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Haven and I having a blast racing in the 2008 Bailey's Doggie Dash.
Since I began running almost five years ago I've participated in 25 races (including 3 adventure races) but surprisingly only three events have been repeats. Twice each I've run the Grand Rapids Marathon and the Irish Jig 5K, and now I can add Bailey's Doggie Dash to the list for the fourth time!
My first ever organized race was the 2005 edition of the Doggie Dash and it's been an annual staple for Haven and I ever since. Why? You'll be hard pressed to find more fun packed into a 5K!
Haven poses as Amanda takes advantage of beautiful photography settings.
Haven has always been a fast runner - after all, she's a dog! They're born to run, even the lazy ones. :) My training over the years has helped me keep up with her and our Doggie Dash results show a favorable trend:
2005 Bailey's Doggie Dash - 24:39 - 10th overall, 1st/1 age group
2006 Bailey's Doggie Dash - 22:42 - 5th overall, 1st/4 age group
2007 Bailey's Doggie Dash - 20:17 - 3rd overall, 2nd/3 age group
(A note about the age groups... Yes, I "won" my age group in 2005 by being the only runner in it! Although technically I'll never truly win my age group as long as Joel Bierling and his dog Anubis are here - they've won the Doggie Dash outright every year since 2004, and Joel is my age. In fact the top three humans in 2007 were all 31 years old!)
The one and only Bailey, the "assistant race director" of Bailey's Doggie Dash.
Could Haven and I continue to improve in 2008? Sadly, no - I am still recovering from a lingering hamstring injury and knew going into the event that I would not be able to run near full speed, but Haven didn't get the memo...
We lined up behind the chalk line with "START" scrawled on the pavement - part of the appeal of this race is how casual and old-school it is - and Haven immediately began screaming in excitement! Just like before last year's race - she knew exactly what was going on and just couldn't wait to get going.
Krista Durham heard Haven (who couldn't?) and walked over to say hi as I tried to buckle the Ruff Wear Roamer leash around my waist. Krista and Ron discovered the Doggie Dash - and indirectly their dog Kasey - last year thanks to my blog! In 2007 Ron won his age group but this year was Krista's turn and she assured me that she was no threat to win an award.
Race director Kevin Sweeney "barks" out final instructions before the start of Bailey's Doggie Dash.
Photo courtesy of Jim Falk, Kent County Parks Foundation. The race is held at Wabasis Park in Kent County, and 100% of the entry fees are donated to the Foundation.
Finally we were off! As you can see in the photo below, even though I was trying to go easy Haven was definitely in afterburner. The pack began to thin out a bit when suddenly a Golden Retriever whizzed past... off leash! I heard a woman behind me calling for her dog but it was having too much fun! I stopped a couple times to try and snag its leash but without luck; however, the dog was soon back in hand.
Haven launches us off to a quick start - who do you think is having more fun?
Heading up the first hill from the boat launch a young Husky mix kept trying to play with Haven, but Haven wasn't here for games - she wanted to catch the lady in front of us! To Haven's chagrin I instead struck up a conversation with Neil, the owner of the playful Isla. This was Neil's 4th or 5th Doggie Dash but the 1st for recently-adopted Isla - in previous years Neil had to borrow his daughter's dog!
Going downhill pulled away from Neil and Isla and Haven settled in behind a woman and her Irish Setter, who was also using a hands-free leash like us. We followed about half a mile, reaching the 1-mile mark where I realized I'd forgotten to start my watch! I started it here and based on my finish time, was able to deduce later that Haven and I posted an 8:16 first mile, faster than I've run in a long time.
Neil Bierling and Isla work their way up a hill.
Once again it was a downhill section that allowed us to pass a runner and Haven and it made the turn onto the wooded trail section of the course. With nobody in sight ahead or behind us, Haven must've realized the sudden privacy - she stopped for some "business"! Fortunately I carried a couple Business Bags in my pocket and cleared the trail of landmines, but then had to carry the live ordnance until we found a trash can! When all was said and done it was almost a one minute delay.
A few dogs and people passed us during the pit stop and I must've subconsciously accelerated a bit - we ran the second mile at a 9:05 pace including the poop delay, but by this point Haven was finally growing tired of giving my pace a free ride. The leash went slack and I was on my own!
Surprisingly I felt pretty good but I didn't let the slow pace fool me into thinking I was fit enough for anything faster. We jogged through the campground where a camping family was watching with their dog. They asked me about race and I ran backwards a few steps as I explained the basics before Haven coaxed me onwards.
Haven and I cresting the final hill and still having fun.
At long last the final uphill was in sight and we did our best to maintain momentum. Along this stretch of road Amanda was lurking on the shoulder to snap some photos with the amazing fall colors in the background. Every year the Doggie Dash has seen great weather - clear, sunny, cool, and leaves every color but green.
Cresting the hill I noticed that Neil and Isla weren't far behind, so Haven and I made sure we didn't get lazy as we chugged towards the finish line. Woo hoo! Yep, it's an old-school event - no chip timing here. A volunteer ripped the perforated tab from my bib number while another wrote down my time on a clipboard. 26:59 was written by my number, probably my slowest 5K ever but also among the most enjoyable!
Juanita Stasik and Lance working hard - well, one of them is working hard. :)
The last mile clocked about 8:45 - not having Haven's help really exposed my slowness! We hung out at the finish to watch some other folks finish, including a couple of my friends from work. Juanita Stasik and her yellow lab Lance were running their second Doggie Dash after discovering the event in 2007.
Bob Fry and Monty make their way to the finish. Monty was glad for the cool, 45-degree weather!
Making his first Doggie Dash appearance was Bob Fry and his Pomeranian mix Monty. Bob is one the guys I run with at work during lunch (when my leg is healthy) and a former Boston Marathoner. Notice that "50" on his shirt - I'll bet that he and I were the only two runners wearing shirts from a 50-mile ultramarathon! Monty probably took as many steps in this 5K as Bob does in a 50K!
Now it was time for the treats - dog biscuits for Haven and Halloween candy for me! Race director Kevin Sweeney sure knows how to dish out a post-race spread! He also knows how to organize a smooth event - low tech, low stress, high class and high fun!
