Wyoming book review

I have slightly different hours than my friends do: I am up at 5:30a every day to be at work by 6:30a. With traffic I often don't get home until 5:30p-6p at night. Granted I do get some half days off and even some full days off during the week, so I can't say that I literally work these hours every day M-F. But in general it's safe to say I'm an early riser.

My friends are NOT. Eforce works 2nd shift throughout the school year, suffering with day hours only June-August. RR is naturally a night hour and when given the choice, would rather start mid-late morning.

So whenever we travel, I am always careful to bring along a book so I'm not bored as I wait for everyone to get moving. No, they're not lazy... we do a TON, but it typically happens in the afternoon and evenings.

Here's what I brought and read in Wyoming this year. My reviews are short:

"Let's Not Go to the Dogs Tonight": I was not super impressed by this one. I read a few books involving African history during our trips last year, and they were much better. I think my problem was this was more of a story and I wanted more of a history lesson.

"To The Top": Very interesting book about two guys who climbed to the highest point in each state. Gave me a new goal to add to my to-do list.

Cider House Rules: I really like John Irving and he again didn't disappoint me.

Into Thin Air: Loved it. It's a pretty easy read and a good story. The first book in a long time that kept me up into the wee hours of the night reading, not wanting to stop. I went to the library last week and picked up about 6 more books about Mt. Everest.

Them: I am not impressed. I'm about 130 pages into it mainly because it was the last book I had and the trip wasn't yet over. I renewed it from the library, but I don't think I'm going to finish it.

1986

Where were you in 1986?

That was 22 years ago.

I was in third grade at Forest Hills Elementary School in Eden Prairie, MN. My teacher was Mr. Just, who might know, as he's a local (Twin Cities) runner. I think he passed me at Trail Mix. I was able to pick him out as 1) I knew he'd be there and was looking for him, and 2) he doesn't look that much different, relatively speaking, over the course of the last 22 years. I on the other hand have grown quite a bit between the ages of 8 and darn close to 30.

1986 was also the year that some people carved "1986" into the bottom of a couple pop cans and pushed them underneath a rock at the summit of a random peak in the Bighorns. If you're reading this, whoever you litterers are, the cans had just barely started to fade, so yes, they DO last a long time, and no, you don't need to experiment in this irresponsible way anymore.

18 holes

Sunday was so gorgeous that we went out golfing. The way we golf is with RR and I golfing and V and E acting as caddies. It works pretty well, considering.

I'm not a good golfer, but as I started golfing 6 years ago and go out about 1-6 times per season and have only taken 1 formal lesson, I give myself some credit. We did 9 holes two times. The first time I scored a 52; I improved by 3 strokes to 49 for the 2nd time through (4 holes the same, 2 worse holes, and 3 better holes).

I'm off work tomorrow afternoon so maybe if I get some stuff done around the house I'll go out again on my own.

Treadmill Day 24; Finished the show

Treadmill day 24 (7/18/08): I finished Season 6 of "24" on Monday. I did 5.25 miles. I did a couple of 9 minute miles, a couple of 10 minute miles, and then some walking at an incline (1-13%).

I only had 1.5 episodes of "24" left, and after not watching it for over two weeks and the fact that I even started in the middle of an episode, I found that I didn't really care and was not too much into it.

Season 6 of "The Shield" comes out in September and I can't wait. The cliffhanger at the end of Season 5 is huge.

Total Treadmill miles: 25.25

What happened to treadmill days 4-23? 4-6 was getting ready for Wyoming and 7-23 were the trip. My poor treadmill must have felt pretty lonely, dejected, and confused to have come into my home and not been used.

The Wilderness? At Midnight? Part 2

This year we decided that we would be very careful to not be hiking in the wilderness after dark (much). Part of the reason is that we were planning on going into the Absaroka Mountain Range (the same range that Yellowstone is a part of, but we would be south of the park) and the Absaroka's definitely have grizzlies. We were going to take it seriously (because you HAVE to).

Our first night of camping in the wilderness was on Thursday, 7/3. We had planned on camping in the wilderness off of some forest road and then cutting through the wilderness to climb Loaf Mt. As we got a late start that day (you'll learn that this is a common theme) we decided that we'd just hike towards the moutain and scope it out to climb the next day.

Have I mentioned that the Force has really bad eyes? And really bad feet? He has hiking poles (that have compasses built in) that he uses to help keep his balance when hiking. He also carries a pair of binoculars for all of us to use. He has a knife and a water bottle holder for his belt.

The Bighorns really don't have grizzlies. A person still needs to be careful for black bear mamas and their cubs, but it's not quite as dangerous as the Absarokas, so we decided that we didn't need to bring in more than one container of bear spray. We had the Enforcer carry it as he needs the practice of being able to grab it and get the safety latch off.

We left camp at about 3p and got to the tree line about 2 hours later. We were at the foot of an unnamed peak that was between us and Loaf that we would have to go up and down and then back up Loaf. RR, V, and I decided we'd climb to the top of unnamed peak to see what we could see, leaving E on a rock down below. By the way, we do have walkie-talkies that have weather radios, so we can be in contact with anyone we "leave on a rock".

We climbed up and started back down. Realizing that the best route back to camp (that we could now see due to the higher vantage point) would have us coming down unnamed peak more to the east. We got on the walkie talkie and asked the Enforcer to move east, away from the setting sun (it was probably 7p or so now).

As we got closer to the point where we should be able to see E as we descended, we got concerned as he was not where we'd expected. We walkie-talkied him and he told us he was going back to where he'd previously been sitting because he'd forgotten his binoculars. Dam it, Eforce. We had stressed to him, before we left him, BE SURE TO HAVE ALL YOUR GEAR WITH YOU! We waited awhile, called him again. Where was he? He was going back to where he'd been sitting because he'd forgotten his hiking sticks. WHAT?! We told him to stop moving, because at that point we didn't know exactly where he was, and since he is not good with directions, we didn't trust that he wasn't at this point just wandering around in the forest (we'd left him out in the open with the forest behind him and only rocks and peak ahead and to the side.

We had him yell, and we could hear him and knew where to look. We could finally see him and knew where we'd have to go to get back to him.

"Eforce," said RR, "we're making our way back to you now. Stay put. We'll need the bear spray to get us out because it's going to be dark. You have the bear spray, RIGHT?!"

"No."

So do you get it? Eforce had forgotten his bear spray at one rock, his hiking sticks at another rock, had gone back to look for his binoculars (which I guess were in his pocket the whole time), and had unknowingly dropped and lost both a pen, his chapstick and a pack of kleenix (the last three items RR found later, all in different locations).

We stayed, scouring the rocks for a good hour, trying to jog the Forcer's memory as to wear he was sitting. Eagle eye RR found the hiking sticks right away, but it finally got too dark to find the bear spray.

So we hiked through the wilderness in the dark again, getting back to camp at midnight. We decided from now on when we hike up peaks we'll leave E in camp serving as "camp guard".

**UPDATE** One week later, 7/10/08, we did succeeded in climbing Loaf Mountain (just under 12000'). The Enforcer, newly outfitted in a fanny pack with securely closing zipper pockets and sporting a new container of bear spray, tagged along to the tree line again to find the old container of bear spray (which he did). He sat on a rock (no moving allowed) for 5 hours as RR, V, and I bouldered up and down and up and down and up and down to Loaf Mt and back.

The Wilderness? At Midnight? Part 1

Last year (2007) we went out to the Bighorns twice to climb Cloud Peak (13,175'). The first trip we didn't have very good information about the best route and we ended up climbing Bomber Mountain. We decided to make a abbreviated trip over Labor Day solely to climb Cloud Peak (which we did).

Climbing Cloud Peak requires us to travel off trail, across real wilderness. I would trust myself to lead myself about 70%. I trust RR to lead us 100%.

We got a late start last fall, leaving camp about 12:30p, mainly because all the other 3 were feeling effects of the altitude (camp was at 10000') to varying extents because we had no time to ease into acclimation. I felt fine.

We made fairly good time up the mountain, considering. We reached 12400' at about 5:15p, where we left V and E on a rock for RR and I to finish to the summit. EForce has VERY bad feet (very flat and bowlegged), but has done really well on the backpacking and climbing we've led him on. V was having some altitude-related bruising on her chest and felt she couldn't go further either. We told them we'd be back in an hour.

