads to the next bit of insanity-Xterra Epic Iron Mountain. It's an Xterra but twice the distance of your typical Xterra-1500 m swim, 34 mile mountain bike, 10 mile trail run. There were only 2 in the country so far that I could find and one has already happened but this one is in October and not only would count for points for next year's Nationals but would count as extra points because it's so long. There were only 3 women total in the other Epic race and none in my age group and while who knows who will show up to the Arkansas race there's a good chance I could get a lot of points just for showing up. Which is the world's stupidest reason for entering a race if you ask me but the idea of this long course race is intriguing. There's no info. on how technical the bike course is so it's hard to say but this could easily take me 7-8 hours. If I'm lucky. Which is kind of stupid. Here's the other part of it that's stupid-15 1/2 hours of driving. To go to Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Any loyal readers out there from Arkadelphia, Arkansas? I would love to know what this place is like. And I'd only have 2 1/2 months to work myself up to those distances.

I don't know, I think someone needs to convince DOCNA to go back to having a real Championship so I don't do something Stupid. In the meantime I have a mountain bike skills lesson next week that Jonny bought me for my birthday. I'm going to learn to ride downhill from a real Olympic mountain biker. And I have a DOCNA trial this weekend. I suppose I ought to dig my weave poles out from the climbing weeds and cobwebs. It's finally cooling down a bit and I'm itching to go back to agility training and poor Strummer is practically climbing out of his skin.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-10T10:24:00.000-06:00

Crazy Triathlete Lady does Indian Peaks Xterra

2011-08-09T11:54:00.000-06:00

Indian Peaks Xterra
1000 m/1100 yard swim
14 mile bike
4.1 mile run
9400 feet elevation (9646 feet max. on bike course)
I live at 5400 feet

Ready for Action.

Not a great photo but it was not a day for stopping to take photos. My hair is still going feral before the race even starts.

Thatsa lotsa mountain bikes.

One more transition photo and that's it for photos. I tried to get down to the lake to take one and almost got there but realized I wouldn't have enough time to go back to transition then back to the lake for the race start. Oh well. Most scenic transition area? Maybe highest transition area at 9400 feet.

Race went well except for the run. Was way slower than I thought I would be. Weather conditions were perfect, 70's & sunny with a nice stiff breeze at times.

Swim-1000 m/1100 yards

The swim is in a little lake just before the Eldora ski resort. Normally it's cold. Very very cold. This year was probably the warmest year in the history of the race. I'm guessing the water temp. was around 63 degrees. I debated about wearing my swim socks and in the end I decided to wear them and was very glad.

It's a time trial start and you're seeded by a combination of swim and biking ability. I'm number 204 out of 280 bib numbers (not sure how many did not start) so I have to wait awhile before I get to start. In fact the first swimmers are out of the water about 5-10 minutes or so before I get in. I warm up a bit but I'm a little worried about missing the start and end my warm-up way too soon. I'm plenty relaxed when I start but it takes me a while to get going. After a few minutes somebody runs into me trying to pass me and takes their time so I think they're not too much faster than me and I try to hang onto their feet. But I guess the pace is too fast because I'm soon feeling out of breath. I stop for a moment to catch my breath and feel that panic brewing just below the surface but I start back swimming at a nice steady pace and push it out of my mind and I'm fine for the rest of the race.

I've been experimenting with breathing to both sides in practice and it makes me swim way off course and then when I try to breath to one side I also swim way off course so one of my goals for this race is to swim a nice straight line between the buoys. Mission accomplished on that front and I think I do manage some alternate breathing. Swim goes better than expected, finish in 21:11 mins./1:56 per 100 yards (predicted time was 22-23 mins.). When I did this race in 2007 I swam a pace of 2:07/100 yards for 750m/820 yards.

Dash to Transition-650m/711 yards

It's a good distance uphill on a steep rocky road to transition so we we're encouraged to leave our running shoes at the swim exit. The swim socks take barely a moment to remove and I get the top half of my wetsuit off at the start of the dash. If you want to learn how to run with short little shuffly strides so as to avoid heel striking I suggest wearing the bottom half of a wetsuit. I had no idea they were so hard to run in but last time I did this I took the wetsuit off before the dash and it was a pain to carry. No leaving it behind or handing it off to somebody, you have to transport it yourself.

Dash goes o.k., 6:45 mins. (predicted 6 mins.)

T1

The wetsuit is a struggle on the leg with the timing chip. It's huge, like I'm on house arrest or something. And the strap is very flimsy, one of those plastic bracelets that they give you at bars at all ages shows so you can drink. Lots of money to replace your timing chip if you lose it. This is called foreshadowing.

I'm surprised T1 is only 1:47 with all the wetsuit drama (predicted 2:00 mins.). Thank you tri-suit.

Mountain Bike-14 miles

Crazy Triathlete Lady is not too happy to find herself hitting the bike trail for her first loop as the crazy fast people are starting their second loop. I'm talking the front of the pack, pros, etc. Crazy Triathlete Lady's nerves are a little jangled as bikes go flying past left and right. The only saving grace is that these are the people with the crazy mad biking skilz so they're able to pass me no problem and without endangering me in any way or coming too close, it's more the unsettling speeds they're going that gets to me. As predicted I have to get off and walk some parts that I probably could ride because of other people but it's not too bad. Some of those hills are so steep and short and rocky that it's almost as quick to walk up them anyway. At first I swear I'll never do this race again as long as it's 2 loops but after a while I fall into a rhythm and realize no one's going to hit me and I get used to the mayhem whirring around me. You've all seen the 'Honey Badger' video, right? I'm embracing the spirit of Honey Badger, I don't care about anything, crazy fast cyclists flying past, cobras, whatever.

I pass some guys on the rocky uphill up the Rising Sun trail (a black diamond cross country ski trail) but they go flying past me on the downhill on the Fatty Mills trail. Oh Fatty Mills, how I do not love that trail. Tight twisty singletrack with mud and slippy slimy roots (a guy in front of me falls off the trail and utters many bad words after riding a technical part then slipping on a wet root) and some good drop offs. I have to stop and pull off the trail to let a stream of fast people go, it wouldn't be fair to block them as I pick my way down at Crazy Triathlete Lady pace and there's no way for them to reasonably pass me. I end up running down the technical bits of trail, is easier and doesn't cost a whole lot of time since they're so short. Finally the crowd thins enough and I can ride again. Once past the steep drop off it's mostly rideable. All that's left is the 'ditch' section of trail and I manage that o.k.

'Ditch' section of trail at the bottom of Fatty Mills (photo taken on the pre-ride)

After Fatty Mills mostly everything is ride-able. I choose to get off at a couple of short super steep places to conserve energy but all the rest of the downhill is o.k. Twisted Tree trail is a favorite of mine on skis but it's not so fun on the bike. It's wide but steep and some sharp turns and loose, gravelly rock surface. Not so fun on a bike. Especially with people flying down it on all sides of you. Remember Honey Badger don't give a shit. Yes, I'm o.k. now.

I finish my first lap in just under an hour. And then I get to go do it all over again. At first the thought of this makes me want to weep. But this time around the fast folks have finished and the trails have cleared out a bit. But I still have people to ride with. For a while I follow a guy and let him pace me. Then a faster guy passes us and I latch onto his wheel and leave the other guy behind. Fun! It actually feels like racing rather than survival. I keep up with the faster guy for awhile, we pass another guy then he takes off and he's gone. I'm alone climbing the steep rocky Rising Sun for the second time but because of this I can ride nearly the whole thing. I gain a lot of ground on the guys I've passed but unfortunately there's Fatty Mills to contend with again and at least one of them passes me back. I ride a lot more this time though. I also ride a lot more of the remaining miles until finally I'm back at the base, back to transition, finally done. Except not quite. There's the pesky business of the run left.

