This N That

I've completed two regional agility events with Gusto. Both results are very similar, great, fast runs but one mistake keeping him from getting a lot of IFCS (international) points. This year is a try out year for the international competition held in England in 2010. I was not sure I was ready to compete for the points race but decided to go ahead and give it a shot. I did not sign the intent to compete form though as I wanted to see how we did at the 3 scheduled events.

He handled really well (except for both Round 1 Grand Prix runs). His times were right there with the top dogs - sometimes he had the fastest time. BUT one bar, one missed up contact kept us from doing well. I'm thrilled with where he is right now but we were soooooo close to getting a lot of the IFCS points in the 26 inch height class. He is sitting in 10th place but many folks have only done 2 events, Gusto has done 3. Tenth out of 70+ dogs that have earned points isn't horrible all things considered. It sets me up pretty well for the next competition year which is 2011-2012. He will be a little more seasoned and will hopefully handle his excitement level better or I will or we both will as a team.

I feel great about how I handled the pressure. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone but my ground speed or rushing him has caused some errors. I put him on a fitness program at the suggestion of several folks in an attempt to see if he can do better with the bars. I didn't start soon enough though but maybe it will set us up to have a fantastic National experience this year.

On a workout note, I have been running 2 miles early in the AM before Greg leaves for work so that Robbie can be watched (trying to protect his injured shoulder from his crazy self). I have been tracking my workouts including my warm ups. I only tracked my run today and my pace is 9.25 average over the 2 miles. Much better than I had thought as most of my tracking showed 12+. I'm going to keep plugging away as I seriously hope to someday give a 5k race a try. I have much work to do before I enter a race though.

A Must Have Photo

Oh my! Look at Gusto's expression!!! Priceless.

http://www.pbase.com/barryrosen/image/113153602

Competition is Fierce

I was at Flexi's USDAA trial yesterday. Gusto is totally qualified for Nationals but my last GP Q down in Maryland wasn't flawless. I ran conservatively to get his final Q so I let him land wide to guard the bars. He has been dropping 1 bar per class lately so I was getting extremely annoyed with him. I realized that I cannot push him with my own ground speed and I cannot ask for real tight turns in certain situations right now because he cannot handle it.

This weekend I set a goal for keeping the bars up or carrying him out if he didn't. I have really been focused on teaching him how to deal with all kinds of situations while he is jumping. I still work his weavepoles because he will forget to rock back to get in but my primary focus has been jumping. I do not do jump grids with Gusto. He does them perfectly so I do not feel that is helping him. Instead, I set up weird angles, I send him to jumps that he notoriously cuts too tight. I send him to the backside - all kinds of situations while I am running, talking, throwing toys. If the bar comes down, he gets in trouble, bars stays up then he gets praised and rewarded.

Maybe the hard work is starting to pay off. He was truly amazing yesterday. We went 3 for 3 clean. First run was Snooker and he took a nasty leap off the frame because he didn't get on straight. After making sure he was ok, we finished the run and he won the class. Next run was Standard - he ran very nice but went wide in several places because I am letting him jump before asking him to do anything. He took 2nd - behind his brother, Whip. Not sure what the time difference was but it was at least .5 seconds. Grand Prix was last. I really wanted him to run another one clean. I only have 2 local GP Qs EVER.

I went to the line not with winning in mind but with qualifying. I wanted him to keep his bars up so I didn't push him. Although, I wasn't jogging either but I was not asking for tight turns. He ran a beautiful run but had several wide turns and got caught in the tunnel so he took 2nd place behind Drifter by .4 seconds.

I have taken second place to 4 dogs locally - all of which have placed or won Nationally. The competition is tight in this part of the country. It makes us all better handlers and trainers. I have alot of work to do to reach some of my goals or dreams with Gusto. He is not quite ready to be pushed. You cannot spare wide turns if you want to win or even place Nationally.

I'm off to Perry on Wednesday for my favorite regional event. I will be going down with running clean in mind and will have to live with whatever results that gives me. For now, I'm an also-ran.

A Short Spin

My whole agility career is up in the air right now. It looks like the owner of the current location that I teach is going to want us out of the building when she makes changes for daycare. Without a source of income, I can no longer show my dog. I am going to go to Nationals but it will probably be my last trip out unless I find a flexible part-time job.

I was so upset, I hopped on the indoor bike and pounded out my frustration. I went only 5 miles, I do not want to injure my IT Band but DARN it felt great to pound!

I can always revive my cycling attempt if I am not trying to save my leg for agility. Not sure what I will do with all of these hyper-active BCs though. They definitely are not for the quiet life. One is barking at me at the moment because he is bored - of course, he is in hobbles and can't do a darn thing but he doesn't care a lick about that. He is saying, "do something with me". Poor boy.

I'm So Relieved

Life has been a bit crazy lately. I've been trying to locate an alternative place to teach agility. This search is not going very well. It cost A LOT of money to rent space large enough to do agility and the start up cost is quite expensive. If you take on this endeavor by yourself, you better be willing to work many hours and maybe even put on run thrus and trials to help cover your rental fee.

I prefer teaching part-time so that I can be home with Devin while he is still young and wants to be with his Mom. My current agility location is really bugging me. She is increasing my rental fee but the extra income she is going to get will not be used to help me replace gear as it breaks or ages. So when the gear breaks or needs to be replaced, it is coming out of my pocket. If I was the only person using this gear, I would have NO problem replacing it. However, the building is rented by other folks, I do not get a cut from this rental income. Also, she is putting in doggie daycare this Summer. I can guarantee they will use my gear to exercise the dogs. Do I get any compensation for this if they break the gear? NO I do not.

I am searching for alternatives. This is all trivial in the large scheme of life though. It's bugging me to not have an answer but it is still a minor problem.