Well, it took longer than an hour. RR was feeling pretty dizzy and headache from the altitude, as well as having a tougher time breathing. I noticed the lack of oxygen, too, but nothing else. But the closer we got to the summit, the less we were willing to turn around. We figured if we could be out of the rock bouldering section by dark, we'd be able to make it back to camp fairly easily.

We didn't make it out of the bouldering area before dark. I think we'd just barely started the bouldering (about 2 miles worth, down the mountain). Since it was dark, it made it that much harder to move with any sort of speed. RR was very nauseas and I had to take over navigating for a little bit. V was pretty freaked out. The Enforcer almost walked himself off a 10' ridge (missed the switchback) and luckily RR caught him in time. We found out the Force, for some unknown reason, had not worn his contacts!

We got back to camp at 12:30a. We resolved that this year we would NOT be coming back to camp that late.

My only picture

Actually, that's not true; I did take more than one picture by the time we got home, but for the first 14 days of the trip this was the only picture I had in my camera. And it was taken in RR's driveway before we left.




I am in charge of packing the gear in the car, which is no small feat. We rent an Impala for the better gas mileage and we fit 4 grown adults and all their gear into the trunk. The trunk has to be packed pretty specifically, making sure to not allow any dead space behind larger items, and fitting all the small stuff in the nooks and crannies. I am able to do this. I am sure RR could, but he's in charge of the more important things (like taking us through the wilderness to get back to camp in the middle of the night). V and the Force are NOT able to load the trunk. I know this because I let them give it a shot one time. I completely loaded 2/3rds of the trunk, making use of all the space. All they had to do was to load two backpacks and two duffel bags. Well, they for some reason decided they had to rearrange my loading (?!?) and when they "finished" they couldn't get the last backpack in. "What happened" RR asked, "What more did we put in the trunk?" I took over, re-loaded, and ended up with EXTRA room.

Kudos to me.

Still alive...

I wish I could say that I intentionally had my last post predicting a bear attack to be followed by 3 days of silence. Man, that would have been awesome to have planned it that way!

Actually I aimed to squeak out as many posts as I had could sneak in before leaving. My goal was one to pop up each day, but I ran out of time to get any in for after the 10th of July.

Never did get back to a computer after the 3rd of July, so there were no more real time updates.

I have a bazillion emails to go through (both work and personal), a stack of mail 6" high, and I have to dive back into work in less than 5 hours. I guess that's what is to be expected when one takes a 16 day vacation.

I'll try to update tomorrow.

Beware the Bear

My prediction: Today is the day that we get mauled by a grizzly. With 4 canisters of bear spray you'd think at least 1 of the 3 not being mauled would be able to give it a blast. Right? Right? We'll also have a handgun with us, as V as her conceal/carry permit.



I've seen a grizzly and a black bear on the side of the road in Yellowstone. Also saw a black bear up in northern MN last spring.



I've seen many a moose as well.



I saw baby foxes at Savanna Portage a few weeks ao



Oh no... I take that back! I don't really believe that by saying it I'm jinxing us, but maybe I shouldn't even go there.

60's music

It is because of the Grassroots (the band) that I work in the eye business.

I was changing tracks on my car CD player in January of 1998 when I rear-ended someone. I needed a part time job so applied at Walmart. I was hired by the Vision Center and worked my way into being an optician, eventually transition from part time to full time. I decided in 2004 to move to the medical side of the field as opposed to the selling glasses side. Now here I am.

A person can still regularly hear music from the 60's and 70's on the radio, in stores, out and about, even though 30 to 40 years have passed. Thank you, Baby Boomers. Can you imagine walking into a store in 2033 and hearing Justin Timberlake, Fergie, and others STILL being played?

I'm not being critical as I like 60's and 70's music. Best concert I ever went to was the Eagles. I've seen Fleetwood Mac, Neil Diamond, Temptations.

I saw the Temptations and the Four Seasons at Mystic Lake in 1996. Yes, I did, when I was 18 years old. The Temptations sounded better, but that's because they replaced the dead singers/old singers with new, younger models. Sorry, I really have no clue about the life-status of the individual members... all I know is that there were 5 singers and at least a few were young enough to have obviously not been an original member. The Four Seasons were not as good of sound quality, but it was 3 old guys (probably original). Just an observation, not a judgement.

Where I'd like to live

I have this idea that I'd like to live in Boulder some day, but I think realistically it is way too liberal of a town. Denver would be an better option. Considering I own two homes in the Twin Cities, however, this is probably not something that is happening any time soon.

I lived for 9 months in Washington DC. Current politics bore me; past politics (history) interests me. Washington DC is too "current". I worked as a waittress at a bar and the bar was packed for the state of the union address. All in all I enjoyed living there. I was surprised to find that there were many options to get out of the city and into the wilderness within just an hour or two (similar to the Twin Cities). I did some hiking in Shenandoah amongst other places.

I would not like to live where it was humid (southeast).

Boring...

Some of these posts most be awfully boring, as I am just spitting out random stream-of-consciousness type ramblings.

One book I tried reading that I just couldn't handle was James Joyce's "Ulysses." Couldn't do it.

I also had a bit of a hard time getting into Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", although I did manage to finish it. I loved "Apocalypse Now". I like most war movies in general.

I've read a ton of Russian literature (it was my major), a lot of history (especially Russian history).

On the trip this year I brought a memoir on Africa, "Cidar House Rules", and two others I can't think of.

I really recommend "Lone Survivor" (I brought on trip last year). VERY good book. I also brought another book on African history last fall that was very good--can't remember the title. It was about the genocide and murder and what-not in Rwanda, Somalia, and the Sudan.

I have a key chain from Khartoum, brought to me by a co-worker in Washington DC who went there to visit family. That bit of info is TOTALLY stream of consciousness.

Costa Rica

I am NOT in Costa Rica right now, although I'd love to go sometime. Today is my cousin's 30th b-day and she and her sister were going to Costa Rica. I'm a little bit jealous, but I'm enjoying myself in Wyoming right now so all is good.

I spent a week in Mazatlan in 2003 and came back with a broken foot.

I spent a week in Puerto Vallarta in 2005.

I spent a month in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2000.

I spent a 8 weeks nannying in Washington, DC in 1998. Also lived there for 9 months in 2004-5.

I worked for Northwest Airlines in 1998 and went to Houston (Galveston), Washington DC, a day trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, a day trip to New York City, and a weekend trip to San Francisco.

I've spent time in both San Francisco and New Orleans for work conferences, but really haven't done any touristy stuff during those trips as I really enjoy the courses I attend.

Oh, and I have a funny picture I'll post at some point, maybe. In the 1997 camping trip out west I posted about a few days ago, PeeWee and I posed in front of a well in Hungry Horse, MT (the friendliest "dam" town in the west) that was graffiti-ed with the phrase "tourists suck". We made sure to put on all the tourist-y gear we could find... cameras, binoculars, holding maps.

More Math Fun

Here's how my brain works: (well, not in its entirety)

My friends Vanessa and Tim got married on 9/27/03. This came about at TGIF's when I was eating dinner with them and discussing possible wedding dates. I really pushed for this option (out of the other possible September/October Saturdays) for a reason that seemed fairly obvious to me but involved me scrawling some notes on a napkin. If they got married on 9/27/03 they could choose to write their anniversary date as 3 squared, 3 cubed, 3-to-the-first-power. I thought that would be pretty cool.

Cameras

In 1997 my friends Nora, PeeWee, and I drove out to Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park. We were young (18) and crazy, driving the entire way out there. Almost drove off the road in the park we were so tired!

Highlights include searching Lincoln, MT for the Unabomber's cabin. We never found it and later learned we couldn't have found it because it was taken to CA for the trial. Also memorable was our night in the rain in the tent in the middle of bear country, too afraid to leave the tent with water seeping in through the tent seams. Over the course of the night we had less and less non-wet sleeping bag-age. I had to go to the bathroom and had the Simon and Garfunkle song "I am Rock" in my head (as we had only an "island" of dry sleeping bag to share).

Nora brought three cameras with her. One she dropped down the side of a mountain. A second died when it fell into a creek with her. I don't recall off hand if the third made it back or not.

Dude ranch

Last year we thought that we were going to go to a Dude Ranch this summer, either near Sundance, WY (where the pretty girl waittress that the Enforcer likes works) or down near Laramie. I even bought myself a cowboy hat. Eforce bought cowboy boots in Wall, SD. Yet plans changed and we are not doing that this year. Maybe next year. So much to do, but too little time and money.

