December 22, 2008
Yeah, yeah. I know I haven’t posted anything in quite a while. I even had things to post about. How the Equinox Marathon and Relay went. Running the Philadelphia Half Marathon. Somehow the time and motivation to do so escaped me.
But now we have another holiday miracle. It’s related to last year’s holiday miracle.
It has been a little more than a year since Deuce laid down in the house for the first time. He had to retire from being a sled dog this winter. His shoulder wouldn’t let him keep training. Deuce has been handling his retirement quite nicely, and much better than I’m dealing with it. Each time I run the team of “not-so-grumpy old men” I think about how Deuce was supposed to be in that team and it makes me sad. Deuce, on the other hand, spends lots of time in the house and seems to really enjoy being with us more than ever. His favorite snoozing spots have been on the rug by the glass doors, on a rug in front of the heater, and on the rug in front of the sofa.
Then tonight he did this:
Deuce on a dog bed
Was this a fluke? A one time deal? I don’t think so.
Deuce on a bed again
Coincidence that it’s the second night of Hanukkah? Could be. He’s on a bed again as I type. Sorry Kiva. The beds just got a little more crowded.
Crowded dog beds
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dogs | Tagged: Deuce, dogs, Kiva, sled dogs | 
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Posted by aswingley
August 25, 2008
I’ve never been good at going up any kind of hill using my own power. Biking, hiking, walking … it doesn’t matter. I get winded going up hill. Doesn’t even have to be much of an incline either. So I’ve always dreaded going up hills.
Maybe it’s because I spent the first 17 years of my life in southern New Jersey, which is flat as a pancake? Or maybe that’s just me trying to rationalize away the fact that I’m not exactly at my ideal body weight or fitness and it’s harder to lug the extra weight up a hill? Add to that the fact that I’ve never been particularly athletic or physically fit …
When I signed up for Team in Training, it wasn’t the fundraising that worried me most; it was the running. (Did I mention that I’ve never been athletic?) Even more, it was the running up Ester Dome.
The first time the team planned to go up Ester Dome during our group run, I was really nervous. But I made it to the top, enjoyed the view, savored my accomplishment for a few seconds, and headed back down. Down has never been a problem. Given that hills and I have never gotten along, I expected to have this sinking feeling every time we went near a hill. And I did. Or so I thought. Until last week.
Our coach, Kevin, e-mailed the team with encouragement and our plans for the team run just as he does every week. The plan was to meet at UAF’s Patty Center, run on the Equinox trail until we got to Ballaine and Yankovich, then run west along Yankovich until meeting the Equinox trail across from the muskox farm to head back into the woods. From there the team would follow the Equinox trail to Ann’s Greenhouse and up Ester Dome. We’d skip the out-and-back and head down the chute to follow the rest of the Equinox trail back to the Patty Center. Total mileage to be around 18 miles.
But, since I’m only doing the relay and not the entire marathon, I’m not doing as many miles as the rest of the team and instead focusing on increasing the percentage of my runs that I’m actually running as opposed to walking. So I e-mailed Kevin and asked what the plan was for us doing fewer miles. He responded that we’d do the same route as everyone else until Ann’s Greenhouse, then skip Ester Dome and run back to the Patty Center along the Sheep Creek bike path.
I read Kevin’s e-mail and was disappointed that I wouldn’t be running up Ester Dome. Not relieved. Not even indifferent. Disappointed. That’s when I realized that, although they’re still difficult and physically exhausting for me, I don’t hate hills any more. I wouldn’t call us friends yet, but no longer enemies.
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Team in Training | Tagged: running, Team in Training | 
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Posted by aswingley
August 10, 2008
I win!
Okay, I didn’t win the actual race, but I won in that I successfully completed my first half-marathon (13.1 miles). I participated in the Santa Claus Half Marathon on Saturday, August 9. Because of recent rains and flooding, the course had to be modified and ended up being run totally on pavement. It made for a fast course for the experienced runners, but my last experience running a race totally on pavement wasn’t so great, so I was nervous about how this would go.
