Roxy training diary month 61

June 2008

Jun 28.  This morning, we went up to Snowbird so I could run in the XTerra 8K trail run.  The ski area just closed two weeks ago, so I expected more snow.  There were only a couple of places where we had to cross snow fields. 

However, there was lots of mud, lots of altitude, and lots of uphill and downhill grades.  I was just about a half-mile from the finish and I was feeling all proud of myself for completing a biffless run.  Well, you can figure what happened next.  Just as I was thinking how wonderful I was, I biffed.  It was a great stuntman drop-and-roll in a stream bed.  I didn't do the roll part on purpose, but it helped me to not get hurt.  My friend Tom torqued his ankle. 

I won a prize for "dirtiest runner" so at least I got a free cap out of the deal.  I chose black, so it wouldn't show the dirt.

I finished 5/7 in my age group and 51/76 overall, which was fine as far as I was concerned.

Tom's wife Jaynie (not Jaymie) Hirschi was quoted in the Salt Lake Tribune about the race.

Jun 27.  Dylan's "Danger Dog" signs arrived today, so it's no longer a surprise for Rosemary.  I had earlier posted (without Rosemary's knowledge) the three signs I had to choose from. There is also a collection of signs that artist A. Michelle Page set up to honor all of this year's "Danger Dogs".   You can also hear her radio interview with "The World".  That was what originally interested me in getting a "Danger Dog" sign for Dylan.

They are based on an agility photograph found on Dylan's tribute page (left sign) plus another photograph of Dylan emerging from the tunnel (right sign).

How cool is this?  Michelle Page lives in California.  She is interviewed in Kathmandu, Nepal.  I send her an email with a link to Dylan's tribute page; she pulls up Dylan's page and gives the photographs to Nepalese artists, who render the photographs into a "Danger Dog" sign.  Even a few years ago, none of this would have been possible.  Now there are at least three Nepalese artists who know Dylan's story.  Amazing.

Jun 21.  Today was the 9th anniversary of the K-9 Rehabilitation Clinic in Bountiful. 

This was the place where Dylan did all his rehab after surgery and where Roxy was spayed.  We figured that Roxy and Annie wouldn't have happy memories of the place no matter what, but naive Sky wouldn't know any better, so we took him by so Dr. Pam and staff could make a fuss over him.

I always like the Trip to Bountiful.  For one thing, the business names are a hoot, mostly because there's no irony in them.  The Bountiful Dialysis Center is right across from the clinic, for example.

Art Is Hard

We saw Brandy and Roo briefly.  Sky got to meet lots of other dogs; he has some experience with big dogs but the Chinese Crested really confused him. 

He also got to try Art class for the first time.  I think he's quite talented, but I think Rosemary was disappointed in him.  He has an innate sense of balance and I think he's used white space very effectively, communicating as much with the negative space ("I really didn't want to do this, but my folks made me") as with the image.

After Art, he washed his paws (and face, which was inexplicably covered with red paint) in the wading pool.  That was the first time he had tried a pool.

I managed to put 30 miles on my calendar this week.  For the first time, I was able to run over 24 miles in a week and not feel whacked.  I tried to take Roxy with me for 6 miles this morning, but she wouldn't budge off the lawn.  I think she has bad memories of when she ran with a cut pad.  Now it looks as though I'll have to retrain her all over to enjoy running with me, or just leave her behind when I go.

How Great Sky Art

Sky Wades

Jun 14.  We both went out for the Gerald Anderson 5K in Morgan today.  There are a lot of new runners at this one, so it makes it easy to get an age placement.  Our plan was for me to run two laps, and Rosemary would walk, and we'd end up about the same time.  I got 6 miles on my calendar, but I could've used 12.  I will try to make it up tomorrow. 

I wasn't pushing myself, but I ended up 3rd (out of 5) in my age group with a time of 26:13, well off my PR pace.  Mostly I wanted to see if I could maintain the pace I need to finish the San Francisco Marathon Aug 3 with a sub-4 hour time.  To do that, I calculate I need to run a 10K at an 8:13 pace.