Real Vacation UPdate #2

I didn't even plan on bringing my Nike Free's on the trip. I was going to bring my hiking shoes (Inov8) and my sandals. The Free's were so dang comfortable, however, that I did bring them. I got to thinking before the first hike that I should try hiking in them, since I do know that some ultra-runners run mountain ultras in very minimalistic shoes. So our first hike (10 mile) I wore them. What I noticed: They are comfortable. I have a good feel of the ground that is great for balancing on logs. When they get wet they dry very quickly. However I think I would have to train a little more because my feet were kinda sore when I got back to the car. Think 80- miles- into- Superior-ouch- that- kinda- hurts- oh- well- sore (not pure hell 90 miles in soreness). Also when they are wet (or I can imagine sweaty) my feet kind of slip around a bit, making it a little more difficult to do any bouldering if the boulders aren't flat. Also they don't cover my ankle bone (whatever that is called) which could cause an injury if I bang it just right. For the record my Inov8's don't cover that bone either.

Yesterday we were rained out of Hazelton Peak as well. We did do a late afternoon cross-country off-the-trail hike over a couple peaks (probably about 11 miles between 7500' and 9500'). RR is the only person I will follow into the woods not fearing for myself or that I need to pay super good attention and be able to lead us out; I trust him completely (even more than myself). He took us on an 11 mile loop that got us right back to the car. Amazing!

Today we are going to climb Loaf Mt. (11,200'). Darton is still snow covered.

Get an eye exam

We saw a patient last week who had normal pressures for the last few years. No family history of glaucoma. This visit the pressure in one of his eyes was a high, so we did a visual field. He has pretty advanced glaucoma with visual field loss in both eyes. We started him on eye drops to lower his pressure, but he won't regain the vision he lost. This is one reason why even if you have good vision, you should still have somewhat regular eye exams! Glaucoma can sneak up on you pretty easily, ruining your baseball career if you're a famous athlete as it did a previous patient in the practice (and affecting your life if you're not).

This post is HIPAA compliant, I believe...

Real Vacation Update #1

There's still a lot of snow up the peaks, so we are in a holding pattern for now. The area received a lot of late May precipitation. It's melting fast, so we may just need to wait a week. Our number one goal is still to climb Francs Peak, and due to snow we may have to forego Darton Peak this year.

We did a 10 mile hike to about 8750' on Saturday. Long story, but we ended up coming too close for comfort to running out of gas coming back down the mountains to Buffalo. We put the car in neutral and coasted down the hills.

Yesterday RR and I rented mountain bikes, had Eforce drive us 20 miles up the road into the mountains, and then we blasted down. He had us clocked at 53 mph during some sections. We're going for a repeat today and I'm going to wear my GPS and see if I can get a more accurate reading. We had some Forcer-snafus that caused us to have to start over a few times. We did the last 5 miles of big hills 3 times!

Today we're climbing Hazelton Peak and will finally get some elevation (10,500'). We chose not to do it yesterday due to a late start and the possibility of storms rumbling through. Sure enough, while biking we could see angry dark storm clouds in that vincinity and as we ate dinner at El Sol Vallarta the storm made it into town (Buffalo, WY: home base for now).

We did get out of town, but late: 9pm, putting us into Al's Oasis at 4:00am.

Good customer service

We ended up renting our Impala from Hertz in Blaine. Heidi, the staff member who helped us mainly, was SUPER helpful. When I called on Thursday night asking if any full size sedans would be returned to them for us to get on Friday before we left she:

-Offered us a Sante Fe at a $50 discount as the gas mileage wouldn't be as good as an Impala.
-Looked up in their system to see that an Impala WAS scheduled to be returned at 9am Friday.
-Let us take the Santa Fe and their staff would drive the Impala to the Force's workplace on Friday to exchange it.
-Would still give us at least $25 discount even if we got the Impala because of the hassle we had.

Found out later that when the Impala was NOT returned as scheduled, she had someone drive one up from their Brooklyn Park location to Blaine for us.

Thanks for the great customer service!

Bad customer service examples

Here's two of many possible examples of bad customer service:

1) I was buying bear spray at Sportsman's Warehouse.

"What's the difference between that package," I said, pointing at one, "and that one?"

"Well," said the unhelpful staff member, "they're different brands."

2) My manager ordered Potbelly subs to be delivered for our meeting. When they were 20 minutes late she finally called to ask what had happened to the order.

"You're on Dupont Ave.," said the unhelpful staff member. "I don't know where that is."

So you just won't deliver the order?!?

Unhealthy eating

Probably one of the most unhealthy snacks I've ever sat down to eat on multiple occasions are pretzels dipped in cream cheese. Very yummy, but a pretzel can really scoop up a lot of cream cheese.

I like pretzels to snack on, but they are very dry. I do not want to choke, nor faint.

I also really like jelly beans. For awhile I loved the Starburst brand jelly beans. Now I really enjoy the cheap jelly beans a person can find at the gas station. My favorite fake fruit flavor is orange. I believe my brother Joe and I agree that a person should eat all of one color before moving on to the next, but disagree about the best order. I usually eat the oranges last because they're the best.

Reed Organ

My family has an old reed organ that was orginally my great grandmother's. It was built in the 1890's, I believe. It's old, anyway. My dad refinished it a handful of years ago. I saw one identical to it in an antique store in Buffalo last year. I really like antique stores and will probably rummage through it again this year some morning when I'm awake and my travel mates are still sleeping.

A person must pump pedals with their feet to blow air through the reeds to create the music. As a kid this was a lot of fun. As an adult, not as much fun, but different. The sound is a little bit irritating, too. I prefer the sound of a piano. Very unique instrument, however.

I took piano lessons for 10 years and got pretty good at it. I don't play much (at all) anymore but would like to have a piano again to pick it back up. I also played clarinet in band for many years through high school and got pretty good. I don't want to pick that back up. I donated the clarinet to the Lupus foundation a move or two ago. Maybe someone with Lupus or their offspring is playing it as we speak.

So long, farewell

Well, the plan is to leave tonight between 6pm and 7pm. We'll stay the night at Al's Oasis/ Oasis Inn in Oacoma, SD. We are big fans of stopping to eat at Al's Oasis. In fact last fall V and RR bought gift cards for the Force and I for X-mas.

We have an Impala rented, after much headache and little assistance from Eforce. Let's just say the whole ordeal involved multiple phone calls back and forth, me talking to two different car places, questions that should have been asked NOT being asked, etc. But it's all good. We wanted an Impala for a good price and we have it.

All my stuff is packed, and anything I've forgotten I haven't realized yet. Everything should fit into the car like it did on two trips last year, but the car's not loaded, so again, we'll see. We'll (I'll) probably load everything up when I get home from work, hopefully by 5:15p.

Our plan is to climb Francs Peak (no, there is not an apostrophe) and Darton Peak. We'll stay Saturday and Sunday nights at Jay and Kim's cabins in Buffalo, like we have multiple nights on multiple past trips. Ralph is the old man who lives in the RV at the cabins, or at least he did last year. His daughter-in-law (or granddaughter-in-law) paints rocks to look like animals. I bought an owl one from him last 4th of July. Then in September when we were back I commissioned a matching owl. I've always wanted a piece of commissioned art. I'm not sure if any more rock-buying is in my future for this trip.

We'll probably stay a night or two in Tensleep, WY (tiny) and Meeteetsee, WY (teeny tiny). There's a big rodeo in Tensleep on the 4th that we might try to be at. We'll see how big it really is for a tiny town, but it was being advertised all the way back last October during hunting season.

I'd thought about having scheduled posts appear every day while I was gone for the entertainment of anyone checking in, but alas, that just didn't happen. I'm running out of time to make it happen, so I really may not post until 7/14/08. I may try posting/checking email/internet hopping from various hotels/coffee shops/other outlets along the way, but no guarantees.

Have a good holiday all! Good luck at Afton for anyone running!

A present for myself

I decided to get myself a present for my 30th b-day (coming up in August).

I thought about a trip to Mexico for a couple days of lying on the beach, but realistically I don't have anyone to travel with and would get bored pretty quickly by myself.

My puppy was born on Sunday, 6/22 and will be ready for me to pick-up after 8/10. I'll probably drive out there on 8/13. I'd originally planned on getting a puppy later in the fall, but this is just how it worked out. My b-day is the 11th, so it actually coincides with that quite nicely.