I finish in 1:58:02/7.1 mph (predicted time is 2 hours). Second lap faster than first but I don't know by how much. When I did this race in 2007 my pace was 5.96 mph for 10.9 miles. The course was different though and there was a steep, long, hike-a-bike section.

T2

I'm out in 1:07 (predicted time 1:00). I ran past my bike rack and had to look a bit to find it. Rookie mistake but I was tired.

4.1 mile trail run

I feel o.k. energy-wise coming off the bike. Tired of course but I've done a lot of run training off the bike this year, more than I've ever done before so I'm familiar with the drill of how it feels. In my head I'm running at a race pace but in reality I'm shuffling along. My hamstring is nagging me, not debilitating but sore for sure and I'm protecting it as much as I can by keeping my stride short. I try to have a fast turnover to make up for the short stride but I haven't got this mastered yet. Then there are the hills. I stick to my strategy of power hiking the hills and this helps a lot but still I'm so slow, it almost feels dream-like trying to run fast yet somehow my legs not cooperating.

The trails are beautiful though and I do my best to enjoy them while slogging ever closer to the finish. For a while I'm pacing a guy who's chatting a bit to me but we hit a technical part that doesn't even seem like trail, just little ribbons in the trees marking where we go and there are big roots and rocks to jump over & navigate. He goes ahead of me at this point and I'm glad to let him navigate. Trail running and riding are so mentally draining, it's hard to pay such attention for over 3 hours never mind the physical exertion. And then I hear a weird clatter noise and I see my race chip go bouncing away into the woods. The thin plastic wrist bracelet thingy has broken and now I have to chase down my chip. No way I want a DNF when I'm so close to finishing never mind the King's Ransom they'll charge me for the thing. I chase it down and have to carry it the rest of the way. At least I heard it go and I didn't lose it in the lake. Shortly after this a woman passes me and asks me if I want a jelly bean. I must look in much worse shape than I feel. Or maybe she's just generous with her beans. I decline but wonder if I accept if she'll give me just the one or offer me a few more. Or maybe I hallucinated the whole thing.

The miles tick by and finally I can hear the finish line. I pass the Nordic Ski Hut and I realize all I have to do is cross the big parking lot up to the main ski lodge and I'm done. I can hardly believe it. And it's just as well because the course designer has a cruel joke left for us. I pass the transition area in the parking lot and start to head to the ski lodge when I'm redirected back onto a huge, steep hill. We have to go up this hill and then into the ski lodge. I can hardly believe this. But somehow I make it. I reach down to run my chip over the timing mat because I'm not sure if it'll read if I'm holding it since it's supposed to be down on my ankle. I hear the tell tale beep from the mat, phew. I finish in 3:31:06 (predicted time is 3:10-3:25). Run time is 1:02:12/15:10 min. per mile (predicted time was 53 mins.). In 2007 my pace was 12:48 min./mile for 3.1 miles. My run at Xterra Lory last year was 16:17 mins. per mile for 4.8 miles but it was super hot. But Lory is much lower, 6000 something feet vs 9400.

The post-race food made me so sad after the feast we had at the Lookout Mountain Triathlon. Cold congealed pizza and some weird kind of chips, Pop Chips or something. It was all I could do to force it down but all I'd eaten for the whole race was one gel, about 100 calories. I know, BAD, but there were not good places to eat on the bike and I was worried about stomach issues if I ate while running. I never felt too bonky but maybe I could have run faster if I'd eaten a little more on the bike.

Felt good about everything except the run. But to be fair my running was minimal and guarded. No intervals, no hard hill running. I have 3 weeks until Xterra Lory and I'm going to focus on the run but not so much that I injure myself. Will find the balance and have a better run there. The bike will be way easier but the run is harder and longer so it makes sense to focus my remaining training in that direction.

Overall a fun but long day. Wish I'd done better in my age group but oh well. I was 45 minutes behind the next woman and an hour off the podium so I wasn't even close. But at least I finished and it didn't feel like a death march. Felt a lot better than I did in 2007.

Photos from Ski Pix

The bike course was a lot prettier than this. This was one of the least scenic parts and it was very short.

Bike 1

Bike 2

Looks like I'm heel striking which would explain the sore hamstring. Oh well, have to keep trying to get that nice mid-foot strike. Hard to say what I was doing through most of the race, this was a downhill to the finish.

Run 1 (this one's my favorite because of the background)

Run 2

Run 3

Final Stats

Swim: 1000 m/1100 yards, 21:11 mins./1:56 per 100 yards

650 m/711 yard Dash: 6:45 mins.

T1: 1:47

Mountain Bike: 14 miles, 1:58:02 hrs./7.1 mph

T2: 1:07

Trail Run: 4.1 miles, 1:02:12 hrs./15:10 min./mile

Total: 3:31:06

195/209 Overall
52/64 Women
7/7* Age Group

Swim: 6/7* Age Group, 55/64 Women, 184/209 Overall

T1: 4/7* Age Group, 29/64 Women, 104/209 Overall

Bike: 7/7* Age Group, 52/64 Women, 185/209 Overall

T2: 4 (tie)/7* Age Group, 32/64 Women, 101/209 Overall

Run: 7/7* Age Group, 56/64 Women, 196/209 Overall

*Does not include DNF/DQ. For some reason the specifics of the DNF's/DQ's weren't listed in the results, only that there were 3 men and 3 women. I did add them to the overall and women's numbers.

Anticipation

2011-08-05T15:10:00.000-06:00

I love getting all my gear ready for race day.

I used to think it was a monumental chore and I'd get stressed out with it all but after discovering the nightmare of dog agility trials this is a piece of cake. And I don't have to obsess about whether or not my mountain bike has taken a dump first thing in the morning.

I decided on a tri-suit to save time in transition because I'm for sure wearing the swim socks and those will cost me some time to get off. Socks but no gloves. 2 swim caps. Too bad I can't go with 2 wetsuits.

I have some very rough goals but that last race taught me that it's hard to anticipate pace when you're dealing with mountainous courses. I think a better plan is to have a strategy and the times will fall where they will. I'm going to go fast enough on the swim to stay warm but not get too aggressive. It's going to be a long day and a 'fast' swim will only earn me a couple of minutes. Better to save it for the bike/run. Another reason not to go out too fast is that the race is at around 9500 feet elevation.

I'm going to go hard as I can on the bike and not save too much for the run. The run would be slow even on fresh legs and until I can build up my training there isn't much I can do about it right now so may as well make good time on the bike. I'll push myself on the run but it'll be what it is. I'm going to force myself to walk the steep uphills. Running up them only wastes energy and doesn't gain me much time. Mentally that's hard for met to accept but I need to be smart and accept it.

Predicted finish time is hopefully under 3 hours 30 minutes, hopefully more towards 3:10 but could be 3:25. Would love to finish under 3:00 but that's a huge stretch goal.

1000 m (1100 yard) Swim: 22-23 mins.
650 m (711 yard) uphill dash to transition: 6:00
T1: 2:00
14 mile Bike: 2:00 (1:45 stretch)
T2: 1:00
4.1 mile Run: 53:00 mins.