There are bigger problems in this world. Like the neighbor's boy that has been fighting cancer. He is in remission but gets scan every 3 months to make sure he is still clear. He went for his scan yesterday and we usually get the word rather quickly. Yesterday, the news was late coming and we all feared the worst because he had been quite sick lately. He was not fighting off strep. But the news was GOOD when we finally got it. They discovered that he actually had pneumonia which was why the antibiotics wasn't helping initially. The poor family, as if they haven't suffered enough. Tonight, I want to take a bottle of wine down to the Mother so we can drink and celebrate life. It is so precious.

Last LAX Game

What a game! Intense is the best way to describe it. The team we played wanted to win badly, they played with ferocity. Actually, a bit too rough for this age group. The refs had to stop play several times and explain to the kids that the checks they were doing were either not legal, or too rough. We played this same team on Saturday but I was not home so didn't get to witness how rough they were. The other team did a lot of over-celebration when they would get a goal.

We unleashed several of our football players to help keep these kids in check. It worked. They backed of a little bit when they realized we weren't going to back down from the contact. One of our players, my son, unleashed several checks with fury because he was a bit miffed at their illegal hits. He flattened several of their kids - legally. The Refs did tell him to tone it down a bit though cuz he sent a few kids flying.

In the end, we won the game. Our Head Coach's son, JD, actually won the game for us. He called a time out with about 1 to 2 minutes left in the game and pumped the boys up. They went out on the field in a flurry with much more intensity, got a final shot off at the last second that won the game!

I will miss coaching these kids. They were alot of fun. I believe that many do plan to return next year as does my son. He really enjoyed the last 3 games of the season.

LAX Pic of Dev

Dev in the red. We have had a frustrating season of losses but it is a great game. I am glad he played and I got a chance to coach him. I do not believe he will be playing next year. He would like to try agility if Robbie is able to run in the Spring.

Robbles

Robbie in hobbles for his shoulder injury. We are 5 weeks out, 7 more weeks in the hobbles and 4 to 5 months of rehab until I find out if he can do agility or herding. GRRRR!

Work Out Analysis

I am finally starting to feel a bit more fit for running. I still cannot get passed the 2 mile point. Sounds awful, like something is wrong with me but in reality, I am a sprinter and have always struggled with distance. I have a goal of doing 3 miles by the end of summer. I haven't been able to get out enough since Robbie has to be watched like a hawk for the next 7 weeks. I did find a partial solution, I take Abbey out as a running partner. She causes him to bounce his crate across the kitchen which is not good on his shoulder. If I take her with me, he is much calmer in the crate at home. She is a pain to run with though - she won't jog in front of me. She likes to jog behind my heals!!!! She is a former herding dog (broken) so I think she is trying to drive me on - she did have me in hysterics on Friday. Her weird leg, back issue does not seem to be bothered by jogging with me - my pace is too pathetically slow to irritate her.

So she is my new partner for now. Gusto was supposed to be my partner to keep him fit for agility but I got to do what I got to do for now so I can get out and run.

Howdy - I'm Back

I finally have some things to write about. Sorry those of you following my fitness write ups - there hasn't been much to say since I am stuck at home with my young dog during his post-surgery recovery. I have gotten out to run twice - need to record that in my fitness log. It was stinking hot on Friday when I ran. I felt like I was running through pea soup.

I have not been on the bike for weeks and my IT Band feels fantastic! So I do think that my cycling days are over and I will probably be selling my bikes for extra cash. Anyone interested? I have a gorgeous RED Specialized Allez with carbon forks, seatstays, with ZERT inserts. The bike is amazing - love it. It was my racing bike. I might keep my trainer bike though - just in case. I can't seem to totally give up on cycling. Have to admit, running is much easier. Only gear required are the sneaks and the Ipod.

Agility is going ok. My ONLY competition dog is dropping bars. I'm a bit frutrated by this; I carried him out yesterday for dropping bars and he decided to keep all the bars up in Grand Prix. I need this Q, it was the last Q to get him qualified for Nationals. YAY! He is totally Qd now. I am really not in the mood to drive all over creation, waste gas and entry fees to carry him out for dropping bars. Oh well, this year will be a year of getting his head straight. He is a super fast, super athletic boy so it will be worth it in the long term.

Howdy Y'all

I haven't been blogging lately because I just didn't feel like trying to be witty or clever or even interesting. Must be left over Winter blues or feeling stressed about my young dog's upcoming surgery or MAYBE it's because I haven't been working out as much. I noticed that as I train my dog (I'm down to one trainable dog right now), I tend to work out less.

I was just on Breaking the Tape to review my workouts and definitely noticed that I have dropped off recently but I have been working my dog more so it's not that I am getting lazy, I just have less time to fit the workouts in. My fitness level is good though, my legs feel strong, my IT Band is good.

Well this post wasn't witty or cleaver but at least I felt like writing something.

Happy Easter to everyone.

LAX First Game

We had our first Lacrosse game. What fun! the boys did quite well but we were out scored today.

Devin did well in all positions played and was our only goal scorer - he was thrilled. Yay for my boy! He flattened several kids to get ground balls, made several other really good plays. I think he is going to do well because he is not afraid of contact or being physical.

My voice is a bit hoarse from yelling to help coach the boys. It was a great getaway from the dog stuff.

On to some other topics - Robbie has to have shoulder surgery on April 13. They want to scope his joint to find out what is causing the instability. It will be expensive and the recovery time will be a nightmare but we need to be aggressive in treatment to try to give him the best chance to resume his active life and career. I'm so not looking forward to his therapy, trips to Maryland, the cost involved, and the restrictions on his active life. UGH!