The litter has 5 females and 5 males, and I have a deposit on the first pick of the males.

I talked with the breeder, who lives in Brookings, SD, yesterday and while at the vet he learned all the pups are healthy. Unfortunately the vet, who was new to the practice, docked the tails of all the puppies to the incorrect length: instead of being 2/3rds the original length as the standard is, she docked them short and stubby like German pointers. Because of this I'll get a discount. The puppy is full breed and will have limited registration (can't be bred or shown in some situations). The incorrectly docked tail would make the puppy "undesireable" for showing anyway (if not completely ineligible for showing--not sure of the specifics). That's all fine.

I'll have pictures in a few weeks. 5 day old puppies are little blind blobs.

Weight training...

I've got to do it.

My garage has turned into a workout room (or at least half of it is). I'm going to pick up some dumbbells when I get back from Wyoming and start doing more weight training. EForce traded me his weight bench for an iron (long story).

In the mean time I decided I was going to do push-ups and aim to do 100. Yeah right. I did my initial test last night only to find I can not do even one real push-up with strict form. Not to seem pessimistic, but I doubt I'll be able to do 100 push-ups in 6 weeks. So should my goal be to follow the program with strict girly-push-ups (on the knees) until I can reach 100 and then switch over to real push-ups? I'd have to think that if I could do 100 sgp's that I'd then be able to do at least a handful of real push-ups.

Z Health

Forgot to add that now that I have finally purchased my Nike Free's I need to set up an appointment with my friend Mike T. Nelson to work on mobility using Z Health. I've worked with him before and it really works and makes a noticeable difference right away. Check out the web page for more info. I've known Mike for 6 years now and he's a great guy, so if you're an athlete looking for ways to improve, check him out.

Confounding product review

Throwing all proper methods of experimentation aside, I'm going to offer up my review of two products that I began using simultaneously, so take my experience for what it's worth.

I've been meaning to buy/try a pair of Nike Frees for a long time (years). But they're kind of pricey for me to just try, so it was an item that stayed on my to-do list pretty much long term. As I've been obsessed with attempting to clear the list for the last month or so (since I have nothing else to do) I finally bought a pair. A few years ago I could easily go to the Nike web page and even design my own colors and everything. The last few months however I had a hard time even finding a pair. I'm not sure if they are discontinuing them, re-designing them, or what. If they are being changed/eliminated, I certainly didn't want to pay much money for a pair, so I search Ebay and bought a "minimally used" pair for $20 (including shipping). The web site cautions about being sure to increase a person's use of them over a period of time to "acclimate" to the reduced support the shoe offers, but I've never been a fan of that, so I jumped right in. Wearing them around (like I am today at work) all I notice is that they remind me of the $5 Target slip-on shoes I lived in for many years as a teenager. Very comfortable. I did a 10 mile run in them last weekend and I notice I run with a much lighter step. When I ran 10 miles the next day in regular shoes I felt more "clumpy". I haven't been extra sore or had new muscle soreness. I did notice on Monday morning getting out of bed my feet bottoms were a little sore for a few minutes until they "stretched" out, but that happens occasionally regardless. I also had a little knee pain on Monday during the day, but again, I leave for Wyoming tomorrow and before any race or big trip I ALWAYS have weird phantom pain that is nothing really; probably just me being extra in-tune with my body as I prepare for an event.

My treadmill is great thus far. Just wish I had more time to use it this week. It's a MUCH better treadmill than my old one is all ways, so I don't foresee it causing me trouble.

Treadmill Days 1, 2, 3

Day 1 (6/21/08): Yippee! New Treadmill! I did a 10 mile run at 6.7mph. I took a 20 minute break to do a bear spray clinic in the back yard. We used last years bottle (which two people in our group have) to test the distance it sprays and the cloud pattern. Results? The bear spray shoots about 25ft with neutral wind. The cloud is actually quite large, which is good, since the Force has bad eyes. His and V's bottles only last 5 seconds in contrast to me and RR's bottles which last 9.2 seconds, with only 30g more liquid. Is it concentration of the bear spray per second of shot?

Day 2 (6/22/08): 10 mile run at 6.7mph. Took 2 x 5min breaks to collect money to buy bear spray and to acccept delivery of a weight bench from Eforce. I got my fan set up, but I still was sweating like a hog. Post-run we did another bear spray field test, doing a brief spray of mine to analyze the cloud size. We determined it's a little narrower of a cloud, but still sufficient, especially coupled with the long spray time availability. We determined we'll carry two of the larger cloud/shorter time and two of the narrower cloud/longer time bottles.

Day 3 (6/23/08): I'm down to my last two episodes of Season 6 of "24" (about 84 minutes or so)and I'd really like to finish up before leaving for Wyoming. I was going to walk on an inlince for at least one of the episodes last night but ultimately decided to skip it. Why? Well, I only got 3 hours of sleep Sunday night, I work 45-50 hours this week before leaving, we've decided to leave Friday night instead of Saturday morning and we'll be picking up the rental car Thursday night. The departure time change means I lose two evenings of getting ready to go other than packing, and as I have a work meeting on Wednesday night I am especially crunched for time. I decided I'd get more benefit by changing the rental car reservation and sleeping than I would from 45 minutes of walking at an incline.

Total treadmill miles: 20.

*Actually, I was told that as the floor model the treadmill received 46 miles logged, so in all actuality the number is 66, but I am going to ignore that and not really mention it again.

More details on the treadmill

I headed over to Northstar Fitness this afternoon to see what I could find. I spent probably 1 1/2 hours there with Dean the manager who was very knowledgeable and helpful. We literally walked around and talked about every treadmill and covered the differences, the bonuses, the drawbacks of every model of every brand they carried.

The Precor I am getting was a floor model that currently has about 46 miles on it. Big whoop. I saved $700 on it being a floor model. What's better is that they can deliver it tomorrow! I thought for sure I was going to have to wait until I was back from Wyoming, but nope. I'll be able to give it a run all this week before leaving, assuming I can find the time.

My garage is going to turn into a workout room I believe, and I'll park my car in the driveway. Now I just need some weights.

My new treadmill

My new treadmill is being delivered tomorrow! Must mow the lawn now before it gets too late, so I'll add more details later.

DNR orders on the treadmill

My treadmill never did fill out any DNR paperwork, so until today I have continued to attempt to resuscitate the poor darn thing, futile though it may be.

As I was running on Friday night I heard a weird sound. Not the weird sound that I had fixed by reapplying silicone goo to the roller-thingy every 3 hours or so, but a weird ripping sound. I heard it once, but then noticed that every 4-20 footfalls or so I could feel that the bed felt "funny". I recognized right away that my treadmill bed must have cracked where it was uneven (from the windows) and that occasionally my footfall must hit the belt in just the right spot and for just the right amount of time that the belt was scraping over the crack and that the belt was starting to fray. So I ignored it.

On Saturday morning I took a look at the belt and realized that there WAS a tear in it--about 2" long. But it wasn't causing much problem, so on I ran.

About 10 mile into Saturday's run I heard yet ANOTHER new noise. This one was also directly related to the speed of the treadmill, but it was fairly quiet so I ignored it.

It got louder. I turned up the t.v. volume.

Finally it was too loud to ignore. I stopped the treadmill and manually turned the belt to look at the rip. It was now 8" long, which was long enough that there was a gaping wound and the belt was wrinkling up and not riding completely flat to the bed around the cut. What was happening was this: on each pass around the bed, the ripped area was scraping against the plastic piece that covers the electronics of the treadmill. As the rip grew larger and bulged up, a larger amount of belt was scraping past (hence the increase in volume). I thought immediately of Kel's suggestion to pull out the duct tape, so that I did. Alas, the duct tape caught on something while passing through the belt's rotation, and didn't last.

The way to fix it? Well, remove the plastic cover from the front of the treadmill, of course!

This is the point on Saturday morning that I realized that my treadmill was living on borrowed time. Sure, it wasn't dead yet, but every additional measure seemed to be just buying a little more time without taking into consideration the QUALITY of the life I was giving my treadmill. How long could I run on a treadmill with exposed mechanical and electrical pieces?

I unscrewed the plastic piece and used a couple of screwdrivers to raise it about 4" which should be plenty of room to allow the bulging wound to pass. Unfortunately the belt was catching on the frame, so this didn't help. My run was over at 11.5 miles.

