Summer Travels

The start of summer brought some worry about how I was going to spend my free time. Never having been a public school employee before, I was a bit wired about summers off. No need to worry, the summer is BOOKED! First up was a week in Bozeman for a school conference. Steve and Buddy joined me and we camped at a beautiful spot in Hyalite Canyon. We saw so many gorgeous places and I kept forgetting the camera.

Due to my conference and limited time, I had to deal with morning road runs. Buddy and I got up early to get 4 miles in each morning. Easy to do when you are in a heavenly place.

As we were setting up for a campfire one night, we noticed black clouds rolling in. The thunder and rain continued throughout the night. It was kind of soothing and I slept well, but others obviously did not. When Buddy and I left for our morning run, campers emerged wet and tired, and started packing it up. Too bad, because they missed out on a spectacular, full of sunshine day!

Buddy and I took advantage of it and ran an old and very muddy logging road as the last of the clouds disappeared. It curved up and around eventually overlooking (from 6700 feet up) our campsite area.

No wildlife, but I did bring bear spray. Lots of tracks though.

On the return trip we followed the creek back to our campsite.

We debated staying another day, but Steve was suffering from a pretty nasty head cold, so we came home to prepare for the next adventure. My marathon schedule called for 13 miles (no, I still haven't decided which marathon, but aiming for one in September). Buddy and I left the house a little after 6 am to escape the blazing sun. Even so, it was getting warm as we reached the top of Mt. Ascension. Bud took some breaks in the shade, but was a stubborn bugger, refusing to drink any water.

We both admired the varieties of wild flowers.

And other little critters out there.

Steve was nice enough to come and rescue Bud at mile 6. It was just too hot for him. My run continued under cloudless sky and 75 degrees. Despite my sunscreen, I felt like I was being slowly fried. The views were stunning though, which kept my mind occupied until I finally reached mile 13 and walked the rest of the way home.

I can tell the core and back work is making a difference. Even on the hard days, I feel much stronger. Hopefully, that will motivate me to continue and not return to being the lazy slug I like to be.

A couple days here, and then I'm off to North Dakota for the home town reunion. It will be nice to see the family, but I'm not a fan of these kind of things. Gossip, drinking and street dances oh my! At least there will be some early morning prairie runs to keep me smiling.

Oh, and before I forget, send some good thoughts the way of Rebecca - on her way to completing her first Ironman!!!

Ridge Run

In all the time I've spent in the Helena area, I'd never completed the entire Mt. Helena Ridge Trail. A few friends and dog, Yuri, were going to hike it one way, so I joined their shuttle up to the Park City Trailhead. The first 1.5 miles were spent catching up and admiring the scenery and the first blue sky we've seen in awhile. It was hard to start running and leave the company behind.

Once I got going though, it was all smiles and sweet singletrack. Some areas were shady, but I was glad I left Buddy at home. With his abundance of fur, he would not have been very comfortable.

The actual Ridge trail is only about 6 miles long. It's all runnable, with only a few short climbs along the way. I wanted to get in 11 miles today, with some climbing. Once back to Mt. Helena, I descended a fun, fast McKelvy Trail, only to climb, climb, climb straight back up on the Hanging Draw and Prospect Shafts trails to the top. I made a short out and back to check the girls' progress, then got to do a screaming 1.5 downhill to the main parking lot.

I did much better today with fueling. The combination of Gu, Shot Roks, Luna bars and Nuun seemed to work. I definitely need protein for long runs, otherwise, I'm shaking like a leaf on the way to a major crash. Once again, an absolutely beautiful day!!!!

Tread Lightly

Since I've got extra time on my hands (meaning SUMMER VACATION!!!!), I visited a new running store "Tread Lightly." I'd been in once before to buy a running leash

and then ended up injured. Now that I'm running again - more on that later - I wanted to check out the rest of the store. Lots of fun stuff, including hydration belts, cute clothes, Gu and Hammer products, and a whole lotta shoes including my much loved Brooks Cascadias. Be sure to check it out when you're in Helena at 104 East Broadway.

Trip to the Flathead

First of all, Happy Birthday Buddy! The picture is from his 5th birthday and 1st anniversary with us. Such a good camping dog.

The last three weeks of the school year flew by in a whirlwind of activity. During that time, I did start running again, much to the dismay of my physical therapist. Thankful I had started again though, so I could join my old running group GGRRC for the one year anniversary of our friend Tom's awful grizzly encounter. We ran the same trail, listening to Tom's memories of that day. And, yes, we had bear spray with us. As you can see below, the day started out chilly. Across the road, we got to see a large moose in the creek. After a few of us taking pre-run pit stops, I looked up to see a large black bear right in our path. I need to sound more panicky in times like this, because my couple announcements of "Bear." "Bear." didn't seem to do the trick. But, there he was!
We chased him off the trail and continued on our way. Below is Tom telling his story.
And, Danni, reciting the Ode to Tom's Bear, that she and Ted created. Wish I had it videotaped, because it was dang funny.There were several people on the trail as we made our way to Avalanche Lake. They'd cheer us on making at least me feel like a rock star!As you can see, it was a beautiful sunny day!

I did bonk a little on the return trip. Danni was nice enough to give me some Clif Shot Roks that did the trick. As we made our way back to the car, we stopped suddenly as Deb and Tom yelled out. A SECOND black bear - right on the trail! Nice to be with a big group, so we could admire and continue on.

All in all, a perfect day on the trail.

Dog Drama

Today is the one year anniversary of meeting Buddy. I remember being so upset because Steve wanted a black lab, and the one he chose at the Humane Society was crazy. He wouldn't listen at all, pulling so hard on the leash that I went flying, hitting the ground hard. Steve kept insisting, "See, he's alright" while being towed across the yard. There was no way I was bringing that one home, especially when I wanted to be able to run WITH my dog - not dragged behind. Steve finally agreed, and we decided to go back and see Buddy.

