Roxy training diary month 65

October 2008

Oct 25. Some of you probably noticed that I didn't post the results from the Denver Marathon until now (enter bib #1031). If you were there, you know why: I sucked big rox. I was able to hold everything together mentally until I saw Lisa and Mom and Doug and Tracker at mile 18, and then I hit the wall, hard. My stepfather Bill and Lisa, particularly, helped out with bananas and Tylenol which made a big difference. I don't want any photos to document this experience, but if you do, they're here.

I was (barely) on track for four hours, but the hill at mile 14 wiped me out, and I ended up walking from about 18½ to 24½, so that cost me an hour, and I finished right at 5 hours even. I had tried for 4 hours.

I have been doing National Novel Writing Month for the last three years, and after much soul-searching, have decided to do it again. The novel I have planned is what a writing friend calls "pre-apocalyptic" and it's tentatively titled Red in Tooth and Claw (love those Tennyson shout-outs) but that title has already been used, so I will change it at some point, I suppose.

As part of that, I'm going to attend the big WriteAThon in San Francisco on Nov 15. I need to raise money to get in the door. The donation page is here, if you want to contribute.

I spent four hours today making 100-odd phone calls from Obama HQ in Salt Lake City. I spoke to some really nice people, and some who were not so nice. No one yelled at me, and only a half-dozen or so hung up on me. It reminded me of the old days back in Walker Research.

Snow Leaper

Snow Leopard

Oct 12. It started snowing yesterday, not unheard of but still early in the season. The trees have not shed their leaves, so we'll be lucky if we don't lose branches.

Sky loves snow; Annie hates it. They are a study in contrasts.

It's supposed to be back in the 70s by mid-week, so this snow won't last long. If it brings the leaves down so I can mow them instead of having to rake them, I'll be happy.

One week to the Denver Marathon.

"I Hate You Even More Than Snow, Kid"

Oct 11. I went down to SLC today for the annual "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk." One of the best things about this event is the team names. My favorite this year was "Saving Second Base" which is slightly better than our team's name: "Breast Buddies." Still, it was fun and for a good cause. I ran three miles; I'm keeping my runs short as I taper for the Denver Marathon Oct 19.

Annie was not feeling well, so I met Rosemary at Dr. Nebeker's clinic and she got an exam and X-rays. She got some Flagyl and some really cool canned food that she can eat once her GI tract rests for a day or two.

Kathy Buetow Branson sends along these photos from the ACDCA National Specialty. If you like seeing these still pictures of How Not to Herd Cattle, then you will certainly enjoy How Not to Herd Cattle: The Movie.

Photos by Kathy Buetow Branson

Getting Ready to Not Herd Cattle

How Not to Herd Cattle, part 1

How Not to Herd Cattle, part 2

Oct 9. Rosemary, Roxy and Sky — and their Flip camera — are home, so we uploaded videos of Roxy herding.

Half of her sheep run is here. Rosemary, embarrassed for me, turned off the camera, but Roxy calmed down enough in the last half of the run to actually qualify and get her PT.

Her cattle run is here. It's a masterpiece, including a dump in the ring, a lot of running around, and finally ending in an attempted head-butt by one of the stock and a flying two-legged kick from another. That looked dangerous to me, so I called time at that point.

These are massive files, so don't even attempt to watch them without a high-speed connection.

Some of you may remember Dylan's "Danger Dog" sign. The artist who commissions these, A. Michelle Page, was recently featured in a column in the NY Post.

Also, she's preparing to leave on another trip. If you want to contact her about getting a sign, visit her at www.NepalDog.com .

Oct 5. Back from the ACDCA National Specialty in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania.

This annual event is sort of a convention for Australian Cattle Dog owners. Rosemary had left Sept. 23, stopped in Boulder to pick up our friend Tracy, and together they headed out to the Dutch Motel. I flew out to Philadelphia a week later. Rosemary showed Sky in Properties and Conformation.

On Thursday, I made a stab at Roxy's second and final Pre-Trial Tested (PT) leg in AKC herding. The sheep were mostly uncooperative, and Roxy discovered that if she simply bounced them around the arena enough during her 10-minute run, that they would eventually do all four panels — in both directions. Then she calmed down enough for the re-pen and we were done, we passed, and now she is officially known as Roxy NA NAJ RN JHD PT.

I decided that some cattle experience would be good for her, so on Friday, we tried our hand at PT cattle. It wasn't pretty. Rosemary took videos of both, and I will post both videos and stills when they're available. In the meantime, a preview of Sky from Tuesday's Puppy Class is above. Sky took third and won a nice bowl.

By Dawn's Early Light

On Saturday, before I flew home, we took Roxy to an AHBA trial in Birdsboro, about an hour south (and on the way to the airport). Roxy got an unneeded leg on her Junior Herding Dog title, but she wasn't ready for any of the "real" competition levels, so it was good to get her some more trial experience when nothing in particular was at stake.

I got home about 11 pm Saturday night and the next morning, went to pick Annie up at Ruffledale. The hot Indian Summer I had left had turned into fall drizzle and rain; we even had some hail this afternoon and snow on the mountains.