Got on my bike today - had a great spin indoors. Listened to some heavy music; kept me motivated and my average speed was much higher today. I couldn't stay on long since we had to leave for the LAX game. I am starting to feel stronger and am getting used to the new riding position that my pedal extensions cause. I'm still not where I want to be and I may never ride outside but really - never say never. Just maybe not too soon.

No OCD

Robbie had his Xrays done yesterday at my local vets to rule out Osteochondritis (OCD). He does not have it - but he does have laxity in both shoulders with the right shoulder being more lax.

OCD would have been a much preferred diagnosis as the surgery repairs the issue with 100% success. He is scheduled to see a specialist near Columbia, MD. This vet practice specializes in orthopedic issues and has done arthroscopic surgery to repair tears in the shoulder ligaments. We can hope that Robbie's is mild and will not require surgery AND that he will return to normal function. It's all unknown at this point. Just the horrible waiting game to find out if he will be able to do agility. At this point, he can be a normal pet with minimal issues. The wear and tear of agility may affect his front though.

If he cannot do agility because of this issue, I do not know what I will do. I got him to do herding and agility. He probably wouldn't hold up to the turns necessary to keep up with sheep either. It's all a big question for now. I hope to know more on Friday after his visit.

I'm Amazed

Wow - the boys on our Lacrosse team are seriously out of shape. We had them run 2 laps around a partial lacrosse field. I ran with them and they struggled. I'm way older than they are and had no issues doing the laps and several boys were suffering. It really shocked me to see young kids not able to do a gentle, short jog.

On a good note, practice was a blast. I worked with one of the other coaches and we did some offense drills and I was able to help. The boys did really well and our future goalie is impressive. Very fast reaction times.

In talking with one of Devin's football coaches today, this boy plays ice hockey. No wonder he has good reaction times. He's fantastic. Devin did really well with all of his drills - his skills are really coming along. We have a unscheduled practice set for tomorrow for anyone that wants to join. I'm looking forward to it.

The Nightmare Begins

The news was not good. Robbie didn't have Xrays so we do not really know the extend of the news except that the vet was able to manipulate his shoulder in and out of the socket way more than he should which leads him to believe we are dealing with some sort of shoulder luxation. Shoulder luxation would be similar to having your knee give out on you when you went to put weight on it. It can be congenital, it can be from trauma.

He is scheduled for Xrays on Monday even though my appt yesterday was specifically for the f-ing Xrays. I was very pissed that they weren't prepared to do them when I told them that was why I was bringing him in!!!! UGH!

Prognosis depends on how bad it is and what the root cause could be - if that can be determined. Worse case scenario is that his shoulder parts are not formed properly - this is congenital and surgery rarely helps. This would be a career ending issue. Best case scenario is that his ligaments are loose from injury and they will heal themselves with rest. Surgery may be required but I do not know at this point.

I've talked to 2 friends that have dealt with this same issue in their border collies. One required surgery, one required rest and therapy. Both are doing agility and were seen by the same vet out in Pittsburgh. Believe me, I will take him to that vet if he needs surgery. I want the best possible chance for a full athletic career - the reason I got him. I cannot rehome this boy, my family threw an absolute fit when I told them we might have to place him in a pet home. Husband and son adore this dog as do I. Like I need another dog that sits at home and looks pretty! I'm down to one competition dog.

I will keep running and cycling in hopes that I can try some racing (running) to replace agility. I can't keep collecting dogs to do agility with and I get too attached to place them in new homes when they don't work out. If your shoes don't work out, you get news ones. I know some folks that take that philosophy with dogs. I'm not one of them.

Will post more information as soon as I have some details.

Not Sure What to Call This One

I hopped on the indoor bike and did a 30 minute work out - it is raining out today and I didn't feel like doing the Treadhell. My legs felt good but I had some kneecap slippage in my left knee. I'm wondering if my position needs to be changed now that I am starting to make progress. Something to pay attention to for sure. My speeds are improving - not by leaps and bounds but nice and steady. Woo Hoo! Running speeds and distances are improving too.

I had a discussion with a friend of mine about my 4 yr old Border Collie, Gusto. She thinks I should do some AKC trials and get him qualified for World Team try outs next year. This is not the first time I have heard this; it is now the third or fourth time I have heard this. Here is the catch - I dislike going, entering, doing AKC shows. Unfortunately, international competition for USDAA (my preferred venue) is every other year and Gusto probably will not be ready this year. Or I should say, I won't be ready. Gusto actually is doing quite well given who he has for a handler. I do have to say that I am getting a bit bored with agility. I just don't have any serious goals for this year since getting Gusto's ADCH. I plan to qualify him for Nationals and I want to do well at Regionals and I do have IFCS in the back of my mind but I am just not motivated. It may have to do with Robbie's upcoming xrays which will happen in the next 2 hours.

I'm watching college basketball, I cleaned, I cycled and I am trying to occupy my mind until it is time to take Robbie to his appt. I'm hoping for answers or at least to rule out stuff. Waiting sucks!

First Outdoor Practice

We did our first scrimmage with the boys at LAX practice last night. The sport of LAX is extremely fast and fun. I am surprised at how quickly the boys are learning how to throw, catch, craddle and scoop. I know it would take me MUCH longer to learn - I'm sure their youthful brains help them.

I am not able to really help; I'm observing and learning. If I see anything, I will talk to the Head Coach and ask questions. So maybe in that way, I can help. If he gives the kids instructions that I don't understand or they seem confused, I will ask a clarifying question so the boys know what to do. I did that last night for one of the drills.

Devin did extremely well in the scrimmage last night - he played a Defense position and was able to steal the ball several times and run down the field. The scrimmages will get Devin excited for the sport, he absolutely hates skill drills.