Jun 13.  Rosemary: While we were in Colorado, Sky got to meet agility obstacles (set at puppy height) for the first time.  He had a great time and was so happy rocking a Buja Board, that I took him over the teeter a few times.  Here's a YouTube link.

Jim: It's been a long time between postings, because we've all been crazy busy.  Saturday, June 7 was the day we decided to scan 10 people in the fMRI, so we both got tied up shuttling participants back and forth to the University of Utah research facilities. 

Roxy's foot pad has had some time to heal, and the skin flap wore off, so she's back in action.  She got to do some herding Wednesday and again today, before taking a hiatus so that Kelley Creek Farms can prepare for their annual border collie field trial over Independence Day weekend.

Since Roxy had already practiced on Wednesday, we used some of her appointment time to give Sky some experience in the round pen, the small pen used for beginner dogs.  He had evil moments (photo at left) and good ones (photo at right).

Evil Sky

Good Sky

Since I took the clinic two weeks ago, my handling has become much better.  Now Roxy understands what I want, and I have a better chance of getting it.  We have had some good practices the last few days.  I'm thinking of going up to Washington State for a private lesson in between school sessions.  We would really like to get in some time on cattle before the ACDCA National Specialty.

Jun 3.   Home at last!  Sky had an incredible adventure and he took it all in stride.  He must have been petted by 50-100 different people and played with or met at least half that number of dogs.  Between this drive to Minnesota and his tour of Western Canada, he's quite the world traveller.

Besides watching Elkhounds do obedience, agility, and conformation, Sky participated in an early morning 1 mile walk to raise money for Elkhound Rescue.  Here he is conversing with one of the other participants.  No photo can convey the utter masses of grey fuzzy dogs that were everywhere. 

Sky adores Elkhounds.

Among Sky's other adventures was meeting a Viking in the hotel lobby.   The ACDCA Specialty was held here in 2006, long before Sky was born. 

On the way home we stopped at the Colorado Welcome Center and he got to see a "bison" up close and pose in front of the Pony Express monument.

Roxy (and even Annie) were happy to see Sky back home. 

It feels like I've sold out, but I got tired of nagging Sky about pulling or being pulled, so I put a Premier "Easy Walk" harness on him.  He's wearing it in the three right-hand photos.  Instantly, my puppy became well-behaved. 

Jun 1.  We were at the herding clinic today, but Roxy came up limping — she has a cut footpad.

We're used to this sort of injury.  Dylan used to get them all the time.  Annie had to leave an agility trial early because of one.  This is the first one that I know of for Roxy.  We worked her at the herding clinic, but took it easy on her.  Roxy did well at the clinic, and I learned a lot.  She didn't mind it when she was "in the groove" but you can tell it really hurts.

There's not much to be done for them.  I put some Orajel on it to deaden it a bit, then glued it with super glue.  It won't hold sutures.  You can cut off the sliced part at the "hinge" but that hurts too. 

As I think back on it, it may have happened Wednesday or Thursday.  When I took her out Thursday night for a run, she was really slow and miserable.  I didn't notice her limping then, but she may have cut it sometime during the middle of last week.

Annie got to come along in her Roadie harness, sitting on the passenger seat of the Subaru, with the a/c blowing in her face.  She likes that so much I can even scratch her between the ears while I drive, which would normally be a serious Rulebook Violation.

You can't pick up spilled styrofoam peanuts in a windstorm.  You probably shouldn't even try.  I even got a banker's box about 1/4 full and it was emptied out by a gust of wind.  That was frustrating.  They're all over the neighborhood now.  Maybe the neighbors will forgive me, one day.  I got what I could.

Rosemary sends along a movie of Sky doing some agility obstacles for the first time.  Rosemary and Sky are due back tomorrow.  Roxy has missed him.

Hurt Paw