Our first REAL hike

Today was our first morning hike, which is when we enjoy the river most. Also it was around 45º and drizzling which means pretty much the only thing you get are dog people. And when we ran into old friends and a couple of new ones we asked to get our picture taken, in hopes of getting a good one. As it turned out, I was happy with all the pictures we got, so here they are. As usual, click on the pictures if you want to see a bigger version:










Suzanne took the one above, while Cody waited patiently.













The people who took the above picture were nice but I'd never met them or their dog - and I still don't know their name!













The person who took the above picture was also a stranger before today, but now I know her name is Katie. Regrettably, I didn't get the names of any of her three dogs. Amazingly, she lived for two years in Galena, AK, which is a checkpoint on the Iditarod trail - I think on the northern route, which they take in odd numbered years. You just never know who you'll run into at Pony Pasture.













The above picture was taken by - get this - a person who I know his dogs names but not his name. Although I do know he's a Virginia Tech fan and he does a lot of bicycling, so that's good. And he's got a great looking Bernese Mountain Dog named Cody and I think a little Golden named Theo.

And that was the last of our pictures today; I think we're pretty saturated. I was wearing my 2006 Yukon Quest baseball cap that was autographed by Lance Mackey at the Quest that year when I was up there, and I was wearing my 16 dogs, 2,049 miles, No Problem Lance Mackey sweatshirt so I could show people Mackey's name on the back. For those of you who don't know what that sweatshirt means, and where Mackey got his name - although I mentioned it in another post - Lance Mackey used the same 16 dogs to first win the Yukon Quest 1,000 Mile Sled Dog Race then two weeks later win the 1,049 mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race. 16 dogs, 2,049 miles, No Problem.

OK - HERE's our new companion

Mackey - Pony Pasture - 11.24.07

I hadn't really intended to get a new dog this soon but for some reason the stars just lined up and here he is. He was born on 6.1.07 so he'll be six months old next week. And he weighs 46 pounds and he's cheerful and outgoing and friendly. It's around 1030 and he's snoring at my feet. He's starting out in life with a lot more advantages than Nicky did and if he makes even half the improvements Nicky made, he will become one of the world's great dogs. He is named after Lance Mackey, the first person to win the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod in the same year - an astonishing feat of dog athleticism.

He's already had one great walk at the river plus one to the pet cemetery and he's worn out. And so am I, and he and Ivory and I are getting up early to head back down to the river for our Sunday walk. Stay tuned - more updates soon. Have a great day,

Jay, Ivory and Mackey

Looks like we've found a winner...

On the other hand, I haven't bid Nicky a proper goodbye, at least not in this context. Read a brief old story about him here, and see his lovely picture:

Nicky

Nicky improved my life in more ways than I will ever be able to give him credit for. As I write this, it's Saturday, November 24, 2007. I've been looking over my journal and I see his last walk at Pony Pasture was All Saints Day, Thursday, November 1, 2007. He already wasn't feeling well , but I didn't get him to the vet until the following Monday. He had been bitten by a Lyme infected tick at some point and his condition deteriorated steadily despite the efforts of my outstanding veterinarians at Springfield Veterinary Hospital. And I came up to visit him in the evening on Friday, 11.9.

Nicky hadn't eaten in a week, and my doctor told me he wasn't going to get any better. Nicky's quality of life was bad and getting worse and I took him outside and sat in the grass with him for a while and we considered things. We went back inside and there were some kids in the waiting room and they petted him for a little while and I think the kids and Nicky all really enjoyed it and I know for a fact that I did. Then I brought him back in the examining room and he lay down on the floor and he wasn't breathing a lot while I was petting him and then the doctor did his job and I kept petting Nicky and his breathing finally stopped. Perhaps I've led a sheltered life but that was the worst thing I've ever experienced and the second worst thing is not even in the same universe. It was the right thing to do - I was never conflicted about it, and neither was my doctor, and I don't think Nicky was - but that doesn't make any difference.

I had intended to introduce my new dog in this post but I think I'll finish this one.

And a couple of articles I've written...

Thanks to my friend Karen Holloway, a professional triathlete and winner of the 2005 Ironman Canada, who asked me to write a little bit about my experiences for her web site. You can see her site at KarenHolloway.com.

Her journal is particularly excellent; click here to read it.

And finally she's posted two articles from me, along with a couple of others; you can read them by clicking on Karen's newsletter.

Enjoy,

Jay

I've been away too long!

Too long from blogging, that is. I see my last post was some time in August. At that point, training was picking up for my Ironman, the Chesapeakeman in Cambridge, MD. 2.4 miles of swimming in the Choptank River followed by "112 miles" - shortened to 107 due to a fire on the course - of bicycling on the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, then 26.2 miles of running. It was on Saturday, September 29 and at 14:03:57 it was the fastest of the five I've done. Probably even if I'd done the full 112 on the bike.

You can click on Chesapeakeman to see the web site for the race.

Once I was finished with the race and made it home, I was so happy to have my life back (i.e. not training during every spare minute) I stopped thinking about racing altogether for about a month. Although I've had a number of spectacular fifty mile bike rides, enjoying the pleasant fall weather in central VA.

More later. Until then,

Jay

OK - it's later. I wanted to put up a few images including first the race logo:

Next, a few images from the race. First, me getting out of the water:

Next, me somewhere on the bike course:

Finally, crossing the finish line at 9:03:57 PM EDT: