In Pursuit

This N That

2009-06-19T05:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-31T06:18:00.000-07:00

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

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

Competition is Fierce

2009-05-31T04:10:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-21T05:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-17T05:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-17T05:02:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-17T04:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-17T04:31:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-20T04:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-06T09:47:00.000-08:00

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

2009-03-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

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

2009-03-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-03-03T05:16:00.000-08:00

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

2009-03-02T10:28:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-27T05:59:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-25T08:34:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-23T11:33:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-16T10:52:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-14T11:33:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-12T04:42:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-10T08:44:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-09T12:03:00.001-08:00

Pictures - Agility

2009-02-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

General Update - Post Weekend

2009-02-09T07:05:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-06T07:24:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-05T08:09:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-26T04:58:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-01-24T14:23:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-21T05:32:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-20T11:29:00.001-08:00

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!

2009-01-19T05:45:00.001-08:00

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

2009-01-17T06:39:00.001-08:00

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

2009-01-07T05:15:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-03T10:41:00.001-08:00

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.

A Humbling Experience

2008-12-27T15:03:00.000-08:00

I met with a friend of mine that I met years ago doing agility - we both love our fast, insane border collies. We found we also had swimming in common. She had mentioned Masters level swimming to me several years ago and I pooh-poohed the idea since I was busy running and doing agility.

Well thanks to my IT Band, I have to find a new challenge so back in the pool I went. Mostly for exercise but I also decided I MIGHT try competing again. I ask Krysta to meet me at our local pool today.

I already knew my weaknesses were my turns among several other issues. Therefore, we mostly focused on turns. WOW - I have a lot of work to do. She also found a weakness in my freestyle stroke. I'm not even sure how I was as competitive as I was back in the day. Of course, the techniques she was showing me are from her 20+ years of coaching and she keeps up with the changes and the evolution of the sport, I suppose. It's possible that these techniques were not in vogue, it's also possible that my coach was focused on the other swimmers that needed a lot more attention. I was happy to learn them but it will take quite awhile for me to break the old habits.

I'll be the hippest 40+ yr old swimmer if I ever compete again. HEE HEE.

The Payoff

2008-12-22T09:59:00.001-08:00

I'm finally starting to see and feel the payoff to all my workouts. Even though I'm not able to run, I'm enjoying all of my workouts. I walk fast for a minimum of 40 mins every other day. On my off day, I'm cycling or swimming. I cycle - slower than I'd like - on the days I can't get to the pool but my preference is the pool. It isn't bothering my IT Band, my knees or anything really. My lungs feel great and I am starting to build a bit of endurance.

I varied my workout in the pool today and ended with 2 25 yard sprints - felt the old familiar lung burn from competition years. WOO HOO - that felt great.

I've contacted a friend of mine that coaches and she is going to work with me to improve my technique, flip turns etc. I just spent a bit of time on a great website for swimmers. What fun!

Now if I only had an indoor pool at my house - for me and the dogs - I'd be in NIRVANA!

Greg Coaches B Ball

2008-12-20T10:39:00.000-08:00

The top picture is Greg getting down to the kids' level to coach. The second picture is my son, Devin, taking a shot. I was having some difficulty with the lighting so I need to learn what setting to use for indoor shots in gymnasiums where the lights are lower than normal. Still need the zoom lense. Not sure if I will be getting that for Christmas or not.

My Favorite Ballet Performance

2008-12-19T05:13:00.000-08:00

This is Mikhail Barishnikov in The Nutcracker performed in 1977.

Go Tyler!

2008-12-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

Many people do not know this but I am a big ACC college basketball fan. Grew up watching it and listening to my Parents yell, cheer, scream for Maryland in my youth. I, however, have been a UNC fan and never told them until recently which made my Dad laugh. Well tonight, Senior Tyler Hansbrough just topped the record for leading all time scorer for UNC. Breaking a record that has stood for 3 decades! Go Tyler! I certainly think he has a great career ahead of him in the NBA.

Change in Plans

2008-12-17T12:45:00.000-08:00

Since my IT Band won't settle down and I am not willing to park my butt on the couch until it does, I am walking instead of trying to run. I'm actually able to go the same distances within the same times. I guess that is a good thing for now. I am hoping my legs will get stronger from walking and doing mild cycling that I can return to jogging again soon. I will listen to my body and take it one week at a time.

This means that my goal of running 3 continuous miles has to be parked - for now. I'm not totally bummed because I still hope to run again. If I can stay fit, I will be way happier than I was last Fall when the injury side-lined me.

Well Darn - He Ducked

2008-12-16T08:52:00.001-08:00

I am not going to post the video of the journalist throwing his shoes at Pres. Bush but what a statement he made. He risked jail time and any other repercussions to tell Bush what he really thought of the US. People are laughing at the video but I actually do not find it funny. In a pure visual sense, it is funny. But from a broader perspective of public opinion of the US in the Middle East, it isn't so funny.

With that being said, maybe that journalist was onto something - we should throw shoes to express our displeasure instead of bombs and bullets. Wouldn't the World be a better place? Oh well, that is never going to happen. War has been used to resolve conflicts for thousands and thousands of years and I don't see it changing any time soon.

Future Career Change

2008-12-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

I'm contemplating going back to school. I really disliked school for so many reasons; mostly, it was a mismatch of my interest. I started out in Nuclear Medicine and found Chemistry extremely difficult so I switched my major to Business Administration. DUMB! I should have found a way to get through Chemistry. Oh well, not really that critical. I got a good degree, I found a decent job, I climbed the latter for several years and reached the glass ceiling. Got tired of the same old same old and basically left the business world to focus on the dog world.

I love agility but it has to be a hobby for me so I refuse to make a career of teaching it. Devin is getting more self-sufficient and before I know it, he will be graduating. Well, OK - not for another 8 years but they will fly by quickly. I would like to prepare myself to go back to a regular job within the next 5 years but I can't bring myself to go back to corporate America. I hated it!

I have been researching schools that have some programs that interest me but find the idea of returning a bit scary. I'm sure I would be the oldest person in the classes! So what, right? There is a billboard - I've passed it several times but can't think where - anyway, it shows a 90+ yr old woman graduating from college. If she can do it, so can I!

What a Weekend

2008-12-15T05:05:00.000-08:00

I haven't been to an agility trial since Nationals which was early November. I've barely been working my dogs - well, not to the extent that I had prior to Nats. I went to an indoor trial held in a dirt floor horse barn with minimal heat. Dressed in layers - Under Armour is the best stuff EVER!

Saturday was fun but no great runs to report except that Gusto got one of his required Snooker qualifying legs towards his ADCH - Agility Dog Champion. He ran well on Saturday but we had some bobbles. I didn't feel like I could run well in the loose dirt and I didn't wear my knee brace so by the end of the day, my IT Band was sore. I ran the little cute deaf dog, Ivy, in Performance and had alot of fun.

Here is a video that Rosanne took with her new camcorder of his Snooker run from Saturday - I look like a dork running in the dirt but you will get the idea:

Hey Rosanne - thanks for taping us.

Got up early on Sunday to pick up a friend, student and junior handler (she is 16 in a few days). Katie came along on Sunday to run Ivy. I forgot to include the fact that the temps were 28 - 35 degrees most of the time this weekend. It warmed up a bit on Sunday but was still damp, cold and smelly in the barn.