My shins really hurt for about the first two miles, but then they started feeling better and were fine for the rest of the race. The course was flat and fairly boring; they had us loop part of the trail three times to get the full mileage. I didn’t push myself and decided to just try to keep a steady pace by alternating walking and running every two minutes. I was able to keep that up for the majority of the run, although I slowed and took advantage of most of the water stops.
My official finish time was 3:16:20.9, although I’m sure the clock said 2:13 or so when I finished (then you have to add an hour because I went with the early start for those of us that would take longer to finish). Whatever. I met my goal of finishing and feeling good at the end, so I’m quite pleased with how it went.
Who did win the race? Why none other than our awesome Team in Training coach, Kevin Brinegar, in a blistering 1:15:09.3 and more than a minute and a half faster than his nearest competitor. Several of us on the Team commented after the race how awesome it was to watch Kevin fly past us. He was in a zone and seemed to be gliding across the pavement with his long, smooth stride. Congratulations Kevin!
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Team in Training | Tagged: running, Team in Training | 
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Posted by aswingley
July 29, 2008
Two big pieces of good news to report:
- Dara is coming, and
- I’ve reached my minimum!
Dara has decided to come participate in the marathon as part of my relay team. I’m SO excited! At the same time it’s a tiny bit disappointing to not do the entire marathon this year, but I’d rather have her come than do the whole thing. Plus there’s always next year 
I’m incredibly impressed with the outpouring of support from family and friends. Everyone has been so generous with their donations and I’ve already reached my $1,500 fundraising minimum for Team in Training. But more is better, especially when it comes to helping find a cure for cancer. So, like my running training, I’m not stopping now; we still have many miles to go.
And, speaking of my training, the Team went a little more than 15 miles on Sunday. It was hard, especially because it was raining, muddy, and VERY slippery, but I did it. We’re now getting record amounts of rainfall, so I guess I’ll get more practice running in the rain and mud.
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Posted by aswingley
July 19, 2008
I’ve been thinking that it might be cool to have the dogs run with me periodically (one dog at a time, that is). So far I’d been focusing on my training and getting my running feet under me. The weekend’s training plan was to do a 20 minute run today and the group’s long run tomorrow. I figured today’s short run might be a good time to try canicross, which is basically running while hitched to your dog like you do for skijoring. Today was also good because it wasn’t too hot and sunny for a sled dog to be out running.
But which dog to take? Common sense would have said to take one of the dogs that runs lead for me since they’d be running solo with me and I’d want them to stay out in front of me and pull. On the other hand, Kiva has the most energy and is most in need of an outlet for some of it. However Kiva has made it quite clear that she does not want to be a lead dog. I ask her to try it once a winter and each year she goes forward for a few feet, then realizes she’s in lead and backs off. Chris had taken Kiva for a walk on a long leash yesterday and said she pulled like crazy, so I took a chance and decided to take Kiva.
Kiva looking shy on the deck
I found my skijor belt and line, then grabbed a harness, and loaded Kiva into the car. We went to the bike path I’ve been running on, got dressed, and headed out the trail. Kiva wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do despite being in harness. She pulled some of the time, but was distracted by potential side trails, squirrels, and birds. At least she mostly stayed out in front. After 10 minutes, we stopped and turned around to go back. We took a brief rest and I told her how good she was doing, then we started back toward the car. Kiva seemed happy to go back: she pulled the whole time and even listened when I told her to go on-by the cross streets and driveways.
It was definitely different running with a dog pulling me. I ran faster, but didn’t feel like I worked that much harder. I also focused on the dog more than my efforts, so the time and distance went by faster. Or maybe that was because I was running faster? Either way, it was fun having a dog along. Might have to try it again soon. I might even take Kiva again.
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Posted by aswingley
