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One of the highlights of Lowell is the Kent County Fairgrounds. The main event each year is the Kent County Youth Fair, but this beautiful site at the corner of the Flat River and Grand River has numerous other uses. There are annual events such as the Bluegrass Festival, Pow Wow, and even a hovercraft club convened on the grounds. The fairgrounds also host facilities for the high school crew team, youth football and t-ball, and your basic camping, boating and fishing. I often visit the fairgrounds, but usually not for the above reasons - instead, you'll find me running on the dirt track around the football field.
Whenever a major event is in town, the fairgrounds are packed with people. However, during the week the place is quite empty and if I feel like doing some speed training, the track is a great escape. It's not a spiffy, rubber-surfaced track like at most high schools; rather, it's just a 1/4-mile ring of hard-packed dirt with weeds growing on the front stretch. Best of all, it's just a mile from my house!
All day at work I was in quite the antsy running mood - I felt like burning some energy. It didn't help that the world's premeir adventure race, the Primal Quest, is going on right now. I kept checking the leaderboard and tried to imagine what it would feel like to experience such an epic physical and mental challenge. Alas, I was spectating from the vantage point of my drab beige cubicle, so I was more than ready to run when I got home.
It was a good point in my training routine for some speed work. Haven absolutely LOVES to go running with me, so I laced up my shoes and leashed up my dog and out the door we went. Our one-mile warm up jog took us through historic downtown Lowell. Haven is obedient enough now that I was able to let her off leash, especially having the entire track to ourselves. I started off by running one fast lap and Haven simply kept pace just a foot behind my left heel. Next lap was a slow recovery jog so Haven took the liberty to explore our surroundings a bit. But each time I ran a fast lap, she stuck to my heel all the way around the loop.
After a few laps Haven started getting hot and tried to linger in any shade she could find. One time she ignored my whistled command to "come" just long enough to grab a drink from the nearby river! So we rested five minutes in the shade, then began doing wind sprints (well, as much of a "sprint" as I could muster) at which point Amanda arrived with Beacon. While Beacon does enjoy running, he's not nearly in love with it as Haven. Beacon's thing is frisbee fetch.
Amanda waited with Beacon on leash while I finished my last couple sprints and another fast lap around the track with Haven. Haven and I then gulped down some much needed water before putting the leash on Haven and setting Beacon free. Yes, we brought his frisbee and we played fetch with him until he was desperate for water, too. Now that everyone was exhausted, we ordered a $5 pizza to pick up for dinner on the way home. Both dogs have been sleeping ever since!
A review of six dog frisbees... can any withstand the jaws of a Labrador Retriever?
About a year ago Amanda and I decided to teach our dogs to catch a frisbee. We weren't sure how well our dogs would take to the activity so we bought a cheap plastic disc at Petsmart for $1 and starting throwing. After getting clunked in the head a few times, they finally figured out that frisbees were meant for catching! They really enjoy it, especially Beacon. The problem is that Beacon has yet to learn to treat these toys gently.
After he filled that first plastic disc with puncture holes and bent it until it was unflyable, we figured it was time to upgrade. For $15 we bought a Soft Bite Floppy Disc, which offered some advantages: it's made of flexible nylon with a soft rim - surely Beacon couldn't deform it, and nylon is tough. Not tough enough! Beacon quickly started putting holes in the fabric and $15 a pop is too high of a replacement cost.
One of my co-workers is a world class Airdale trainer and she suggested we try a Flippy Flopper, which she uses with her dogs. While her highly trained dogs have learned to control strength of their bite - they've worked as both powerful police dogs and gentle bird retrievers - ours haven't. Both Beacon and Haven were able to puncture the nylon fabric until the discs were so riddled with holes that they wouldn't fly as far.
The problem with flexible frisbees is that Beacon seems to think they're alive and he shakes them violently when he brings them back to us. While he bit the frisbee, we bit the wallet and shook out another $15 to try a Booda TurboDisc, a rigid disc with a hole in the center to make easier for dogs to grab it off the ground. See, that was one way Beacon made holes - when he missed a throw he'd press his mouth hard against the disc on the ground and bite down, grabbing a mouthful of dirt with the disc! It turned out that the hole in this frisbee made it a poor flier. Besides, Beacon put holes in this one, too!
Since Beacon can apparently put holes in anything, we were desperate for a good, durable frisbee. We put down yet another $15 for an Easy Glider, a thick foam disc that hopefully had enough squishy foam mass to hold up when punctured. This frisbee flies amazingly well and is easy to control - a sweet people disc. But not for dogs, as Beacon managed to rip a large hole in the middle and it no longer flies very well.
Back to the drawing board, we stopped by Chow Hound and bought a Kong Flyer for a relatively cheap $10. This frisbee is made of tough but flexible rubber with a stiffer rim. We tried this out today and so far, no damage! It's only been through one fetch session with Beacon's jaws, but there are no holes yet. This disc is also a great flier - I was able to throw it farther than any other dog frisbee we've tried.