Haven is in full-on begging mode, explaining in dog language why she deserves yet another biscuit!
Once all the runners and walkers had finished it was time for the awards. First up were the door prizes and I finally won! The loot was a hand-made blanket - I've been pining for one of those hand-made dog beds and blankets that are given out each year.
The little wizard, winner of the Bailey's Choice costume award.
Next were the costume winners as chosen by local meteorologist Peter Chan - many great outfits but there was a certain charm about the winner - a little wizard. And finally the running awards... Once again Joel Bierling and Anubis won overall but he had to pass a high school cross country runner on the last hill to earn his victory! If that kid is back next year, Joel and Anubis are in trouble. A girl from the same high school took a close 2nd overall for women, too!
I should mention that trophies are handed out for the people and engraved bowls for the dogs! Three deep in each age group, so there's a lot of hardware going home. Neil and Isla won their age group as did Bob and Monty! However Bob had already headed home, so after the awards I got their trophies and dropped them off with Bob at work. He has two other dogs besides Monty and he thinks they'll be jealous of Monty's engraved bowl.
Not to be outdone by our co-worker, Juanita and Lance went home with some hardware, too! They finished 3rd in her age group, a task made easier by arriving on time. Last year Juanita took a wrong turn while driving to the park and started the race 10 minutes late! Apparently she still had so much fun that she came back for more.
Krista Durham and Kasey try to shrug off their award after promising at the start to not win one. ;)
Remember Krista's promise that Kasey wasn't going to win anything? Wrong - they placed 3rd in their age group! Kasey is 2-for-2 with trophies and now has more than either of his owners. Ron had his own race the next day - the Grand Rapids Marathon as his first 26.2 and he rocked it with a 3:37! Wow.
Finally it was time for my age group and... nothing. Lots of guys in their 30s can run faster than gimpy me, so poor Haven had to endure the shame of no engraved bowl this year. But hey, we won a blanket!
Haven relaxes on our door prize, an evidently comfy hand-made blanket.
Even though it's only a 20-minute drive home, Haven slept the entire way - she was one worn-out pup. We posed for our photo in front of the burning bush in what has become a post-race tradition, then went inside to indulge in more treats. As if Bailey's Doggie Dash wasn't enough of a treat already!
The traditional post-race photo - we'll be back in 2009!
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| From Haven & Beacon |
Happy birthday Haven and Beacon! My dogs turned 5 years old yesterday (Haven) and today (Beacon) and we celebrated in style. Beyond the new West Paw Tux toys, silly party hats and whipped cream 'n bread "birthday cake", I also took both dogs down to the river.
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| From Haven & Beacon |
We ran one mile of trails to get there, then I tried not to fall down the steep, muddy hill that descends to the water. Sometimes I throw sticks for them, but this time I went into the river with the dogs, wading upstream as they swam along beside me. After a long night of heavy thunderstorms, the river was deeper than usual and running fast - Haven and Beacon couldn't keep up with me! I had the advantage of long legs that could keep contact with the river bottom to push me forward.
A few times I walked toward shore where the pups could take a breather in shallow water before mushing onward, but eventually we got to a point where the current was flowing so quickly that the dogs could no longer make headway! Time to turn around, and boy was the "float" back downstream an easy one.
While my dogs got to have fun on their birthdays, it's been a rough summer for the dogs of some of my friends. Six weeks ago Paul unexpectedly lost his beloved yellow lab Sky from a heart attack during hip surgery. Sarah's fluffy akita, George, died of bloat on Saturday. Not a day later, Matt and Lisa's greyhound mix Eddie succumbed to cancer just a month after the diagnosis.
All three dogs were exceedingly loved and are dearly missed by my friends. I feel so sad for them - it's just so devastating to lose a furry family member. One hard truth about dogs is that they just don't live long enough - a 10-15 year life expectancy means that the end will always be too soon.
Sky, George, and Eddie all lived wonderful lives and as time heals the grief, hopefully my friends will remember how lucky they and their dogs were to have had each other for so many years.
So much sad news, but it's also a happy day that I'm able to celebrate the 5th birthdays of my two dogs. When they go it will be too soon, but hopefully there will be many more trail runs, river swims, treats and birthdays in between.
Who's having more fun, the guy or the dog?
My favorite race of the year is Bailey’s Doggie Dash 5K, a cross-country run for owners and their dogs to benefit the Kent County Parks Foundation. It’s not a large race, usually drawing around 50 participants, but it’s very well organized and one of the best races around where you can run with your dog.
Haven and I first ran the Doggie Dash in 2005 as my first ever organized running event since high school. That year we finished 10th overall in 24:39 and won my age group by virtue of being the only one in my age group (after they pulled out the overall winner, who had tied the course record in 18:17). In 2006 we improved to 5th overall, dropping nearly two minutes off our time with a 22:42 finish and winning the age group, this time a “large” group of four runners. How would Haven and I fare this year?
Just last week I set a post-high-school 5K PR of 20:56 in the Harvest Hustle so I knew I was better prepared to keep up with Haven in this year’s Doggie Dash. But I also had a plan to use canicross tactics - rather than hold Haven’s leash in my hand, I instead tied it to a belt around my waist so Haven could help pull me along. Haven and I trained in this setup for a few weeks before the race to make sure we both felt comfortable. I learned that it was necessary to have some form of shock absorption so I clamped an automobile tie-down bungee between Haven’s harness and the leash - it worked like a dream.
Haven and I enjoying the perfect pre-race weather.
Saturday morning arrived bringing perfect weather - mid 40’s, clear blue sky, and near-peak fall colors that yielded some stunning photos by Amanda. The Doggie Dash sports a Halloween theme with a dog costume contest judged by the local weatherman Peter Chan and registration SWAG handed out in trick-or-treat jack-o-lanterns.
The "Collie Flowers", contestants for the Bailey's Choice costume prize, are as adorable as they are obedient!
While taking Haven for a warm-up jog a guy came up to me and asked "Is that Haven?" Turns out he recognized us (or rather, my dog!) from reading my blog. If that wasn't amazing enough, Ron Durham told me that he and his wife Krista decided to adopt their dog Kacey in part because of reading about my blogged adventures running with Haven and Beacon!
