Dog Days

Winter in Reno can be difficult at times. It's not really cold or snowy enough to go ski, and it's not warm enough to ride outside. I continue running all winter, but riding in 40F temps has no appeal. Last year I was able to motivate for the trainer, but this year I keep putting off rides.

Skiing is possible. It's about an hour drive, but then I feel guilty about leaving the dogs behind. When all else fails, I take the dogs for a run.

I enjoy the cold of winter, but I could do without the mud. The dogs love it. Kona pounces in it with a smug look on her face. Bliksem has longer hair and just wallows in. They love every minute. The trick to winter running is to go as early as possible when the mud is still frozen, or else you end up with this........

Mud stilts!!! 

Up and up and up we go. Above Reno the views are usually spectacular. Today I could barely see the city. There is an inversion layer stuck in the valley. My treat for running up above it is a temperature a good 10 degrees warmer than down below and sweet sweet sunshine. 

Kona and Bliksem's mud covered belly. 

Back home a while later the dogs are tired and happy. Another dog day!

Barefoot running?!?

So about a week ago I read an article on barefoot running that I found as a link on facebook. Interesting stuff, considering that I'm currently reading Born to Run which is about the Tarahumara tribe in Mexico. They run ultra and by ultra I mean hundreds of miles at a time. They do this without all of our fancy shoes and have no injuries that seem to plague most runners. Add this one to your winter reading list.

If anyone is interested in the article here is the link

http://isiria.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/the-great-marketing-lie-expensive-runners%20-will-prevent-injury/

Anyhow, barefoot running was on my mind. Here I am running in mountains above Reno on a 12 mile trail loop when out in the middle of nowhere I come across this. Okay, so it rained a lot, and for Reno this means anything more than 5 minutes of rain. The mud is shoe sucking deep in places, so I think maybe someone's shoe got sucked off.

There are more footprints and they go in both directions. I tracked the footprints for a while and it looks like the crazy shoeless runner went at least 6 miles in temps that have barely broken 40 F in weeks. 

Maybe the barefoot runner is onto something. Reno isn't meant to get rain. The dirt turns into this sticky glue like substance that sticks to the bottom of your shoes and adds 6" of height to my legs. I run a few strides trying to land on rocks and then stop and have to scrape it off my shoes. Another couple hundred meters and repeat again. and again. But the dogs love it and half my reason for going out instead of hiding on the treadmill is for them. So we will continue our hunt for the barefoot runner in the hills above Reno. Are you out there? She/he is probably wondering who is crazier.

My Running Partners

The original running partner was Kona. When we arrived at the pound 2 years ago she was leaping 3 feet off the ground and barking non stop. She is a great running buddy. Anytime I put on running shorts or shoes she starts quivering with excitement. It's hard not to be happy when you're running when she looks so happy. 

Kona needed a buddy though for those long days when I'm at work and Conrad is back in Africa. About a month ago when we heard that our price was accepted on the house, we went to the pound just to look. We nearly came home with 2 dogs. The Nevada Humane Society had a requirement that we do a dog meet dog at the pound before they would let us a take a dog home. Kona came back into the pound the same way she left 2 years prior. The dog meet dog took place in a 10x10 room with 2 dog handlers, 2 dogs, and 2 of us. It didn't go the way the pound workers liked and after 20 seconds and one raised lip they said the dogs would never get along and left. 

Bliksem's pound foto. She looked so sad, and I couldn't leave her there.

We left the pound that day not knowing what to do. A plan was hatched, and we obtained Bliksem from the pound by other means. Thanks Graham for the alibi. 

Bliksem enjoying her first snow day.

Kona and Bliksem enjoying a ski day at Prosser Lake.  See they don't get along at all.

Where does the time go?

Bliksem's kennel photo

It's been a busy couple of months with lots of exciting times. The trip to Hawaii this October was amazing, and I wasn't as disappointed as I would have thought about not racing. I ended up doing the 10K trail run for fun and it was nice to not have to travel with a bike.

Now it's going on December and I'm really craving to get back out on the bike again. The one race this year was great for my budget and getting the student loans nearly paid off, but I can't wait to get back out there next year. In the pipes are a couple 70.3s, maybe IM Hawaii, and definitely Ultraman Worlds. Anyone know of a condo I can rent for the months of October and November in Kona next year?

Even bigger news is the new pup we adopted from the pound last week. She is about 11 months old and is some kind of mix with Blue Healer and pointer. Kona and her are getting along great and she has already been out on a 1.5 hr run and passed with flying colors.

Other crazy news is we should be closing on a house in the next 2 weeks! Keeping the fingers crossed for now.

LAST HARVEST

The days have gotten shorter and temperatures are below freezing each night. While I love the crisp mornings, the garden isn't loving it quite as much. The tomato plants died almost overnight. This was the first year Conrad and I planted a garden, and it was a lot of fun. Sadly it is time to wrap it up for the season. Hopefully someday we'll be in our own place and be able to have a green house. It was nice knowing where our food was coming from, and to be able to eat it right off the plant. 

Up up and away!

It was time to break out of the ordinary and go ride somewhere new. Conrad had never been to Markleeville, so we decided to make a day out of it and he would squeeze a little fishing in after the ride up and over Ebbetts Pass. 

The first 6 miles are a climbing false flat, and then the road kicks up and up and up some more. Just when you think you have to be at the top, there is a demoralizing hill starring you down.

Super fun hill riding! No centerline, almost no cars, and no guard rail over the cliff!

It's not a continuous grade on the way up with some sections reaching 23% and a couple rollers on the way up. I was super thankful for my new Specialized Ruby with compact cranks. Conrad was on a mountain bike and laughing at me.

About a mile from the top we filled our bottles up at this lake. My new favorite toy of the week is a UV light water purifier. Fits easily in the back pocket, and no need to find a rest stop.

We descended the other side and climbed up the next pass which happened to be even steeper. Too steep for Conrad to get pictures. 

It's a beautiful area and I can't wait to go back. Maybe next time we'll camp. Conrad enjoyed the fishing and caught more than 10 "monster" fish. After a big fight the first 3 incher was reeled in. Next time I'll try my luck.

Mental Recovery

After returning from Canada with a 19 hour drive to make it to work on time I needed some rest. So, my first weekend back I went on a 3 day solo (just the dog) backpacking trip into Desolation Wilderness (west of Tahoe). It was amazing and perfect to recharge the mental battery. Physically carrying a pack for 3 days probably wasn't the best, but I loved it anyway.

I found this sweet little camp spot above the lake. It was on a little ledge overlooking the lake. Kona loved her new found freedom in the day, but nights were a different story. She sat in alert the entire time growling at every bump in the night.

Just some of the amazing views.

The view from the climb up to the campsite from Lake Tahoe. 

On day 2 we did a 14 mile hike to the top of Talac for the views.

 
There was one particularly bold chipmunk that decided to torment Kona.  It kept running around Kona's legs. She'd stand perfectly still and hold her breath. After about 15 minutes of this Kona couldn't take it any more and half heartedly chased the chipmunk away.
The stare down. 

We are about 1500 feet above the lake here. We camped at the one that is further away.

The poor puppy was traumatized by the chipmunks and the dark. She stayed awake most of both nights with every bump in the dark eliciting a low growl. 

The best way to go backpacking. No tent, just a sleeping bag, food, UV light to treat the water, and a dog in case things get desperate. :)