Overall: 3:10-3:25 hours

According to the start list there are 8 people in my age group which is a lot for Xterra. At least 3 of them are way way faster than me so the chance of hardware is non-existent so no goals related to placement. It's a time trial start anyway so it's possible I'll never see another woman from my age group for the whole race. That's happened on several occasions. I beat a woman at the Lookout Mountain Triathlon by 1 second but it wasn't a run off at the finish line. Hard to say how things would have turned out if we'd been racing head to head. So I'll have to focus on my own race and see how it all turns out.

Weather should be perfect, 60's and sunny, won't have to worry about getting too hot. A day on the trails is a great day one way or the other.

DOCNA Prairie Dog Trial

2011-08-03T10:58:00.000-06:00

Strummer and I ventured out to the eastern plains for a day of DOCNA fun in the sun. It got hot, mid-90's, but it was dry and breezy and eventually some cloud cover blew through. As long as there is Hose, Strummer is happy. He was a bit subdued with the heat and by that I mean he was sort of approaching a normal fast dog as opposed to a crazy off his head fast dog. Except for the Strategic Time Gamble which was first class of the day. He was well off his head for that. Thankfully I have no video to relive that comedy/tragedy.

Overall he did well though dropped more bars than I'm used to lately. 2/3 on his dogwalk and didn't get called on any A-frames though I saw some gifts from the judge on the video so we'll be working on the A-frame more than I have been which is pretty much not at all. Missed 2 weave pole entries and uncharacteristically popped out of the weaves on one run. He did it at practice last week as well. I have no idea what was going on with the bars. He dropped one bar in both his Standard runs and the NAC (like USDAA Grand Prix) but kept them all up in both his Jumpers runs. Nice teeters, at least some training is working. Seems like I pour so much training time into dogwalks and weaves and we don't get anywhere though 2/3 dogwalks is an improvement.

Standard Runs with slow motion contacts at end

Was mostly happy with the Jumpers runs. Bars stayed up, my handling was o.k., I was mostly ahead of him. He had 2 run bys on lateral sends so I'll be going back to basics on those in the next couple of weeks.

Jumpers Runs and NAC

Apparently the contacts had recently been painted with a semi-gloss paint so that could be the cause of his missed dogwalk in the NAC but I'm not prepared to place all the blame on the equipment. He did have a perfect dogwalk on his first Standard round.

We had the same judge we'll have at Champs and she was nice. DOCNA courses are the same no matter who the judge is but it's good to know that the judge is nice since it'll be 4 days of showing with her.

Overall a fun day despite the heat and little mistakes here and there. Was especially pleased with myself for pulling off a Jumpers Q in the heat of the day when I was getting woozy. I didn't get cranky with the heat either like I did in May. I think both Strum and I are well acclimated by now. I don't have air conditioning in my house and I've put in some training sessions in the heat. I've also taken Strum running with me in the morning when it's starting to get hot towards the middle/end of the run (and by hot I mean 70's).

Next trial is DOCNA in 2 weeks, can't wait. It could also be hot but there's a lot of nice shade in the park for crating. I love this particular trial/site so I'm looking forward to it.

I'm not bothering with scanning course maps right now but I will if somebody requests them. Just leave a note in the comments and I will get to it.

Trial Stats:

Jumpers Specialist Q, 2nd place (lost time due to a run-by)

No titles

Dogwalks
2/3 (67%) Getting better, I'm going to keep up with my training plan. Still need to work on tunnel after the dogwalk.

A-frame
6/6(100%) I'm not counting the 2 the judge didn't call that looked like misses.

Teeters
4/4 (100%) Teeter getting better

Weaves
3/5 (60%) entries, still struggling with this, no amount of training seems to make a difference
1 pop out between the 9th and 10th poles

Bars down
3 (one in each Standard run and the NAC)

Week in Training

2011-08-02T12:51:00.000-06:00

Numbers are way down this week, especially running. I had 2 rest days, one 2 days after my race and the other the day before my agility trial. I put in one last day of intervals on the bike on Weds. and I had some tired legs by Friday. Also starting to taper for my race. Also the agility trial wore me out. I don't count it for training but it does put wear and tear on my legs and makes me need more recovery. My quads were so sore the day after the trial then I went mountain biking. This week will be more taper, no intervals, no hard work of any kind but I will do a little bit of something until Friday. The course is open for pre-riding starting Thursday afternoon and I'm debating going up there for that. On the one hand there's a downhill section I'm itching to see if I can ride, on the other hand I'm not sure it'll be good for my tapering efforts. I'll see how my legs are feeling on Thurs. Right now they feel pretty tired. In fact I feel way too tired for such a small training volume. Stupid agility trial. I love agility but a full day of trialing is always more tiring than I think it should be.

Looked at the elevation chart for the bike and the steepest grade I could spot was 8.3% for .27 mile. The longest climb is as I suspected, the service road right at the start of the bike. It's .59 mile of 7.0% grade. There's another climb of 6.8% grade for .53 miles and a 6.1% grade climb for .14 miles. Terrain is an issue as well, some of those climbs are rocky. And there are 2 loops so I have to do it all twice. Distance is 14 miles with a total elevation gain of 1581.4 ft for both loops combined and a max. elevation of 9646 feet. Overall I'm confident about it. Swim temps. shouldn't be as bad as the last time I did it. Should be in the low 60's which is cold but do-able. Much better than the high 50's anyway.

Run course is 4.1 miles, elevation gain of 430 feet. Worst climb is 2.7% grade for .22 miles. There are lots of other little climbs, shouldn't be too bad though, looks like lots of uppy downy rolly stuff, my favorite sort of run because I'm constantly shifting which muscles I'm using.

Swim: 3020 yards/1 hour, 7 mins. (1 swim at the Rez, 1 swim at Stroke-n-Stride)

Mountain bike: 17.16 miles/2 hours, 37 minutes

Run: 3.4 miles/51 mins. (running the whole way, no walk/run)

Total training time: 4 hours, 35 mins.

Crazy Dog Lady Goes Shroom Hunting

2011-07-31T17:19:00.001-06:00

Actually Crazy Dog Lady went for a bike ride but found some cool looking mushrooms along the way.

I think Mushroom #1 on the right is a King Bolete.

A better view

Mushroom #2 on the left has a slimy cap when wet and stained my fingers brown/orange when I touched the bottom of the cap. I think it might be a Matte Jack or maybe also a King Bolete.

Any mushroom aficianados out there want to offer an opinion? Because I'll totally put my life in the hands of some stranger on the internet. I also need to figure out how to cook them if they are edible. My mushroom book says King Boletes are 'one of the most sought after of all the mushrooms, delectable fresh or dried,' so that's what I hope they are. No way Jonny will eat them so I'll have them all to myself. Maybe I'll put a photo on Facebook, someone's bound to know what they are.

I picked more mushrooms than these but when I got them back to the car Jonny pointed out the maggots in them and they didn't get to come home with me.

Oh and we also had a nice bike ride with some friends. The wildflowers were spectacular.

My legs hurt from the DOCNA trial yesterday. I'll write more about that tomorrow but in short it was fun and we had some nice runs with little things here and there as per usual. Still I managed to climb a lot of stuff I had to walk a few weeks ago. It was too short of a ride, an hour 20 minutes or so, but I'm stiff and sore now so maybe it was just as well we cut it short.

Team Feat rocks the Stroke-n-Stride

2011-07-29T11:33:00.001-06:00

My friend Amelia and I teamed up to do one of the weekly Stroke-n-Stride races down at the Boulder Rez. They've been going on for years and I've never done one mostly because of the cost. I can swim with the masters group for 'free' (I have a yearly pass) then go for a run on my own so why pay? The fees are very reasonable-$20 if you sign up in advance. It's a bargain and Racing Underground do a great job of putting on a fun event but still, free is more of a bargain. Nonetheless I thought it would be fun to do it as a team and great practice for my open water tri's. Amelia's a super speedy runner and she also wanted to a get a hard practice in. It's easier to push yourself if you have a race and that's exactly the purpose of these races. There aren't awards for individual races but they do keep a tally of your points from all the races and most amount of points at the end of the season in each age group gets an award. So really these races are for training.