This is Haven's 3rd Doggie Dash, so she knows when we're about to start and she can't contain her excitement!
I think Haven remembers previous races - when everyone began lining up for the start this year one guy took off on a warm-up jog and Haven must’ve thought the race had begun. Haven started screaming in anticipation as I tried to calm her down - it was so cute and she was getting lots of smiles from the crowd.
GO! The start of the 2007 Bailey's Doggie Dash.
At last it was “Ready, set, GO!” and we were off! Race director Kevin Sweeney pedaled a mountain bike ahead of the lead runner to give his dog something to chase, a very keen idea. Haven bolted full steam ahead and we quickly settled into fifth position. One of the most difficult sections of the course was the beginning because it was downhill and paved - with Haven full of energy dragging me downhill, it was all my legs could do to simply not let me fall flat on my face! My feet and legs took quite a pounding right off the bat.
Next we slogged through a scenic wide-open lawn that was saturated with water and then up a short road to a wooded picnic area. Just before reaching the one-mile marker Haven and I passed two racers who were fading after a quick start. 20 yards ahead was a guy who looked way faster than me but I sped up a bit to keep close to him so that Haven would have someone to chase.
Race director Kevin Sweeney serves as a rabbit on wheels for the dogs at the front of the pack.
She loved it, almost too much! Whenever we rounded a bend Haven tried to cut the corner inside the course flags - she wanted to intercept the runner we were chasing. I repeatedly had to remind Haven to follow the rules but she didn’t want to hear it. Every turn we’d lose 5-10 feet on the guy ahead of us since I’d have slow up to pull Haven outside the marker flags, but then we’d hustle to regain the lost ground.
At the 1 mile mark I was shocked to see 6:20 on my watch! Haven was definitely doing her part and it was fun to still have the leader in sight although I knew it wouldn’t last. Down a slight hill the course turned off into a wooded section of singletrack for a 1/4 mile before heading out and around the beach playground. Here Haven kept trying to stop for a drink in the large puddles of water pooling in the sand. I obliged her at one of them and she tried to lie down in the water to cool off! Sorry Haven but we have to finish the race first!
After the beach we ran along a dirt road and then onto a paved loop that carried us through the park’s campground. We were still close to the #2 runner at the 2 mile mark - our second mile was run at a 6:30 pace! I was getting pretty excited but I also knew that one or both of us were going to hit the wall soon.
It wound up being Haven; shortly after the second mile we started losing contact with the guy ahead of us as Haven no longer had the energy to pull my weight. Running is hard when my dog isn’t helping! Haven and I ran side-by-side for the next half mile as her leash was now slack - she was just trotting but I was trying to run as hard as I could. Dogs were born to run; humans, not so much.
Notice the slack leash and exhausted human - sailing ain't as smooth without my canine tugboat!
With about half a mile to go as we approached a long hill Haven began to fall behind. Going up the hill we reversed roles as I found myself trying to pull Haven along! I tried yelling “RABBITS!!” to her, a word that usually gets her all spooled up (she LOVES to chase rabbits) but she was to tired to care. Finally at the top of the hill we had just a 1/4 mile to go and I still couldn’t get her to pull even with me.
Even though I knew we were losing time quickly, this wasn’t my race - Haven was every bit a part of this effort and it wouldn’t be fair to speed up and drag her to the finish. I did keep the pace fast enough to maintain some tension - I figured I might as well help her out a bit without pulling so hard as to bunch the harness up around her head.
Haven and I cruising down the home stretch.
Finally in the last 100 yard grassy home stretch I tried another “RABBITS!!” but Haven was done, so we maintained our pace to the finish for a very satisfying 3rd place overall. Better yet was our time... 20:17! That was the second-fastest 5K I’ve ever run in my life, even though I had some help. My high school PR was 20:08 and my next-best teenage run was 21:13. Haven is my hero!
Seriously, Haven was the hardest-working dog at the race. Both runners who finished ahead of us had humans that were much more fit than I am while their greyhound-mix dogs were running alongside on a slack leash; i.e. the guys who beat us did so without the canine assistance that I needed. Some other dogs behind us were certainly pulling their owners, but at 195 pounds I was probably the heaviest human cargo to be mushed by any dog. Those greyhounds couldn’t have outrun Haven if I were dragging them down!
Ron Durham and Kasey at the finish, proving that running with dogs is fun!
Post-race food was great - bagels, cookies, candy and cider for the humans and water and doggie biscuits for the canines. Naturally Haven got to eat first before I took a crack at the goodies as we watched the rest of the field finish with the song “Who Let the Dogs Out” blaring on repeat over the loudspeakers.
After everyone finished we were treated to a demonstration of frisbee dogs by Pawsitive Vybe’s professional dog trainers Apryl Lea and Ron Sutton. Spectacular show! Six dogs (IIRC) displayed their talents and some of them were insanely good leapers and blazing runners.
Apryl Lea shows off the amazing frisbee skills of one of her dogs.
Following the frisbee demo was the awards ceremony. Some very nice handmade dog beds were raffled off and for the third year in a row, I didn’t win one. One guy that did win a bed and a free pair of shoes was Ron! This was on top of him and Kacey winning his age group. I have a feeling they might make the drive from the east side of Michigan to run again next year. :)
Despite our 3rd place overall finish Haven and I wound up taking 2nd in my age group as the guy we’d been chasing for two miles is in my bracket. In fact the overall winner Joel Bierling - who also won in 2005 and 2006 - is in my age group, too, so technically I was 3rd overall and 3rd in my age group. Men 30-35 were representin’ at the Doggie Dash!
Haven and I at home showing off our hardware.
There was no way I could’ve caught either of those fast runners, but in retrospect I probably could’ve helped Haven and I get a faster time if I’d managed Haven’s workload more effectively. For the first mile there was nothing I could do but hang on for the ride, but mile 1.5 through 2.0 I should’ve quickened my pace a tad to ease the drag on Haven; that way she may have sustained her energy long enough to keep the both of us on the tail of the #2 finisher for another half mile until finally running the last half mile with a slack leash and not having to pull her.
Nevertheless, we ran an awesome race, had a ton of fun, and we’re already looking forward to the 2008 Doggie Dash!