Update: It turns out that even the Kong Flyer is vulnerable to dog teeth. Beacon was able to make holes in it, but due to the nature of rubber they sealed up nicely and the disc never lost any flight ability. Over time, though, the holes add up and once sufficiently riddled with tooth punctures Beacon was able to "connect the dots" and rip a large gash down the middle. Nevertheless, the Kong Flyer is easily the best-flying and longest-lasting frisbee of the discs reviewed here.
Sunday morning Amanda and I hauled our bikes over to the White Pine Trail, a 92-mile linear State Park running from Grand Rapids to Cadillac and passing through over a dozen towns in between. Today's objective: ride from Grand Rapids to Big Rapids via the White Pine Trail.
We set up at a parking lot in Belmont on the north end of Grand Rapids. From there we rode 14 miles to Cedar Springs, the first 11+ of which is paved (see trail details using this map). One of the nice things about this trail is that it was a Rails to Trails project - a former railroad track converted into a public-use trail - which means that the entire route is very flat.
At the Russell Road access point the trail becomes an unpaved two-track that continues until just before Big Rapids. We continued on to Cedar Springs where we stopped for a few minutes to eat some snacks before parting ways. Amanda turned around to return to Belmont while I pressed on towards Big Rapids. By the time Amanda got back to our car she had ridden 28 miles - her previous longest ride was over a year ago at "just" 12 miles!
Surprisingly this trail doesn't have a wilderness feel - as a former train track it parallels a major two-lane road. Despite this, there are nice views across some farmland and a few sleepy, rural small towns to pass through. These 30+ unpaved miles are quiet enough (I didn't see a soul on the trail!) to allow the local wildlife to feel at home exploring the trail. During my journey I saw countless rabbits, robins, goldfinches, and even a couple woodchucks. Near a pond I had to dodge two painted turtles goin' slow and steady across the trail. At one point I startled a sandhill crane, who decided to fly away from me straight down the trail - I put the hammer down and tried to give chase but wings beat tires every time. I also encountered a doe with two very small fawns, and later another deer watched me pedal onward from less than 20 feet away.
Sharing the trail with so many animals wasn't the only excitement of the trip. Halfway through the four-hour ride it began to rain; 30 minutes later the wind picked up menacingly and it began to pour. What a blast! It was such a rush to be flying along the trail against the driving rain, out there on my own with many miles to go. Three times I enjoyed a ten-minute downpour - the rest of the way it was a steady rain. Needless to say I was soaked by the time I finished.
I was feeling strong the entire day. I set my watch to beep every 15 minutes to remind me to drink water, and every half hour I made sure to eat some form of calories. Given the soft trail surface I couldn't ride very fast (I wound up averaging 11 mph) but I kept the tempo up best I could. At one point I even let some air out of my tires to give me better traction on the sand and loose gravel, which helped significantly. The trail has mile posts and once I realized that I had just three miles to go, I picked up the pace. Soon I was greeted with a "Welcome to Big Rapids" sign and the trail became smooth pavement - a welcome sight indeed! I flew the last couple of my 49+ miles and arrived at the access point where Amanda would pick me up, except...
Where's Amanda? She had plenty of time to get there so I found a roof overhang (it was still raining steadily) and called her on my cell phone. She had stopped for french fries but then couldn't find the access point; the intersecting road M-20 made a few confusing turns as it passed through Big Rapids but eventually she found me. Did I mention that I was soaked? And covered with dirt, bits of leaves, and whatever other trail debris my tires kicked onto my legs, back, and even my head! Wisely we had brought along a change of clothes so while Amanda gassed up the car I used the restroom to wash up best I could and put on some dry threads. We treated ourselves to Jimmy Johns sub sandwiches and then headed home. What a ride!
On Friday I rode my bike to work for the second time. I had done it once before two weeks ago, also on a Friday. If only we lived a bit closer, because I'd certainly commute by bike more often; however, for now I'm planning on riding about once a week every Friday. The shortest route is 14.65 miles, which I followed two weeks ago - it took me one hour. This week I took a slightly longer but less hilly route that added up to 17.15 miles. The reduction in hills must've helped because I arrived at work in 1:05, just five minutes slower than my first trip. For comparison, it takes me about 25 minutes to drive those same routes to work.
Those miles, however, just get me to the main building at work (my company has two buildings about a mile apart). This building has a fitness center, including a locker room and shower stalls so I'm able to wear my bike gear on the ride there, then shower and change into my work clothes. I work in the auxiliary building, which means I then have to ride the one mile down the road, but I take it easy so as to not get all sweaty. On these rides my backpack is fully loaded, including carrying my standard sustenance - breakfast (a half-liter of strawberry Slim Fast) plus lunch (a half-liter of kool-aid, a yogurt, and a double-decker PB&J sandwich).
All told that's a bit less than 1.5 hours if you include the shower stop and riding to the auxiliary building. So far on these days I haven't ridden home. Fridays I like to leave a little early, so instead of biking home Amanda will come to pick me up and we go out for dinner somewhere. This week is was gourmet dining at Wendy's!
Shortly before 8am this morning I set out on a 30-mile training run, planning to go the distance but take it relatively easy. Why 30 miles? I'm trying to build up towards the North Country Trail Run, a 50-mile ultramarathon. The weather was perfect, traffic was light; in fact, the only problem with my run today was that I decided to stop after 20 miles.