During one of the lectures (short but necessary), Devin got all fidgety - he learns by doing so listening to verbal instructions causes him to tune out. I was secretly laughing in my head because he reminds me of me. At the end of practice, I was talking to the other coaches and Devin came up and got my car keys and got in the car. Thankfully, he doesn't know how to drive yet, he probably would have driven off and left me there. He does watch me shift the Stang's manual transmission so I have a feeling it wouldn't take him long to learn. I better start hiding the keys, he loves the Mustang.

What a Beautiful Day!

Went for a run and remembered to take my IPod and Nike Plus equipment so I could track my results. I love that little piece of gear. It talks to me and I definitely push a bit more when I wear it.

I twisted my ankle on Saturday at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and could barely run my dog at this trial on Sunday. I iced it, elevated it, wrapped it and by Monday morning, it felt great so I thought I would try it out today. I wrapped it and went. Felt great. My left hamstring, however, was very tight so I will be doing lots of stretching today.

Tonight is our first outdoor LAX practice. This should be interesting. I have no idea what I am doing and am sure I am of no help at this point but Devin loves that I am out there with him. I guess that is important for now.

Robbie, my young Border Collie, has his xray appt on Thursday. We are checking for OCD or any other issues in his shoulders and elbows. He seems off in the front end after exercising so I need to check this out further. He has already been seen by a PT and a Chiro Vet. After his adjustment on Wednesday, he is showing improvement but I also have not done any agility training with him and will not until after the xray results are done. I hate waiting but I need to rule out any issues with his joints.

The weather is beautiful today - the perfect Spring weather to get outside and shake off the Winter blahs!

What Fun

I went back to Middle Creek today - dressed for the temps so I could stay longer. I sat at a picnic table and had my camera at the ready. I was pretty happy with most of my shots. The first picture here is an eagle stretching it's wings - unfortunately, my zoom lense is lacking. I already know what will be on my birthday and Christmas list this year - more camera gear.

I really enjoyed going up there and trying to get some pictures. I listened in on a presentation to a group of elementary school kids and got to view the eagle close up using someone's telescope lense (there is another name for it but it totally escapes me at the moment).

I joined a local photography group. Their new member meeting is coming up and I am not able to attend due to teaching an agility class that night. I will have to try to get to another meeting though.

No work outs to report - my left knee is bothering me so thought I should take it easy today.

A Very Cool Sight

I took these pictures today at Middle Creek Wildlife Management area. The tundra swans and snow geese arrive every Spring on their migration back to the North. The management folks at Middle Creek estimate the numbers ranging from 100,000 to 150,000.

Too bad I don't have a functional camcorder - the noise that goes with this vision is amazing. Tundra swans have a unique sound, the snow geese are just noisy and the immature bald eagle soaring is peaceful. Three different sounds all in the space of seconds.

Wishing I had a bigger zoom lense and a tripod - I had gear envy seeing all the photographers there trying to capture this sight. It is truly amazing and not everyone gets to witness this spectacle!

First LAX Practice

We had our first practice for the Developmental team last evening. What fun! Luckily, several guys showed up that actually have a clue about how the game is played and they did a great job showing the boys (myself included) the proper techniques. I was really fun to see how the boys improved with each attempt. Let me tell you this - keeping the ball in the stick is NOT easy.

Devin was so glad that I was there helping - he commented several times. That just made my day! He did really well with throwing, catching, scooping but needs work on cradling. His throws tend to be super fast but not a lot of control so he will need to work on that too. I think he really enjoyed it.

I confess that being the token Mom helping out made me feel a bit like a fish out of water but one of guys helping specifically came over and talked to me which put me a bit more at ease. One of the Mothers came and asked me questions too so I will help in some small way even though I never played and have ZERO clue how to coach this particular sport.

We will have fun learning together and I look forward to the season.

I Laughed Until I Cried!

A friend sent this to me - not sure where it came from but holy crap is it funny!

ONLY A MAN WOULD ATTEMPT THIS
Just try reading this without laughing till you cry!!!
Pocket Tazer Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife. A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Tazer for their anniversary submitted this:
Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt,
pocket/purse- sized tazer. The effects of the tazer were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety....??
WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button and pressed it against a metal surface at the same time; I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs.
AWESOME!!!
Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.
Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right? There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target.
I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?
So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and tazer in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water.
Any burst longer
than three seconds would be wasting the batteries.
All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and (loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, 'no possible way!' What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best.. .?
I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, 'don't do it dip shit,'
reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and . .
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD . . WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION . . . WHAT THE HELL!!!
I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs. The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room.
Note: If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a tazer, one note of
caution: there is no such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself!
You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor.. A three second burst would be considered conservative.
IT HURT LIKE HELL!!!
A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace.
The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was. My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I had no control over the drooling.
Apparently I pooped on myself, but was too numb to know for sure and my sense of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head which I believe came from my hair. I'm still looking for my nuts and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!

P.S... My wife, can't stop laughing about my experience, loved the gift, and now regularly threatens me with it!

If you think education is difficult, try being stupid !!!

Hello Moron

My husband set out for work today at his normal time, by 8:30 he was parked on one of the major roads on his way to work. Traffic wasn't moving - most likely an accident from the white out conditions or the fact that the roads were super slippery. An hour later, he calls me to let me know he is coming home because he can't get to work and nearly had several accidents. Two and a half hours later, he still wasn't home and I went out and was working on clearing our horribly steep driveway so he could actually climb the darn piece of pavement. Some MORON comes flying up on Greg as he is slowing down to make the turn to our driveway and PASSES him on the inside as G is trying to turn. I screamed at the MOTHER F-ING MORON - luckily Greg notices me screeching and doesn't turn while the MORON continues on his merry way, tormenting other unsuspecting drivers.