On Sunday, I was down to 3 legs for his title. I had a chance to get them all on Sunday. Sadly, we were a train wreck in Snooker but he ran Standard and Jumpers beautifully. It was the most amazing feeling. We were in synch and I could run because I had my super duper stabilizing knee brace on all day. He won all 3 of the classes that he qualified in but the best one by far was our Jumpers run - smoked it at a blistering 25 and some odd seconds. The next fastest dog was 2 seconds behind our time - this is a dog that wins stuff at Nationals so I felt really good about that time.

The best part was that I stayed relaxed for almost every run (except the second Snooker run). I enjoyed watching Katie run Ivy. Ivy is the most adorable dog ever and she loves to do agility so it is great that Katie can run her for me. People can't believe that she can run agility so well considering her loss of hearing. Katie took 2nd place in Performance 16 Jumpers too - nice way to end the weekend for all of us.

Mama's Little Helper

2008-12-12T14:35:00.000-08:00

Very Strange Universe

2008-12-11T05:06:00.000-08:00

I'm on facebooks which has allowed me to keep up with my friends that live all over the place. I recently connected with some high school friends. Sadly, one of them just lost her Mother and I put out a condolence message on her facebook account.

Yesterday, while I was in the pool, I had flashback memories of high school swim practice and rides on the team bus to our meets. I even saw myself "off the blocks" and doing my flip turns and goofing off with some of my friends.

When I put out the condolence message on the account, I saw a friend on her list so I clicked on his picture. It was one of my best friend's brother; I clicked on his list of friends and sure enough, Suzanne was on there. It was so strange because she was one of my closest friends and I was thinking of her when I was in the pool yesterday and here I was able to reconnect with her on the same day.

Everybody Into the Pool

2008-12-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

Back to swimming for me while my IT Band settles down. I refuse to sit on the couch and get all depressed - been there, done that. I already bought my Mustang last year during my IT Band stint. Unless my darling Husband feels generous enough to let me trade mine in for the Shelby, won't be replacing cycling and running with a car this time.

So I went to the pool and did laps today. It was a great workout, my legs are still feeling the affects but my IT Band seems OK. I had to share a lane - haven't had to do that since swim practice in high school. I wasn't good at it then and I am not good at it now. I tend to over swim the person in my lane.

The lady in the lane next to me asked me how I could swim so fast. She felt like she was going backwards when I was next to her. I told her it was a curse of mine, not being able to slow down and pace myself. Tends to be a trend in my life and I told she was doing fine and would go the distance while I would be done due to the inability to slow down and pace myself. She laughed but sure enough she was still in the pool while I was done by 1/2 mile or so :) BUT I WAS FAST.

And Here is the Competition

2008-12-10T06:40:00.001-08:00

This is the 6.1 liter SRT Hemi that produces 425 HP at a price that is under $45k. Much more affordable than the Shelby Mustang. I still wouldn't buy it but they are sure nice to watch in action.

Yes, I was a closet motorhead. Give me good old American muscle. I know there are nicer, more refined cars out there from Germany (mainly) and some other countries but I'm a sucker for the American muscle cars that I grew up admiring. I never owned one - I opted for the gas efficient 4 cylinder, front wheel drive cars. I even owned a Honda once (hated it) and an old Nissan back in college.

My favorite car is my current Mustang. I also owned a WRX but I didn't like the turbo lag and the premium gas required to run it.

My favorite car to drive EVER was Corvette ZR1. It was the fastest American production car back in the 90s and it was amazing.

OK - enough about cars. I just had to take a trip down memory lane.

The Fastest Pony Ever Made

2008-12-10T06:33:00.001-08:00

This is the 2009 Shelby GT500KR. At 540 HP and a mere $80k, it's out of my reach. But one has to have dreams :)

The Little Beauty

2008-12-10T06:24:00.000-08:00

Athlete With Injury - Very Dangerous Indeed

2008-12-10T05:55:00.000-08:00

No tailgaters yesterday. Why? Because I was BAAAD.

It's a good thing that I don't have a Shelby Mustang - I'd kill myself. Anyway, the weather was quite decent so I got the pony out of the corral and took it to do some Christmas shopping. I got stuck behind a very slow incompetent driver (no, I didn't tailgate her). But I did find an alternate route to take. One that is fairly straight for this area. You can see for about 1/4 of a mile which means you can sight out cops and other cars. Nobody was on that stretch of road so like anyone addicted to speed (agility with fast dogs, fast cars, fast road bikes), I opened up the Mustang.

This little hot red vehicle is only a 6 cylinder but it has a manual transmission and I know how to drive it - been driving them forever and used to drive my twin Bro's souped up muscle cars. I believe this Stang is as fast as the cars I drove when I was a teenager. My brother gives it a hearty thumbs up which means alot - Larry used to take his cars to the drag strip. There are faster cars out there but I bet they didn't pay as little for that speed as I did :) Anyway, I had the Stang up to 85 in seconds - in 3rd gear and wasn't even close to red lining it. WHEW - what a rush. Don't worry - I backed down immediately and noone was around.

I got this car for my 40th. Believe me when I say this, it was not a mid-life crisis thing. It was an IT Band thing, can't cycle, can't run, can't do agility thing. It kept me sane during my rehab last year.

I actually went to some SCCA races to see if I wanted to give them a whirl. The gas, tires and pounding on your car stopped me but out of that consideration came a funny story that went around the agility community that I was quitting agility and was going to race my car. TOO FUNNY!

Bumper Stickers

2008-12-09T05:09:00.000-08:00

I think I need bumper stickers that match my moods. You can put the stickers on magnets so they easily come off your car. If I had a bumper sticker for my moods, then I could warn drivers that I might be feeling the urge to shoot them, bump them off the road, sing out loud with no malicious intent or drive slow and admire the scenery.

One of my pet peeves is when people tailgate me. I HATE it because I was rear-ended by a very large Chevy going about 45 mph. I was completely stopped waiting for a car to turn out of my lane. I was in a pretty noticeable white Dodge and the girl in the Impala (huge boat of a car) never saw me! The collision totaled my car and has caused permanent neck issues. For some reason unknown to me (ha ha - that is sarcasm), they do it less when I am in my big ass Expedition. When I am in my fire red mustang, they feel the need to drive up underneath my exhaust pipes. Let me just say that I drive fast - like 7 (on a slow day) to 15 over the speed limit with several speeding tickets to prove my prowess. I do not hang out in the left lane unless I am passing someone.

Maybe I could be on to something that would reduce road rage....if everyone put on mood bumper stickers. Oh wait, in this technologically advanced era, all we need is an electronic board on the bumper that you can control from inside the car with pre-set bumper sticker options. New business perhaps? Ha ha.

Bummer!!

2008-12-08T11:02:00.000-08:00

I think I need to have my leg chopped off and an artificial one fitted and then maybe I will no longer have IT Band issues. I just re-injured my IT Band today. LOVELY - attempting to stay fit, I walked and jogged on my treadmill today. I took it slower to get the blood flowing and to try to build some endurance. About 20 minutes into my intervals, I could feel a tight sensation in my leg so I backed off and walked the rest of the time, cooling down. I stretched when I got off and about an hour later - the old familiar stabbing started.

I won't be teaching tomorrow and today I have been icing it off and on and using Aleve. I won't do anything until it feels better which I hope only takes 24 hours this time. Last time, it took a year to recover but that is a long story.