My biggest challenge with any long distance run is not strength or stamina, but surprisingly digestion. I have a hard time drinking enough water to stay hydrated and eating enough calories to prevent bonking. I know how much I need to consume, but my stomach fills up faster than it can process the sustenance. Hopefully as I continue to train my digestive system will adapt, just like my lungs and legs have adapted, too.
Today's meandering route took me from Lowell to Whitneyville, and then back home. About 16 miles into the run I reached the gas station in Whitneyville where I stopped for about 10 minutes to use the restroom, splash some cold water on my face, and buy some food. In such situations I look for food that is 1) palatable, 2) high in sodium, 3) high in calories, and 4) high in potassium, if possible. Some Kars PBJ Trail Mix caught my eye for meeting all four needs.
After downing some PBJ Mix, I set off for home but after a mile my body was beginning to give out. My lungs weren't burning, my legs weren't cramping, my vision wasn't blurry - all things that have slowed me down in the past. This time it was my legs just aching and a general feeling of fatigue. I walked for the next two miles to give myself a chance to recover a bit, then throttled up to a running stride again. Just a mile later I could barely shuffle and resorted to walking again.
Had this been a race, I would've pressed on, walking until I felt better and trying to run, seeing if I could climb out of the rut. I've run two marathons before, and both times had to fight through some major issues, but this was just a training run. I decided it wouldn't be wise to essentially walk the remaining 10 miles home - it would only draw out my recovery and wouldn't add much to my overall endurance. So I pulled out the cell phone and summoned Amanda to pick me up. All told I ran 20 miles in four hours. I picked up a Subway turkey sub on the way home to refuel my recovering body.
In retrospect, I made a wise decision. An hour after getting home I limped around the backyard trying to play frisbee with my dogs - my legs were SORE. But a couple hours later I was feeling good. The legs are still sore, but not "walking like an old man" sore like after a marathon. Often if I push myself very hard I lose my appetite (happened after both marathons) for hours, but not today. Sometimes after hard workouts I get quite cold (even in the summer) as my body apparently allocates its resources away from thermal regulation and towards muscle and tissue repair. I often need a nap, too. But not today - I got a bit cold but nothing significant, and never felt sleepy, either. What this means is that despite feeling wasted after running 20 miles, I recovered quite rapidly. My training has been paying off, in one way or another.
Dogs haven’t always been kind to me. My first memory of a dog was our neighbor’s large Weimereiner when I was four years old – I was on my back in the grass, staring up at the grey dog’s belly because she had just run me over! Yet somehow I always knew that dogs are good. For the past three years my dogs Haven and Beacon have reminded me of that altruism on a daily basis.
Big dogs have always appealed to me the most but my parents decided that our first dog would be a small one. When I was ten years old I helped choose Penny from among her litter of Westie puppies. My two brothers and I absolutely adored her, and it only took us two years to talk our parents into a second dog. One day while visiting the local Humane Society we spotted a Sheltie mix that we fell for, and Gyro came home to become Penny’s little brother.
Penny and Gyro had a significant influence on me as I grew up. In middle school I had plans to study dog behavior and language as a career, and even employed my dogs in a science project. When I went off to college, I looked forward to seeing them when I visited home. Of course, they were always just as thrilled to see me. It was after I graduated college that Penny succumbed to old age at 15, and the next year Gyro passed on at 14. Even though I’d been living away from home for their last few years, it felt strange to no longer have any dogs in my life.
In March 2003 my new wife Amanda and I moved back to Michigan and bought a house that had one key feature: a large, fenced-in backyard. Immediately I tried to convince Amanda that we needed a dog. My persuasion worked, and then some. We wound up picking TWO puppies from the litter of our friends’ yellow Labrador Retriever. Haven and her littermates were born late at night on June 8, 2003. Sometime after midnight Beacon was born, so technically his birthday is June 9.
Two weeks later our friends went on their honeymoon, so we watched their dog, Sheree, along with her entire litter of eight puppies. Amanda instantly fell in love with Beacon because he was the runt, far smaller than his siblings. Three pups caught my eye right away due to their insistent curiosity, and I eventually settled on Haven. Interestingly, each of Amanda’s and my choices have latched onto us, respectively – Haven has become “daddy’s girl” and Beacon is a “momma’s boy”.
Our choices couldn’t have been more perfect. Over the past three years they’ve grown into the two big dogs that I’ve always wanted. Haven hasn’t lost her curiosity and absolutely loves to accompany me on long runs on the trails, exploring all of the sights and scents of the forest. Beacon has a passion for catching frisbees in the backyard and fetching sticks in any lake or river. When I come home from work Haven’s entire body wiggles in excitement while Beacon greets me with his favorite toy in his mouth.
While my first encounter with a dog didn’t go very smoothly, I can’t imagine life without dogs. I was lucky to grow up with Penny and Gyro, and my luck continues with Haven and Beacon being a part of my life today. In fact, their nicknames “Havy” and “Beaks” are the inspiration of this site. Happy 3rd birthday, HavyBeaks!