If I was a javelin thrower, I would have chucked my shovel at the mother f-ing moron driving a dark blue Chevy or GMC pick up truck. If I find you on the road, I will hunt you down with my silver Expedition (as long as dogs or child is not in the truck with me). You have been warned - you idiot.

I Love Surprises

My doorbell ran yesterday - scared the beegesus out of me because it usually only rings when the neighbor kids are home or something bad has happened - like State Troopers stopping by to see if we have noticed anyone lurking around.

I keep my front door double locked so the local children cannot open the door and let all of my dogs out to get killed on the nasty posted 40 mph road that nobody drives 40 on. I go out through my garage which is a buffer and my dogs know not to bolt through that door.

Sorry, I digress. Anyway, I go to see who it is. There is no car in my driveway so I assume it is a neighbor. It wasn't, it was a good friend of mine that I used to do club rides with. We used to have so much fun on our rides - we'd push each other to go faster, to climb better, to ride farther. She was in awe of my speed, I was in awe of her climbing skills. We would go to the breakfast rides too and talk it up. She road over from her house which is not an easy ride and she even did the nasty hill up from the lake - nasty! It's not long but steady and steep. It was cold, windy and a bit wet yesterday - not the type of day I would go for a ride to visit a friend but she needs to put some miles in for an upcoming fundraiser ride.

She probably wonders why I haven't stayed in touch. It's not that I don't like her any more, it's just so hard to hear and see somebody doing the sport that I loved so much and can no longer do. It is a reminder of my loss. I have to remind myself that I can still do agility with my dogs and I can sort of kind of run. That's something, right? I really miss pushing myself physically on the bike though - it was a drug.

LAX

For those of you who aren't in the KNOW, LAX stands for Lacrosse. It is soon that season - the first season my son will try it. I can't wait - I hope he likes it because I am an Assistant Coach. Woo hoo - except that I have never played it. It will be a fun research project though and I love to work with 9, 10, 11 year olds. I help out with the basketball coaching a little bit and the boys are great fun.

Agility is fun again for me. I'm enjoying the training, I think training my young dog helps since it is like putting a giant puzzle together which I've always loved to do.

Still no real exercise to report on, I am still suffering from a virus and have to conserve energy for teaching and training agility since that takes up most of my days.

Erie Weather Sucks

I drove out to Erie with my Junior Handler friend, Katie, who is running my deaf dog. We had a great first 3 hours and then hit the lake affect snow squalls. My wiper fluid froze in the reservoir but I didn't figure that out until I reached the hotel. I also went out a day early because I never took notice that start time on Friday was in the evening. That was fine though because it gave us down time and time to take my truck to a mechanic to pull the wiper fluid tank and dispose of the blue frozen slush and replace with fluid rated for -20 degrees. The temps in Erie were around 18 - 20 all weekend long. EEK!

Katie and I had an interesting experience finding a mechanic who would replace the washer fluid quickly. We found one - a little at home place that would have scared me had I not been traveling with Katie. The guy was nice though but the atmosphere was - well - scary. It only cost me $30 to get this taken care of and off we went. No longer stressed about whether I would be able to clean my window so that I could see through all the road salt and slush.

We then took a drive up along the frozen lake. What a strange experience - you expect to see this vast amount of water like the ocean but it looks frozen solid. Very moon like - not that I have been on the moon lately. We drove past quaint vineyards and little restaurants. The area that we drove along was basically undeveloped which surprised me since Lake Erie is a vacation destination for the people out in that area.

I didn't have an ice scraper either - I guess I took it out to clean my car and vacuum and it never got returned. I had to go buy one. What a trip and only a Gamble Q to show for it.

The building we were in was very nice, footing was great but it had 6 poles in the ring that we had to handle around and Gusto dropped bars whenever I had to pull off while he went out around the pole to take a jump - he dropped 3. Not bad all things considered except did he have to do it in Grand Prix. I went into training mode then and he lost his mind so I carried him out for being moronic. Oh well. Katie had a great weekend running Ivy - 2 Qs to show for it too. She was quite happy with herself and little La La.

I got a stomach/intestine virus while I was out there and am still not well enough to leave the house so no exercising or teaching tonight. We'll see how I feel in a day or so.

Whew - What a Weekend

Back to the agility grind we go! I haven't shown since early December and I felt a little out of it - not quite on my game on Sunday in the morning. But by the time Grand Prix rolled around, I was focused and Gusto had a brilliant run. He didn't qualify because he dropped one bar but darn, it was a wonderful, fast run. Showed me what we will be able to do in 2009!

He had a smokin Standard run, qualified and took first place by nearly 2 seconds. He was on fire and we were in synch. I felt great.

Today, we ran Snooker and Jumpers. Gusto needed a Super Q in Snooker for his ADCH title. The Super Q is too hard to explain - just know this, it's HARD - for me anyway cuz I really do not enjoy Snooker. Well, he got it - he got his Super Q and his ADCH title! I wasn't expecting it, I stepped to the line focused on the run, the handling, what he and I needed to do to get around. He did ticked some bars but lucky for us, they stayed up!

We also had a smokin jumpers run but dropped one bar. It was a similary situation to the bar he dropped in Grand Prix and notoriously an issue for us. I will be working on this issue this week to make sure he understands and can handle it because I would like to be able to run him without worrying about whether can deal with that scenerio or not.

I just couldn't be happier with myself - I did what I needed to do so that Gusto could shine and do his job and have fun. It was quite a weekend for me.

Cycling Quickie

No time for a long drawn out love affair with the pedals today. I only had time for a quickie. I did 25 minutes as hard as I could without attempting to kill myself or awaken the nasty IT BAND giant. The good news is that I didn't kill myself, the bad news is that I won't know how the nasty giant will be until tomorrow. Weird how that works but true.

