On Sunday I am doing a small local sprint triathlon. It's my last tri for 2008 and I'm hoping to go out with a bang! A few friends and family members are hopefully doing this one also so it should be a good time. It's not a bad race venue for me - nice warm lake (but cool enough to be wetsuit-legal), flat bike course, and trail run.
I was hoping to go all-out for this race and see how speedy I can be with optimal course conditions like these. Lucky for me, my coach agreed:
This one is short enough that you will need to just eat the pain. Push it out of your head and GO. This is your GREEN LIGHT TO GO GO GO. I don't give those often :)
Woohoo, this is going to be fun!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
A weekend of backpacking in the Sierras
All packed up and ready to hit the trail. Hmm, my pack is leaning a bit - no wonder one side hurt at the end of the day.
Stan is raring to go!
At a rest stop. Now Jeff's pack is leaning too!
Hurry up!
Wet dogs, happy to have arrived at our destination.
Stan is happy to join me for an open water swim
And then it is naptime
Cuddling Jeff
Hummus is not for dogs, Stan
Max is never far away!
Stan even naps IN the lake
Both my boys lakeside
A rare awake moment for Cujo
Hiking out and headed home
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wheresmybikewheresmybikewheresmybike?
My new tri bike came into the bike shop this week but they determined that the frame was scratched in an unacceptable way and are having the company ship a new one. So I will be waiting another week to pick up the new baby, but she'll be a newer frame for the same price and RED!
I'm headed off on a backpacking trip this weekend so I'll post with photos when I return!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Congratulations, Big Kahuna!
My friends Chris and Justine did their first half-Iron distance race at the Big Kahuna Triathlon in Santa Cruz yesterday. I spent the day spectating and cheering for them (and running and biking in between). If my legs hurt and I'm sunburnt, imagine how they feel.
Anyway, Chris completely rocked the race and beat her goal time and Justine had an awesome time and did fantastic too! They did all their training while working full time and raising young kids - take that, J-Lo!
Here is their wave starting.
Here is Chris finishing in the brutal sand chute.
Anyway, Chris completely rocked the race and beat her goal time and Justine had an awesome time and did fantastic too! They did all their training while working full time and raising young kids - take that, J-Lo!
Here is their wave starting.
Here is Chris finishing in the brutal sand chute.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Test
Well this started out as a test post to see if we can smuggle some Daily Show to Canada but I'm leaving it up because it makes me laugh.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
How I Got Here - Part 2
Now on to how I ended up in the world of triathlon.
I started running 3 years ago. I'd started eating healthier a year before, gone backpacking with Jeff over the summers and begun to exercise a bit. I decided we should enter a new 5K race our city was having on Thanksgiving - well I'd never run before and it hurt! Fortunately it made me mad enough to see everyone else cruising along that I vowed I would get even with those 3 miles and train until I could run them. Poor Jeff...he should have known then that it wouldn't stop there. Within a month I was looking to 10Ks and within 2 months I was training for my first half-marathon, which I completed 5 months after that first 5K race. Half-marathons, marathon, rinse, repeat.
Summer 2007 rolled around - Jeff and I were getting married in June, going on a road trip, and then coming home for our reception. I heard about a triathlon that would be taking place just down the road the morning of our reception day and thought - what better way to celebrate that I just got married? (Bear in mind, I'm the same person who thought running the Big Sur International Marathon was a brilliant way to celebrate my 30th birthday) Oh and better yet, I convinced my 57-year-old father to do this with me!
Now let's review the schedule I had going before that race...
June 8th - Drive a couple hundred miles
June 9th - Get married
June 10th-13th - Drive 3000+ miles cross-country (with 3 dogs in a rented minivan)
June 14th-18th - Visit Jeff's family and friends
June 18th-21st - Drive 3000+ miles back across the country
June 22nd - Run around town trying to prepare for the party
June 23rd - Triathlon, wedding reception
And I thought it was a GOOD IDEA to do my first triathlon in the midst of all this?
Maybe this is also a good time to point out that when I decided to enter this race:
(a) I had a mountain bike, 2 sizes too large for me
(b) I didn't know how to swim
But who am I to let a few little obstacles get in my way?
I did manage to survive the race, though I seem to recall thinking at some point during the swim "DROWNING would be easier than finishing right now." During the bike I'm pretty sure I said I'd never do one of these again. And by the end of the run I was ready to sign up for another!
Clearly it didn't ruin my fun at all that night either.
After that first race, I found as many more as I could to do that fall. Each had their own set of challenges...