Since I can't even train my dogs, I stood in my kitchen with the window open and gave Gusto verbal commands to see if he could do agility without me in the yard. That was funny - he did really well after screaming at me a little bit. If I can't run him this weekend, I can stand still in the ring and give him commands. Should be entertaining.

Realization

2008-12-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

I just needed to record this thought whether anyone finds it interesting or not. I took my son shoe shopping for basketball sneakers. The new season starts this Saturday with my husband, Greg, as coach. My son needed a size 6 sneaker. WOW - in another year or year and a half, he will be wearing the same size shoe as me. He is around 4'10 - at age 9.5. So at what point will I be looking up at him? EEK! I'm 5'7+, close to 5'8. I wonder if my husband will ever experience this - he's 6'6.

Keep On

2008-12-04T11:06:00.000-08:00

Keeping on. What a great saying. That's my motto right now.

I'm glad I have been tracking my workouts. I went back over the past several weeks and looked at them and realized that I am making progress. YAY!

Someone once told me that everyone needs a theme song for their life. It should be a song that picks you up when you are down or makes you smile. I need to ponder this one and see if I can come up with a great song. I am not sure I will actually post the results of my pondering though - it might be embarrassing.

The Dawn of a New Day

2008-12-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

I woke up with a sore back which actually started the night before. Wasn't sure how much I could do on my "run" day. I taught my agility class and worked my 2 boy dogs and found that moving around loosened up my tight muscles. I felt much better after I worked my dogs. PLUS they were FABULOUS today. I could list all the things they did well but it might be a bit boring so I will just end the dog training note on a "wow". Picked up my spirits from my whining mood yesterday.

The bike behaved itself today. I was even in the same room with it and I listened to it calling for me to get on and go but I emphatically said NO - I will not cave to your ramblings, you evil beautiful red bike. I behaved myself and just did a light day on the treadmill. Mostly a brisk walk with a few short jog sessions just to test the legs. My lungs feel good - it's the body that feels sort of abused.

The mind is willing so the body will eventually follow - with care.

Warning - I'm Whining, Just a TAD

2008-12-01T11:07:00.000-08:00

I've been doing combination of walk/run/walk/run now for about 1 month. My goal is to be able to run 3 miles continuously without stopping. Not a strenuous goal, not even a large goal. But I confess it is much harder than I thought. I've been very dedicated to this goal - not skipping a running day at all and I do some light cycling on my "off" days to maintain my fitness level.

I now remember precisely why I stopped running back in 2004. IT HURTS! Yes, I'm whining - just a little bit. Running is not easy or everybody would do it. I am definitely feeling that "why can't I cycle" emotion right now. My darn IT Band gets inflamed from any serious cycling which doesn't seem to be the case with running. But because of my tendency towards IT Band issues, I am going very cautiously at building my running program.

I went online to do some research on the best way to build my training program. It is a bit discouraging to know that I am behind the recommendations to date. I'm using my body as a guide though so I have been reluctant to follow a real plan YET. I am going to park the "follow a stinking plan" idea for a few more weeks while I continue to build and allow my body to adapt to the pounding that running requires.

I haven't sold my racing bike yet - I just can't seem to give up that dream. I realize that I will probably never ride it again but I still have hope. I confess, every time I go into the room, the race bike calls my name. No, it is not an inanimate object. It used to talk to me on my rides - we were like one.

Maybe I should move it to the basement in an effort to quiet the voice. No - I will not be selling it; not any time soon, maybe never. While I try to quiet the sound, I will keep running, crawling, walking, pounding ever on to my new goal. And remind myself that this is a fresh start, brand new and one that doesn't require the threat of broken bones to get my blood pumping. It only requires the right attitude and the same perseverance that race training required.

I can do this! Failure is not an option.

Sixers Game

2008-11-24T05:26:00.000-08:00

WOW! I've never been to a Professional sporting event quite like this. First of all, I love basketball and have my whole life. I even played it a bit when I was Devin's age. Second of all, we were in a club box suite with food, a private bathroom and the ability to move around. This was so worth the drive to Philly.

We brought a friend of Devin's along and the expression on both of their faces when we walked into the Club Box and down to the front to see the court was priceless. They sat in the seats waiting for the players to come out and warm up. They got really excited when they recognized certain players like Iguodala, Dalembert and Young. Both of the boys were watching the count down clock eagerly anticipating the start of the game. I wasn't sure how long they would sit and watch since they weren't stuck in regular seats. They sat a lot, totally into the game and the atmosphere. I would catch myself forgetting to watch the game because it was so much fun watching the boys.

The Sixers pulled out a win. All players doing some fantastic things like great passes, assists and some slam dunks by Iguodala. Brand played a great game too - I think he had was the top scoring player but you would have to confer with my stat geek husband, Greg. He was watching the ticker at the other end of the stadium. I was watching the game and the boys.

What fun! Now the rest of our weekends will be a tad bit lower key and spent doing Holiday things with our families. I am starting to get the agility itch to show Gusto though.

I think this break from agility has been great. I continue to run, cycle and do physical things that gives me an outlet for my restless energy. I train my dogs when I am in the mood and I get to do fun things with Greg and Devin. A balanced life is the key to inner peace. I'm desperately trying to ignore my obsessive compulsive self that gets locked onto something like a vengeance and maintain balance between family, athletic pursuits and agility.

Keeping everything in perspective is critical if you want to pursue any personal goals. I have some new goals for 2009. They aren't what you might think they are; it remains to be seen if I can stay the course, in pursuit of these goals.

Steeler Football

2008-11-23T09:04:00.001-08:00

We had snow squalls yesterday. Perfect weather for playing a little bit of football....if you are a Steelers Fan. The boys had fun and I stayed warm inside other than the quick jaunt outside to snap a couple of pictures.

Ain't So Bad

2008-11-21T05:24:00.000-08:00

If you're a dog...with your own personal fur coat to keep you warm. I might hike instead of run today. I love to go out in the first snow, makes me feel like a kid again.

Sweet or Suite

2008-11-20T06:06:00.000-08:00

We just found out that the tickets for the Sixers game this coming Sunday are for a Suite. How cool is that? I've never been to a "pro" anything. Alright, I actually went to a Pirates game when I lived in Pittsburgh but they sucked and I don't really like baseball so it doesn't count. I also went to an Orioles game many moons ago but still doesn't count cuz I really do not like baseball.

I actually love basketball - I don't follow the Sixers though. I'm more of an ACC basketball fan. it doesn't matter though, this is going to be fun.

I'm loving my non-agility weekends! Still not bored.

It's snowing here today; just lightly. Today is a cycling day but am trying to decide whether I should or not. I'm feeling a cold coming on AGAIN and my son needs pants - he has outgrown everything and will begin to look like Steve Erkle if I don't get out to buy him some that fit.

I'm sure I will hop on the trainer - I keep hearing a certain song in my head by Queen. I need to find a way to link to one version of the song that I stumbled across yesterday. I saved it under "bad music".

Well enough rambling - must go to the freezing cold unheated building to teach.
Positives about teaching in the freezing cold building - it clears out my sinuses.

No Snot Sickles

2008-11-19T07:55:00.000-08:00

The highs are only supposed to be around 32 degrees and after spending the morning in my unheated training building teaching and working my own dogs, my hands do not want to work.

Since I have no desire to learn how to blow snot sickles; I will get on the dreaded, evil treadmill.

