The Total Canine

Check out my new banner! Sorry the picture's so small. Trying some new advertising for the business, so that hopefully I'm a little more visible at trials. I'm excited about the new logo-I had some car magnets and a t-shirt made also.
My last class-Canine Sports Medicine-for my Canine Rehab Therapist Certificate is this weekend and next weekend Rival gets to run in an ASCA trial. He is only entered in 3 runs, but I'm sure we will have a blast.

It's been awhile since my last post. Things have changed. Chris is living in Erie, CO going to school for Speech and Language Pathology. Brink got his second Open Standard Q. I am half way down with my Canine Rehabilitation Certification. I did another triathlon that didn't go well. Harry Potter has ended.

Brink's video:


Upcoming goals:
Last rehab class will be done Aug. 21 and then will have to schedule my internship.
Patriot tri in September, same course as Spring Fling, so main goal will be to go faster, but also to be 10 pounds lighter by the race.
Brink and Rival are getting to trial a bit here and there. Brink's goal is to get that last Open Standard Q to move into Excellent. I would like to finish Rival's ATCH in the next year-he needs 6 more gamble Q's.

Friends

My heart still aches at the loss of a friend
But life goes on and so must I
We used to help each other through the ups and downs,
But now the world just goes round
I wish I knew what went wrong


Big changes are coming. Chris found a house in Erie, CO and starts school August 1. I still don't know what I'm doing, but I should have my rehab certification done by the fall.
Another year has passed-my birthday is this Thursday. It's been one year since my world changed-good and bad. Here's to hoping the next year brings more good.

"Desire urges me on, as fear bridles me."

Book review Number 2:

'A Discovery of Witches' by Deborah Harkness - Book 1 in the All Souls Trilogy

I picked up this book, looking for a good read and thinking this would be a book mainly about witches. I had recently finished another book about witches and was ready for another. I love my fantasy books, but anything about witches seems a bit more realistic and Harry Potter has instilled a love of magic in my heart. Boy was I surprised when within the first chapter a vampire was introduced. Great I thought another book capitalizing on the vampire craze going on. Don't get me wrong, I love Twilight, Sookie, and The Vampire Diaries, but I didn't want the cheese or a bad story that entices people to buy just because of the subject.

I kept reading with reluctance and a chip on my shoulder, waiting to be brought into the story and convinced this was a book worth reading. It didn't take long, 2.5 days later I'm finished with the book and counting the days until 2012 when the jacket says to look for Book 2. The book is fantasy, romance, adventure, and history all rolled into one. Yes, it is a love story between a vampire and a witch, but it is like nothing I've read before. Matthew and Diana will sweep you into their world by the first 100 pages, just give them a chance.

Book Review

Just finished a great book: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Any one in the medical or biologic fields should read this book! This book not only taught me about the amazing field of culturing cells, but also providing thought provoking discussion about medical/research ethics and informed consent. Legally, once tissues or cells leave our body, we no longer have any say over what can be done with them. Your blood may be used to cure cancer fifty years from now. Anyway, check out this book and let me know what you think.

Transitions

Life is full of transitions right now. The biggest being the pending move to Colorado. I'm excited about moving and things to come, but at the same time it's nice being comfortable in New Mexico. Even the job is hard to leave. I may not be making enough except to make it month to month, but the stress of job hunting is weighing me down. My goal is to at least send out two resumes this weekend. I really want to focus on rehab, but I have a feeling I'll be doing some general practice as well.

The last few weeks in training have been going well. I'm only able to swim once a week, but I am coming to the realization that even swimming every day won't effect my swim time that much. Swimming makes me feel good, it's a great workout without all the pain. I'm running about 3 times a week and biking about 3 times a week. I have calculated to reach my goal time at Milk Man, my bike has to be at 20mph and my run will have to be 8:50 miles. Both these paces will be very difficult, since my training paces are much slower. I have been able to do a couple 9min miles, but can't hold the pace. I wish I could get a TT bike, it won't get me to 20mph, but would help put a little more speed to my pace.

Today I worked on transitions. I worked on mounting and dismounting my bike, which I've never done with speed before. I'm leaving my shoes already clipped in, but I'm not going to try the 'flying squirrel' mount yet, but I am doing the flying dismount. I'd like my transitions to be around 1 minute each. Next week I should try to get out to Cochiti Lake for an open water swim practice. I'm also no where near my race wait. I'm really struggling to lose weight, even with all the exercise. It's very frustrating and demotivating.

Today, I'm posting a picture of my younger, skinnier, stronger self with the girl that started all this crazy triathlon obsession.

The Devil is in the Details

Last weekend I did my first triathlon of the season. I had been considering doing a race, but didn't register due to the fact that I hadn't been in the pool since October and I really wasn't consistently running or biking yet. Well, to make a long story short I did race and it was a slap in the face. I really need to train! The swim wasn't bad, luckily I have 15 years of highly competitive swimming in my back pocket to get me through a 400yd swim. I was happy with the bike, felt good and the course did have a couple tough hills. I didn't have my aerobars and I do think that made a difference. Then we get to the run, which I thought I would breeze through since I have been doing the most running, boy was I wrong! I had such bad abdominal cramps that I walked the first mile. I was able to get it going again and ran/jogged the last 2 miles. I ended up 26th overall and 6th in my age group and no where near ready to meet my goal of placing at Milk Man in June.
So this week, my training has been stepped up a notch, to say the least. So far a 20 mile bike ride, a 4 mile run, a Brick, and a swim workout. I also registered for a 10K run on Sunday with the goal of breaking an hour (which will be very tough for me). I have approximately one month left to get ready for the next sprint triathlon.
I'm still looking for someone to travel to Ireland with me :) My plan is to be there a little more than a week, August 28th to September 5th, with the triathlon on September 4th.
On the veterinary side, I have paid for all my rehab classes, which is a huge step for me right now. I am learning a lot working with two special dogs. I hope I'm lucky enough to find a rehab job in Colorado. I am doing a lot of the exercises I have learned with Brink, mainly for strengthening and remembering he has back legs.
Today I did a great agility work out with Brink. It consisted of 3 jumps in a pinwheel and the dog walk. I was super impressed with how things went. I believe he only knocked two bars and I think both were due to hitting the stantion not the bar.
Some of the exercises we are doing include cavaletti's, front leg waves, back leg kicks, and core work. He's still going on runs with me also, so he should be the fittest dog ever!

P.S. I'm selling a triathlon full sleeve wet suit on ebay. It's new, never been worn, and comes with a travel case. Please pass this on if you know anyone needing a wet suit!