I faced the truth today while talking with a co-worker who is also a runner (who can't believe that I run almost exclusively on a treadmill or that I have done "long" trail runs--a euphemism for the ultras. Good luck Tonya at Grandma's, where she will come close to breaking 3 hours). She told me I should replace the belt. Once I started describing the treadmill as it stands now, I think we both were able to see the truth: the treadmill is dead; repair is not the answer.

Now I plan to attempt to throw it away in my local garbage can over the next few weeks.

The electronics are still good... in fact they were replaced under warranty at the beginning of April. Any suggestions for what to do with the working parts?

Here's a picture of the treadmill post-silicone-solution. Notice footrail and endcap missing from right side as well as the black-icky silicone spray backsplash on the garage floor back from the roller junction. This is what happens when silicone is applied as the treadmill is moving. Also notice the 8" rip.


Here is where I started the autopsy. Notice the Y-incision.


With the belt removed the bed can be examined. Notice the area that is completely worn away. My footfalls must have been traditionally off-center to the left for it to be worn like that. Notice the area in the center of the worn spot that is indented (it's the more yellow central area). There is a slightly rough edge to it which must have been what originally started the tear.



Cause of death: Over-use, plain and simple. While the treadmill-as-window-storage was not a good idea to the overall health of the treadmill bed, I think the signs point that repetitive pounding ultimately finished it off.

Beware of the water

On Friday morning I was chatting with a co-worker and took a drink out of my water bottle. As I swallowed I felt a tightness in my chest and it really hurt as it was going down. "Wow," I told Shannon, "that hurt!" I immediately (within 3 seconds) started to feel lightheaded and dizzy and realized I was going to faint. I started to sit down and may or may not have made it to the ground before I passed out. I did hit the right side of my head on the floor hard enough to leave a mark, but not hard enough to hurt. I came too within about 10-15 seconds. I sat up and tried to regain my bearings, but within 30 seconds I was down again. By this time my co-workers were able to get a couple of our surgery nurses over to look out for me. My doctor came out of the laser room and when she found out what happened said right away that it was a Vasovagal syncope. Basically it means I fainted.

I laid still for about 15 minutes before attempting to get up. I was sat up and immediately the world started swimming again. Because a good amount of time had passed and I was still feeling poorly, the decision was made to call the paramedics and have me checked out. I was taken via ambulance to Fairview Southdale where I was given an EKG (normal) and IV fluids.

(Now, I TOLD the paramedic in the ambulance that my normal resting heart rate is in the low-mid 40's, but he obviously didn't listen because my heart rate "fell" from the mid-50's during the exodus from my workplace to the low-40's relaxing during the ambulance ride he decided he'd better give me an IV. He also said that he was concerned about dehydration although I had told him that I had already drank going on 50 oz. of water by the time this happened at 9:30a. When I arrived to the hospital 3 minutes after he started the IV, the nurse said, "well, may as well finish up the IV since they've already charged you for it.")

I've fainted 4 times in my life now: First time was at Bemidji University giving blood in 1996. I gave the blood, felt fine, was standing around the table snacking because I was not allowed to leave for 5 minutes, when all of a sudden, BOOM. Second time was at Northwest Airlines Bldg. C in 1998 (where I worked at the time). Again I had given blood, felt fine, standing at the table, when BOOM. Third time was in Washington DC in 2004 when I was constructing an IKEA bookshelf. I was hammering in the LAST nail (really) when my hammer hit my finger by mistake. It didn't even really hurt, but started bleeding and I calmly started rinsing it under water at the sink. I felt myself getting light headed and laid down on the kitchen floor, halfways aborting the fainting. I was still passed out in a quasi dream state, but at least I didn't hit the floor. And now number 4, fainting after drinking water.

Should I stop drinking water?

My $400K bathroom

My upstairs bathroom in Anoka is finished now and it looks GRAND! We decided it is a $400K bathroom in a house of lesser value. After RR customized the new countertops, I decided to have him replace the base throughout the bathroom; the moron who originally trimmed it out used casing instead of base and it looked dumb. We bought the painting and the bathmats for a housewarming gift for the Force. I can't wait to live in this house.

The easiest of weekend updates

My running update is the least complicated of the weekend:

On Friday I did 15 miles at 9min/mi. After finishing I did a 4 minute shower and raced out the door to Home Depot to buy 37" of base shoe 5 minutes before they finished so RR was able to finish my showcase bathroom in Anoka (pictures to follow).

On Saturday I did 11.5 miles at 9min/mi. I was planning on a solid 15 miles, but, well, situations arose with the treadmill (pictures and more lengthy story to follow). I did about 8 miles of mountain biking at Savanna Portage State Park.

On Sunday I did a 5 mile hike on my own, followed up with a 9 mile hike with the Force. Today I notice that my shins feel like crap. This is from walking on paved and gravel roads which was probably 60% of the miles I did. I run up on the balls of my feet and walking flat did me in.

Yardsticks

I like yardsticks.

I know that sounds weird.

I currently only have two of them. I got them at the Home and Garden Show in January, and technically one is Vanessa's. She forgot it at my house, so it obviously wasn't too important to her. I will give it back to her if she really wants it.

I used to have a mess of yardsticks; I think a "mess" is what a person should call a group of yardsticks. I realized too late that I'd left them all in my utility room when I moved from my townhouse in Shoreview to a rental place in Roseville this time last year.

I also had two dowels, that may or may not have been an exact yard in length, but they were close enough. I also had at least two of the 4-H yardsticks that I refer to as "cubic yardsticks": you know, the ones you buy at the 4-H place at the state fair with the leather strap? The state fair is a great place for yard sticks, as I think it's the safety barn where you get the neon yardsticks.

I left those in Shoreview, too.

I will admit that my mess of yardsticks did survive multiple moves with me, for no practical reason, as they really aren't that convenient to measure much.

If you are baking a cake (which I don't do) and need to know if your pan is 9" x 16", no one is going to pull out a yardstick.

Point of all this is that I pulled out my yardstick to measure something, but for the life of me I no long remember my point.

Anatomy of a Treadmill

If you had asked me 24 hours ago I would have told you that my treadmill had died. It just recently started making a HORRIBLE clicking noise that I had been unable to identify or successfully eliminate.

A week ago I would have told you that I knew my treadmill was going to die as I had just cancelled my gym membership. Although Lifetime Fitness is 1/2 mile from my house, across a parking lot from one of my offices, and all my friends belong, I just wasn't going to continue to pay $64/month for a membership I don't use regularly. I quite often get to work before 7am and I cannot consistently get to the gym before work. I also have no intention of going right after work. Although that time is convenient for me, it's also convenient for about 1 gazillion other people who crowd the place between 5p and 7p. Due to my early work hours I also can't consistently go later at night.

Back to the treadmill. Since I realized I had inadvertantly created a "trail" treadmill, either the treadmill bed has flattened back out some or else I had become accustomed to running a little off-center. I am solidly immersed in Season 6 of "24", although due to a busy life it's taking me awhile. I also have 5 seasons of "Curb Your Enthusiasm". All was going well until the horrible noise.

Here's some treadmill analogy as I identify pieces. I don't know if my terminology is consistent with Horizon's terminology: The footrails are the side pieces where you stand (straddling the belt). The end cap is the plastic piece at the end of the footrail that hides the innerds/moving pieces. Then there's the roller that's inside the end of the belt and the axle of the roller that connects the roller to the mysterious other inner workings.

How do I know all this?

The noise, a completely new noise, started about a week ago. It's very loud and very suggestive of something being seriously not right. It's loud enough that it is not easily drowned out by turning up the volume. It is centered about 6" up from the end cap on the right side and sounds like it's something clicking under the footrail. It's related to the speed the belt is moving (faster clicking with faster belt movement), yet the noise doesn't seem to be coming from anywhere near the belt or another moving part.

On Sunday when I first heard the noise, I started by folding up the treadmill. I noticed that the underside of the end cap was cracked, probably from storing uninstalled windows on it last winter. (Note: hanging a shirt on the treadmill=O.K. setting multiple windows on treadmill= not O.K. ). Even though this was just 3 days ago, I honestly don't remember if I was trying to straighten the crack and accidently pulled it off or if I just decided to yank it. Either way, off the endcap came.