Wish me luck - I hate that thing, it wants to dump me off the back whenever it feels like it. It is like a bucking bronco and I am not like a cowgirl. I'll just have to strap myself on and go for a ride.

I Was Serious

2008-11-18T12:01:00.000-08:00

Devin did not have an outlet for his energy yesterday because the weather was pretty cold so no outside play at school. As I posted earlier - he reminds me of Troy Polamalu who plays Safety for the Steelers. I caught him jumping from our "half" wall in the kitchen onto the couch - several feet from the wall. GRRR - that is one of our only nice pieces of furniture (I couldn't help laughing anyway at his expression when I caught him). Devin did some sprints in the house too - using his watch, he timed his sprints. He's 9 years old. Scary, huh?

Thank GOD basketball starts in a couple of weeks.

Motivation

2008-11-18T05:45:00.001-08:00

I was on Marcy's blog today and her post rings so true. Find ways to keep motivated through the Winters in the Northeast. They can be pretty brutal.

One of my biggest motivators is ESCAPE. Escape from my crazy house.

One of my second biggest motivators is the workout log. I know - I sound like a geek. I need to see the numbers climb.

My third biggest motivator is fitting in to my jeans.

My motivator for working my dogs - the insanity in my house. I have peace right now because I worked 2 of them up at my training building. This peace will be short lived though - Devin gets home from school in a few hours and the racous begins anew. Living with him is like living with Troy Polamalu. If you don't know who he is watch this video clip....he is the one with the long hair and in Black and Gold at the end - he plays for the Steelers:

I Ran, Sort Of

2008-11-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

I finally stopped procrastinating and got outside for a run....sort of. It was more of a lift foot a little bit, drag the other forward, lift a bit, drag and keep repeating. Legs felt like lead. I kept thinking of that New Balance commercial that shows the love/hate relationship with running. I was NOT feeling the love today.

On a dog note - Robbie had his herding lesson yesterday. He was magnificant. I got to watch from the side as my instructor worked him. I really do not want to mess up his foundation. She moved him to the next largest field she has and he did a natural wide outrun. He is calm and keeps his sheep under control. It really is a beautiful thing to watch because he just knows what to do, no fighting him, no arguing, just poetry in motion. Truly beautiful. I need to get some short video clips so I can post them.

Alright I'll Run

2008-11-17T06:28:00.001-08:00

The weather is bitterly cold. I think it is currently below 40 degrees. I need to motivate myself to get out and run. I REFUSE to run on a treadmill - would rather cut off my legs. I looked at my workout log and that is motivation - the mileage is embarrassing. I could hop on my indoor bike. I don't hate that like I do the treadmill.

It's supposed to flurry tomorrow. That's the kind of day I used to like to take the mountain bike out to a rail trail but confess that I do not feel like lifting the 35 lb monster onto the back of a vehicle. I also do not have a bike rack on my car - got a Mustang last year. No way am I gonna scratch up the Stang with the behemoth bike.

Alright - enough rambling and avoiding. I will sit and read my new book for a bit and wait for the temps to break 40 and then I am going out for a run.

One of My First Crushes

2008-11-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

Not only was he a great speed skater, he also became an accomplished road cyclist after his Olympic career was over. He is now an Orthopedic Surgeon and was the US Olympic Speed Skating Team doctor for 2002 and 2006.

Bored - I think NOT

2008-11-16T10:40:00.000-08:00

I didn't show in agility this weekend. I know several people that did and I will be curious to hear how their weekend went. I, however, had some other fun. Like going to dinner with Greg for his birthday while Devin went to a friend's for a big year end football party sleepover.

We went to Annie Bailey's pub in Lancaster. The food was wonderful, the beer and cider delicious and the atmosphere was a bit raucous and loud but that's the way a pub should be.

Next day, off to Grandmother's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Greg's Parents will be in Nevada over Thanksgiving so we had turkey dinner early. Devin missed the entire feast because he didn't sleep a wink at Caleb's house; he stayed in our car and slept while we ate. We couldn't get him to come inside, he was too tired to care.

Immediately following the feast, we drove an hour to get to Devin's football skating "thank the coaches" party. Devin didn't want to go, he didn't want to skate, he wanted to go home because he was miserably tired :) One of the coaches convinced him to drink a Mountain Dew and join in the fun. It worked. He even wanted to put on some rollerblades and skate. I haven't seen him skate much since agility takes me away so frequently. He's gotten pretty good and is interested in a pair for Christmas. We'll see - his feet grow so fast that it might not be worth it.

At the end of the party, they held races for the different groups - Varsity, JV and girls. One of the rink refs told me to come out - he practically came over and hauled me out to the rink. I was a bit embarrased but I never back down from a challenge so I joined in. There were only 4 of us and I can guarantee that I was the oldest. Never mind that, I went to the line feeling a bit nervous. I didn't want to fall on my face or break any bones. I got set - trying to figure out how to brace my back foot in blades - there is no toe pick, no toe stopper. I thought to myself - how did Eric Heiden do it in the Olympics so many years ago when I was a huge fan. Right - you put your anchor foot out to the side to push off.

The whistle blew - I was off the line in a blink. I didn't fall on my face and I made it through the first corner without whiping out! I heard people cheering my name - pulling for the old gal, I'm sure. I got to the second corner, still upright and flying. I put the hammer down the straight away and into turn 3. UH OH - I had too much speed and I couldn't corner correctly. I went wide and heard the girl behind me right on my tail. I made it through the turn but she had caught up to my rear wheel. I boogied down to turn 4 and made it around the cone. Into the home stretch - darn, she caught me at the line. Oh well, youth has it's advantages. It was gobs of fun and I have never actually participated back in the day when I was HER age. We high fived each other for valiant efforts and rink dude gave me a high five too for being a good sport.

Devin was proud of me - he wanted me to win though. I live to challenge youth another day - tee hee!

New Feature

2008-11-14T10:36:00.000-08:00

I finally found a way to track my workouts. I stumbled across this new little item by following some other blogs. I entered what I remembered for this week and need to go get that computer so I have accurate data. The biking data is accurate - I have a bike computer for all of my bikes although am only currently using my trainer bike.

My actual total biking miles for "lifetime" is over 2200 miles. But I am not going to go back and log all of my miles over the past 2 years. No thanks. I have no idea what my actual lifetime running miles would total. I used to run A LOT in 2004 - 2005 but I never tracked it. I started having back issues so I switched to cycling. Orthodics should help with some of my problems from 2004-05.

Rain

2008-11-14T08:54:00.000-08:00

Well the rain and drizzle and basic ugliness didn't deter me today. Today was a running day and I got out around 8:30 am. Went to a local park that has the trails marked in 1/4 mile increments. I still want a computer for tracking but this gave me some indicator on the distance. I think I ran approximately 1.25 miles with no stopping. Then I walked and stretched and ran again - at least .5 miles then walked then ran one more time. I probably did around 2 miles today. My legs felt super strong and I went at a pace that I could sustain. Not sure what that pace is, mind you, since I have no way of tracking it yet.

I did go out and buy some better running sneaks since mine were causing my foot to roll toward the outside which means the sneakers are weakening from all the training I put on them doing agility. The guy at the specialty running store told me to go to Wal Mart or similar place and get a GPS type running device. I plan to do that this weekend.

I have a need to know distance, speed, time, pace and whatever else I can track.