It was the fastest I have gone on my bike -indoors, since PIT (Post IT). BIT, I was gobs faster. But PIT is well the PITS cuz I think that 13 - 14 mph is fast now. Very, very sad indeed.

Spring Tease

What a gorgeous day here in my part of the Northeast. Sunny and 60+! I just had to go out for a jog. My legs took forever to warm up and I had to do a lot of stretching - still tight in the left hamstring. But I worked through it and did a short sprint at the end. I seriously need to add sprint work, it seems my legs have forgotten how.

Then I took my 2 friends to agility class in a sandy barn that is a work out in and of itself due to the deep sand in some parts. We had a ton of fun though and I was all wild and happy because of the weather. Gusto was great, we ran the last sequence clean until the last jump. He flattened out cuz he saw his toy. His weaves have improved significantly - I'm finally seeing him use his butt instead of his face to get in to the poles. Hard work is paying off and I need to do some more before the show this weekend.

To top off a great day, UNC played arch rivals Duke last night at the Cameron Indoor Stadium. This is one of the toughest venues to play in if you are from out of town - even if out of town is 8 miles down the road. The Duke fans are the loudest and the student section is right on top of the court - very up close and personal. Duke played really well in the first half - kept Tyler Hansbrough pretty quiet on the inside. UNC pulled away in the last 10 minutes or so of the game and showed why they SHOULD make it to the final 4. UNC Point Guard, Ty Lawson, was brilliant last night and showed how talented he truly is. March Madness is soon approaching. I really wish I had the money to travel down to Georgia to see UNC play - it is Tyler's last year and I really had wanted to watch him play college ball.

Pictures

I took my camera to our training session on Sunday. Rosanne, a friend of mine, has a similar camera so being familiar with a digital SLR enabled her to get some very nice shots of Robbie working. We couldn't get the quick frame by frame working. I want to try that next time we train - in a non-dirty place. Would love to have the frame by frame pictures of the AFrame and Dogwalk. I like that better than video - it is sort of stop action video. I want some video of him too but my camcorder died and I haven't replaced it yet.

On the exercise note, I did try some sprint work on the treadmill. I think I worked out too soon after eating though cuz I felt sick to my stomach. It wasn't from exertion though as my heart rate never went above 120. I know what puking feels like from a sustained effort - I had to do a fitness test with my cycling coach 2 years ago. I seriously thought I would puke and my heart rate was up around 180 sustained. I hated it but afterwards, it was sort of cool to know you are that fit. I am certainly not there now thanks to my injury sidelining me. In fact, getting my heart rate up above 110 takes efforts. I have a lot of work to do to get me in the shape that I want to be in. Seems like it doesn't take long to get out of shape but it sure takes a long time to get back in - weird how that works.

Small Pony Jumping

Pictures - Agility

General Update - Post Weekend

I have hives today - not sure why but in order to not scratch the entire top layer of my skin off, I have to take Benadryl which leaves me "out of it". I probably won't be up to working out. I may reconsider later. I truly NEED sprint work.

I've been working terribly hard to develop some endurance that my sprinting is suffering. Why do I need sprint speeds - I'm certainly not going to try out for the Olympic team any time soon. BUT I need to have good off the line speeds for agility. I ran Gusto on sprint turf yesterday and he kicked my ass. I couldn't keep up with him - not that I can run as fast but I can cut lines to catch him and I couldn't even do that yesterday! My legs felt unresponsive to the quick burst request coming from my brain.

I'm thinking if my hives improve, I'll do some sprint work today. I'll do it on the treadhell though because I am feeling a tad off balance from the Benadryl.

I will be uploading some pictures later after I am done charging my cam batt - it died. Rosanne took some shots of Boochie (one of Robbie's nicknames) and I got some cute shots of my favorite girls - Pearl and her daughter, Seri.

I Was Right

I love being right - it happens so infrequently. But I know my body very well - I don't always listen to it but I know it after 41 years of living with it. The issue with the bike was the resistance setting. I'm not ready for super duper resistance, need to keep it light. The indoor ride today went much better and I felt like my legs loosened up better today.

The good news is that I took one of those annoying quizzes on Facebooks and it says my actual age is 26! Hee hee!

Robbie Funny

I went to agility class last night despite the cold temps - below 30. I had cabin fever and just wanted to get out of the house and do something fun.

On the way to class, Greg calls me to let me know that Robbie is laying near my computer and staring at the door that goes to our garage and barking his head off. Greg talked to him to get him to stop and he refused to look at him and just kept barking. Apparently, he was not happy that I took Gusto and Ivy and left him at home.

Funny dog! He also barks his head off when we get near the training building. None of my other dogs do this.

Workout Analysis

I love Breaking the Tape. That site is great. In the past, I would track my workouts in a journal style book but it wasn't electronic so I couldn't get a sense of true progress. This little website does all that for you!

I haven't worn my Ipod Plus shoes since I haven't been running outside and have mostly been walking with a bit of jogging on the treadhell. Been cycling indoors too. I went to the site to analyze my progress or lack thereof and noticed a couple of things.

My walking speeds are improving as are my distances. I've been able to add some jogging in and feel quite decent. Still can't put a full mile together right now -not indoors on the treadhell.

What I noticed too is that my cycling is declining. In January, my distances and speeds were improving but as my walking/jogging increases, my cycling has declined. I am not sure if there is a connection or not. I did notice a bit of irritation to my IT Band on the bike but not enough to stop me. Just enough to make me cautious. The one thing I did do recently was increased the resistance slightly - maybe that is the cause. It wasn't a significant change though.

HUM - something to ponder. I will be on the bike tomorrow. I might adjust the resistance a tad just to test my theory.