Now I could see the roller and the axel. The end cap was NOT causing the noise as I thought it might have been (the crack clicking). I grabbed "Liquid Wrench" and started spraying. I sprayed the "air bubble" cusioning thing under the footrail (even though this was a good 2 feet in front of the noise)--no effect. I also sprayed towards the underside of the footrail at the point of the noise, even though it didn't look like there was anything under the rail--no effect. Finally I sprayed the axel/roller junction (6" behind the noise)--Voila! If I sprayed it for a solid 5 seconds the noise stopped!

Back to running.

The noise started again 2 minutes later. Shoot. Another soaking with Liquid Wrench. Quiet. Noise again after 2-5 minutes. Repeat x many. After Sunday's run I completely loosened the belt, reapplied silicone belt stuff to the entire bed and re-tightened it just in case, even though the noise did not seem to be generating from anywhere except one specific point underneath the footrail. I did not check and see if that helped.

Hence why as of yesterday I thought I would have to get a new treadmill. Stopping every few minutes to spray down the treadmill is not very convenient.

I decided to give it a try last night to see if the belt lubricating helped. Nope. I decided it would be reasonable to stomp on the footrail at the noise point. I stomped hard, multiple times, with as much weight as I could muster. The noise did not stop, but I saw that the foot plate had half slid off. So I stopped the treadmill and slid it the rest of the way off. Underneath was essentially just flat bed, previously covered by the rail. There were a couple of screws, one of which was loose, but after analyzing it I saw the screws just held plastic pieces onto which the rail is slid-on to and connected. Again, not causing the noise.

There's nothing at the "noise spot" causing the noise!

All of this to say, I decided that Liquid Wrench lubrication, while stopping the noise for a short time, must not be the most effective lubrication. I took the silicone belt oil, squeezed some on the roller/axel junction, and was able to do a 68 minute run with no noise.

Any thoughts?

New shoes

I got a pair of Inov-8 Roclite 318's. I have a pair of 315's that I've used a lot--well, relatively speaking: I did the 100m + 3 (50K) = you do the math. (about 191, since Trail Mix was a "short" 50K). It's very easy to keep track of shoe mileage when you only use the shoes for races.

These shoes (the 315's) were very comfortable from the moment I put them on. I bought them the week before I left for Wyoming over Labor Day, about 2 weeks before Superior. I considered wearing them in the Cloud Peak Wilderness, but ultimately decided I should wear my Vasque hiking boots that are heavier with more ankle support.

I've rethought that. Why on earth should I wear heavier shoes while climbing/hiking on average 8-15 miles per day at altitude? The rocky terrain isn't THAT much more rocky than Superior, and my shoes did my feet fine for that (relatively speaking). I have good ankles that are not prone to rolling and my feet aren't that fussy.

This year backpacking/hiking/climbing in Wyoming (Darton Peak and Franc's Peak, most likely, as well as day hikes in the Bighorns and Absorkas) I am going to try to go lightweight. The 318's, from what my patience for research as been able to figure, are essentially the 315's + Goretex.

Anoka before pictures and exterior pictures

Here are some "before" pictures of some of the rooms in Anoka before painting was completed.


Here's the basic layout: When you come in the front door you are standing in the entryway. You can go upstairs to the 2nd floor or downstairs to the lower floor. The lower floor is a walk-out. From the entry way you can see through some railings into the living room, which has a vaulted ceiling and is open along the hall way of the 2nd floor. (This is where Eforce will have the strippers dance as the guys watch from below). The 2nd floor has three bedrooms and a large full bathroom. The lower level has Eforce's private space, a shared open living room, and the kitchen and laundry. There's also a 1/2 bath downstairs, too.

I love the floor plan which is very unique and very open.

Last week (and the MS150 "recap")

This is the laundry room that was too small for my washer and dryer which were to be installed on Friday afternoon, forcing me to have the delivery men leave with the appliances, necessitating an emergency trip to Home Depot (after having already been there TWICE that day) who had no washer and dryer small enough, leaving me no choice but to run to Menards and purchase some higher end front-loading models, meaning the Enforcer now has nicer appliances than I do. All of this ultimately resulted in me missing the MS150, as getting this property ready was number one priority.

I did raise over $300 for the MS Society. They will get their support money; they just didn't need to support ME over the weekend.

Truth be told I woke up Friday morning considering not going; the appliance situation just cemented everything.

Last weekend I decided I was going to run 10 miles every day until we leave for Wyoming; that lasted 3 days.

I worked at my job every day last week M-Th, leaving my house at about 6am. I went straight from work to Anoka to clean and work on the house every evening, staying until 11:30p-midnight every night but Monday (when I left at 9:30p and got home to watch hockey while running). By Friday morning I was beat. I wanted to do the MS150, but also knew I had a lot that still needed to get done both in Anoka, at my house, and in my life in general.

On Friday I spent 10.5 hours at Anoka or running to home improvement stores. I spent two hours installing blinds, cleaned and cleaned some more. I also spent 5 hours over there on Saturday. Obviously if I had been biking all that work would have been done this coming week, meaning another LONG week for me that I'd like to try to avoid.

I did run 10 miles today (9min/miles). I also mowed my lawn and spent about 5-6 hours cleaning MY house from top to bottom.

Pictures from Anoka (after)

The gold room is the Enforcer's room. What do you think about the french doors that we had installed for privacy? And the color is a very warm color, perfect the bachelor pad. The only color I enjoy more in the house is the upstairs bathroom(also pictured). The color is Amber Coast, and you can't tell, but with the black shower curtain the effect is very stunning.

I can't figure out how to format the pictures and my typing and I am not going to figure it out for this post. Sorry.

I have a couple of angles of the french doors. It's such a traditional look and really is an upgrade.

All the paint in the house is fresh. The color choices were made by my friend/carpentry contractor Randy, who has an amazing eye and outstanding workmanship.

The ladder picture is my attempt at "art".


The Enforcer moved in on Saturday.

MS150 support

Please see blog entry dated 5/27 regarding my participation in the MS150.

Donate online to support me!

Call me Nostradamsa

I got home from Anoka about 9:30p last night planning on jumping on the treadmill for a 10 mile run. I realized that the hockey game was just ending, or rather it was just going into overtime as Pittsburg had tied it up. Although my intention was to watch 2 more episodes of "24", I found that I was being drawn into the stress of the game, as if the Penguins didn't win their season would be over.

Yes, I was cheering for the Penguins.

I've noticed that it seems that if a team doesn't win within the 1st 10 minutes of sudden-death overtime during the play-offs then the game almost always ends sometime deep in the 3rd OT. With that in mind I decided to run while watching the game, knowing that if the game ended before I was done I'd be a little "off" in my "24" episodes; I like that 2 episodes from beginning to end constitutes just shy of a 10 mile run.

Sure enough, the game went on and on. We got into the 3rd OT and I just started assuming the game would end when I was done running. If it hadn't, well, I probably would have gone to bed. With about 6 minutes left in my run a penalty was called and I thought, yup, this is it.

With 1 minute and 40 seconds left in my run the Penguins scored and won the game. Between my last 2 minutes and a 2 minute cool-down I had just enough time to watch the final player interviews and turn the treadmill off with the broadcast credits rolling.

Quick update for Facebook friends

I joined Facebook at the beginning of last week and suddenly I found myself with renewed contact (albeit very casual contact) with many friends from the past, a great many of whom I've had limited/no contact with since high school graduation in 1996.

I decided to do a quickie life update covering the last 12 years for those who care. I limited myself to 30secs of thought per year:

1996: Graduated from Eden Prairie High School. Left to go to college in Bemidji. Came back home to the Twin Cities after one quarter.

1997: Started at the U of MN. Went out to Glacier Nat'l Park and Yellowstone with Nora and PeeWee.

1998: Was a nanny in Washington DC for 8 weeks over the summer. Hot air balloon ride with Kristin. Another trip west with Nora. Moved out of mom and dad's. Started work at Northwest Airlines. Started working at Walmart.

1999: Moved back home. Quit the airlines. Went back to school.

2000: Spent 4 weeks in St. Petersburg, Russia.

2001: Started nannying part time along with Walmart. Moved out to Plymouth. Got a kitten.

2002: Moved back home. Went back to school. Met the main players in the Fab Four. Trip out west with Nora (Crater Lake, Tetons).

2003: Started mountain biking, some grouse hunting, went to Mazatlan and broke my foot. Ran the Jamaica Reggae marathon. Camped in Denali with Nora.

2004: Finally graduated from the U of MN with a degree in Russian language and literature. Moved to Washington DC for a ophthalmic technologist training program. Dropped out of school after 3 months.