The Key

2008-11-13T05:10:00.000-08:00

I did a lot of thinking after AZ and I let my teammates know that I would not be breaking my neck trying to be some crazy top level agility person. I am backing off and going to learn to go with the flow and enjoy agility when I am there and still spend quality time with the family. I haven't heard from both of them but one of my teamies sent me a great email. Very supportive and upbeat which is precisely why I picked her to team up with. She has had some disappointments in her agility career and she gained some great perspective from it. Instead of whining and crying over it, she picked herself up and plugged on. When I was upset after Gusto went off course in Steeplechase Semifinals, she let me vent and then she made me laugh about it. When her dog missed making the finals because of a bar, I reminded her that she was very close but that bar was out of her control and that at least she got her dog around the course which wasn't easy! I feel really good about being on a team with her. No matter how we do or what level we want to do it at, we will be supportive and enjoy the moments.

I got another great email from another friend of mine and that one reinforced the path I am taking. I am saving that email for future reference in case I lose my mind again. She runs, hikes, bikes and general keeps everything in balance which is what I am going to do too. I am removing any former crazed agility goals with a new one but I have to find the right words for it.

I was very happy with my reaction when Gusto popped the poles in Grand Prix Semis - I laughed. That's the key.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

2008-11-12T05:23:00.000-08:00

I got an email today about Lacrosse registration. I'm actually kicking around the idea of offering my help with the coaching. No, I've never played but I have a general knowledge and am willing to read up on the rules etc. It was hard being on the sidelines seeing certain skills not getting worked for football. It bugged me mucho that Devin's three-point stance was INCORRECT. I finally showed him why it was wrong and how to fix it and he tried it. BUT because I wasn't a coach, he felt I shouldn't be telling him what to do :) I can respect his feelings. Greg gets to be his basketball coach, why can't I help with Lacrosse? If I assist, I do not have to be at ALL the games although will probably be at them anyway. Lacrosse season is March through the beginning of May. Robbie will not be ready or old enough to show until mid to late May. I am going to take Devin to registration and talk to the coaches. They may not need help and/or they may not want a MOM helping with boys lacrosse. We'll see.

Got an email from a cycling friend that does 10K races. I was asking for his advice on how to build endurance for a 5K run. I want to make sure I am doing the right things to build up to 3 to 5 mile runs or longer. No marathons; just longer cardio workouts. It seems I am on the right track. Today is a running day. My appetite is way up again and my legs feel stronger. I need better running shoes though. My current ones are leftovers from agility season and do not offer enough padding. So I get to go shopping in a few weeks for new sneaks - love to buy sneaks :)

Next shopping trip will include new jeans - the fat is melting off quickly. Love that feeling!

New Pics

2008-11-11T10:46:00.001-08:00

WOW!

2008-11-10T13:35:00.001-08:00

I went to pick Devin up at his school and decided to drive my jogging route. Just to see how far I actually went both times that I ran in the last several days. I am shocked - it was over a mile. I thought for sure it would be some short little embarrassing distance. It isn't a marathon but then I'm not a distance runner. It was way longer than I thought AND it had hills.

I have a pedometer but it never worked right. I would like to get another one so I can track my runs. Distances, calories burned, time, speed. I had all those gadgets on my bike and I loved them and would like to be able to do the same thing for my runs.

My Winter project besides getting back into pre-injury shape is locating a photography class so I can learn how to use all the bells and whistles on my camera. I also want to get a zoom lense - for Christmas.

I Finally Figure IT Out

2008-11-10T07:15:00.000-08:00

I always have this feeling of motion. Like I need to keep moving forward to some destination. I was never sure what the destination was but I figured I would know it when I got there. It would hit me like a thunderbolt or something.

I was always searching to fill a gap or a hole or an emptiness. The right job, the right sport, the right goal, the right religion (yep, even tried that one when I was in my twenties). I just kept moving, running really towards something. Ever in pursuit of my dreams. I'm one of those people that have to have goals, that must keep driving.

In my pursuit of excellence in agility, I realized something. It didn't hit me like a thunderbolt. It was a slow awakening. A little nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that kept telling me that agility wasn't IT.

Why not? There is much work to be done if I want to reach some pinnacle at the top of the sport. You need passion to achieve that level of success. I no longer have the passion. I tried to keep pressing on, I tried to care enough to pay attention to the little subtle things in my training and my handling that needed to be addressed. I tried to set goals that would keep me moving forward. But it just didn't feel right.

I noticed this feeling this Fall. Even before we left for AZ, I had this thing in my head telling me not to go, to stay home. Some might think it was a fear of failure but I am so certain that wasn't it. I can say this with absolute certainty because I didn't even want to do the second day of any 2-day shows in September and October. I wanted to do one day, achieve some sort of success and then go home to be with Greg and Devin. When I was at agility, I wanted to be at Devin's football games. When I was at football, I didn't even think about agility. I felt NO guilt over not showing.

I was upset at how I performed in AZ. But I was more upset being out there and not being at home to see his last game. After I hopped on Val's mountain bike, the realization hit me....I enjoyed riding that bike more than I did showing Gusto. I just wanted to hop on her bike and ride away from the site - to just ride. I stopped riding and running to save my knee for the BIG event. I can't begin to tell you how cranky that made me.

I'm an athlete. Plain and simple. And as long as I am doing athletic things, using my body and pushing it beyond it's current capabilities, then I will be achieving personal success. Because the truth is, in my pursuit for some fantastic high level goals in agility, I realized my pursuit of excellence has nothing to do with agility.

I take more pleasure at watching Devin achieve his goals than I do in my own. I look forward to watching Greg coach basketball this Winter and I look forward to helping Devin try Lacrosse and I look forward to assisting Devin in getting better at football. I love helping him with his schoolwork. I want to see him succeed in academics so that he can pursue any dreams he may have.

I still have some personal goals but they have nothing to do with agility. I'll be keeping them to myself, after all, they are personal :)

A New Sport

2008-11-08T13:43:00.001-08:00

Devin may have a new sport this Spring. I mentioned Lacrosse to him last evening and told him how you are allowed to use the stick in defense. He loved that idea so Greg went online attempting to find a youth program in our area. He couldn't find any but sent out some emails.

Today, Devin went to the Laser Dome for a birthday party and we ran in to one of his football coaches. I asked him what other sports his son does and he said Lacrosse. His son is Devin's age and so we asked him to send the information. I wanted a Spring sport for Devin and several people have recommended this one to us.

Basketball this Winter and Lacrosse in the Spring. I can't wait.

Feels Good

2008-11-08T08:13:00.000-08:00

....to be home and doing normal non-agility things. I'm still playing with the dogs and exercising them and working Robbie on shadow-handling to help his outrun/herding behaviors. BUT the biggest thing that I am loving the most is regular non-agility exercise for ME.

I went for a run yesterday. My legs felt quite strong until I hit a hill. My new goal will be to make it up that hill in the next few weeks. Not sure how long I ran, I'm guessing less than 1.5 miles. I don't track that right now since I'm a sprinter and I need to build up endurance again. I will eventually want to work up to 5 miles. I've never actually been able to do it but that was prior to my cycling days.

I hopped on my indoor bike today and rode while watching an old Nancy Drew TV show. I went about 7 miles and stayed on for 45 minutes. Nothing too strenuous and nothing too fast - just pure calorie burning and easy pedaling.

