Life: Puppies!

Just in case you were waiting for word on our progress towards getting a Black Russian Terrier pup, wait no more! The litter was born March 19th.

We'll be getting a female pup from a breeder in Sweden hopefully the middle of May.

You can see puppy pictures on Aerin's blog. We won't know which of the girls will be ours for a few more weeks.

Our parents will have to be content with the "granddog" instead of a grandchild.

Gear: Dog Stuff

Yes, I do love my gear. Great gear just helps make an outdoor trip great whatever happens. I've experienced every kind of environmental condition during my outdoor adventures, but I always had fun no matter the conditions. Now Aerin and I have a lot of fun outdoors, and soon we'll have a four-legged family member along on our continuing adventures. Time to look at dog gear!

After a few hits and misses we're going to have a closer look at some gear at a local pet shop called Tail Blazers. The dog gear company is called RuffWear, and I must say that I'm very impressed with the thought they've put into their designs. Because Ursa will take a couple years to fully mature physically, we won't be doing any serious backpacking for a while, but we do have need or use for some items soon.

Ursa isn't a small dog. Aerin and I don't want her hauling the rain into the tent, so we'll get her a rain jacket. This will save us having to towel her off completely, and should help keep her a little cleaner on muddy trails.

For backcountry trips Ursa will need a backpack. The detachable saddlebags are great for giving her a break to cool off in a creek or when we reach the campground. It includes water reservoirs and lots of space for food and her bed.

We'd like to use a harness for walks closer to home and short hikes. Ursa is going to grow into a large, powerful dog, and both Aerin and I agree the harness is a better way to go.

Ursa having an injured paw in the backcountry (or any injury for that matter) is something I'd rather not have to worry about, so she'll have her own set of hiking boots. These make good sense for keeping her paws and pads in good condition with improved grip oven the varied and uneven terrain we'll travel through.

We do plan to buy a larger backcountry tent for the three of us in a couple years. Fortunately, Ursa is a working dog, and will love helping out with the load. In the mean time we will get a larger tent for car camping. Can I interest anyone in a solid little three person tent for car camping?

There is a lot of other gear to choose from too. No doubt we'll end up with a gear duffle just for Ursa. It would only be fair since her owners already have a head start.

Running: The Way You Run

On Monday I was over at TCR Sport Labs to have a gait analysis done. I've been sore ever since.
The major objective to the whole exercise was to improve my running efficiency, of course. Basically, it involves a transition from a gait with a lot heel strike to more forefoot/mid-foot landing with a lean from the ankles to use more gravity to proper myself forward. Unfortunately, this has brought into play more than few muscles which are not used to being used in this manner. The other aspect of the change is keeping a higher cadence with a shorter stride. I've put on a lot of miles as a heel striker, so I didn't expect this to be easy. It certainly has made for some speedier running with the same effort.

Unfortunately it would seem I've overestimated just how much my muscles are rebelling. I've been doing a lot more core strength and stretching than I have running miles since the gait analysis. With all the sore and tight muscles I didn't want to overdo things, but I have done so anyway apparently. My right hip flexor was giving me trouble after a couple laps around the U of C indoor track today, so I called it quits on the running and did more core and stretching. It almost hurts sometimes now. I guess this means I will be making very slow progress again for a while.

So in the mean time core and stretching is the order of the days.

I am considering my options for coaching too. There are a number of individuals I can approach about coaching in a variety of forms in the immediate area. I don't know exactly what to do about it at this point other than I will undoubtedly benefit from any coaching I get. The big thing is the amount ground I need to cover literally and figuratively to make it through until October 2010. A coach could only help in achieving my goals for the Alberta Triple next year.

More news to come.

Life: Running, Colours and Puppies... Oh My!

So it's been a while since I last wrote anything here. What exactly is going one these days?

We got permission from the landlords to have a dog in the house. So now the challenge is to find a breeder we can get a pup from without a docked tail - which seems to be common for the breed. The means we will likely need to have puppy shipped in from Europe, but at the same time it might actually be cheaper than getting a pup from eastern Canada. In the mean time we're spending time training ourselves with books on puppies, dog training, looking into toys, crates and food, investigating pet insurance, and otherwise deciding what we need that will help stimulate the economy.

The nice weather means I've been outside to run a few more times. Unfortunately there's little interesting terrain to run that isn't flat pavement or completely covered in ice. Running on the escarpment across the river with my crampons works well, but that's about the only time they are worth wearing. I'm glad to have them though since it means I can cross the ice flows on the trail with ease. I've increased my workout volume since the new year, and I'm looking forward to better weather to spend more time outside for longer runs.

Aerin and I are past the halfway point for our Colour Theory continuing ed class thankfully. We're both very glad we get free courses as part of our benefits because the cost of materials and the time necessary to complete the assignments has been significant. Unfortunately this wasn't communicated very well, and some of our classmates are having a heck of a time with it. Even I'm not particularly thrilled, but once it's done I'll be happen to take the knowledge I've gained an move onto something else. Our next class in digital photography starts the end of April so I/we can use the Powershot G10 Aerin and family got me for Xmas to the fullest.