The other reason I've never bothered to do the Stroke-n-Stride is that it seemed so competitive. I've looked at the finish times and worried that I would be slogging away by myself at the back of the pack and it wouldn't be very fun. Lots of the uber competitive triathletes come out for these races to practice.

You have a choice of a 750 m/820.2 yard swim or 1500 m/1640.4 yard swim then the 5k run. Since my tri race swims will be 1000 m/1100 yards and 880 yards I decided to do the 750 m swim. I thought it would be fun to see how fast I could go for a short-ish swim and no bike and run afterwards.

The typical evening storms were starting to roll in and the skies at the other end of town looked downright ugly as I stood in the water waiting for the start. But thankfully there was no thunder or lightning and the race went on with just enough cloud cover to make sighting the buoys easy. I experimented with starting a little closer to the front but not in the heat of the pack. I normally start further back but I think I seed myself too far back because then I have to fight my way through the people doing breast stroke and I think that's worse than a few faster people passing me. The good news is I didn't feel the least bit afraid or nervous at the start and in fact was feeling pretty confident. When the race started I had to sight a little bit more than normal because more people were around me and I didn't want to run into someone or get kicked but I managed the crowd no problem other than some butt slapping. I wonder if there's any other sport where it's acceptable to slap a competitor on the ass? I couldn't find any feet to draft off of though. Every time I tried the person was too slow or swimming too erratically. I was able to focus on my stroke a bit and not worry so much about the people around me.

The last buoy was a bit tricky, somehow I wasn't sure at first if I was headed towards the right one and I think I drifted a bit off course. In order to motivate myself to go faster I picked out somebody to try to pass on the final stretch. For the longest time it seemed I just couldn't catch him but as we got towards shore I finally passed him. Ran across the beach to give the timing chip to Amelia and sort of wished I'd signed up for the longer race. It was done before I could blink.

I changed into my running shoes and did a short run in the dirt at the side of the official race course while I waited to cheer Amelia in. So many scary fast runners cruising past me. I kept waiting for the slower folks to come plodding along but they never did. I timed my run perfectly and Amelia came running for the finish just as I was nearly there myself.

I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera, rays of sun were poking through the dramatic cloud formations over the mountains. It looked like something out of a painting. Ah well, maybe next time.

Final Stats

Team Feat (a combination of our initials) came in 2nd out of 4 teams and 9th out of 113 overall (men and women). The 1st place team came in 2nd overall and was about 4 minutes ahead of us. Third place team came in 28th overall and was 4 minutes behind us.

I was 30/113 overall and would have been 1st in my age group by 1 minute, 21 secs. if they included the relay participants.

Amelia was 18th overall runner and also would have been 1st in her age group by 2 mins., 10 secs.

My time was 16:56 or 2:04/100 yards. I'm a little disappointed with this, I was sure I'd go below 2:00 but it's good feedback for what to expect for my races. Could be I went more off course than I realized. My time for the 800 m/875 yard swim portion of the Lory Xterra from last year was 17:44 or 1:55/100 yards. I suppose all of this depends on how accurate the course is measured and how closely I follow the course. I followed that Lory course very closely, it was a simple out and back. The Stroke-n-Stride course was more of a loop with the buoys further apart and only 3 of them for the whole course and thus harder to sight.

Overall a very fun race, great practice. There's only one more race for the season and it's too close to my tri but I think I'll have to try to do more of them next year. I can see the value now in practicing the swim in a race scenario plus it was fun.

DOCNA trial tomorrow. Only one day but 6 runs outside. Oh yes, and it's July so it'll be hot. I know, DUH, but I wanted to get in at least one day of trialing in this month lest our skills completely vaporize.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-27T11:00:00.000-06:00

Race photo and Indian Peaks bike course

2011-07-25T17:37:00.000-06:00

They've already got the race photos up. Kind of a cool one of me leaning into a turn on the bike. Makes my stomach turn over a little bit looking at the angle of the bike. The run photos aren't so flattering and I'm buried under hat and sunglasses but I was happy to see a mid-foot foot strike. The other run photo shows sort of a heel strike but not an extreme one. My hamstring wasn't sore after the race so that's a good sign I'm getting the new mid-foot strike thing down.

I pre-rode the bike course for the Indian Peaks Xterra up at Eldora in 2 weeks. The course goes on the cross country ski trails which sounds nice and rolling but some of these trails are very steep. My quads were so sore and I was so tired from the race I thought I'd have trouble keeping up with the group but it turned out that the race director that was leading the group had done the same race and was also tired. Also they kept stopping the group so no one ever got too far behind. Nonetheless I didn't get too many photos because I was riding at the back and didn't have a whole lot of time to whip out my camera before we were off again. Pro Xterra triathlete Sara Tarkington was riding at the back making sure none of us stragglers got lost. She has some good tips on her blog for busy workaday triathletes. I particularly like the one about eating all day. And making sure you get a treat every now and then. She was very nice and made sure I didn't get lost or eaten by bears.

The course looks nice for the most part, lots of uppy then down-y and not too many super long climbs. I think I can ride most of the uphill but it was hard to say because a lot of people ahead of me had to get off to walk which meant I had to walk as well. But when I had a clear line I was mostly able to ride the stuff, just a few rocky places might force me to walk for a short bit. Also depends on the crowd situation and whether I can pick a nice line up through a rocky bit.

Nothing special about this part of the trail, it was just a place where we paused long enough for me to sneak a photo.

Looking down at the hill I just rode up. The trails aren't all this smooth and some are steep and rocky but for the most part I think the bike will be fun.

There is one tricky bit of downhill single track that has some muddy, root-y drop offs and I may have to walk parts of it. This is the bottom of the tricky part and I can ride it as long as I stay to the right of the ditch in the photo on the way down. This photo is looking back uphill so in reality I'll actually be on the left of the ditch when I'm coming down.

It's a 2 loop course and I'm sure by the second loop I won't run into anybody or at least very few people. Overall it's nice, mostly ride-able. The original course that I did many years ago was one loop and went up high to some singletrack that was nicer than these trails but there was a long, steep, rocky hike-a-bike section up to the singletrack that just about knocked me out so I won't miss that part. This course should be easier but still very challenging.

I didn't hang around to check out the run. Sounds like it's a combo of rolling and steep hills. The run many years ago was like that and I'm guessing this year's course is similar. I'm o.k. with not knowing the run course exactly, it's the bike course that's important to know in advance. There's one more pre-ride the day before the race but I'll probably skip it so I can have fresh legs on race morning. Should be a fun race though after that sprint race on Saturday I'm not so sure how much I'm looking forward to being on the course for nearly twice as long. Sometimes I wonder what I'm thinking when I sign up for these things.

Week in Training

2011-07-25T16:38:00.000-06:00

This was my peak training week for the Indian Peaks Xterra in 2 weeks. Same exact total training time as last week, kind of freaky. This week didn't include any hiking and did include the Lookout Mountain Triathlon Sprint race. I did go for a hike on the Mesa Trail/Skunk Canyon on Sunday in the heat of the day but it was a slooow pace so I didn't count it in training. Probably shouldn't have done it and recovered from my race instead especially since I'd done the pre-ride for the Xterra in the morning and was pretty trashed but I couldn't bear to sit around the house all afternoon while the hills beckoned. My quads are planning a revolt I'm sure.

Run numbers are up again which is good considering the run was by far my weakest event at my race. The run will be my focus for the next 2 weeks.

I was hoping the next 2 weeks would be a nice taper but there are still some solid workouts staring me in the face. I also have an agility trial on Saturday only so that jacks up the training schedule a bit. It's hardly a rest day but can't count as training. There isn't a single rest day called for between now and the day before the race and that doesn't seem right though the volume is reduced and most days are only one workout rather than 2. Still these old bones need more recovery than what's called for so I'm going to pick some key workouts to keep and skip some of the others.

Swim: 7723 yards/2 hour, 57 mins. (2 swims at the Rez)

Mountain bike: 16.0 miles/2 hours, 30 minutes

Run: 13.96 miles/3 hour, 22 mins. (6 min. run/1 min. walk for some runs)

Bike (road): 10.0 miles/48:31 mins. (Lookout Mtn. Tri., 1100' elevation gain, 10% grades)

Total training time: 9 hours, 38 mins.

Tri-ing it with the Horsey Set-Lookout Mountain Triathlon

2011-07-24T12:47:00.003-06:00

Well, the name of the name of the race does have 'mountain' in it. It was hillier than I thought it would be, especially the run. I was not expecting such steep grades on the run. 'Fun, rolling run loop on dirt roadways' is how the race website described. They were definitely taking some liberties with their definition of 'rolling'. Anyway, I'm not complaining, it was perfect practice for me, couldn't have asked for a nicer course and great practice for my upcoming longer Xterra's. But my predicted finish times were way off, especially the run. I was doing the ultra-runner shuffle up those hills and that's a way different pace for me than a regular 5k on rolling terrain. But it was exactly what my training called for so it worked out great. And it was a beautiful course, both the bike and the run.

The race starts at 6:30 a.m. but I don't get there until just before 7:00 because my wave doesn't go off until nearly 8:30. The race director asked people to arrive staggered to avoid congestion and allowed us to set up in transition while others were racing. It's weird though, the first person finishes 40 minutes before I even start. They run the swim waves slowest to fastest and somehow I'm in one of the last waves so I get to watch all the superfit stick people arriving to transition with their superfancy aerodynamic carbon fiber titanium spaceship tri bikes. The difference between the early and late crowd in attitude and gear is pretty funny. People in those first waves are riding ill fitting mountain bikes that probably belong to their neighbor and long basketball shorts with cotton t-shirts. They do full wardrobe changes in transition between the swim and run. In the time it takes me to set up my entire area one couple still hasn't taken off for the bike. The late crowd wear supersonic aerodynamic skin tight suits and have their shoes attached to their pedals and slip their feet in on the fly to save time in transition. No dilly dallying for them. That's the great thing about the sport, it attracts all sorts with all different goals.

Because the race was so spread out you had cyclists racing runners into transition.

I kill some time before my wave starts by having a complete stranger take my picture. In my defense she asked me to take hers first.

I spent so much time working out a way to keep my hair from going feral but it didn't even make it to the swim. Teensy little pony tail braids get the thumbs down though at this point I'm not sure if anything will work.

Do you like my zillion year old pair of men's tri shorts from the bargain bin? They're my favorite race shorts, so comfortable even if they're for boys and not so fashionable.

The race is at a country club and country clubs always remind me of Caddyshack. Plus there's something weird about them. I look around for Bill Murray because he seems like the one person at a country club that I could relate to but alas there's no sign of him. I go back to the pool area after the race is over to retrieve a shirt I left behind and it's a good thing I don't have a Baby Ruth bar on me is all I'm saying.

Swim
This is my first ever pool swim in lanes and I'm not sure how it'll work. We're pre-assigned a wave but we have to form our own groups of 4. I find 2 other women who are planning a time 20 seconds slower than me which is kind of a lot in swimming but it's the best we can do. Finally we find a fourth who's thinking she's even slower so lucky me, I get to lead the lane. I was so hoping to be able to find people just a wee bit faster and draft. But as it turns out the woman behind me wants to pass me after 100 yards or so then because we're all sort of on top of each other the third woman wants to pass me. We all end up swimming right behind each other and though I lose some time having to let the other pass I also get a good draft the whole way. Nonetheless my swim time is a disappointing 10 minutes or 1:54/100 yards. I was sure I'd do it in 9:40 but oh well. Maybe I lost more time than I thought letting the others pass.

Not my swim wave but the third lane from the left is sort of how we were all swimming.

T1 goes down without a hitch and then it's onto the bike. The bike starts out with a nice downhill so I have a chance to recover a bit. Which is good because it gets steep in a hurry. 1100' feet of vertical climb in the 10 mile course with the worst grade being around 10%. Someone mentions the 10% grade in transition before the race and I scoff in my head, 'Olde Stage road is 17-18% and it's right by my house, I ride it all the time'. Except now that I think about it I can't remember the last time I rode up Olde Stage. Used to ride it all the time is not all that helpful. But the climbs I've been doing for intervals are still steep, certainly more than 10% but I've been doing them on my mountain bike which has more forgiving gears. But it's turned out to be good training and I manage the hills o.k. just slower than I was anticipating for the bike. My legs feel a bit tired from the week of training but not so much that I can't squeeze some strength out of them. A woman from my age group passes me at the start of the bike but I pass her going up a steep hill as well as one or two more women from my age group. But because of the staggered start it's hard to know where someone is in the race compared to you so I don't worry too much about it. I lose people on the downhill because my bike is geared for climbing. On steep descents I run out of gears and being small doesn't help either. I get as aero as I can and use the time for recovery until I can pedal again. The course is a little curvy and technical on some of the steep descents and sure enough someone is being put into an ambulance back near transition.

If I have to ride my road bike this is exactly the kind of course I want to do it on.

The bike course did measure 10 miles despite what Gmaps says. I was SO happy when I realized I was nearly at transition way before I expected to be. Still I finish in 48:31, 5 minutes slower than my predicted time.

T2 also goes down without a hitch and now the fun starts. Though I started out life as a runner it's turned into my worst event. Injuries, surgeries, etc. As I start out on the run and feel my heavy legs shuffling I remind myself that I'm lucky that I even can run. Then I hit the big ass hill, straight up, someone is walking behind me and I think she's going as fast as my shuffling. I should probably switch to power hiking but for some unknown reason I want to run. It's hot and no shade. And so it goes, up and up and up a dirt road. A guy with a '47' on his calf passes me and says, 'Go 47 years olds! 1964!' I answer 'Yay!' or something best as I can between the wheezing. I reach the mile marker and I hear a woman behind me groan, 'Does that mean 1 mile??!!' I tell her yes but add cheerily, 'But that means only 2 more to go!' I can't see her but I'm pretty sure she wants to hurt me. Or worse. Then we go down for a bit and I've convinced myself that's the end of the hills, all downhill until we get to the foo foo country club where maybe we'll have a round of golf or polo or a cigar or whatever we do at country clubs. Bill Murray will magically appear and incite a gopher riot. But I'm wrong. The dirt road narrows and goes up and up again, switch-backing through a mountain subdivision of houses but at least I'm in the woods now and it's shady. It's a beautiful area and I grind up the hill. Two people from my age group pass me but they're way too fast for me to chase. Finally I reach the top and it is downhill the rest of the way. Sort of. I shuffle down fast as I can but the downhill is what screws up the hamstring so I try to be careful and not overstride but still fast fast little shuffly steps. Finally I can hear the finish line but there's still a hill in my way. A guy passes me and groans, 'Ugh, another hill' and I say 'But we're almost there' which is the lie I've been telling myself for the past mile but it cheers him up and he says 'Right on' and charges up. Finally the finish line.

Then there's the food spread. Guys in white shirts and black pants serving us hot, real, healthy honest to goodness food. I blink a few times to make sure I'm not hallucinating. Platters of beautiful fresh fruit, steamed spinach, grilled mushrooms, scrambled eggs, hash browns, all the breakfast meats for those who eat them, breakfast burritos, I don't know where to start. Not a chip or crappy cookie in sight, everything hot and fresh and healthy. Brunch at the country club, dahlink. Life is pretty good at the country club.

The views aren't so bad either.

Final Stats

525 yard swim: 10:00 mins. (predicted 9:40), 72/257 overall

Dash from pool to transition: 37 sec.

T1: 1:26 (predicted 2:00)

10 mile Bike (road): 48:31, 12.4 mph (predicted 43 mins.), 150/257 overall

T2: 1:12 (predicted 1:00)

3.1 mile Run: 39:45, 12:50 min./mile (predicted 33 mins.), 207/257 overall

Total: 1:41:29 (predicted 1:30), 152/257 overall, 79/157 women, 11/21 age group

Funny to watch my rankings drop in the individual sports as you go from swimming to running. If I had cut a mere 3 minutes off of my run I would have bumped up to 7th place in my age group. 1st place in my age group had a time of 1:15:07 (my original finish time prediction from Monday) and 3rd place had a time of 1:20:46 so I was over 20 minutes away from the podium. Not that I had any thought in my head of coming home with hardware but it's interesting to see how far away I am.

No rest for the wicked. Got up this morning and went up to Eldora to pre-ride the bike course for my Xterra up there in 2 weeks. Despite the sore quads I survived. Thankfully it's a 2 loop course so I only had to ride 7 miles rather than 15. Phew. I'll post photos and thoughts about it in another post but in general it looks ride-able. I didn't stay to ride the run course. It's going to eat me alive whatever it is and maybe I'm best off not knowing. Plus I was so tired and hungry, headed down the canyon and had lunch instead.

Revised Race Goals and Finally Some Agility

2011-07-22T19:26:00.001-06:00

Agility's been on hold a bit lately between my heavier triathlon training schedule and the summer heat but I finally managed a decent practice this morning with my training partner. We were out there bright and early at 6:30 and it was so nice and cool I even started out with a sweatshirt on. By the time we finished at 7:50 it was getting warm though. The exercises we did had contacts and weaves, exactly what we need to practice, and Strummy was pretty awesome. Hit all his A-frames and teeters, 3/4 dogwalks, had trouble with a few weave pole entries but if I remembered to cue them soon enough he got them no problem. We've got a trial next week and today's practice gave me some confidence despite our lack of training lately. And it felt so good to get him out there to play, he's such a fun boy.

I've decided to adjust my race goals a bit for a variety of reasons, the biggest one being that I think I was being way overly optimistic about my run time. It kills me to admit it but I think I might end up with a 5k time over 30 minutes. It's been a peak training week with a hard brick on Wednesday and when I took the road bike for a quick spin this afternoon to make sure I remembered how to ride it I realized my legs were more debilitated then I'd thought. I had an ice bath and I'll stretch a bit and hopefully I'll wake up with a little more spring in my step tomorrow. But that's the deal with a 'B' race, no tapering and it's like a hard workout. So goals are now:

525 yard swim-9:40
T1-2:00
10.7 mile bike-43 mins. (could be shorter depending on the hills)
T2-1:00
5k run-33 mins. (ugh! but I don't want to push the knee/hamstring on a 'B' race)
Total-just under 1 hour 30 minutes (reduced from Monday's goal of 1:15)

The bike course measures longer on gmaps than advertised and it looks a bit hilly though not too bad. I've made a few outfit decisions that will delay my time in T1 as well but after the horrible blisters on the arches of both feet after last year's Xterra I've decided to wear socks. I timed myself and the socks cost me 6 seconds. I would happily have added 6 seconds to my time last year in order to avoid those horrible blisters. I'll spare you the photos.

Weather should be good, mid-60's to start the race and mid-70's at the finish and low humidity. I'm guessing the folks from the Midwest and East Coast don't want to hear about the 11% humidity we had today. It was in the low 90's and I didn't even need to turn on my swamp cooler. Anyway, should be a great day for for a race on a fun course.

On an only slightly unrelated topic, best title ever for a blog race report goes to Punk Rock Tri Guy for 'She's Filing Her Nails While They're Dragging the Lake' for his Vineman 70.3 race report. Thanks to him I had that classic Elvis Costello song in my head all day. I'm only kicking myself that I never thought of it. Trying to top that blog title will be the real challenge for tomorrow.

Week in Training

2011-07-18T13:51:00.000-06:00

A nice solid training week, swim and bike numbers are up, run numbers are down mostly because I decided to skip Sunday's long trail run and go for a hike instead. I only counted an hour of the 3 1/4 hour, 6 1/2 mile hike because in my experience hiking doesn't count very much for training. However some of the trail was steep and I was pushing it a bit so I want to count something. Put in another nearly 2 mile swim at the Rez on Thursday and upped my LT bike workout to 6 reps x 5 min. at LT heart rate. I go up a steep road near my house and I think all the hard climbing is helping my mountain biking. Saturday's ride at West Mag went great, rode a whole bunch of stuff I've walked in previous weeks and realized it wasn't so much my skills that were suffering as it was my strength. Finally felt some climbing power this past weekend.

This weekend is my first race of the season, a little on road sprint tri up at Lookout Mountain in Golden. Sounds like a pretty course with a hilly bike ride which I think will play to my strengths at the moment. Not sure about the run but it's only a 5k. It's a 'B' race for me meaning I'm going to race it all out like a real race but I'm not going to taper for it and my training hasn't been geared towards it. I entered mostly because it sounded like fun but it'll make a nice hard training day as well. My strategy for sprints is to go all out for the whole thing, nothing too complicated there. Fueling strategy is simple too, a water bottle on the bike and that's about it, probably won't bother with food. I'm hoping to finish in 1 hour 15 mins. or so. I'm not sure how hilly the bike is or how my running will hold up so this could be an ambitious prediction but that's what I'll shoot for. I went to masters today to see how my swim pace is holding up and I managed 1:36-1:38 with no drafting and lots of rest in between for the very few 100's we did so the 1:50/100 yards pace group I signed up for for 525 yards sounds about right though I'll confess I have no idea what that pace feels like. My plan is to draft off the person in front of me in my lane as long as they aren't going too slow. I'm most looking forward to the bike, I love hills. Whee ha, should be a fun race.

Swim: 8286 yards/3 hour, 17 mins. (both swims at the Rez)

Mountain bike: 21.98 miles/3 hours, 38 minutes

Run: 6.9 miles/1 hour, 43 mins. (6 min. run/1 min. walk)

Hike: 1 hour, 2 miles (approx.) steep uphill hiking at approx. 10,000 feet

Total training time: 9 hours, 38 mins. (8 hours, 38 mins. without the hike)

116.1 lbs! (-1.4 lbs. from last week, I'll shoot for 114 for my race in 3 weeks)

Heart Lake/Rogers Pass-Sort Of

2011-07-17T20:00:00.001-06:00

I've been wanting to try this hike for some time now and it turned out to be nothing like I thought it would be. Somehow I thought it would be mostly exposed with dramatic mountain views. It starts out at the East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel, which goes through the Continental Divide to Winter Park. There are some crazy sirens going off at the tunnel and creepy voices over a loudspeaker warning intruders to leave, the authorities have been notified, etc. in a loop of different languages. Thankfully there seem to be no terrorists that we can see so Jonny and I decide to press forward.