This n That

I haven't posted recently because this Winter weather has me in a mood. I just want to hibernate. I've been working out regularly and was pleasantly surprised when some pants started to fit me better. I'm feeling fit but I still have a long way to go. Found peddling the indoor bike very difficult this weekend - legs felt like lead. So instead of doing the treadmill or bike today, I took my dogs to my indoor training facility (ha! that is a positive spin on the little space but better than nothing).

The boys were really good today EXCEPT when working on the poles. I am really beginning to dislike training that obstacle. Gusto still uses his face to brace himself instead of slowing down. I am using a technique that was suggested by a friend who also had a similar issue with her Mayhem offspring and also used it to fix another crazy Mayhem offspring! It just might work. All of his other entries are significantly better. The only one still needing work is the fast, straight-on approaches where Gusto is at full stride AND I am running. Seems to jack him up beyond all mental control. UGH - love this crazy boy though.

Robbie is coming along nicely, can even turn and power out of the turn. Not fully trained yet but the beginning understanding is definitely there. His frame is looking real nice. I did take some speed off to get him to come down into the contact zone better. I'm ok with that right now. He will speed up; I wanted a judgeable contact performance. He has the stride of a giraffe so not worried about a tenth of a second. I need to do some work where I get ahead of him and he stays in the correct location - right now, he continues to drift on the flat in between the jumps. I also need to make sure I bring him in to me when I do some baby handling sequences. Lots of work to do but plenty of time he turns 15 months this week. He can now keep up with Gusto when they run around the building. Gusto has amazing ground speed so that made me very happy to see today.

I am hoping Punxsatawny Phil was wrong today. He saw his shadow and predicts 6 more weeks of Winter. UGH! Why didn't I plan a trip to Florida this year like I have in previous years!!!! This really has been a tough Winter.

At this point, I haven't been outside to run or walk or do anything other than run from my vehicle to an indoor shelter. I guess I could count that as sprint work :)

Agility Update

I got an invitation to train at an indoor, heated facility on Sunday. There was no way I was passing that up so I went. Imagine my surprise when 2 of my friends that I haven't seen for awhile showed up. One of them was just as surprised to see me, I think. I see Rosanne more than I see Jen because I am taking an agility class this Winter and she is the instructor. But I haven't seen Jen for 3 months and I have not seen her work her young dog, Fever, much at all.

Fever has had a lot of issues, mostly fear related. She would charge random people and dogs and get stressed out in new situations. Jen wasn't sure she would ever be able to do agility with Fever and many others wondered if Fever would work out as an agility dog too. Jen has done a great job helping Fever learn to cope with her issues. I got to see a very fast enthusiastic little Border Collie work yesterday. I was very pleased for Jen - she has worked so very hard to help this dog so it was nice to see the results starting to show up away from home.

Gusto was very controlled for not having worked much away from the small quarters of my unheated building. I was very happy with him and look forward to our upcoming trial season that starts in a month or two.

This was Robbie's first time working away from his normal locations. I wasn't sure how focused he would be or how well he would work. He is 14.5 months old and still has a puppy brain much of the time when I work him but he is super smart and willing to please. Initially, he was acting strangely - apparently he had to really go - as in explosive diarrhea! After he emptied his system which seems to be from the car ride, he worked really well. He came off his dogwalk and teeter incorrectly from excitement so I had to work him through that but otherwise, I was very pleased with him.

Not sure how fast he will be in agility - I'm so used to the fast-twitch, high speed crazy Gusto. Robbie just feels slower to me. But his stride is impressive so I hope that will make up for his more methodical approach to life.

What a Day!

Today was a lot fun. Started out by doing my work out; although I had to keep it short due to basketball. My Parents came down to watch - my Parents are now elderly so it is great that they are able to drive and come watch him. Also, a friend of mine that we haven't seen in years came. Devin was so excited to have his fans on the sideline.

Devin's team won - 37 - 30. It was a close game; both teams having some good athletes. Devin had his best game ever. Not sure if it was because he had all his fans there or because the high school JV team came to support the boys and ref the game. Maybe a little bit of both, he was on fire.

He made 11 points, one being another 3-point shot in the last 2 seconds of the game. It was very exciting and his team went nuts and so did many of the parents. He is turning out to be quite a decent player especially his ball handling. They mainly use him as Point Guard; he doesn't need to be the star and is very happy to pass the ball and set up good shot opportunities. It's a lot of fun to see all of the kids abilities improve while they have so much fun. Greg is really enjoying being the coach; the kids really like him and the parents are pretty impressed with his gentle but firm nature with their children.

I thoroughly enjoy watching and cheering; especially with my Parents and friend sitting with me.

A Note I Wrote on Facebooks Re President Obama's Speech

I went to CNN to read his speech and digest the scale of it. I was looking for a key phrase or idea that stood out and "spoke" to me but I found the whole speech did. One phrase jumped out at me and I clapped - he said, "We will restore Science to it's rightful place".

The other section that made me happy was this, "Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint."

Truly an inspirational speech with tones saying we must work hard to change the tides that hold us back as a Nation. He wants to leave this world a better place than he found it, with help from all of us, the people - not big business or corporate interests but the individuals who are change-oriented, open-minded and willing to make the hard choices without thought to personal gains.

So now he gets down to the real chore of implementing these ideals and I will be watching closely to see if he can truly make a difference in the old political machine with the internal workings focused on self-interest, lacking cooperation, lacking integrity and forgetting the values that make this Country special.

Good luck, Mr. President - stay grounded, stick to the values that make you an inspiration to this generation, a generation that has lost trust in our government and feels our voices have fallen on deaf ears. We have finally spoken and have been heard.

Living History

What a day! The inauguration of our 44th President is basically over - at least, the ceremony. It was an impressive display of hope and humanity gathering to be part of a moment of living history. All walks of life from all over the world came to participate in this momentous occasion.

