Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Today's trail with Sunny. The blue line is me laying the trail. The red line is Sunny running the trail. The trail was .27 miles, which is one of the longest trails Sunny has completed so far. The wind was blowing nearly 20 mph, causing the scent to drift a bit. I figured this was going to happen. Sunny showed this by going about three feet to the left of the trail. There were a few spots he had to recalibrate to be sure he was on trail, especially in the places where he was heading into the wind. He stopped once and looked at me. I just said, "Go to work," and he put his nose to the ground, found the scent and carried on. When he reached the toy I had left for him at the end, he sat and looked up at me. Such a smarty pants. I threw the toy for him and gave him a bunch of treats. Such a good boy.

I had a friend lay a trail for Sunny this morning, and after letting it age around 45 minutes, I walked Sunny over to the start point. When we were about 20 yards away from where my friend dropped his scent article, Sunny picked up the scent and was ready to go. I had to hold him back to adjust the lead. The moment I said, "Go to work," he was off. He went a ways then stopped and looked back at me. I didn't move or say anything. He then wanted to play with me, which is what we do on our walks, but this wasn't a walk. He needed to work. After doing this two times, he figured out he just needed to keep his nose to the ground and stay on trail. The trail ended up being about a quarter mile, with a turn to the right. No cookies were laid out for Sunny to find. The trail was simply following the scent to the end point, which was a toy Sunny likes. He found his toy without any trouble. I threw the toy for him, giving him lots of praise and pets and treats. On the walk home,...

Since Sunny was off for a week due to his muscle strain, I didn't put down any trails for him. I was ordered that he rest, with no exercise beyond a short walk on leash, and when he's in the harness, working a trail, he digs in, eager to do his job. If a week or more goes by without a trail, I figure it's a good idea to back up and do a simple trail. This is kind of like a reboot. That's what we did on Friday. Just a simple, straight trail with one turn. Only I didn't take into consideration that I had trampled all over the area earlier in the day when I mowed the lawn.  I walked Sunny around the block and brought him to the beginning of the trail, which he picked up with no problem. He followed the trail nicely until we reached the area where I had mowed. Then he seemed confused, which is totally understandable. My scent was all over the place. He then found the fresh trail I had put down and got back on track. When he reached the turn, he didn't hesitate at al...

Over a year and a half has passed since my last post. I went from being 59 to 61 (which has been just fine), I tried reconciling with my husband, (which did not work out) and I brought another pup into the pack (which has been . . . an experience). I'm still at my job, with this being year 27. I'm still gardening, reading, and playing with my camera. I've made some wonderful friends in this little village I call home, and I've made new friends all because of Sunny, the new addition to the pack. Sunny. Where to start? For several years I have been following those involved with search and rescue, especially canine search and rescue. Then, when I helped deliver a van full of goods to those in need following hurricane Helene, we stayed a night in a hotel on the way home, and a group of canine search and rescue handlers on their way to North Carolina were eating breakfast when we were. I eavesdropped a little, listening to them talk about their dogs and what they would be fa...

Murphy is now 13 weeks old. Already seven weeks have passed since I brought him home. During those seven weeks, he's become Ado's best friend (most of the time) and he has learned how to be a part of the family. As of this week, I believe he is completely housebroken because he hasn't done his business in the house at all. We'd been down to once a day up until last Monday, and every day since he has come to me when he needs to go out. He gives me a look and then a little bark. Just like Ado, when I say, "Outside?" he turns and looks out the window then heads for the door. His bark for needing to pee is different than his bark for needing to poop, which is too funny. The "poop" bark is much more urgent. Ado has been a great teacher for when it's time for play and when it's time to settle down, especially in the evenings. Both dogs settle in for the night by 7 o'clock, and after one last trip outside around 9, both sleep through the night, ...

Training Day 1: Spin bike ride. My goals were to hit 20 miles and maintain a cadence of 95. Achieved. (Do not try to enter that bright light . . .. It's just the flash on my phone.)

What does one do when one buys a new mountain bike? Why, one signs up for a metric century mountain bike race of course. At least that's what I did. Which made one of my colleagues laugh so hard he about fell off his chair. Not kidding. He couldn't get over the fact that I had just bought the bike, had only rode it one time, then decided I was going to do the Gravel Grovel in Indiana Thanksgiving weekend. Clearly he thinks I'm nuts. Me, Brian, and Tanya getting ready to climb, climb, climb! My thinking is I love being in the saddle for hours. I also love having a challenge, something I've not done before. Riding across the US was definitely a challenge that allowed me to be in the saddle for hours each day. Climbing the Blue Ridge Parkway, Hayter's Gap, all of the hills of Missouri, Monarch Pass, Carson Pass, and lots of other hills in between, I found I can climb just fine. The ride strengthened my body and my mind, and now I'm ready for a different chall...

Really nice lake ride this morning. Early, while the temps were still in the 60's and the air was still. Absolutely no wind to speak of. Perfect. A friend joined us, and for the first time in quite awhile, I actually pushed it. Our average speed was in the 16/17 area, with a high speed around 26. That's the kind of ride I'd love to do everyday. This evening, after the sun sets, I think I'll go for a run. Having a day where it's actually possible to get to workouts in doesn't happen often, so I need to take advantage of it if I can. I'm seriously looking at a Garmin, thinking if I know my pace while I'm running, I just might find it within to ramp it up. I'm so comfortable at my current pace, and with no one pushing me, I just plod along, finding all kinds of reasons not to put a bit more effort into it. It's no wonder I'm not getting faster. Maybe, just maybe, the Garmin will be that little something that gets me motivated. Sinking that kind ...

I've been lurking at triathlon sites, reading about what it takes to complete a competition, when lo and behold, a friend asked me today if I'd be interested in training for a mini. I haven't wanted to spend the money to go to a gym for use of a pool, so I've not taken the necessary step to really train for something like this. But my friend has access to a pool and can invite a friend. How coinky-dink is this? I jumped on the offer, and by the time I left work today, we agreed to begin training for a mini-triathlon that is scheduled for April 2010. We both registered for the event to confirm our commitment, so there's no turning back. I'm stoked. I've been running regularly on the treadmill, having decided to run a 10K and having decided to work on improving my time, so the running part is coming along. Last night I ran my first ever 10-minute mile. It felt so good. I've had the treadmill set at a 1% incline ever since the 5K, so I do feel like I'm ...