The trail starts off promising with a pretty meadow of wildflowers.

Finally the Columbines are blooming.

But soon you're in a dark musty forest next to a raging creek. The forest is so dense that you don't get any mountain views. It's also so damp from the still melting snow that there's moss hanging from the trees. In Colorado! Crazy. The trail goes on and on and ON through the woods, not too steep, not too interesting, forever and a day. The woods are pretty and all but I prefer hikes with mountain views. Then we start to run into snow banks. They're small and far apart at first but then the trail gets super steep and the snowbanks get longer and closer together. Until we run into this after almost 2 hours.

The snow at the other side of the bridge is the trail. It's still another mile or so to Heart Lake with a steep 250 foot climb before the lake and even farther to Rogers Pass. So we called it a day. We could have hiked in the snow but we've both been there done that and neither of us like it very much. It's already a steep challenging hike at that part of the trail without the snow and slipping and sliding around, post holing in places is not my idea of a fun afternoon. Plus it's noon and time to head back anyway before the afternoon storms hit. We have a lot of mud, snow, roots and creek crossings to get through to get back and I don't want to deal with them in a hail storm.

The falls at our turn around point

Closest thing we saw to a mountain view the whole hike

The hike back is pleasant enough but it feels a little short (6 1/2 miles and 3 1/2 hours or so) and I feel a little cheated at missing out on my views. We turn around at an elevation of 10,774 feet and for some reason the altitude is bothering me a bit today, making me woozy. Normally I'm o.k. with high altitudes but today I'm struggling a bit and I was yesterday as well on my bike ride. Weird. Towards the bottom of the hike Jonny's fingers swell up but he has no symptoms of altitude sickness. Also weird.

We can hear the sirens still blaring at the Moffat Tunnel along with some other loud roaring mechanical noise for the last 1/2 mile or so of the hike but we can't see anything going on there when we get back to the parking lot. That place is so weird, like the X-Files or something. Just as we pull out of the parking lot it starts to rain and then hail. I manage to snap a quick photo of the mountains in the hail storm.

We saw a fat little baby coyote cross the road and his mama on the side of the road on the way up but of course my camera was buried in my pack and they were nowhere to be seen on the way back down.

Jonny wants to go back in a few weeks when the snow has melted to finally make it to the lake but I don't know, the long trek through the dark damp woods was tedious. I do want to see the lake though and maybe even make it up the pass. So many other beautiful hikes though, maybe it'll have to wait for another year.

Garlic in his soul

2011-07-14T09:55:00.000-06:00

I'm out on a run with Lola this morning and we stop for a moment so she can sniff something that's caught her fancy. An old man walks by and I give her a little pat. 'It's going to die in 10 years. Don't get too attached,' he says as he passes us.

Nice, huh? Even if you're thinking such a hurtful thing why would you say it to a total stranger? I start to formulate some snarky remark about his own longevity but figure anybody that bitter and horrible has probably fashioned a pretty crappy life for himself already.

Lola's 10 and I hope she does live another 10 years.

Crazy Dog Lady goes to the cell phone store

2011-07-13T18:21:00.004-06:00

Is it a bad sign when the trendy 20 something saleswoman at the cell phone store is in awe of how old your phone is? 'I used to have this exact same phone years ago, I think it was blue but I can't remember' is how she puts it. I like my old phone. It's pink and has nice big buttons that I can read and folds down smaller than my new phone.

Pinky vs my new fancy pants smart ass phone. Aren't the gizmos supposed to get smaller? At least the new one is purple which is almost as good.

See the nice buttons? Great for middle aged dog lady eyes and fingers. I am not a cell phone person.

For the once every few months that I use it to order Indian food take out on the way home from a dog trial it works o.k. Or at least it did until I got my first ever call from an actual live client and it kept cutting in and out. I kept having to ask her to repeat herself, very embarrassing and unprofessional and kind of threw me off my game. So I tell my tale of woe to the trendy sales girl with the cool blue sparkly perfectly manicured fingernails and funky in a good way bracelets. She explains that it's the phone and I'm obviously due an upgrade, she doesn't even have to check, and once I get a fancypants new gizmo all will be right in the world again and I can deal with my clients with confidence and aplomb. They will be busting down my door. 'Hurrah!', I think, 'that was easy enough'. I explain to her the very few things I need it to do and she comes up with a couple of options. I go for the one that has a display that you can make bigger. I'm already to the point of needing 2 pairs of glasses and I almost never have the pair with me that lets me read teensy little letters. Plus it's purple and it will only cost me $20.

I'm thinking this process has been fairly painless, trendy girl has done a great job of explaining things and pointing me in the right direction and not making fun of my cluelessness. 'I know you'll figure your phone out no problem', she tells me in an encouraging voice. I shamelessly tell her I set up my own website, I can figure out this phone. She's duly impressed. However it takes forever and a day to set the phone up. She has to call over a trendy looking guy to give it the magic touch because something is not working right. It takes about 20 minutes or so to get the stubborn thing up and running. There is some nice trendy generic alternative music playing in the store to amuse me and I pass the time by asking what must seem like the most ridiculous questions. 'Does it have a speakerphone? Can I plug headphones into it? Can I copy pictures I take with it to my computer?' Somehow they both manage to keep a straight face. I refrain from asking her if I can change the wallpaper to a picture of my dog jumping through a hoop. Once they finally get the thing up and running and she explains to me all the ridiculous things it can do I feel silly about the speakerphone question. Do you know that I can speak into the phone and tell it, 'Facebook' and it will go to Facebook? How cool is that? Except I hardly ever go to Facebook and I can't ever imagine a need to go there on my phone. I wonder if I can make it bring up the Indian restaurant on the phone? Now that would be useful. Or if it could tell me where I left my keys?

I finally get out of there 1 1/2 hours later. I play around with it a bit then decide to set my voicemail greetings. At which point I realize that the cell phone service seems even worse than it was before. One teensy weensy little bar. Actually it looks like half a bar. It takes me about 12 tries to say just my name for my voicemail greeting because it keeps cutting in and out. I'm already nauseous about how much money I have to pay now on a monthly basis for my fancypants phone with internet service even with a discount Jonny gets from work. And it still doesn't work??!! I may be the first person in history to cut my cell phone in favor of my land line. But I need a cell phone to use at my office which I'm only renting part-time. There is no land line there, only wifi's. And I need the internet if I want to accept credit cards. So today I call Sprint and explain my dilemma. I'm pleasantly surprised to speak to an actual person almost right away and they tell me they can send me a gizmo to boost my signal and turn my house into a cell phone tower. For free! Who knows what sort of weirdo radiation waves I'll be exposing us all to but at least we will have fancypants cell phone service. I hope.

Now to figure out how to get Cody's picture on the wallpaper.

6:09 a.m. at the Rez

2011-07-12T11:09:00.001-06:00

An ominous front blew in this morning for swim practice.

'Days like this are what separate the Swimmers from the Triathletes' is what one Swimmer said. She does not use a wetsuit. Those are for us panty waisted triathletes.

I do use a wetsuit. With cool pink racing stripes. Last Thursday I wore a pink and blue striped swim cap and a guy complimented me on my fashion sense. That almost never happens.

