Roxy training diary month 64 September 2008 |
Sep 20. A week full of busy-ness. Our friend Claudia (who Rosemary has known for 35 years; me, only 25 years) and her husband Brian came to visit and take herding lessons. While they were here, Sky got in some herding too. This was his first time in the "big pen". Claudia brought Rosemary a Flip video camera as a gift so I'm sure we'll be seeing lots of YouTube videos of Sky now. She offered to let us stay at their "extra" cabin in Crested Butte next summer. It's tempting, because I was planning to skip face-to-face teaching and just do online for summer 2009. It would be closer to Denver, too. We're giving the idea some thought. In preparation for the Denver Marathon on October 19, I posted a long run today. Traditionally, long runs are 20 but I had signed up for the Top of Utah marathon as a training run. I ran a pretty steady 10:30 pace, and finished in 4:36. Not bad for a training run. I ran to each mile marker, then walked one minute, then ran again. It was strange to finish a marathon and not be totally wiped. |
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I heard back from Felicia Eth, the agent I queried a week ago. She liked my work, but not enough to represent me. She did say some kind things, and a few critical things. I will keep trying. The second edition of the Do-It-Yourself Agility Equipment book came out. Lisa sent me a link to a website that helps you find what your name would be, had you been born to Sarah and Todd Palin. I am "Turbine Yukon Palin" but you can call me "Turb" if you're careful not to let the "b" turn into a "d". (Apparently, several others are called by the same name.) |
Sky in the Big Pen |
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Still the One |
Sep 14. Another first place for Sky today, but then that happens when you're the only dog. Since I wasn't doing the League of Utah Writers conference thang, I went along with Rosemary and took a couple of short videos of her gaiting Sky. He and Rosemary gained some ring experience this way. |
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Sep 13. Sky and I went off to do our beauty contest thing today. Sky and Rosemary were down in Farmington, entered in his first conformation dog show. He was the only ACD entered, so he took first place. Rosemary was entitled to take him to "group", where he could compete against the other herding dogs, but she declined. He's only 9 months, so group is a little advanced for him. For my part, I had a meeting with an agent at the League of Utah Writers' annual meeting. I pitched my fiction (Infectious Beauty) and my non-fiction (The Seven Deadly Synapses) proposals. She asked me for pages, which is a good thing. I had submitted Infectious Beauty for the annual full-length novel award, and I was surprised to receive a certificate for third honorable mention (i.e., sixth place). I strongly suspect there were six entries. When I got the reviews back, I could see why it wasn't well-received by the reviewer. I didn't rip any bodices. The winning entry (you get to read an excerpt out loud) was well-done, but it was a lighthearted discussion between a cowboy and his bride over whether she should be traded to an Indian brave and whether she was worth 10 mustangs. I can't write dialog like that, so I can't win. |
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The reviewer did point out that Claire is "an unsympathetic character." Really? I wrote her as a raving lunatic bitch. I was surprised to find that she's unsympathetic. I rather liked her. Good thing I picked "man vs himself" as my stock plot. If I had written "man vs nature" I would need to sympathetically portray an earthquake or hurricane or something. I filled out my weekly training calendar with 14 miles, but I ended up wandering about more-or-less lost and so did more hiking than running. I did find the trail that accesses the fake waterfall at the mouth of Ogden Canyon. It was neat to watch a waterfall (actually a discharge point for irrigation water) from above. The "waterfall" is pictured in an earlier RoxyLog. The place I was today is the silver valve station seen at the top left of the photo. |
Sky Takes First |
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Sept 6. The second week of school wasn't much easier than the first, but maybe things will settle into a groove soon. We got lots of yardwork done: I got the xeriscaping done, and fruit trees planted, on the south part of the front yard (less grass to mow: woo hoo!) and the gravel path to the garden finished. Sky decided to check out the wheelbarrow, but he wasn't much for a ride. Thursday's accomplishment was that I made it up the hill from 29th to 36th on the Mt. Ogden Exercise Trail, which won't mean much to most of you, but it has been kicking my butt for months now, and I finally got all the way up without walking. Today, I ran in the Huntsville half-marathon and was trying very, very hard for a PR. In the event, I ended up tying my previous PR on the same course. The conditions were ideal, a little cold and crisp at the start. That puts me at 28 miles for the week, which was the plan from my training calendar. |
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