Tomorrow is a day of rest. I need to plan out my weeks so I don't over do it but I have no agility shows planned until the end of December so I want to work out a schedule that allows me to fit all of this in and still have enough left in my legs to work the dogs.

I rode Barb's bike out in AZ. It is one of the folding types and not very stable so I couldn't ride fast. I borrowed Val's mountain bike and had a huge smile on my face. I think it was the highlight of my disastrous National experience. Next year, I plan to take more time off and do some sight-seeing. I do not want my whole trip to be about agility. You cannot control your experience, you cannot control your dog's excitement level so I need some fun stuff to make the trip worth the 2 weeks away from my family.

I am adjusting my goals for 2009. Not sure what they will be yet but I'm sure the answers will come after I run or ride. It clears my head.

Robbie's Birthday Today

2008-11-07T05:43:00.000-08:00

Robbie turns One today! I can't believe how quickly the time flies after they are potty trained :)

I need to get camera edit software loaded on my new laptop and take some new pictures of him. He seems to be done growing and while larger than many BCs, he is within a normal range. I bet he will measure 21.5 give or take and top out at 45ish lbs. That's not horribly big.

A student of mine who brings me treats and coffee was up at the building yesterday thinking I was going to teach. She called me so I went up but told her I was not in good mental state to teach but would bring Robbie along for fun. She worked all 3 of her dogs and then I worked Robbie. He was so good. He is probably not going to be a huge bar knocker like Gusto. He really tries to figure out what I want and then applies it at speed. He doesn't get over the top by my running. He does shoot past jumps coming out of tunnels - outrun-like so will need to stop that behavior.

He can't keep up with Gusto in the yard when Gusto uses his after-burners but he does have a nice stride. I have my fingers crossed that he turns out as nicely as the majority of top dogs running agility. It is soon time to get serious with his training - he is one year old today :)

The Eyes Have It

2008-11-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

Faith Restored

2008-11-06T08:52:00.000-08:00

I can't even begin to express my giddiness when I heard that Obama won the election. I was surprised that America actually made a choice that I can be happy with. I voted before we left by absentee ballot. I've never felt so compelled to vote before in my life.

Rosanne and I drove hard on Tuesday and were not done driving until late. We got to the hotel in time to listen to his acceptance speech. It sounded eerily similar to something Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr would say. I assume the speech writers did that on purpose. It was very uplifting to listen to.

He has a lot of work ahead of him to restore the hope and faith in many Americans - for our economy and for our world position and for our future. I do not envy the task ahead. I also hope that his security staff can keep him safe from the fanatics in our country that are very upset at the idea of someone of his culture getting elected. Not to mention his views - that will infuriate many too.

For our Country's sake, I hope they keep him safe. We've had too many intelligent people taken out in their prime because of the fear they instilled among the uninformed, the scared, the crazy.

Arizona Recap

2008-11-05T15:25:00.001-08:00

Well after nearly 3 days, Rosanne and I are finally home. The long boring drive did give me plenty of time to think and to talk to Rosanne and several other good friends willing to listen to me vent.

I really appreciated the calls, the emails and all the well wishers helping to pick me up after a disastrous start. I must also thank my teammates- Tracy and Claudia- for their help and for not giving up on me throughout the week. You were great teammates and made the week so much more special.

Here is my recap:
Gusto blistered his pads in Austin, Texas on the way out. I've already provided that detail in a previous post so will not go on about how he did it but will say the pads were very sore the entire week and it also affected his back. His back is still sensitive in several spots and his pads are on the mend.

The week started off with us running Team Jumpers. It was a nice course but a very tough tunnel approach after a broad jump requiring special handling to prevent an off course. This is an area that I am not very strong in so didn't feel particularly confident. I did walk to the line reminding myself how to handle that section but unfortunately, we went off course anyway. This was after my other 2 teammates had also gotten eliminated in the same section. Three eliminations in a big team events basically means your team competition is over as far as trying to be competitive. You can salvage your runs but you will not be making the cut off for the relay finals.

The next run was Team Snooker and I notoriously do not run Snooker well in a team event. I was determined to do better than I had at previous events so I picked a course that would limit the turns and the possible impact to Gusto's sore feet. It was not an aggressive plan but would get us some decent points. He ran it really well so I felt much better about how Gusto and I could do for the rest of the week. He ended up placing around 53rd or so out of 200+ dogs. Nothing to jump up and down over but at least it was a good run.

We barely got around Steeplechase Quarterfinals. I did managed to scream him off several off courses and his time was decent so he made it to the Semis. His time was about 28th out over 200 dogs so I felt good about it even though he was wide and wild the entire course.

Day Two included Team Gamblers and Steeplechase Semifinals. Gusto ran really nicely in Gamblers but he had a nasty fall off the teeter in the opening. I had to walk him around to ensure that he wasn't injured. We ended up with 65 points and had he not fallen off the teeter, would have had at least 73 points because we would have had time for more obstacles in the opening. He ended up placing 35th(ish). Unfortunately, Gusto found an off course option in the Steeplechase Semis that I never even considered. I was very upset because he is a fantastic Steeplechase dog and I really wanted a chance to try to make it to the finals. It was not to be and I had to get over the disappointment.

Day Three was Team Standard and Grand Prix Semifinals. Standard was a very nice course and I felt that I could do well enough to maybe place in that event. Unfortunately, he got called for his UP contact on the dogwalk and he also did not turn tightly in the closing line of jumps and added alot of strides which made his time not so great. But at least we got around without going off course. Grand Prix Semifinals was also a very nice course and I felt good about my handling choices. But once again, it didn't go as planned. I pushed too early to a tunnel and Gusto popped out of his poles. Oh well - another disappointing run to deal with.

No finals for Gusto and for me. He got to run European Jumpers on Sunday and he ran that nicely but dropped 2 bars and then had explosive diarrhea immediately following his run. I had to laugh at the fitting end to a disappointing week at his first Nationals. I had such high hopes and expectations, none of which were fulfilled. He did some wonderful things though and I felt pretty good about dealing with the pressure and disappointments. It did take some time to get over it though and I had to keep my spirits up so that I wouldn't affect my friends and other competitors. Since there were so many chances to pull myself up out of the gutter, I got better at it as the week went on.

I really enjoyed watching all of the finals and seeing my friends give it their all. The finals were really exciting to watch in person. I'm certainly glad I got to see it live. I would prefer to be running them though. There is always next year and according to my teammate for 2009, there is a podium spot for me next year. Thanks, Denise, for the vote of confidence.

Arizona Day 2

2008-10-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

I didn't sleep well last night - probably about 4 to 5 hours. I was worried about whether Gusto could run or not. I woke up after finally falling back to sleep and he jumped off the bed and ran downstairs with no limping.

We left early this morning and upon arrival found out that someone had found a scorpion in their shoe so we banged all of the things we had left the previous night just to be sure. Supposedly, it was a small one but still -YUCK!

We walked 3 courses today all before Noon. My first run was Noon and I was concerned for his feet. It was jumpers and it had a tough section that I notoriously do not run well. My 2 other teammates ran before me and both got eliminated. Each person had problems in the section that I was concerned about. The opening ran well but Gusto was FLYING and went off course after the broad jump to a straight line to the wrong end of a tunnel. Oh well, I was happy that he kept his bars up and weaved. Drifter and Kiba both got around the course.