I even wore swim socks today and still had to run the heater in the car on the way home. Who runs their car heater in mid July? Didn't warm up until about 15 minutes into my run with Lola. Had actual goosebumps while I was running.

Some ducks decided to join our workout. They're real Swimmers as well, they don't need no stinkin' wetsuit. Or swim socks. But I think they were jealous of my cool pink racing stripes.

The water temp. was warm, probably in the mid to upper 70's but there was a wind so the air temp. was what made me cold. It also put a little hop in the water. Not enough to be a big problem but just enough to slow me down a bit. Was still a beautiful morning though, one of my favorite things about summer is these early morning swims. Such a special blend of time and place.

Week in Training

2011-07-11T16:45:00.000-06:00

Lots of running this week, almost triple what I've been doing and I feel fine with it. One workout short of both swimming and biking but it was worth it to bring up the running numbers. The long brick (bike then run) on Saturday was encouraging, was pushing it on the mountain bike climbs and ran about 12 minutes straight before remembering I was on a 4 min. run/1 min. walk regime. Didn't quite stick to that for that run, was more like 6 min. run after I remembered to walk. Took 2 rest days, one that I needed and one that I didn't plan but that felt awfully good. Was starting on a bike ride yesterday and I hadn't even made it past my house when it started thundering. I don't mess around with thunder so a rest day it was. Added another rep. to my LT bike workout, I'm up to 5 reps. of 5 min. at LT. Finally got my heart rate up to 150 for the last rep. so maybe my LT rate is really that high and not around 145. Ah well, it's close enough.

Went to masters at the Rec. Center today to get in a skills/drills workout. Don't want to get sloppy with my form with all the open water swimming and also wanted to be sure I get in that 3rd workout this week. Swimming is sort of arguably the least important of all the 3 disciplines in triathlon, even more so for the off road tri's, but I like to swim and I'm trying to get faster even if the effort is hardly worth the small gain in overall time. I'm also a little concerned about the pool swim for my little sprint tri. It's only 525 yards which is barely a warm-up for me but I found out I'll be with 3 other people in a lane and the race director wanted a fairly accurate estimate of swim time so we're not lapping each other. I put in for a pace of 1:50/100 yards which seemed reasonable given that I've been swimming 1:36-1:43 for 100 yard intervals during masters but in open water tri's I usually end up with a pace of 2:00-2:10 min./100 yards so I don't know. Who knows how accurately the other people in my lane will rank themselves and will I be able to draft? That makes a big difference. Anyway I wanted to check my pace at masters and I think I'll be o.k. I found out the hard way that my watch isn't waterproof so I can't time myself for my Rez swims so I haven't been monitoring my pace.

Also checked out the scale when I was at the Rec. Center and I'm down into the 117's which is near where I was hoping for. Would be good to be down around 114 for racing but that may be unrealistic to shoot for for 3 weeks from now. I saw a study somewhere showing that more than a 200 calorie deficit per day has a negative impact on training. Some days I can't help having a much higher deficit but I usually make it up somewhat on rest days. In any case I'm eating lots of good stuff these days with all the wonderful fresh summer veggies and fruit hitting the stores so I suppose I'll be happy enough to get down to 116 by my early August race.

Swim: 4800 yards/1 hour, 40 mins. (both swims at the Rez)

Mountain bike: 17.28 miles/2 hours, 58 minutes

Run: 14.56 miles/3 hour, 27 mins. (4 min. run/1 min. walk)

Total training time: 8 hours, 5 mins.

117.5 lbs (-1.5 lbs. from 2 weeks ago)

Golden Gate & West Mag

2011-07-10T16:47:00.001-06:00

Some photos from a hike in Golden Gate Park 2 weeks ago.

Continental Divide

Another view

Wild Iris

Wild Collie Flower

Beautiful hike but so steep, I was sore for 2 days afterwards. Strummer barely noticed.

Yesterday was a steep long climb on my mountain bike in West Mag up to the Toilet Bowl. I didn't have the beans to take too many photos but I did manage to snap a pretty meadow filled with wildflowers.

Two hour bike ride then 53 minute trail run up and down a steep ass hill then passed out on the couch with a belly full of food for the rest of the day. I managed not to pass out in Chipotle this time. Was supposed to be a 3 hour bike ride and 1 hour run according to my training program but between the elevation (around 8500 ft) and the long steepy steep hills this was enough self-flagellation for one day. Actually it was a fabulous day on the trails, bike was fun, run went well, I'm lucky to have such a beautiful place to train only 40 minutes away.

2 weeks until my little on road sprint tri and 4 weeks until my real off road race. And there's one day of a DOCNA trial tucked in there somewhere. Better get back to that wretched dogwalk training. And I'm happy to report no fledgling carcasses in my yard this week. Or husband carcasses. It turns out I can do the Heimlich maneuver. Or something approaching the Heimlich maneuver, I'm not really sure what exactly it was that I did but Jonny was choking on something, like the kind of choking where the person can't talk or cough or wheeze, and then I did something and then he wasn't choking anymore. Where my clarity in an emergency comes from I have no idea.

Lola sets off her own fireworks

2011-07-04T12:49:00.000-06:00

Terminator of all things defenseless and furry. Or feathered.

Lola's near misses for the day:

One mouse

One blackbird fledgling

On bluejay fledgling

Frank Shorter's cat. Right in front of Frank Shorter.

O.k., the cat was from the other day but the other 3 were all in the space of this morning. And I'm not sure if the mouse was a miss for sure. It ran away and I didn't see blood but it was hidden in the grass. I'm also assuming the birds are o.k. She was on a leash when she went for Frank Shorter's cat or I'm not sure if it would have been o.k.

I was preoccupied with brushing Cody when I heard an odd animal noise coming from the corner of the yard. A split second later the Trouble Twins went flying by in a blur of fur. Then I heard the all too familiar squeal of a tiny animal in Lola's clutches. I ran to the back of the yard just as the two of them were flushing out a fledgling bluejay. Somehow amidst the ensuing melee of flapping wings and squawking of baby and mother and Lola I managed to shoo the naughty dogs into the house. I went back out to survey the carnage and couldn't find anything so took that as a good sign. However I couldn't see an escape route for the baby bird and wanted to be sure it wasn't hiding in some tall weeds waiting to be a Lola snack the next time I let her out so I bent down to inspect the ground and when I looked up I was face to face with the bluejay fledgling. Then quickly realized there was a blackbird fledgling clinging to the same fence panel.

I'd already had a run in with the blackbird fledgling yesterday. I guess there's a reason you don't hear about many baby birds joining Mensa.

They're not terribly attractive either. Kind of give me the creeps.

Meanwhile Lola was going off her head inside the house which of course sent Strummer off his head. Cody's such a good boy through the whole thing, standing outside at the back door wondering when he's going to get his Special Treat for letting me brush him, completely uninterested in baby bird carnage or any other Trouble Twin mayhem.

Anybody want to start an internet pool on how long those baby birds last? My guess is first thing tomorrow morning when I let the dogs out because that's when I'll be sleepy and forget all about them.

In the meantime I'm going to a 4th of July barbecue instead of an agility trial like a normal person for once. Well, if you count as normal a barbecue where you start out with a 2 hour mountain bike ride on ridiculously steep and technical terrain followed by a swim in a 'refreshing' recently thawed mountain lake. Without a wetsuit. Actually I'm skipping the bike ride and we'll see about the swimming when I get up there. In the meantime I'm happy to go up high to the mountains and escape the heat of town. And the chaos of Lola v. Baby Birds.

Happy 4th to all and don't forget the Thundershirts and melatonin.