RunForLife’s Neighborhood

Well we had our Secret Santa thingy at work last Friday. There were noms and gifts:

All in all, a very civilised event. :)

Yesterday, I went for a long run. Before I set off, I wasn't sure how far I'd go, I hoped for at least 20 miles.

That day was overcast with no wind and the high temperature would be 43. We haven't had temps that high for almost two weeks so it felt like a heat wave.

Only a mile from our house a neighbor parked her pickup on the road. She opened her truck door and her black lab promptly charged me.

He didn't stop, despite my yell. He kept coming, barking and growling. As he jumped on me with mouth open and teeth bared, I kneed him HARD. He grunted as my knee connected with his soft underbelly. Then, he fell back about six feet with the wind knocked out of him.

Lucky for him, he was smart enough to jump up, turn and run back to his owner. Had he decided to continue, I might have had no other choice but to take it up to a level 4 response. (level 1 = strong words or yelling, level 2 = throwing rocks or spraying pepper spray, level 3 = physically defending oneself, level 4 = well, l'll just say that after a level 4 response, no dog ever repeats their behavior again).

The owner then proceeded to yell and berate me for "beating up her dog."

I yelled right back and told her "What the #$%#% was I supposed to do?! Wait until he bit me?!?!?!" 

She then apologized. She admitted her dog is kind of a bully (no kidding!) and said he can tell when people are afraid of him (Well, he certainly didn't read me correctly, I wasn't afraid of him).

What kind of stupid dog runs towards a person growling with teeth bared and jumps on them ?

A bully who hasn't had anyone teach them that running full speed towards someone growling and then jumping up with teeth bared is never acceptable. I have no problem with a dog standing at the end of his driveway letting me know that it is his territory and I should not enter. I also don't have a problem with a dog coming up to politely smell me. But I do have a problem with unprovoked attacks.

I've been chased, nipped, bit, attacked and treed by many dogs in my life. Long ago, I promised myself to never allow myself to be bullied or attacked by any dog or pack of dogs ever again. Of course, I now also run prepared, in the event that I have no other choice but to defend myself.   

Anyway, after she apologized, I apologized too (though I think she didn't deserve my apology) and we introduced ourselves. There are better ways to meet the neighbors than after kneeing their dog when it charges you.

I continued my run. At Ghost Canyon, instead of turning left and heading on my usual route towards Mt. Rushmore, I turned right towards the town of Keystone. Playhouse Road is rolling through the Black Hills National Forest with many switchbacks, much altitude gain/loss and practically no shoulder. Fortunately, there were few vehicles.

I saw a  HUGE female golden eagle swoop low over the trees. I stopped running and watched her glide silently. The wingspan of golden eagles average over 7 feet in width.  

What a powerful, beautiful majestic bird!  

Seeing this eagle, I was both inspired and humbled. I thought to myself: "No matter what else I see or experience today, being out here and seeing her has made my run worth it."

As the eagle disappeared over a ridge, I said quietly under my breath: "Mitakuye oyasin" and continued my run. 

At highway 40, I turned east and headed home. A few miles from home, I called Jeanne and Nathan to tell them I was on my way.

Finally, as the sun set low on the horizon, I walked the last half mile up our snow covered drive. I looked at my GPS: 24.3 miles. One good run!

This morning, I have only a few areas of trace muscle soreness, but nothing that will keep me from our day's chores: cutting firewood.

It is amazing what the human body can accomplish with training, time and dedication. Only 6 years ago, I would have been extremely sore and had trouble walking after only 10 or 12 mile run.  24 miles is now a nice relaxed weekend jog for me. I could do it again today.

Run on and run well!

 

Last week it was 4 degrees above and snowing. I decided to go for a long run.

After taking several weeks off due to my tendon injury at Lean Horse Hundred in August, I have been relieved to finally be able to run distances greater than 10 miles.

We humans are strange creatures, aren't we?

We worry about that which hasn't yet happened and which may never happen- all while at the same time forgetting to be grateful for that which we do have. We never appreciate what we have until it is lost.

I started out in a snow at four degrees above- but the temps rapidly dropped to below zero.