Next was Steeplechase Quarterfinals. I really really wanted to run well enough to make it to the Semis. He did get around but it was not pretty and I had to do some screaming call offs. I didn't hold his contacts to make sure I made it in. With his 3 very wide turns and his screaming call offs, he was around 2 to 3 seconds off Drifter who ran it very clean and had the fastest time. I would like to have run better but I will take it. I was exhausted when I came out cuz he made me work so hard! He was well within the cutoff though and not far off the dogs that ran the contacts and stayed on course without the crazy call offs.

Last run was Snooker. I notoriously do not run Snooker well so I picked a plan that had flow and would reduce the turns for Gusto. He did have some minor issues with several pads after Steeplechase. My teammates ran before me once again. One got around and had a decent amount of points, the other one got some points but didn't get through the closing. I had several people with relatives to Gusto staying around to watch which was nice but also a bit stressful. When I stepped to the line though, I was totally focused and he ran really really well. He did bump into my leg twice though which is an indication how high and wild he truly was today. We got enough points for me to feel successful with that run though. Drifter and Kiba both got through and had nice runs.

I must close for tonight as I need to soak Gusto's feet in Epsom salt to help his pads.

Arizona Day 1

2008-10-29T19:18:00.000-07:00

Sadly, Gusto was not ok to run today. Ria Acciani, a PT lazered his feet to reduce the heat and to promote healing and said that he should not run. I walked the course for mental preparation. The course was very tight and technical and I would have loved the challenge of running it. Many dogs were not able to get around clean. The good news is that while I am disappointed and worried a bit about tomorrow, I am totally relaxed and not worried about how he will run through the week. I am sort of resigned to his fate - whatever that happens to be. Val, the girl that took us on the marathon hike felt that I had a very good attitude. I told her, "What else can I do. Freaking out isn't going to help the situation and I just have to take a wait and see approach." I am trying to be optimistic but realistic.

On another note, Rosanne's dog, Drifter ran the course beautifully today and we have to check results tomorrow but he definitely had to place. It was a very nice run. Kiba, her younger dog, had some moments but wasn't horrible.

And then we came back to the house, ate and watched the end of the World Series - wow, the Phillies actually won!

Off I go tomorrow, hopeful that Gusto can run his team runs and Steeplechase without being in pain and without being higher than a kite. We run Team Jumpers, Steeplechase, and Team Snooker. That's actually good because that will limit the number of contacts he must run tomorrow which will be the hardest surface for Gusto's pads.

I say Good Night from Scottsdale, AZ - stay warm, I know we will. tee hee!

Arizona Heat

2008-10-28T14:52:00.001-07:00

Rosanne, Vanessa and I all arrived last night. Vanessa came a bit later from the airport. The drive was very long and very boring but there were some minor little things that stand out as interesting.

We stayed in Austin at a friend's house over the weekend. Went on a marathon hike which was pretty but Gusto burned almost every pad off his feet and is limping badly today. It doesn't look good for his first run tomorrow. Tomorrow is not the team event, it is a warm up run but it is still upsetting to think that I won't be able to run him. I have cut off all the blisters and soaked his feet in Epsom salt to help draw out the moisture and any bacteria. I plan to put stuff on each pad to protect them to see if he can run without limping. i won't actually know until tomorrow. We were going to train today inside but Drifter has diarrhea, Gusto has no pads and Vanessa's dog is soar from the flight and from some training before she left. So no training for us.

Some notable things along the trip on Route 10 in Texas: very long drive without seeing a human, a bathroom, a gas station. We really had to plan our stops because we were seriously in the middle of the desert. Part of this drive took us along the Mexican border near El Paso. You could see a huge Mexican flag very close to the highway. The actual border was very close to the road. You could tell which side was Mexican and which was the US purely by looking at the buildings. The US side was pretty typical - malls, business offices, chain restaurants. The Mexican side was mostly very poor looking.

When we finally arrived in New Mexico, we had to stop at a border patrol station. They didn't stop us but it was interesting as it was new for both Rosanne and me.

Upon arrival, we unpacked and waited for Vanessa. We were all hungry and needed to buy food and stock up on munchies so we went to Wal Mart. Try buying food and snacks etc for 3 people who all have their own tastes and their own comfort items. It was an adventure.

The heat feels pretty brutal today. We are hanging out in the house and relaxing. We did swim our dogs in the pool at the rental house. The house is very nice and we each have our own bedroom so it allows us some down time on our own.

That's all for now. Cross your fingers that Gusto heals well enough to run without pain.

A Win

2008-10-21T05:55:00.000-07:00

I finally got to see Devin's football team win a game! Last year, no wins. This year, no wins....until last evening. They played under the lights at the high school stadium. The weather was perfect for football - crisp and cool. The boys and coaches were pumped up coming off a win from Saturday - their first actual win but I missed that game due to the USDAA trial at Fair Hill, Maryland. The Varsity squad didn't play much in the game on Saturday because we were up by more than 18 points which requires us to put in our back up players. Since the Varsity players didn't play much on Saturday, they were slated to rotate in last night.

Lucky for me, this was the last game I will get to see before leaving for Arizona. It was a fantastic game. Both teams played with heart, matching each others touchdowns and defensive attacks. Devin made some key plays so I was excited for him. He had two guys blocking him all night so he didn't get in the backfield like he has much of the season. He had to work hard to make plays for his team.

He was pretty excited by the win and the fact that I got to see it. He has one more Varsity game this weekend and one more JV game on Monday. Both of which I will miss but I can leave for AZ happy having seen a win.

The focus will soon turn to basketball, the sport I grew up playing as a kid. I hope Devin gets excited by it. I have a feeling that basketball will only be his second sport, he loves to tackle. I will enjoy the basketball season though because Greg gets to be the Head Coach for the 3rd and 4th grade level. He is a pretty patient guy and loves to work with kids so this should be fun. With my new camera in tow, I should be able to get some decent pics inside the dark gymnasium.

Fair Hill Results

2008-10-20T04:53:00.000-07:00

The weather was just perfect for the USDAA Kinetic show held at the Fair Hill horse grounds in Maryland. Every year, I dread this show because the weather is usually horribly rainy, cold with a ton of mud. People get stuck in the mud regularly at this show and must be towed out by the tractors. But this year was much different - perfect weather all 3 days!

Friday was the warm up for the 2 day team event. It was my first day back at the 22 inch height class in preparation for Nationals out in Scottsdale, AZ. I felt rushed by his speed at 22 and didn't handle him in a relaxed manner which is what I started to do once I got used to him at 26. So on Friday, I just kept working on my timing. He was good but wasn't weaving well which I felt was carry over from the A Frame slam on Wednesday. He managed 2 Qs - one of which was Masters Gamblers which earned him his Masters Gamblers Champion title. He Qd in something else but I am not sure if it was Jumpers. I know it wasn't Standard or Steeplechase. He ran them well but we didn't Q. I pushed him off some jumps on Friday - my timing was slightly off, especially for the rear crosses.

I didn't win or place in any of the team events. I was soooo hoping to place - just for a boost of confidence before we go to Nationals. He ran Team Gamblers well but I was conservative and didn't rack up as many points as several others. He was only 2 to 3 points out of the top though. Team Jumpers went well considering the course had no flow. He only dropped one bar - caused by me but had a decent time. He would have placed 2nd had I not been a spaz over one bar. Team Standard was a nightmare. I just wanted to run clean because our team needed all 3 of us to be clean in order to pull us up above the qualifying cut off. We all managed to survive the course. Team Snooker - something that I suck at for some reason didn't go well. He squirted off of me after I lied him down and took a red so we only got 5 points!