T'was a busy weekend. Awake by 0600 on Saturday for the Reeds Lake Run, then get ready for my little brother Ryan's bachelor party! I had about two hours at home between the race and getting back in the car to drive to Midland for his celebration which included grilling out on a softball field, playing frisbee golf, taking in a minor league baseball game, then hitting the cursory bar for a few drinks. Poor Ryan had to wear a plastic ball and chain around his ankle all day (amazingly he was still good at frisbee golf while wearing it!), a giant sombrero, and a t-shirt with a picture of a pinata and the caption "I'd Hit It". I wish I'd remembered to take a photo! I didn't get home until after 0300!
Sunday Amanda and I took Eddie to meet his future "parents" and otherwise tried to take it easy. However, Haven and Beacon started giving me those soulful looks of "let's go do something!" so I decided to take them to the river. After all, the weather was perfect - upper 60's, sunny, and a light breeze. My legs were a bit tired from Saturday's two races but good enough that we bypassed the river access near the parking area and jogged half a mile on the trail up and over a large hill to the prime river access point.
Rather than throw sticks for fetching, this time I took the dogs for a walk, or rather a "wade", up the river! The recent dry spell had lowered the water level enough that I could walk the 50 yards across the river without getting deeper than my knees. Even the dogs were mostly walking or bunny-hopping in the shallow water. We waded about a 1/4 mile upstream to a section of small rapids where there were a couple "nozzle" points that had rather strong flow. It was strong enough that I had trouble standing and the dogs had to swim as hard as they could just to stand still. We had fun playing in the rapids - I walked up the "nozzle" then back through while the dogs went for a theme-park-like ride through the chute!
Finally we jogged back to the parking area, a dirt cul-de-sac next to an old boy scout cabin. Haven loves to eat weeds (I have no idea why!) and there were some nice, long, un-mowed weeds in back of the cabin. As she bent down to grab a bite I was about to scold her when suddenly a whitetail deer fawn sprung out of the weeds! Haven was startled for just a split second before she gave chase, and Beacon soon joined her as they pursued the poor little deer around the building.
The fawn was a bit taller than my dogs, but clearly much scrawnier and probably only weighed 50 lbs to my dogs 65-70 lbs each. As the trio rounded the corner I heard the fawn start bleating like a goat, crying "Mmmaaah! Mmmaaah!" over and over - I feared that my dogs were going to kill it! I sprinted around the opposite side of the cabin, hoping to head them off and get between the predators and the prey to prevent serious harm.
To my surprise, when I rounded the cabin the fawn was nowhere to be seen! My dogs love to scarf their food, but no way did they eat that fawn. :) Beacon was in the parking lot scanning every which way trying to spot the deer. Haven, however, was one step ahead - she was sniffing underneath a wooden staircase. I walked over to grab Haven when the fawn clambered out from under the stairs right past Haven, who merely sniffed it as it started to run away again.
Seeing it run excited my dogs enough to give chase. While faster than me, the fawn wasn't nearly strong enough to outclass adult canine speed and my dogs closed in quickly as the fawn raced down the road. Knowing I couldn't accomplish anything by chasing, I ran back to the car and opened the back door, hoping to signal my dogs that it's "time to go" - usually they'll jump right in. Then it occurred to me... What if mommy deer hears the bleating and comes after my dogs? Luckily I was the only "adult" around!
When I turned back to the action, I saw one of the most improbable sights of my life - the fawn was standing frozen with Haven and Beacon motionless on either side of it!!! I so wish I'd had a camera right then. The fawn must've tired out or realized it couldn't outrun the dogs. Haven and Beacon started to sniff the fawn when Bambi decided to go on the offensive - it reared back and head-butted Beacon just like a goat would do! Beacon was startled and jumped back. Bambi lunged again and Beacon got down in a dog's "play bow" with his front paws down and butt in the air.
Beacon put a couple juke moves on the fawn, feinting left and right and when Bambi went for another "attack" Beacon ran away back to me for safety! I was really cracking up at this point. A little fawn put the smack down on big bad Beaks! Confirming my idea to open the car door, Beacon jumped right up onto the seat and I quickly closed the door to finally contain one dog.
Looking back to Haven, she was trying to sniff the fawn just like she would greet a new foster dog. She was trying to make friends! But the fawn was understandably less trusting and kept trying to head-butt Haven, moves that Haven was easily able to dodge. Finally I think Haven got tired of this belligerent potential pal and she came running back to me to see what happened to Beacon. I got her in the car just as Bambi turned to lope out of sight down the road.
Amanda couldn't believe me when I told her the story and she really wishes she could've seen it. I'm still amazed that the dogs didn't injure the fawn, but even more incredible is that they wanted to play with it! That image of Haven and Beacon standing either side of the fawn is permanently etched in my memory... Classic. I'll probably never see something like that again, but still I hope that someday the dogs will encounter another fawn and try to play with it. My dogs never cease to amaze!
This year we're keeping track of our dogs' activities and thanks to Saturday's race and an easy run with Haven yesterday, the dogs can boast some milestones:
Haven - 202 miles running, 5 hours swimming
Beacon - 150 miles running, 9 hours swimming
The miles include on-leash running and off-leash running and hiking; the swimming is mostly fetching sticks in the river. If we could teach them to ride a bike they'd make great triathletes!
Amanda is a bit worried because Haven is keeping up with her! Amanda is at 208 miles, so I'm teasing her by saying I'll take Haven for a 12-miler this weekend. Although Haven needn't worry because I have yet to see Amanda swim in the river with a stick in her mouth. :)
*** For a race report with photos, visit my Why Run? blog ***
What is more fun than running a race? Running a race with my dogs! This morning I was joined by Haven and Beacon for the 1st annual Healthy Paws Healthy Cause Fun Run, a 4-mile event for dogs and their people. I've done two 5Ks with Haven before, but I've never attempted a race while being hitched to both of my wannabe sled dogs! This should be interesting...