2005: Moved back to MN. Bought a townhouse in Shoreview. Ran the Superior 50 mile trail run.

2006: Qualified for the Boston marathon.

2007: Ran the Boston marathon. Ran the Superior Trail 100 mile trail run. Sold the townhouse, bought a house in Coon Rapids. Two mountain climbing trips out to Wyoming.

2008: Bought a 2nd house in Anoka. I've run 3 50K trail races this year.

Sure Game Wilderness Resort

Over Memorial Day we weekend we stayed at the Sure Game Wilderness Resort in Wirt, MN (http://www.suregameresort.com) . Deb and Jeff are great hosts and we will probably return again next Memorial Day Weekend.

Eforce and I might take the dirt bikes up there this fall as well.

The New Neighbor

Look at what lives in the neighborhood of the Anoka house! It looked like a stuffed animal. I felt repelled by the thought of touching the thing, but in my attempt to get the picture it rubbed up against me; it feels like it's real!

A grand return...

...to Season 6. I hadn't run a step since before Superior, so going on two weeks. I had almost forgotten what was going on in the show. And I was starting to get lazy, and my knees were starting to hurt. Does anyone else start to get sore joints when they DON'T run?

I did 10 miles this morning (9min/mi). I'm just eating a peanut butter sandwich before I get on with my day. Haven't even showered yet, as I'm heading out to mow the weeds that constitute my yard.

The strawberries are not exactly bursting green and vibrant from the ground, but they are not dead either, so the prognosis is still unknown.

I'm going to get some pictures of the Anoka house this afternoon to post later tonight.

I'm a home owner (again)

Even with all the hoops to jump through with foreclosed properties, I've somehow manage to officially close on 2 properties: my current Coon Rapids house and my new-as-of-today house in Anoka.

I have two renters signed to year-long lease agreements.

The interior painting is almost done and the colors are very modern and classy. I'll get some pictures (especially of the upstairs bathroom).

The new patio door is order. The carpet is coming as well. And appliances.

I have some odds-and-ends to pick up at Home Depot on Saturday, although truthfully none of my list could truly be classified as "odds-and-ends".

Maybe I'll be able to get back to "24" and my treadmill now.

I need to go to the gym!

... or my garage.

I've been way too busy to do an official workout.

Last weekend I did about 4 miles of mountain biking on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, as well as a 6 mile hike on Sunday.

I lifted weights on both Thursday and Friday of last week (and, wow, could I feel it in my hamstrings and triceps all Memorial Day weekend!)

I've had full days at work since Wednesday (leaving the house at 6am) and going straight over to Anoka to do "house stuff". I haven't really gone to bed before midnight.

Wyoming mountain climbing is coming up and I really should do a more concentrated effort of some incline walking or stepping. Starting this weekend I will.

MS150 donations

From the 6th-8th of June I will be doing the MS150, a 150 mile bike ride between Duluth and the cities to raise money and awareness for multiple sclerosis. I'm trying to raise $500 in donations (tax deductible) in support of this fight.

My grandfather had MS and passed away before I was born.

EDIT: Donate online at http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/MNMBikeEvents?px=3581416&pg=personal&fr_id=7100 (Thanks, Wayne, for pointing this out!)

I can also accept cash or checks and can gladly provide a receipt for any donation made. Email me at dcfarmer@gmail.com or call 952-239-1629 and I can provide my mailing address.

Please consider supporting me in this!

Thanks!

The haunting of Glove Lake

This weekend we were up in Wirt, MN. Our original plan was to stay at a resort on Saturday night and then camp at this idyllic campsite on Sunday night, a repeat of the trip we took last Memorial Day. Plans changed, however...

We were sitting at the resort bar late on Saturday night when we brought up with the other bar patrons our plan to stay at Glove lake the next night. The bar immediately became silent. I guess local lore is that Glove lake is haunted and most people won't even go there during the day. One of the men said a couple times he wouldn't camp out there for any amount of money. One woman swore up and down that years ago (late '80's) she was there with some friends. They had found a rock in the shape of an indian head and threw it into the water. Immediately, so she says, dark clouds rolled in and covered the sun and it started to thunder and lightning. She was very serious about this.

We questioned the resort owners the next day and they assured us that these people weren't just fooling with us; they really do believe that there are bad spirits there and would not camp out there for anything.

Four of us had camped out there last Memorial Day weekend and none of us had any bad feeling about it. In fact, we loved the place and immediately made plans to come back in 2008. The sun was out, we played in the water, and sat and relaxed by the campfire.

We weren't afraid of "spirits" this year, but we were repulsed by the documented fact that in 1990 a woman did shoot herself at the campsite, leaning against a tree. Knowing that we did not want to go back and camp there.

We sent Eforce, the Nightman, and J out to Glove Lake to check it out yesterday during the day. They threw rocks of various sizes/shapes into the water with no response. They looked for bullet holes in trees, but really didn't find one.

Strawberry patch

FINALLY! On Sunday I had picked up a huge bag of strawberry plants from Vanessa. They had been pulled from her sister's garden, partially at my request as I had told her I would love some!

And I did want the strawberries. Just not all the work.

I meant to get them planted on Monday night. And Tuesday night. But I just had way too much else going on and usually didn't get home until too late.

Oh, and did I mention I didn't actually have a garden, either?

So between a couple hours yesterday and about 5 hours today I created a garden (20ft by 4ft) and planted 51 strawberry plants. Now I just have to hope that they start to grow and that the rabbits/deer don't eat them.

"TO DO" Item 947

You know it's a busy week when in the order of importance "update blog" falls WAY down the list.

Here's what I've been doing this week:

I worked from 6:45a-5:00p M-W. Drive time was only 35 minutes each morning, but probably due to the weather my average drive time home was over an hour!

After work each night I went over to the Anoka house, a.k.a "Party Central". This usually involved a couple of Home Depot visits each night to pick up paint, supplies, and order the carpet. For some reason the carpet ordering took a half hour, which is way long considering all that needed to be done was to finalize an existing quote. The house is looking great! As of Friday morning most of the upstairs is painted. We nailed dead on the paint color we wanted for the front entry/upstairs hall.



Wednesday I had to check in (for the last time) with Ramsay County, so this involved a after-work drive to downtown St. Paul. Ironically enough this was one of my easiest commutes home (Bloomington to Coon Rapids via St. Paul?)

We're going out of town this weekend so I mowed my yard and Randy's yard (so he could continue painting at Party Central). Of course it turned out my mower blade is way dull. Anyone know of a good place near Coon Rapids to have mower blades sharpened?

I have a bag of strawberry plants from Vanessa's sister's garden that NEED to get in the ground. I planned on doing it every evening from Monday through Wednesday, but it just didn't work out. So yesterday after mowing I dug into a sunny section of lawn to turn into my strawberry patch. I got a quarter of it done (about 20 sqft.) I need to get the rest done this morning and the plants in the ground before heading up north tomorrow morning.

I have to start going to the gym again or else choose to cancel my membership. I really need to get a weight workout in and I've skipped the last month. I went yesterday and will go again today and tomorrow morning before leaving. Hopefully I can pick it back up again after the holiday weekend.

"24" remains on pause in my garage, as I don't have extra hours available to run more than the 20 minutes of intervals I am planning on doing at the gym following weights.

Good news: I think I've found a good fit for Party Central with Eforce.

Garage runner's club

I got to say "hi" to many people at Superior, none of whom I ever see in my garage on my treadmill:

Kel, Matt P. : Now when I read your blogs I no longer have to thinking I'm stalking you.
Curt, Carl: I've seen your names on emails and now have verified you exist outside of the computer
Kate: "The Lore of Running" is awesome... thanks much!
Wayne, Maria, Les: Very few muddy sections... thank God we had Psycho Wyco
Steve: Can't wait to read your race report.

I'm sure there were other people, too, that I didn't mention here.

How I learned to love Oberg Aid Station to Finish

Well, I maybe didn't learn to love it, but for the first time in my experience with the Superior races I got to cover this section without being in a complete physical and mental pain, fighting to just keep moving forward, close enough to know I would finish, but far enough away to know I still had some work to do.

There's a good portion of this section that is very runnable! I had no idea. In my previous experience I remembered it as a miserable section that never ends.

I finished yesterday running up the gravel road all the way to the finish, instead of my past finishes where I would burst into tears when I got to the gravel road and slowly drag myself to the end.

