Ten Things

To all my friends who raced the Burn 24 Hour Challenge this weekend, my apologies as I realize this post is a day late and a dollar short for you folks. But since a lot of these tidbits still hold true for me now that I am re-entering the world of mountain biking - despite the fact that I'm easing into it with just a handful of regular cross-country events at first - I wanted to remind myself of them, if nothing else...

Top 10 Things I Learned From Solo 24 Hour Mountain Bike Racing:

10. You CAN stay awake all night if you have to.
9. An encouraging word is worth everything.
8. Coffee is good.
7. A lot of amusing woodland critters come out to play after the sun sets.
6. Good night lights are worth the money.
5. Few things beat fleece.
4. People who have been awake all night get awfully friendly and happy once the sun rises.
3. Never underestimate the importance of a really good saddle.
2. You owe your support crew, big-time.
1. Nothing is impossible if you want it badly enough.

Happy Riding!

It's a Ruff Life

I don't normally make a habit of promoting companies on my blog, but Ruffwear has been a lifesaver for Fry's active lifestyle as a typical adolescent pointer/lab/whippet mix - if there is such a thing as "typical" for such a combination, that is! I felt it was worthwhile to mention some of the fine products we've found for Fry since so many of our friends are always asking about his "wardrobe" and the purpose and functionality of it all.



Steve and I are very active all year long and Fry is our constant companion on mountain bike rides, trail runs, swims, hikes, and wherever else life takes us. With his thin fine hair coat, during the winter Fry needs protection not only from the cold, but also from brushy undergrowth and briars, and his K9 Overcoats have been the ideal solution.



Constructed of a tough and durable, abrasion-resistant material, this jacket has worked so well that we got Fry one in each color. We love the way the chest panel fastens with elastic straps and allows full freedom of movement with absolutely no pinching of Fry's delicate underarm areas.

The panel keeps his tummy protected from brush, and the light fleece lining provides just enough warmth without overheating, even during intense trail running in cooler weather.



As an added bonus, he looks just adorable in them, especially since we had his name embroidered across the back of each one. :-)



Another great addition to Fry's wardrobe has been his Web Master Harness. This works great for leash walks as well as romps through the woods. It has a solid feel and unlike almost every other harness we've tried, our slippery little boy isn't able to wiggle out of this one. LOL. It has two leash attachment areas, one near the back and one up closer to the neck, and also has a nice handle in the middle for assisting the dog over rough obstacles. We haven't had to use it for lift assist yet, though, since we haven't been on any hikes that tough so far and Fry is amazingly athletic to boot.

Like the K9 Overcoats, the Web Master is one tough harness, holding up even to Fry's most ambitious sidetracks through the woods,

and his work as my cycling coach.


It has even worked as a solid support for the GoPro "FryCam"...



When Fry decides to roll in "doggy aromatherapy" on the trail and thus needs a bath on arrival back home, his snuggly fleece Climate Changer makes a terrific bathrobe for keeping him warm and clean while he dries, and he seems to really like the soft feel of it.



As the weather heats up, Fry also has a Swamp Cooler to help keep him cool on those hot summer days - although we do our exercise late in the evenings during those months when the weather gets oppressive.





In addition, Fry has a K9 Float Coat life jacket  for swimming and playing in the lake.



He does love the water, and would swim all day if we let him, and the life jacket allows him to be out on the lake for longer swims without getting too fatigued.  ;-)



A wonderfully handy little accessory has been Fry's Quick Draw Leash.



This is great for those trails where we're likely to encounter hikers or other bikers whose dogs may not be particularly impressed with Fry's sometimes exuberant friendliness, and lets us quickly and easily have him on a leash, yet is completely out of the way and securely fastened otherwise.



Like all Fry's other Ruff Wear, the Quick Draw is one tough customer.



It stays on securely no matter how hard he runs or how ambitiously he plays in the water, and dries quickly without any signs of stinkiness.

Finally, what mountain bike trail running pup wouldn't want his very own hydration pack? Enter the Singletrak, a cool mesh harness pack with two Platypus hydration bladders and convenient small accessory pockets for necessities.



The Singletrak is tough enough to handle any trail, but light and cool enough (especially with ice water in the hydration bladders) for hard running doggies.



We love our active lifestyle and having a dog like Fry who enjoys the outdoors as much as we do is the best part of it all. Fry is one tough pup, and we're thrilled to have found apparel and gear for him that allows him to "Ruff" it in style.

Facing My Fears and Other Foolishness

Aging, gaining weight, adjusting to menopausal metabolism (or more accurately, the lack thereof), aching joints, fatigue, and the depression resulting from all of the above has recently left me feeling lost and without a real sense of purpose or goals. And for someone who spent many years in early adulthood as an endurance mountain biker, this has been a difficult path. I thought I could get through it anyway just doing casual recreational exercise, but after speaking with a friend, I’ve realized I need a definitive goal – something to kick me in the pants and force me to find a reason and develop a concrete plan.  So today I took the plunge and signed up for the State Games of North Carolina mountain bike race in early June. That gives me seven weeks to prepare, and since I will only have to ride one 7.5 mile loop, my goal time is long enough to be somewhat realistic, but short enough that I can’t procrastinate about getting ready.