The event was organized by the Cascade Hospital for Animals with proceeds to benefit Mackenzie's Animal Sanctuary. There were no age groups, awards, or even official results - it's just what it says, a "fun run" to get folks out enjoying the morning with their dogs. Over 80 people signed up, not bad for the first ever event. The race director I recognized (via her dog!) as Dr. Happel, the runner that I barely out-kicked at the finish of the 2006 Bailey's Doggie Dash (if you follow the link, she's in the orange shirt in the photos on the bottom row of the page).
Going into this race I wasn't planning to run all out; rather, I wanted to maintain a tempo pace as best I could but primarily just have fun with Haven and Beacon. Since most participants were planning to walk, I lined up near the front; there were about 7 runners ahead of me. Dogs and people were still milling about - in fact, one lady was petting Haven - when the race director shouted out "Five seconds!" And we're off!
The guy at the front broke free quickly and Haven and Beacon decided to chase him - hard! I had no choice but to join their pursuit and within 100 yards of the start we had passed everyone except the leader! It turns out that only eight people were running; the rest were walkers. I pulled alongside the front guy and we sheepishly confided that it felt rather weird to be leading a race. We kept looking back for a while, assuming that some fast runners would blow by us.
We chatted for the first mile where I learned that his dog - weimaraner named Bailey (not the one from Bailey's Doggie Dash) - was five years old, just a year old than my two pups. She loves the water and behaves well on a leash; so well in fact that the guy (funny how I know his dog's name but never learned his!) had the handle of his flexi-lead in his shorts pocket the whole time. If I tried that with my dogs they'd rip my shorts right off me!
With Haven and Beacon leading the way we cruised past the first mile marker in 6:45, a very fast pace for me. The course then ascended a moderate hill and Bailey's owner exlaimed "Uh oh Bailey, daddy's not feeling too good!" and sure enough, he began to fall back as my dogs pulled me upward. Going down the hill my feet were burning - I realized that I hadn't tied my shoelaces tight enough and the soles of my feet were sliding along the bed of my shoe.
Mile two was the beginning of an undulating portion of the course, most of which was run on paved pedestrian paths. With nobody to chase, Haven and Beacon slowed their pace and were no longer pulling me up the hills. Around mile 2.5 Bailey and her owner caught up with us and we ran side-by-side for the next half mile. This time we didn't say anything as we all needed to conserve our oxygen.
Somehow I must've programmed my dogs for a 5K distance (maybe they read my blog?) because soon after we passed the third mile marker (in 21:50, not bad!) they slowed waaaay down. Bailey and her runner kept their momentum going and pulled steadily away from us as I was forced to drag Haven and Beacon forward! Those lazy dogs. :) Finally they realized I wasn't going to stop and they ran beside me the rest of the way.
We passed some pedestrians going the opposite way to relayed to me that the guy ahead of me "was very concerned that I would catch him", but I told them he had nothing to worry about. Not only were my dogs worn out, I was out of energy as well and we struggled most of the last mile. After passing Amanda with her camera, we finally reached the finish line! Sure enough Bailey had won and Haven and Beacon shared second place just one minute behind in 30:29. It was about five minutes until the next runners began showing up. Walkers continued to trickle into the finish for the next hour.
The organizers thought of everything, providing water (for both humans and canines), bagels, bananas, donuts, and dog treats for the finishers. Haven and Beacon eagerly helped themselves to some water while I shared a banana with Haven. After eating my peanut-covered donut, the dogs both got some treats and then finally I remembered to drink some water myself. Once we got home Amanda had the three of us pose for the obligatory post-race photo, all sporting our event t-shirt and bandanas. Haven and Beacon are now fast asleep at my feet. :) What a fun race!
A fairly light week as I'm taking today off to rest up for my race tomorrow - a 4-mile run with my dogs! For the first time I'll be racing with both Haven and Beacon instead of just one dog, so we'll see how that goes. On Monday I took both of them out for a 4-mile training run to make sure everything works - my leash system, my dogs, and my feet. We managed an 8:47 pace in hot weather, so I think we'll be OK. I'm not going to be racing all out but I want to at least maintain a tempo pace if the dogs let me.
Tuesday was supposed to be a fartlek session that turned into suffering! Heat stress. I ran 3.3 miles of fartlek alternating between 7:00 and 9:30 paces (estimated) but on the way back I only managed a couple more speedy minutes before being overcome by the heat and having to walk! I actually walked about 15 minutes of the return trip and finished 24 oz of water well before getting home. I even got a headache, a good sign of heat stress. That was a long 6.7 miles!
Wednesday was a run at work and we maintained a 9:15 pace for our 5 miles despite all of us feeling hot and worn out. It's been hot here lately and it hasn't even hit 90 yet! At least the race tomorrow is at 0800 so it should be plenty cool for me and the pups.
Our dogs are now 4 years old! In dog years they're catching up to Amanda and I. :)
Haven's birthday is June 8 and Beacon's is June 9. They're from the same litter, so how are they born a day apart? Their mother, Sheree (owned by friends of ours), gave birth to the litter late evening June 8th, sometime around 9-11pm that night. After our friends waited a few hours to make sure all seven puppies had arrived, they went to bed around 1am. When they woke up and checked on Sheree at 8am, there was an eighth puppy! It was Beacon, the runt of the litter.
Since Amanda has posted the birthday photos, I'll leave you with some of Haven's and Beacon's puppy pics...
Beacon is on the far left with his head down, pointing to the top of the frame; Haven is bottom center, her head straining to face the camera.
Beacon is on the left, Haven is on the right; they're almost four weeks old.
Today was definitely a Fox Mulder day...
Adopt Her Already!
First the not-so-bad. Our foster dog Reese has been wanted by a couple for over a week now but they keep dragging their feet. We met them with Reese at a pet store last week and they liked her, but then wanted to see her interact with their current dog. Makes sense, but couldn't we have done that for the first meeting if that was an issue? So we take Reese to their house, she and their dog get along great, but one of the adopters is out of town and they want to discuss to make sure. OK... Finally they decide to adopt her and we arrange to meet at my office Thursday to sign the papers but she never shows up. Today we're supposed to meet, but she calls to say she's running late and won't be free until after I leave work. Now Amanda has to coordinate meeting her while I go for my run. To top it off they can't pick Reese up until Monday since one of couple is still on travel. If they'd been just a wee bit more proactive early on, Reese could've gone home with them over a week ago! Oh well. The good thing is that Reese is adopted, and we actually really like this couple. They're nice, patient with dogs, Reese and their dog get along great, they have a big fenced-in backyard, and they go camping a lot. Reese will be happy with them so this craziness is worth it.
