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.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, February 23, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, February 16, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, February 9, 2009
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'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.
Friday, February 6, 2009
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!
The good news is that I took one of those annoying quizzes on Facebooks and it says my actual age is 26! Hee hee!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
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.
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.
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.
Monday, February 2, 2009
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 :)
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 :)
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