I meet many fair weather runners who tell me they never go out when it is cold. Now, I admit that I would much prefer a warm sunny spring or autumn day to a below-zero frigid winter run.

However, with running, just as with life in general, we cannot expect to have an endless season of perfect weather. Storms and bad weather are part of life. I think of the less pleasant days as allowing me to more appreciate the beautiful days when the they do come.

Plus, I've found that I'm as much of a procrastinator as anyone. Humans are naturally lazy- it's in our genes. I'm no different.

It is always easy to find an excuse to not run:

• "It's too cold!"
• "It's too hot!"
• "It's too early!"
• "It's too late!"
• "It's snowing!"
• "It's raining!"
• "I'm too tired!"
• "I'm too busy!"
• "I don't have time!"

And so on and so forth....

If began making excuses to not run, well quite honestly then I'd never run. So I run in all kinds of weather, no excuses! The sole exception being during an active thunderstorm when I may be in danger of being struck by lightning.

I may be insane but Im not stupid!

Some kinds of weather I definitely prefer over others. However, I am not going to let less that perfect conditions keep me inside.

Ultrarunning is all about perserverance.

By perserverance, I'm not only talking about keeping going and not giving up mile after mile during an actual race. I'm also talking about getting out and doing a training in a December blizzard at 4AM before going in to work- even when it would be easier to turn off the alarm and stay in bed a few more hours snuggled warm next to your spouse.

I love where we live.

The Black Hills of South Dakota are a well kept secret. We live on gravel roads south of Rapid City, a couple of miles east of Custer State Park.

I have miles and miles of gravel/dirt roads and trails to run on literally right off my doorstep.

Although I have enjoyed running anywhere, it is much nicer to run where there is beautiful scenery.

It makes the miles float on by. Every training run to becomes an adventure to look forward to instead of a chore to complete.

I decided to keep going after my usual mile 5 turnaround.

Instead I went out 9 miles. I stopped for a moment to eat some gel blocks and put on an extra layer.

In the distance, one could usually see Mt. Rushmore. On a clear day, the views from this overlook are exceptional. Today, however, Mt. Rushmore has completely disappeared in the clouds and snow.

I hadn't stopped for too long before I started to feel chilled.

"Get moving along!" I thought, "you need to warm up!"

For safety during winter runs, I carry a backpack filled with extra clothing, two space blackets, firemaking gear, and extra food. On today's run I was on the road and help was only a cell phone call away. However, when running trails in the mountains in the winter you need to be prepared to stay out overnight, in case of a broken bone or twisted ankle. Even less than an hour outside in cold weather without being adequately prepared could be fatal from hypothermia.

We ultrarunners may be tough, but we're not invincible.

Running in the snow with a 20 lb pack is not the most fun thing to do.  However, once spring returns and I'm able to run with just a light fanny pack, it makes those runs seem all that much easier.

On the return trip I saw several whitetail and mule deer, a few wild turkeys, melanistic phase red tail hawk (much darker coloration than normal) and a great horned owl. 

A fox barked at me.What blood curdling little critters they can be! I saw he (or she) scurrying off in the meadow.

Then I heard what was a cross between a "Snort!" and a "Wuff!"

It was a donkey.

He (or she) was none-too-thrilled to see me out running on the road through the trees. Those long-ears are very observant. Many times while out packing in the mountains, our mules would be the first to sense other humans or wildlife, much sooner than we did. They were always aware of others even before our horses or dogs.

Donkey, more curious than afraid, walked over towards me. Two more"snort-wuff's!" and I was past. The horses in the same pasture with donkey, appeared bored. They stared at me blankly.  

Silly long ears!

Darkness fell across the land. I put my headlamp on.

During my entire run, I was passed by only three vehicles. Two of them actually turned out to be the same one, a rancher going on an out and back trip in his pickup truck to water and check on his stock.

I felt a hunger pang and opened my bottle of Chocolate Boost. Now Boost is not what I would usually consider very appetizing. However, when you're at mile 15 and feel hungry it provides needed calories to keep you going.