The swim around the cement ship at the Mermaid
The crowded pool swim at Merced (see how it's always about the swim for me?)
The blazing heat at SOMA (Not a swim item, but...I did try to quit 10 yards into the swim at that race and the lifeguard talked me into sticking it out)
I learned a lot from those early races that helped me to race more solidly this past year. And obviously I got hooked on triathlon. I love that I have to work at skill in multiple sports, I love being able to eat even more because of all the training I'm doing, I love all the positive changes I've seen in my body, and I love the feeling of accomplishment at the end!
I started running 3 years ago. I'd started eating healthier a year before, gone backpacking with Jeff over the summers and begun to exercise a bit. I decided we should enter a new 5K race our city was having on Thanksgiving - well I'd never run before and it hurt! Fortunately it made me mad enough to see everyone else cruising along that I vowed I would get even with those 3 miles and train until I could run them. Poor Jeff...he should have known then that it wouldn't stop there. Within a month I was looking to 10Ks and within 2 months I was training for my first half-marathon, which I completed 5 months after that first 5K race. Half-marathons, marathon, rinse, repeat.
Summer 2007 rolled around - Jeff and I were getting married in June, going on a road trip, and then coming home for our reception. I heard about a triathlon that would be taking place just down the road the morning of our reception day and thought - what better way to celebrate that I just got married? (Bear in mind, I'm the same person who thought running the Big Sur International Marathon was a brilliant way to celebrate my 30th birthday) Oh and better yet, I convinced my 57-year-old father to do this with me!
Now let's review the schedule I had going before that race...
June 8th - Drive a couple hundred miles
June 9th - Get married
June 10th-13th - Drive 3000+ miles cross-country (with 3 dogs in a rented minivan)
June 14th-18th - Visit Jeff's family and friends
June 18th-21st - Drive 3000+ miles back across the country
June 22nd - Run around town trying to prepare for the party
June 23rd - Triathlon, wedding reception
And I thought it was a GOOD IDEA to do my first triathlon in the midst of all this?
Maybe this is also a good time to point out that when I decided to enter this race:
(a) I had a mountain bike, 2 sizes too large for me
(b) I didn't know how to swim
But who am I to let a few little obstacles get in my way?
I did manage to survive the race, though I seem to recall thinking at some point during the swim "DROWNING would be easier than finishing right now." During the bike I'm pretty sure I said I'd never do one of these again. And by the end of the run I was ready to sign up for another!
Clearly it didn't ruin my fun at all that night either.
After that first race, I found as many more as I could to do that fall. Each had their own set of challenges...
The swim around the cement ship at the Mermaid
The crowded pool swim at Merced (see how it's always about the swim for me?)
The blazing heat at SOMA (Not a swim item, but...I did try to quit 10 yards into the swim at that race and the lifeguard talked me into sticking it out)
I learned a lot from those early races that helped me to race more solidly this past year. And obviously I got hooked on triathlon. I love that I have to work at skill in multiple sports, I love being able to eat even more because of all the training I'm doing, I love all the positive changes I've seen in my body, and I love the feeling of accomplishment at the end!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
How Did I Get Here - Part 1
I realized recently that not everyone who reads this has known me since before I got involved in dogs and triathlon. Today I thought I'd give a brief history of how I turned into the crazy dog lady.
When I went looking for a bearded collie in early summer 2002, it seemed like everyone had just wrapped up their spring litters and there wasn't a whole lot left. Still I talked to a number of breeders and none of the puppies seemed like just the right match (of course, I was for some reason looking for a blue bitch at that point - why?). Anyway, I ended up getting referred to Beth who had no puppies but suggested I talk to Jane. Jane had a little black girl puppy that I might be interested in, but she also had a little boy who might be a better match. She emailed a picture of him on over and that was it, I knew this was my dog. The only thing was...she wanted him to be shown in conformation. I had never done anything like that but figured sure, I'd give it a try. Jane took a chance on me - a newbie who'd never had a beardie - and flew Max on down from Washington.
It's been love since Day 1.
I had been wanting another beardie for a while but Jeff was resistant. For Valentine's Day 2006, his gift to me was a card made up with Max's puppy pictures, telling me to get a puppy already! I knew what I wanted and would end up waiting another year for Stanley to arrive.
And we plowed on in agility, trialing as many weekends as I could fit in. Routinely driving 100 miles each way for 3 days straight to trial and then relax at home. Around this point, Stanley was born and as soon as he came home to us, he was along for the trials as well. Max was gradually racking up the wins needed for his AKC agility championship (MACH). In addition, we'd done some trialing in USDAA events and wound up qualifying for the Cynosport World Games (aka USDAA Nationals) in Scottsdale, Arizona in October 2007. USDAA Nationals was a fantastic experience and we were so proud to represent bearded collies (as Max was the only one there). Stanley also got to herd goats at the same event and is now very serious about his sheep.