I finished the 50K yesterday in 6:22. I was guessing/aiming for about 6 hours, but since the treadmill-to-trail time estimation is always a tough one to do, I never really know what to expect. I'm happy with my time. I think that maybe if I'd really pushed it I could have cut 3-5 minutes off, but not much more. My time was good enough for 3rd place women's open.

I was very lucky to meet Rachel early on in the race and we ran from probably mile 4 to the finish together. This was her first trail run (and she loved it) and her first ultra! It was great to have the company and camaraderie throughout the run, and it worked out great because we seemed to have a very similar pace for the race.

I fell only once, an "uphill" fall leaving just a slight scrape. I started to fall and caught myself a dozen or more times. Rachel did a "downhill" fall, a.k.a. the "superman" and has an awesome bruise/scrape badge of honor.

Starting the run I was not "feeling it". I had pulled myself out of bed at 6:30a, not really wanting to go. I ran the first couple miles thinking to myself that it'd be awfully easy to just turn around and walk back. Ultimately I'm glad I worked myself through the rough spots.

I stayed the night at the Mountain Inn. I had been planning on sleeping in my car, but once I arrived in Lutsen I realized I really didn't want to do that. I have a feeling my car sleeping days might be over (unless I literally don't have the choice). I slept in my car before the Superior 50 mile in 2005 and before the Fargo Marathon (where I qualified for Boston) in 2006.

Eforce takes the stage

I FINALLY figured out where my saved photos go after I transfer them from my camera to the computer. They continued to get lost in some mysterious folder.

My first picture showcase goes to the Enforcer (a.k.a. Eforce, Enforcimus, Enforcicles) on his dirt bike at some random dirt pit in the middle of a X-mas tree farm between Duelm and Santiago, MN. This picture was from our first venture out, back on April 4th.

Figuring out my camera may prove to be a dangerous thing.

I still plan on Superior for Saturday, leaving for Lutsen tomorrow afternoon. After sleeping in I have to do some cleaning in Anoka to make sure the house is presentable to show to renters. I also have a to-do list that's a mile long in general.

I won the email race for a free copy of "The Lore of Running" that Kate H. was giving away and I need to pick it up in Lutsen, so I had better go!

Blowin' in the Wind

Right now it looks like I WILL be at Superior on Saturday.

Of course this morning it looked as though I would NOT be there.

But yesterday morning it seemed like I WOULD.

And Saturday? Well, I didn't think I could.

I'll "twitter" you updates as they happen.

A great new idea!

I was running on my treadmill tonight and super unmotivated. So I came up with a new idea for an interesting workout. No, I didn't do the work out tonight. I'm often much more interested in living in my head and coming up with great plans and ideas than I am in actually following through all the steps necessary to put the ideas into play.

[10 minute mile, 9 minute mile, 8 minute mile, 7 minute mile] repeat ad nauseum.

And that's really all the further I can press that idea for now due to lack of speed/endurance. I could maybe/probably throw in a half-mile repeat at faster-than-7min/mile, but I'm not really sure. I probably should throw in a minute of walking in there a few times, too.

What did I do tonight? The above one time, followed by 4 minutes of walking at an incline to finish off my episode of "24".

My new house

I'm buying a new house in Anoka, about 5 miles from where I live. I'm not going to live there, but I'm going to rent it out. Eforce is a lock, but I'm looking for one other person to share the house. Here are the details, straight off my craigslist ad. Please pass this info on to anyone who would be interested:

Share a newly remodeled single family house with one adult. You will
have three bedrooms and full access to all shared areas of the house
(kitchen, laundry, all appliances, baths, backyard/patio/deck). You
will also have one space in the attached double garage, along with
storage space. There is plenty of room in the house for your
furniture.

Quiet residential Anoka neighborhood with fast and easy freeway
access. Located close to downtown Anoka and its shopping,
entertainment, and parks.

All utilities will be shared. Pets are negotiable.

Available the first part of June.

Contact via phone or email.

952/239-1629 / miscdcf@gmail.com

Finally...

... a sunny weekend day.

Yesterday, Sunday, after a Mother's Day brunch at OCB, I was able to enjoy the sun and the weekend simultaneously.

Eforce and I did about 7 miles or so of dirt biking up near Orrock, and then did a 2.5hr (approximately 7-8 mile) hike through Sand Dunes State Forest. It was quite sandy.

I still need to get out on my mountain bike sometime soon, but time is scarce.

Due to a bus party this weekend splitting up the Fab 4, I may make an appearance at the Superior 50K this weekend. Have not fully mentally recovered from the 100 last fall, however, as I feel a little anxious while thinking about it. But on the bright side, this might be the first race I finish at Superior that doesn't end with me stumbling up the gravel road at the end, sobbingly thankful to be finished.

I'm still trying to get my new camera cable squared away so I can post a picture, namely of Eforce on the dirt bike.

Season 6

Yes, I'm finally watching Season 6 of "24" for the first time. I'm two episodes in and it's a good one.

I've done a distointed 7.5 miles or so both today and yesterday. Disjointed because I've been interrupted and have come and gone from my treadmill at least once each of the days and have had the treadmill power-off on me. And I've been on the treadmill for 3 episodes each day, which, at about 42 minutes/episodes, is about 84 minutes. And I'm moving at 5mph and alternating my incline up to 12% and back down. It actually works out great as one "up-and-down" equals one episode.

I also did 11 miles on Friday afternoon, a straight 6mph jaunt.

There's a good chance I'll be camping next weekend and will choose to skip out on Superior 50K.

I'm heading off to church now and get to go to the tanning booth afterwards. Yippee!

Rain

I think rain has cancelled our camping trip for the weekend. Bummer.

It's supposed to be sunny on Sunday afternoon, anyways, so maybe a person can do a little mountain biking or dirt biking.

Shopping deals

I am using some of my excess funds to finish up my summer camping supply shopping on Monday night. Here's what I scored:

At REI I bought a water filter (Katadyn HikerPro $74.99), a new purse ($34.99), and some tent waterproofing ($19.99). I had a 20% off coupon (used on the filter) and had $66 of dividends, so my grand total was about $30.

At Cabela's I bought a new handheld flashlight (Cabela's brand, 5LED with a laser option $29.99), a couple of packs of clearance duracell batteries (2pks of AAA for $0.88!), and something else I can't think of. I had a $25 gift card and a $15 gift certificate, so my grand total was $10.

The power of 3's

Last night I did some incline stuff on my treadmill at home. I'm getting so close to the end of season 5 of "24". I think this season is a pretty darn good one.

I did a pyramid type incline workout, all at 5mph and 1 minute intervals: 1%, 2%, 1%, 3%, 1%, 4% etc. up to 12% and back down, then back up and down in multiples of 3. Was the multiple of 3 technique some secret formula? Nope; it was just something to get me to an hour long workout.

My gym workout

I ended up driving over to the gym tonight to finish up a workout that was waylaid by an impromptu Wyoming Wilderness planning meeting that suddenly convened in my garage. At its conclusion it was too late for me to risk disturbing the neighbors with the sound of "24" gunfire and explosions, erupting from my t.v. at volumes loud enough to overcome my squeaky treadmill.

Lifetime Fitness, of which I am a member, is 1/2 a mile away from my house. I sometimes act like it's a huge inconvenience to go there; it's not.

I did one of my favorite "gym treadmill workouts": 60 minutes on the "random setting" and level 20, at 3.5mph. Level 20 randomly switches around between 9-15% incline. I do this workout as an interval session by running every 4th minute at 6mph (10 minute mile). It's luck of the draw: I don't know what incline level the 4th minute will be. 9% ends up feeling "easy" quite quickly, because running a minute at 12-15% incline is a BEAR.

Skipped the 10K

On Saturday I skipped the 10K in Milaca, which from what I've read was really wet.

I did do 6 miles on Friday and 12 miles on Sunday on my trail treadmill. I had the revelation about a week ago that it is now a trail treadmill (uneven and dented bed) due to the fact that when I bought my three new house windows in February I stored them on the treadmill for a week or two. Lesson? Okay to hang clothing on unused treadmills. Not okay to rest windows.

I'm not going to be at Ice Age on Saturday as I will most likely be either at Savanna Portage State Park or Jay Cook State Park camping and mountain biking. Although I might run on some of their trails, it will not be 50 miles worth of running unless the rest of the Fab Four sleep in until 12noon.

I may make an appearance at Superior.