Despite my previous experience years ago of this being a relatively low-key race, I’m scared this time; no, make that a little terrified. Why? I have no idea. I’ve ridden that course a dozen times, albeit not in many, many years, but enough that I think the familiarity will return once I get there. It’s not an easy course, but not un-rideable by any means, and the only reason I can find for my fear is my own lack of confidence in myself.  I’ve been gradually easing back into mountain biking, riding the local trails, but so far really haven’t ventured much farther than just a few miles at a time on relatively easy loops, with only the occasional small rock or log thrown in. I know that feeling good about how I do at this upcoming race is going to depend, not on how anyone else performs, but whether I do all I’m capable of doing, and this is going to require putting aside my lack of confidence and insecurities about myself. I realize I’m not going to drop that extra 40 pounds in seven weeks, so I’m going to have to work on gaining the strength and fitness to work with where I am at this point in time. I need to develop trust in my abilities and at least try the obstacles that scare me a little, and push myself each ride to pedal just a little bit faster than the last time.



My biggest challenge with attempting to race again at this stage in my life is not the other competitors. It’s my own inner voice telling me I can’t, I shouldn’t, I won’t – and replacing that with I can, I should, I WILL.

Happy 5th Birthday Venus!

Happy 5th Birthday baby girl!

Mimicry

Monkey see...



Monkey do!

Happy Anniversary

Twelve years ago today I married my best friend, my soulmate, and the love of my life. Happy Anniversary, Steve. I love you more each day and look forward to spending the rest of my life with you.

A Busy Mind

It doesn't require being around Fry very much to realize that, despite his courage and friendliness, he is a very anxious natured pup. Whether it stems from his largely unknown circumstances as a baby, genetics or something else is a mystery and really not important. What is important, to us at least, is helping him live as anxiety-free a life as possible. After he experienced what was most likely a panic attack type episode a couple of weeks ago while on the multiple-hour drive home from a visit to the mountains, we decided to seek the advice of our veterinarian to see what we could do to alleviate some of Fry's anxieties.



The doctor initially ruled out any physical causes with a thorough physical exam and when that was deemed normal, she offered some suggestions to assist Fry psychologically. This included starting him on a very low dose of a mild anti-anxiety medication to help quiet some of the background noise that his busy mind apparently has running as an undercurrent which keeps him in a relatively constant state of anxiousness and worry. While I'm generally not a big fan of medicating my companion animals, I'm willing to at least give it a try if it might help Fry live a more psychologically comfortable and happy life. So we agreed to a short trial of a very low dose of the medication.

Our vet also suggested that in conjunction with maintaining Fry's current  high level of daily physical activity, his busy mind also would benefit from additional mental stimulation in the form of trick training and games since he is already pretty well versed in basic obedience with an extensive vocabulary of known words and phrases. He appears to enjoy learning new things, so we agreed that this would likely be something to engage his mind that he would enjoy as well. So we got him a clicker training device along with a special retrieving toy and set about beginning his new training program.



It's been a couple of weeks now since starting Fry on his medicine and training program, and I have to admit I'm already seeing great improvement in his attitude, confidence, and overall sense of psychological well-being. It only took a few minutes for him to figure out the clicker and realize that it's a really good thing. In fact, within just a couple of days, he began to seem almost as happy to hear the click as he was to receive the yummy treat reward! I carry the clicker on our walks and mountain bike rides to periodically reinforce his off-leash recall, and he also gets a brief training session each morning before we leave for work and each evening when we get home, and he seems to enjoy this bonding and training time immensely. I'm truly amazed at the number of words and phrases he knows, and it's such a thrilling and proud moment for all of us every time he learns another (which seems to be every couple of days lately)!



I've also noticed over the past several days that his behavior both on and off leash has improved dramatically. He is becoming less hyper-reactive to seeing other dogs on his walks, and is even beginning to walk on a loose leash now. Where he used to lunge and pull hysterically every time he saw another dog while out walking, he now seems more focused and engaged with my instructions, and less distracted, which has made walking him a million times easier. :-)



Since Fry loves games, we've also been working with him on "fetch" using his new retrieving toy and his favorite Jolly ball, along with the clicker, and I'm pleased to say he is now bringing his toy or ball to us and dropping it for us to throw it again where he used to just grab it and run. He's also been getting half his dinner in a puzzle food dispenser, which he loves pushing, pulling, rolling and twisting all around the house in order to retrieve his kibble. He has a variety of these puzzles, since he is quite intelligent and figures out even the more complex ones in short order, so we have to rotate them to keep him interested.

I know there is still much progress to be made, but I'm beyond pleased with my little man thus far and I'm so glad to see him maturing into such an increasingly content, psychologically comfortable and happy boy.