On our first walk through, he had been the only dog to stand up and greet us in a non-maniacal way. He'd tilt his head in that inquisitive way, and just look at us. No barking, no jumping, just curiosity. When they brought him outside for us to meet, he danced around so happily and then settled into my lap. He won my heart instantly. Unfortunately, we couldn't move into our newly bought home for two weeks and could not have dogs at our condo. The lovely ladies at the Humane Society were kind enough to board him for that time. I'd visit him every day for a couple hours while we waited impatiently to bring him home. Yes, we went through a difficult transition while Buddy adapted to his new life. After years of abuse and neglect, he was afraid of everything. He was also extremely anxious and hated when we would leave him alone. We spent a lot of money repairing damages done to our home, but it was well worth it.

Now, it's been one year. Buddy no longer destroys things. He can be left alone in the house while I'm at work with no problems. He watches from our big picture window and waits until the car pulls into the drive, when he knows I'm home and we'll go on another adventure. Buddy has learned to run next to me and not to pull on the leash. He watches over me when Steve is gone, and just brings a lot of love to our family.

This morning, looking forward to a long weekend and some hiking in the rain, we drove to one of our favorite trailheads. There was a light rain and snowflakes and absolutely no wind. As usual, I let him off leash once down the trail. Buddy trotted along, sniffing everything and marking his territory. He'd watch the squirrels and rabbits, but stayed close. That is, until out of nowhere, three deer stood up from where they'd been snuggling in the grass. Buddy took off after them, which he does from time to time. I kept on hiking, knowing he'd come back after 5-10 minutes.

Time went on with no Buddy. After 20 minutes, I started to worry. After 40 minutes, I was in a panic. Calling for him, whistling for him, I hiked the same trail several times. Every once in awhile, I'd hear a bark that I thought was Buddy. That made me panic even more, because Buddy ALWAYS comes back to find me. I was worried that he was hurt or trapped and I couldn't get to him. The terrain was impossible to search off trail because it was so steep and I didn't want to get lost as well. It was 35 degrees out and still raining. I hiked back to the car, drove home to see if he found his way there. No sign of Buddy. Driving back, I was a mess. Our one year anniversary, and I'd lost my dog. Every possible bad scenario went through my head. How was I going to tell Steve?

Parking at the trailhead, I collected my things so I could do a long search if necessary. And there, on the trail, stood Buddy. I called for him, and he seemed so uncertain. Finally, he came running, and I noticed there were large branches stuck to his backside. Buddy launched himself at me, shivering uncontrollably, obviously scared and cold. He was limping a bit, but I couldn't see any blood. There was so much debris stuck in his fur and tail that he couldn't really sit down. I tried to get some of it out, but it was impossible. We drove home, and I dried him off. It took a pair of scissors and lots of patience to cut out every last bit of debris. He also had dried debris in and around his mouth. I can only guess that he must have gotten stuck somewhere and had to pull and chew is way out. After the ordeal, he his sticking like glue and we are both really tired. We had one lucky anniversary.

Another update

Still not running much. I've tried A.R.T. with little results and now started physical therapy. My last go around with PT was a joke, but I was impressed with the person I saw this week. Lots of assessments, measurements, gait analysis, etc. One thing we know right off is that my lower abs and glutes are very weak. Regardless of the cause of this injury, at least I've got something to work on. My gait seems ok too and I've got good strength and flexibility overall. No major pronation issues.

I've got some SI joint problems, and that is one area that is really tight. We still can't tell for sure where the pain in my hip crease is coming from. It's worse when pulling my knee up to my chest and during the "through" movement of my gait. Next week, I'll go in for an diagnostic ultrasound to see if there's an impingement. This could either be from inflammation or something within the joint such as cartilage. I'm REALLY hoping this is not the case, but deep down fear that it is. After years of ballet wear and tear, I wouldn't at all be surprised if there's loose cartilage in there. If so, surgery will probably be on the schedule. Hoping not.

On a more cheerful running related note, I got a package from Zombie runner today! After weighing all the pros and cons, I got the Nathan Trail Mix waist pack. It's got two 10 oz bottles, one for me and one for Bud. It does have a buckle instead of velcro closure, but because the belt is elastic and wide, it stays in place really well. The pocket is really big and will fit quite a bit. I'll post pictures and further review once I really get to use it.

Hope you all are getting to run!

Update

Once again, not running. Ever since the ankle sprain of January 2009, I've been plagued with annoyance injuries. I finally could not run due to the pain and took the week off. I increased my stretching, also adding ballet and strengthening exercises (yes, I know - should have been done a long time ago). The pain has since subsided, and I can walk the dog again. However, the area is still inflamed and tense, so I went to see the orthopedic doc, primarily to rule out a fracture before continuing with a secret plan of action. All the x-rays looked great. The recommendation was physical therapy, but no luck getting in within the month. I wasn't too sad about that as I HATE paying money to lay on a hot blanket with electrodes hooked to me. Plan B (or A in my head) was a local chiropractor who does Active Release. I'm a huge believer in A.R.T. since it's helped my piriformis and achilles in the past. Plus, I got in right away.

OMG, sweet heaven and hell combined. So absolutely painful, but what a difference! He had me walk and jog on the treadmill first to check my gait. As I already knew, there was a whole lot of awkward stiffness on my right side. I've got some major quad issues going on that's also impacting my hip and lower back. After an hour of treatment, I had much more mobility. I'm going back Wednesday and Friday in the hopes that progress will continue. I've also got an arsenal of new exercises to add several times per week. Keep your fingers crossed!