Bad Business
Today at home Amanda gets a call from Fidelity where the guy says he has to talk to me about my retirement account due to the takeover. (Background: my company used Fidelity for their 401K but we've since been bought by another company that uses a different financial service.) This guy leaves his name and a direct line phone number. So I call him back from work and get a generic voicemail box saying "an appropriate associate will return your call"... I get suspicious and contact HR at work, who contacted Fidelity and was able to confirm that Fidelity's sales group was using a register of names acquired during the takeover to cold-call people at my company to pitch personal retirement accounts. How incredibly unethical! On top of that, it would seem to me to be bad business. Here's a prime example: I had been planning to leave the amount accrued from my former company in Fidelity's 401K rather than rolling it over, but now they have just cost themselves my account. Prepare to roll it over, Fidelity!
Play Ball! Not.
Thursday night was my softball team's fourth game of the season, except that it never happened. We all showed up, the other team showed up, the umpires showed up... and so did a little league team that claimed to have the field during our game time! I called GRAASA, our softball league, but the number was disconnected! The little league got the city parks and recreation director on the phone, who confirmed that the little league gets the field. Our game got canceled. What the heck? It turns out that GRAASA had reserved the field and the little league was supposed to play on Saturday; however, the little league umpires had a conflict that day so at the last minute the city gave them our field but never told GRAASA. What annoys me is that this same thing happened to another GRAASA game last week but GRAASA never did anything to prevent it from happening again. Isn't once enough to learn a lesson? Maybe not for these folks, as they have yet to demonstrate any thoroughness in their operation of the league. Our schedule was postponed by a week to start the season because they couldn't find enough fields. Then the first field was played on was a kids' field with un-attached bases and a storm drain in centerfield - dangerous! Turns out GRAASA never even looked at the field before reserving it. We're currently operating under league schedule revision 5 or 6 (I've lost count) because they don't proofread their schedules before sending them out. They didn't even proofread their rulebook, which explains the disconnected phone number - their phone works, but they wrote the wrong number in the rulebook! If that all wasn't enough, some of their umpires were unaware of some non-standard GRAASA-specific rules. To their credit they are 100% volunteer, but that's no excuse for not being thorough and complete. Today at work I had to write them a "nice" letter to explain my teams' lack of satisfaction.
So yeah, today was a tough day of dealing with people that can't be counted on.
Happily we still had two good reasons to celebrate the day - Haven and Beacon's birthday!
It's getting pretty hot these days here in Michigan. Tuesday morning I went for a run at 0600 with our newest foster dog Reese and it was already in the 60's! We only ran for 2.5 miles but I surprised myself (and perhaps Reese, too!) by holding a 8:15 pace without feeling too tired. We stopped at the river halfway and I discovered that Reese does not like water!
Today I ran with my co-workers at lunch, but beforehand I tried an experiment. Results? Don't eat before running! I completely wonked out on our 5-miler and practically dragged myself back to work. 87 degress and humidity didn't help the issue.
As long as I'm linking to my running blog I might as well add a link for my Memorial Day article honoring dogs.
Yesterday I wasn't in the mood for running but I was a good boy and went out for a run anyway. I took Beacon with me and he was a good boy as well - usually he pulls a lot but for some reason he was super obedient for our run! Both of us had a lot of fun and I was really happy that I forced myself out the door with running shoes on.
I needed to do some speedwork so Beacon and I warmed up by jogging the one mile through downtown to the local fairgrounds, where there's a 1/4-mile dirt track. I let Beacon off leash and ran some laps. I hadn't done this in a long time but was happy with the results. My plan was to run the first lap hard, next lap medium, third lap hardest, fourth lap slow, and then go from there. Between each of these laps was a slow jog/walk lap for recovery.
It worked! First lap was 82 seconds, second was 90, third was 75 (holy cow!) and fourth was 105 seconds. The 75 seconds was the fastest I've run a 1/4 mile since high school, although I did run a 76 last fall. Then I decided to see how well I could "suck it up" and do another fast lap despite being tired and at the end of my workout. I surprised myself by clocking 77 seconds! I would've been happy just to get under 90.
This Saturday is my next 5K, the Riverbank Run, which is the biggest running event in Grand Rapids. The marquee race is a 25K - it's the national championships for that distance - but there's also a 5K. I was really tempted to do the 25K with the goal of running it in less than 2 hours (it's everyone's goal for that race, it seems) but this year I want to focus on speed (slow as I am) and run a good 5K.
Too bad I can't run it with Haven and Beacon!
How about run 500 miles? Back on April 25 I ran my 500th mile and on May 3 I went for my 100th run of the year. Just 500 more until 1000... "I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more..."
Today was a 9.8 mile long run - I ran to Meijer where Amanda met me and we went grocery shopping afterwards. Before and after the run I felt really good and somehow managed a 9:17 pace despite thinking that I was taking it easy - walking up a half-dozen hills, stopping to enjoy a couple scenic views along the river, etc.
Later today we took all three dogs - Haven, Beacon and foster dog Honey - to my Grandma's pasture to run around. We spent two hours hiking around and the dogs are completely worn out now! They got to have a ton of fun - they chased a rabbit, two nesting turkeys, a ruffed grouse, a deer, and a pheasant! Amanda will post the pictures as part of her DITL for today.
Yesterday I put a nifty new post on Why Run? about the physics of speed, pace and energy. I started thinking about it when Katiebell described some frustration when treadmilling recently:
"I was shocked to find that the difference between 5.4 miles per hour and 5.7 was negligible, but bump it to 6.0 (a mere ten min mile) and I could barely keep on pace...6.5 and I was struggling."
Thursday I was on the treadmill doing speedwork and it dawned on me how explain the physics of this phenomenon. If you're curious then check out my Why Run? article which even has a couple of cool graphs!
In honor of my not-so-secret birthday, let's discuss what careers we envisioned for ourselves as kids. Did you have just one idea that all your dreams were made of, or was your future more of a moving target?
I was one of the latter - each year I had a new profession that I was gonna be when I grew up. Here's my list; note that my "years" are based on school years not calendar years, as my memories are inevitably tied to what grade I was in at the time, not how old I was.
Pre-school - garbage man
I was in awe of the garbage trucks and how they could "gruff" the trash in the compactor!
Kindergarten - ornithologist
My favorite book was the Field Guide to Birds of North America and I loved to watch hawks and vultures soaring above.
1st grade - construction worker
I wanted to operate a lime green front-end loader because I loved giant construction machines.
2nd grade - center fielder for the Detroit Tigers and wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals
The hometown Tigers had just won the World Series and the Bengals had cool helmets; apparently I was going to be Bo Jackson!
3rd grade - paleontologist
I was going to dig up fossils to study prehistoric mammals; my favorite was Andrewsarchus for obvious reasons. :)
4th grade - zoologist
I wanted to study large mammalian predators such as wolves, bears, and big cats
5th grade - marine biologist
In particular I wanted to study marine mammals, especially orcas and dolphins.
6th grade - fiction writer
Reading countless Newberry Medal books got me thinking that I could write cool stories, too.
7th grade - forest ranger
I loved trees, especially redwoods and sequoias. A family trip to Yellowstone National Park inspired this one.
8th grade - canine and/or dolphin behaviorist
My plan was to understand dog/dolphin communication and ultimately learn to speak their language.
9th grade - astronaut
My dream was to take part in the first mission to walk on Mars.
10th grade - architect
I read a book about Frank Lloyd Wright and loved the concept of blending form with function.
11th grade - aerospace engineer
I loved airplanes and flying; plus, it sounded impressive when written on a college application.
12th grade - helicopter pilot
I had started taking flying lessons and preferred "low and slow" rather than "high and fast" flying.
How did I choose? With my eyesight too poor to become a pilot, I stuck to the most recent available career and became an aerospace engineer; besides, I kinda felt locked in by virtue of my choice of college major. In college I did revisit the pilot idea with the Marines when I found out they offered waivers for imperfect eyesight; however, my vision was way too nearsighted for a waiver and I didn't want to be a back-seater.
I might have considered careers in athletics had I thought that was an option; however, from an early age my mom instilled that such careers were dead-ends and sports were just games. Now that I realize how possible it is to have meaningful careers in athletics, perhaps my interests there would've received more serious attention.
Ironically (or perhaps predictably) I'm presently none of the professions listed above; I still call myself an aerospace engineer but in truth I work as a computer systems engineer for a company that puts their products on aircraft. In retrospect I probably would've preferred a career in the natural sciences because as cool as technology is, it's never more fascinating than nature.
It seems most of my major hobbies had a big event recently:
Saturday - spent about 10 hours volunteering at the Pet Expo
Saturday - conducted my Mach League player draft 8pm-10pm
Sunday - went running TWICE for an hour each run
Sunday - fetched the dogs at the river before the Pet Expo
Sunday - between runs, volunteered about 5 hours at the Pet Expo
Monday - went to the softball managers' meeting after work, got home around 9:30pm
So there you have significant events for my hobbies of dogs, running, dog rescue, baseball, and co-ed softball. To top it all off, I'm a tad under the weather. This probably explains why my second Sunday run was so painful - my body was diverting its resources to my immune system, not to my "running" system.
I debated whether I should run today or take the day off, but since Amanda was feeling tired and sore and still went for her workout today, I figured I should get my work in, too.
It was very warm - 78 degrees - when Haven and I set foot (and paw) on the road, heading for the trailhead. Just before the trailhead we passed a couple kids playing with an unleashed dog in their driveway. Upon spotting us the dog - a border collie mix - started to follow us. She was very shy and Haven kept trying to chase her away, but this dog wouldn't go away. She had very bright blue eyes so I called her Blue Eyes. I suppose I could've been more creative but sometimes my mind turns off when I run!
Anyway, Blue Eyes followed us into the woods for about a 1/4 mile on the trail, so I decided I better bring her back to the kids. I walk up the driveway and ask the kids if this is their dog. They tell me no, that this dog came from down the road somewhere. Great. I checked for tags. Blue Eyes had a collar, but no tags. At least she was pretty submissive to both me and Haven and kept trying to play with Haven, so she was a friendly dog.
My next plan was to get her tired. One time a german shepherd followed Haven and I on a run and we got him pretty tired before his owner drove up to get him. We ran back into the woods and Blue Eyes followed; of course, border collies were meant to run. I exited the trail further up the road and decided to head back towards where the kids said she came, hoping to find an owner. Once on the road Blue Eyes took off, obviously familiar with her location and hopefully heading home. When she wasn't looking I unleashed Haven, pointed at the trail and said quietly but urgently "Let's go let's go let's go!!!" and Haven bolted down the trail with me in hot pursuit. I figured if Blue Eyes tried to follow us, she'd be less inclined the more distance we put between her and us.
It worked! No sign of Blue Eyes. Haven and I finished our work on the trails and headed for the river where we planned to meet Amanda and Beacon playing fetch. I could hear Beacon's eager screams half a mile away! Partly because of the strong NW wind that was bringing a cold front our way. Just before we saw Amanda and Beacon the skies opened up with big fat drops of rain!
We continued fetching with the dogs even as the pouring rain turned the surface of the river into what looked like a giant lemon zester! Despite the decreasing temperature and increasing mud and thunder we kept throwing sticks and the dogs kept fetching them. What a blast! We were soaked when we finally headed back to the car; when we got 100 yards away the rain simply stopped and within seconds the sun was out. Perfect timing!
Normally Amanda and I do our long workouts on Sunday mornings, but this morning we had a bit of a time crunch due to volunteering at the Pet Expo. I could only run for an hour so I planned to get in my long run via a "daily double" run.
This morning was 60 degrees and overcast; in fact, thunderstorms had just rolled through before sunrise. I got my running gear on, grabbed a water bottle and my iPod and hit the streets. Let me tell you, it was one of THE MOST ENJOYABLE runs I've ever had! Why this morning of all days? Perhaps the perfect running weather and the good music, but for some reason my feet were just floating. I was cruising along at just over a 9:00 pace and I felt as if I could've gone on forever. Never once did I feel even a hint of fatigue; I just ran and ran and ran for 7.3 miles, going faster every mile.
Before heading off to the Expo our dogs convinced us to let them get some activity, so we drove them to the trails to run around and fetch in the river for about half an hour. They would've preferred more, but it was all the time we had. Still, they were pretty happy. Dogs can be so easy to please! Then again, are we any different?
After the Expo it was time for the second half of my long run, and what a contrast! My legs were tired from the morning run, tired from standing at the Expo for hours, and here I am trying to make them run again. I eked out 6.75 miles at a 9:30 pace and barely made it! At least the weather was great: 75 degrees and partly sunny - perhaps the heat was part of my trouble for my winter-adjusted body? In any case, the first two miles my legs felt stiff, then for two miles I felt OK, then the last two+ miles my legs felt heavy and listless.
Hopefully one of these days I can figure out how to replicate the feeling of that morning run!
We've had a busy weekend and hopefully I'll have time to write about everything tonight. First up is the West Michigan Pet Expo, a two-day event that Amanda and I attended as volunteers. Lots of people explored the dozens of pet-related exhibitors in the convention center and it was pretty crowded.
One of the dogs we were trying to adopt out was Lucy, a one and a half year old black lab mix. She was there both days and during our time there I grew quite fond of Lucy and she took quite a liking to me as well. It all started when I took her out for a walk, during which I ran her about 1/4 mile along the road. After that she would sit in her crate facing me rather than all the people who might want to adopt her!
She's a real sweetie. Occasionally we'd let her out of crate on leash to sit with us and she kept trying to crawl into our lap, and she's a 70 pound dog! Whenever kids would pet her she made sure to lick them solidly on the face. Over the two days I took her out for walks a half dozen times and each time I'd run her a 1/2 mile and she'd come back happy and tired. Problem was, nobody was interested in adopting her...
...until tonight! Someone took notice of her sweetness and Lucy got adopted! Lucky Lucy. :)
It's nice and warm here - almost 60 - so we took advantage of the weather to hike with the dogs and play a little fetch. I'm just going to write about the hiking part since I had the camera during that portion.
The Flat River is near our house and there's a nice little trail network that runs by it. You wouldn't think you'd have to climb a steep hill to reach a river, but that's what we're doing in order to access a nice flat spot for fetching. You can see how high we are above the floodplain on the far side of the river and we're just halfway up the hill.
Near the top of the hill we're much higher, but the view isn't quite as good since some cedar trees block part of the view. Still, it's this view is well worth the climb up the leaf-covered trail.
We call Haven a "mountain goat" because she has no fears or problems negotiating steep terrain. Beacon, however, prefers to avoid it. He usually watches from a safe position as Haven contemplates whether satisfying her curiosity will be worth the trip back up this steep slope.
It's even tougher to climb when the ground is soft and covered in dry leaves, like today. Amanda did a hill repeats workout earlier today so it's pretty impressive that she tackled this hill just a few hours later. Notice how dogs make hills look so easy to climb!
Haven has a very strong curiosity drive so while Beacon is dutifully retrieving sticks from the river, Haven occasionally takes little sorties through the woods. What she's chasing, who knows, but she's loves to just run around weaving among the trees. On the last photo I attempted to apply some artistic touch with Picasa's soft focus effect and I think it looks pretty cool.
After logging Tuesday's run with the dogs I noticed that one of them reached a milestone: Haven has passed 100 miles on the year! She has 102 miles under her pads. Beacon isn't too far behind with 71 miles, but he also can boast 85 minutes of swimming whereas Haven has just 20. They've each done this in about 15 hours of activity.
This is also good motivation for Amanda, who has 84 miles on foot this year. Haven is kicking her butt and Beacon isn't too far behind. Time to move to the head of the pack! :)
For about a week before the race I was battling a sore left IT band, then I must've overcompensated and caused some sore calves. I took it easy leading up to the 5K and it really paid off as my legs were able to recover. After the race my calves were a bit sore, but not as bad as the day before so that was cool.
Yesterday was my first run after the 5K, running with the guys from work. We managed a 9:00 pace over 5 miles and it felt pretty good and my legs were hardly sore afterwards. Still, I'm going to continue with a lighter training load this week to make sure my IT band and calves get all healed up before I crank up the intensity again.
That doesn't mean I won't run! All day at work today I felt like running so when I got home I packed the dogs in the car and drove to a nearby trailhead. It's only a half-mile away but it's a paved half-mile; I didn't want the pavement pounding my legs in trail shoes and I didn't want two big dogs dragging me around in their excitement, so I wussed out and took the car.
No worries though - once there, we ran. This way Haven and Beacon could spend the entire outing off leash and boy did they have some energy to burn! They were burning up the grass as I slowly jogged in pursuit. Three miles and 30 minutes later none of us were tired, but I wasn't going to push my legs today so we hiked to the river and I played fetch with the dogs.
Before I threw the first stick Haven was 50 yards down the riverbank, rolling in something in the bushes. I called her and waved the stick, but instead Beacon ran off to join her! Continuing to disobey, I ran after them and found the object of their desire - a stinky, rotten, dead catfish! Gross. Or "bogus" as we'd say in elementary school. Using a stick I pushed the carcass into the river and ran back to our fetching area waving the stick excitedly, leaping over a stream along the way.
Beacon as you may recall is a fiend for fetch. Haven usually just wades but this time she went after a stick in the shallows while waiting for Beacon to swim back. Next time I threw Beacon's stick far out into the river to give Haven more retrieving time, and threw her a stick pretty far out, too. Without hesitating she swam out and brought it back, and even enjoyed it!
Part of what I think has helped Haven is that when she brings a stick back, I get REALLY excited, jumping around and saying things like "wooooooooooo good girl, you got the stick, woo hoo woo hoo shake out that water shake shake shake WOO HOO!" I suppose if anyone saw me they'd think I was Daffy Duck going loony. But it worked! She started to get spooled up and was fetching sticks thrown as far as Beacon's were thrown. Both dogs are sound asleep right now, so I bet they had fun!