Team Relay was horrid but 2 of us managed to get around so we ended up with a Team Q. That gives him his first Q for Nationals at 22.

I didn't walk Masters Jumpers because I forgot that I entered it. I decided to not be a wimp and run it anyway. I stood outside the ring and watched the course - asking people how they planned to run it. I visualized the course in my mind, walking it over and over in my head and then doing some physical practice outside the ring. Went in saying to myself, "we'll see what happens" and wow, it was a beautiful run! He went wide and I had to call him off a tunnel, but otherwise very nice. I waited for all the 22 inch dogs to run it and then checked his time and discovered that he won the class! Tracy Hirsch - a teammate of mine for Nationals told me not to walk the courses out in AZ :)

Gusto now only needs 4 legs for his ADCH: 2 Super Qs in Snooker, 1 Standard, 1 Jumpers. The Super Qs will be hard for me - I have a thing about Snooker, I hate it. Jumpers too because I never stick around for the last run of the day on Sundays which is when we always run Jumpers.

Anyway, I feel pretty good about heading out to AZ. I need some rear cross practice and weavepole practice but I felt good mentally - other than the darn rears!

Crash Test Dummy

2008-10-16T06:06:00.000-07:00

Gusto is very much like his Sire - Mayhem who is dying from some rectal cancer. It is very sad and I will miss knowing that he is part of this world. Gusto shares so many similarities to Mayhem. One of these traits is his happy attitude towards life (since I neutered him). Mayhem always seemed to smile and Gusto shares this trait if my memory serves me well.

I was at a friend's place yesterday running some tough sequences and someone was there that knew Mayhem and mentioned Gusto's face and how much it reminds her of his Daddy. Then Gusto did a very Mayhem thing - he splatted on to the Frame. I never saw Mayhem do this but he was regularly referred to as "Crash Test Dummy" and I immediately thought of that comment when Gusto decided to splat the up part of the contact, leaving about an inch patch of fur on the frame.

Gusto was wild yesterday - dropped bars (at 22), went off course and missed almost every freakin weave entry because I didn't slow down so that he could figure out how to get in to the weaves even though he has been doing this for at least a year on his own with no help from me!!! Oh well, will be working the weaves today. Another legacy shared with his Daddy - the dog that could never rock back, slow down to find his own weave entries.

Farewell sweet Mayhem - you will be sadly missed.

A Gift or Two

2008-10-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

I was at the Keystone Agility Trial in Mt Clare, PA yesterday on a beautiful, sunny, warm Fall day. The weather was crisp in the AM - around 45 degrees. I bundled up in layers and gloves and got ready for the fun to start. Katie Leisey came along to run Ivy and to put her own dog, Zip, back in the ring after months of time off to recover from an injury due to a structural weakness in his rear.

First run of the day was Gamblers. I love when this class is first so you can work out kinks and remind your dog what is expected for the weekend. Gusto ran great - no bars down at 26 inches - woo hoo! Didn't qualify (Q) because I screwed him up trying to get a tight wrap and caused a refusal. Ivy had a very nice run with Katie and nearly Qd but went off course in the gamble. She ran really nicely for Katie (side note - Katie Qd in Standard with Ivy taking first place in Performance, 16).

Next run was Steeplechase. It was a nice course with some tricky sections. My goals right now are based on tournament classes - I want to really start to nail these courses, fast and clean. Well, we ran it really well but he missed a tough weave entry - actually, he hit the entry but missed the wrap on pole 2 due to a bad approach over the previous jump. The cool part was that I ran my butt off to get up there - I was WAY ahead of the Guppy too which probably actually screwed him up but MAN that was a rush!!!!!!!!!! He dropped a bar due to a front cross on a weird angled jump. His only bar down of the whole day though. So with his missed entry and a bar down, I figure he won't qualify right? His time - with me fixing his poles was 30.XX seconds - the fastest time in our class was a clean 29.XX seconds. So G put down a smoking time and Qd. Gift number one - 26 inch class had a slower average than the 22 inch class so he Qd.

Next run was Standard. I wasn't thrilled with his ST Q because it wasn't clean and he screwed up his weaves. Rosanne said - go lay down a great standard run. So I did :) BUT he actually nearly flew off the teeter - in fact, if I was a Judge, I would have called it. I let him standing on the ground and gave him the "EVIL OH MY" eyeball. Looked at the Judge to see if she called it and then carried on. He ran the rest really well - one wide turn to the poles but ZERO BARS DOWN. So another Q and his second gift of the day. He took 2nd place behind Whip, his litter bro.

Last run was Pairs - wow - he ran it fast and furious and really really well! Another Q. He needs 6 legs for his ADCH - Agility Dog Champion Title. Three of those needed legs are Jumpers - I never run it as it is always the last freakin class of the weekend and I am toast by then and ready to go home.

So many very nice people came up and gave me lovely comments about the Guppy. The nicest comment came from a friend of mine, Tinna Brown. She said - you know, I have to admit that I like Gusto at 26, he jumps it very nicely and he actually looks better at 26 than 22. That's because he has to actually jump 26, he can flatten out and not jump 22 because it is too easy for him. It was very nice to hear this from Tinna - many folks weren't sure Gusto could jump 26 easily due to his structure. We shall see if he can hold up. David Acciani looked at him yesterday and did say his left hipflexor muscle is tight. Nothing horrible but he does need to be stretched. I am already feeling improvement but will have to keep on it.

OH DEAR!

2008-10-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

LuAnn, a friend of mine, came over to work her BC, Jack this morning. I decided to run Gusto at 22 since that is the height he will be doing at Nationals (14 days until we leave). HOLY CARP - he is flying over 22 and not being particularly careful. He has one more trial at 26 - Keystone this Saturday only and then down to 22 for Fair Hill. I am not working him at 26 right now - let the bars fall. I'm getting totally focused on Nationals.

Looks like we may have secured some private time at a training facility in Scottsdale on Tuesday to work our crazy boys. Rosanne's dog, Drifter, is really going to need the time since he is going to be coming off rest from his iliopsoas injury. My boy will need it from being in the car for that many days. I remember Ivy being off her stick on the first day of competition in 2005. Gusto gets much higher than Ivy ever did - GOD HELP ME!!

I am hoping to have my new laptop for the trip. I can watch movies and update my blog which will be really cool. Kind of a log of emotions and notable things from our trip. This is going to be fun - it is more than just a test of your agility skill, it is also a celebration of getting qualified and it is a little mini-vacation too. When Barb (Rosanne's Mother) and I went out together in 2005, we did little side sight-seeing trips. It made the trip more than just going to Nationals. We had a lot of fun - it was my first time to that part of the country. I do not believe we will have time for sight-seeing but we rented a house so we should have time for cutting loose. Vanessa Mortarino will be sharing the house and although she is having a tough go of things (dog has cancer, Dad was ill, Vice diagnosed with some weird hypothalamus issue), we usually have fun when the 3 of us get together. Rosanne and I will try to help Vanessa enjoy the trip even though Vice, who is qualified, will not be coming due to his issue with temperature regulation.

14 days and counting - OH DEAR!