I was glued to the TV all morning (classes were cancelled due to the extreme cold temps and an unheated building). I anxiously awaited his speech - the main reason I was glued to the TV today. What would he say? How would he address the concerns of the people? What would the general feeling of his speech be? Would he inspire as he has throughout his entire campaign.

I was in for a partial surprise. His speech was much more sober, much stronger in feeling and showed a different side or a more intense and get down to business side. I was impressed with his strong words and call to action and a theme of take responsibility - as a nation, as a political machine, as an individual. We will not back down to terrorism but we will be fair in our international role, we will extend a hand to an unclenched fist. We need cooperation, not separation.

I wish both him and his administration good luck in attempting to turn the tides of the past 8 years and restore trust in the American people. I'm fairly certain that this is what was felt so many years ago when JFK took office. I remember my Parents talking about it when I was younger but didn't understand it until this very day.

Here We Go Steelers!

They did it - they made it to the Super Bowl. I honestly didn't think they would pull it out. Eagles didn't beat the Cardinals so there will be no PA Super Bowl. The Carndinals are a better team so it should be a good game but if the Steelers don't play well, my husband will not be easy to live with.

He was a riot last night watching the game. I could have been choking to death and he would not have had a clue. He was very intensely watching the game.

The game changing play was when Troy Polamalu, number 43, made an interception and ran it in for a TD!!! Troy is my favorite player so that was awesome to watch. I can't even imagine being in the stands to see it live. I would love to see a game while Troy is still playing for them.

I had a dream last night that we were in Pittsburgh - that we were living there again. We lived there back in 1995 when the Steelers had another great year but we had no money to see a game in Three Rivers Stadium. Times are better now so maybe we can get tickets and take Devin.

Finally Something to Write About

I've been sick for over a week and have not been up to doing anything. I finally got my antibiotics for a sinus infection. So basically I've been a slug. But last night I went to my son's basketball game. The team was 2-0 and playing another team that was also 2-0.

Everyone knew it would be tough game - both teams wanting to defend their winning streak. The kids played great on both sides but Devin's team lost. I think the score was 28 to 19. The coolest play was when Devin made a 3 point shot. His team went nuts and so did I.

Greg enjoyed coaching the boys and was very pleased with their efforts. It's fun to watch each player improve and build their teamwork.

Hopefully, I'll be back to my exercise routine soon and will be back to normal.

Ice Skating Up My Driveway

Last night, I cancelled my agility class due to the temps and freezing rain. But my husband did not cancel basketball practice, so I went along and drove the Expedition. All was good on the way to the rec center. We were there for about an hour and a half.

Getting home was no real distress either. However, upon arriving at the house, we discovered that our driveway was an ice rink! I put the Exped in 4x4 and tried to get the behemoth up our steep drive. It was having none of that and spun 360 degrees and slid back down the rink. I somehow managed to NOT take out our other car or our mailbox but scared the beejesus out of our son.

I've spun in cars a multitude of times (my parent's Dodge tank of a car, my first Z24, my WRX) on ice and slippery conditions but I have never spun in a 5200 lb army tank. Holy Crap - you know you have some steel behind you when you spin a sucker of that size.

I eventually had to baja up the grass and onto the level part of our driveway. But the score was:

Driveway 2
Expedition 1

If you count the other nasty sideways slide several weeks ago, the actual score is:

Driveway 3
Expedition 1

Stay safe and warm today!

I'm on the Mend

I can't believe it but I have cycled 2 days in a row, ran (walk/jog but more jogging) twice this week and NO IT BAND pain!!!! I am wondering if my leg strength is improving and starting to compensate for the weakness in my hip flexor muscles??? Whatever, I am very encouraged.

I bought a pair of Nike+ sneakers to go with my new Ipod sensor and Nano and tried it yesterday. IT IS SO COOOOOL! I love it. The voice tells me how I am doing during my workouts. If I set a calorie burning goal, it tells me how I am doing along the way. If I pass my goal, it continues to track my progress. I am not focused on distance and speed right now, I am trying to build endurance and burn calories.

I trained my dogs today which requires quick burst of speeds and I felt great. But since that used my leg muscles similar to running, I will probably spin today. Feels so good to be back on the bike - even if it is indoors and even if I am going slow and steady. There is just something therapeutic about spinning.

I'll Keep Trying

We left early for the basketball game today. I took my running gear with me and ran on the high school track. Nice surface - it's that newer cushiony stuff - I can't think of what it is called but it felt great. The wind was blowing, temps were pretty cold. I ended up running a little over a mile and it felt good. I am going to keep conditioning myself indoors on the treadmill by mostly walking coupled with a little bit of jogging, swimming and cycling.

The IT Band pain is never going to be gone unless I turn into a slug. Been there in an attempt to get the problem resolved. It returned as soon as I started walking and jogging. The bike was not the culprit this time. It is only mild and ice and pain meds definitely keep it under control. I refuse to sit around and wait for it to get better because it doesn't appear that is going to happen. I'm too active. I keep it stretched too - so I have done all the things that should prevent and help but it never really goes away completely unless I do nothing and become a big fat slug.

I'm still trying to get back in shape after the year long issue with the DARN It Band trouble. I refuse to quit. I'll never do anything considered long distance or even remotely competitive but as long as I stay healthy and keep my mind from wigging out, then I will be functional.

Enough about me and my darn leg. Today was the first basketball game of the season for the 3rd - 4th graders. I really enjoyed watching Greg coach the boys today. Devin is a scrappy player, our best defensive player. He reminds me of Tyler Hansbrough - all physical, not afraid to get in there and mix it up. He made some shots too and aided in a lot of plays. Then his exercise-induced asthma acted up and he had to sit and recover. He needs to use his inhaler and he refuses. SO STUBBORN! Anyway, his team won today with a score of 25 - 15.