If you've been reading this blog long enough, you know that Max got his MACH this past March at a 4-day show where I also showed Stanley in conformation and rally (phew!). We still trial in agility a bit, though not as much. Once Stanley is ready to trial seriously in another year, we'll be back out there more often. I've enjoyed the break from heavy trialing and put the time to use training for triathlon. I also showed Stanley to his championship in the US and Canada this year. I expect to have him out in the show ring, rally, obedience, agility and herding at the beardie national in October. I'd like to qualify for USDAA Nationals again for 2009 as long as it doesn't interfere with IM training - but I think it would be perfect to get to do the race course a month beforehand since the events are in the same place!
So in essence that's how one little black dog got me hooked on a whole range of dog sports!
When I went looking for a bearded collie in early summer 2002, it seemed like everyone had just wrapped up their spring litters and there wasn't a whole lot left. Still I talked to a number of breeders and none of the puppies seemed like just the right match (of course, I was for some reason looking for a blue bitch at that point - why?). Anyway, I ended up getting referred to Beth who had no puppies but suggested I talk to Jane. Jane had a little black girl puppy that I might be interested in, but she also had a little boy who might be a better match. She emailed a picture of him on over and that was it, I knew this was my dog. The only thing was...she wanted him to be shown in conformation. I had never done anything like that but figured sure, I'd give it a try. Jane took a chance on me - a newbie who'd never had a beardie - and flew Max on down from Washington.
It's been love since Day 1.
Max and I had a bit of a rough start as it was a steep learning curve for us both. Together though, I'd say we came through it pretty well. I started showing Max and then at a year old he blew his puppy coat and went naked and we had to find something else to do with ourselves. We went to obedience classes and got his CGC (and along the way met this nice guy with a St Bernard...). We got certified through a therapy dog organization and went to visit people in a convalescent hospital. We went to agility classes - I figured it'd be fun for him and maybe we'd do the agility competition at the beardie national one of these days. I wasn't going to be one of those crazy people whe trialed all the time but we'd do it every so often for fun.
At our first trial out, Max took two 1st places with two perfect scores. He finished his Novice Jumpers title at the next trial a month later. We started trialing once or twice a month. We got better, we worked our way up and we finished more titles. Next thing I knew, Max was 3 years old and we saw Beth at a show (the day Stanley's mother Maude finished her championship) and she said he looked great and to get him back out and show him again.
So I started trying to do conformation shows and agility trials at the same time. I double-entered weekends and frantically drove 50 miles from one to the other trying to make our ring times in both. We were busy but we were having fun! Oh yes, and I took up running around this time, so I'd start off the day by running a few miles around the fairgrounds before the competition.
I had been wanting another beardie for a while but Jeff was resistant. For Valentine's Day 2006, his gift to me was a card made up with Max's puppy pictures, telling me to get a puppy already! I knew what I wanted and would end up waiting another year for Stanley to arrive.
And we plowed on in agility, trialing as many weekends as I could fit in. Routinely driving 100 miles each way for 3 days straight to trial and then relax at home. Around this point, Stanley was born and as soon as he came home to us, he was along for the trials as well. Max was gradually racking up the wins needed for his AKC agility championship (MACH). In addition, we'd done some trialing in USDAA events and wound up qualifying for the Cynosport World Games (aka USDAA Nationals) in Scottsdale, Arizona in October 2007. USDAA Nationals was a fantastic experience and we were so proud to represent bearded collies (as Max was the only one there). Stanley also got to herd goats at the same event and is now very serious about his sheep.
If you've been reading this blog long enough, you know that Max got his MACH this past March at a 4-day show where I also showed Stanley in conformation and rally (phew!). We still trial in agility a bit, though not as much. Once Stanley is ready to trial seriously in another year, we'll be back out there more often. I've enjoyed the break from heavy trialing and put the time to use training for triathlon. I also showed Stanley to his championship in the US and Canada this year. I expect to have him out in the show ring, rally, obedience, agility and herding at the beardie national in October. I'd like to qualify for USDAA Nationals again for 2009 as long as it doesn't interfere with IM training - but I think it would be perfect to get to do the race course a month beforehand since the events are in the same place!
So in essence that's how one little black dog got me hooked on a whole range of dog sports!
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