Indeed, when Boost has frozen thick from the cold, like some kind of milkshake, I'd even call it "delicious," in its own sort of way.

The temperatures dropped further and icicles formed on my beard.

I first grew my beard when back in Wisconsin. I do not think it is my imagination or in my head: facial hair really does take the bite out of the cold winter wind.

I felt something bouncing back and forth on my chin.  It was a frozen snot-dangler! 

When running in cold weather, your nose runs. A quick wipe on the sleeve or a "turn-and-blow" usually does the trick.

This little guy, however, decide to freeze just as he came out of my nose and stayed around to hang on for a ride. I tried to run all the way home with him still attached so I could proudly show him to my 9 year old son.

However, ice quickly built up on him from my breath. He finally fell off after about three miles.

Oh well, at least I have this photo to remember him by. I know this is disgusting. It's more than any of you want to know; nevertheless, I've documented it so I'll never ever forget it- that little frozen snot-dangler of mine.

Finally, I made it home!

After running the last several miles in the dark, our log cabin seemed bright and warm and cozy. I caught the scent of wood smoke from our woodstove. Much of our heat is from trees that we harvest on our own land. There is nothing like the scent of wood smoke to let you know the hearth is warm and all is well in your little log cabin in the pines.

I looked at my GPS: 18.2 miles!  What a great run!

I went inside. Jeanne and Nathan remarked at the icicles in frozen beard as it quickly melted in the warmth.

Yes, winter is here!

This-coming weekend it will be sunny and in the mid-40s. I can't wait to do another long run! How far will I go? It all depends how I feel.

Good luck and run well through the New Year!

I've signed on to do 100 climbs in 100 days. From the 1st of January to the 10th of April 2010.

Started by a friend of mine as a fundraiser for Friends of Australian Rock Art (a non-profit organisation based in Perth working towards the protection of rock art across Australia).

We can apply our own rules to cater for individual tastes and abilities but at the end of the day it amounts to a challenging amount of time on the rock:

- Only outdoor routes/problems (no plastic)
- All climbs must be grade 16 Ewbank (5.8 US, 5c French) and above
- All climbs completed from beginning on lead (sport/trad/mixed) without falling, resting or aiding
- Pre-placed gear (optional)
- First draw pre-clipped (optional/esp when safety is an issue)
- A multipitch route shall count as 1 climb only, must lead at least one whole pitch
- Failure on route will incur a 10 push-up penalty (swearing optional)
- Named boulder problems graded V4 US (6b French) and above can count
- No double-ups, i.e. each climb can only count once

100 Climbs

100 Days

PAM has discovered a way to solve an age old conundrum.

From News.com.au:

- Pulling a tick off the wrong way can lead to meat allergy. An Australian doctor found the link while studying rising cases of the allergy among people who live on Sydney's tick-prone northern beaches. "I now tell everybody I see who lives anywhere near ticks to use `Aerostart' (spray-on engine cleaner) or another high-alcohol substance," said Dr Sheryl van Nunen. "Stun the tick before you scrape it out and it can't inject what it injects."

 Further ref: http://www.allergy.org.au/content/view/124/1/

 

Might have to try this seeing as it's now summer and the ticks are out and about. Especially when one goes trudging through the bush looking for boulders. :P Luckily I'm not yet allergic to meat.

As small part of the world kicking me in the nads* over the past few weeks, my ride decided to give up the ghost on me.

Now it hasn't exactly been the most reliable ride around since the first day but the little ninja had spirit and we had our fair share of fun. I guess I knew that things were going downhill as she left me stranded recently but resumed again after a bit of a timeout. As a final act of defiance she decided to quit on me completely.

This was the last picture of her taken a few weekends ago:

After a few of missed appointments with a nearby mechanic she was finally picked up this afternoon. We'll see what the prognosis is, but it could be time to move on.

* No I didn't really get kicked in the nads just lots of things went wrong and my world was crumbling around me.

The long awaited Blackberry App World has finally hit Oz. Yay!

Finally a platform for application downloads rather than browsing to URLs.

Will it change my life? Probably not. :P