Molly - another pound puppy!

More Newfoundland 70.3

Newfoundland 70.3

Just a very quick update. Newfoundland was GREAT! The race was hands down the best race I have ever been to. It was well organized, small and SAFE. Yes, that is right I said "safe". The bike had absolutely NO traffic and the run was shut down to traffic as well. On top of that every little detail of this race was planned and executed.

I was 5th overall amateur and 9th overall if we count the pros too. It was a good day and a hard effort. I will write more about the race in a few days when I get caught up on life here...but I will tell you that we had to climb a mountain 2x that was 2.5 miles long! OK - my time was 5:10 but considering the mountain I am very happy with that!

What a BOAR!!!

When I am out riding you will hear me yell "DOG" often, "Deer" once in awhile, "Chicken" sometimes but for the first time ever on a bike ride I yelled "BOAR!" and then maybe a few other things too. I slammed on my breaks, after all everyone knows boar are mean and this fellow did not look like some cute barn yard pet either. He was black and about the size of a small bear and he was eating some road kill in the watershed so he was not interested in making me part of the food chain that day. I am sure his buddies were lurking in the woods though. A car came and slowed to check him out and it was at that point that I sprinted past, lucky me I was going DOWN the watershed. Seeing this boar was great because it temporarily took my mind off how was feeling. I could have used about another 10 of them during that ride. In all honesty I love getting to see all sorts of wildlife on my bike rides. Do rednecks count?

Long Ride Gone Wrong

Today was one of those rides where you wonder just how much benefit you will gain from it. "If I go to hard will I get hurt or just hurt worse than I do now and be stronger later?" I kept telling myself "just go easy" but somehow it seemed that I kept going slower and slower and slower and feeling weak. Blah! Ok, so it was just a bad day, but then again so was Thursday...mmm, pattern? Over-training??? Yes, probably a bit. Don't worry I am not going to complain for entire entry about my bike riding skills - nope. For the the first 65 miles of the ride today despite the fact that I felt bad I was very proud of the fact that I had adjusted my front and rear derailleurs last night and they WORKED! Yep, I have done it a few times now and I was starting to feel pretty confident in my bike mechanic ability...until...all of a sudden my bar end shifter started to fall apart in my hand. I still had a few gears, I tried to adjust on the side of the road, but it was not going to work. Ugh. I decide I will be a trooper and just ride all the hills in my 21. That lasted about 1 mile before my knee was complaining. I stop again and try to adjust, this time it just gets worse not to mention the fact that I have broken my own rule of NEVER mess with thy bike on the side of the road during a ride. This was an emergency though - I still had many miles to ride and a lot of hills. I take off again and then just slam the bar end shifter in frustration. It goes into the 27 in the rear but only if I hold it here. So I ride the next 20 miles holding the shifter and riding half aero up all hills. (This does not work well). When I get to Tryon I have to take my hand off the shifter to go over the railroad tracks and that is when the entire shifter falls off revealing sheered threads of cable. The bolt goes flying off and the chain snaps into my wheel. I wonder if I can ride like this for another 16 miles and the answer is "no way, stupid". I am done. My long, slow, sad ride has come to an end. I call my husband to come and get me. I think he was already out looking for me because he was very close to where I was anyway. I consider doing a brick run when I get home but I am done, toast mentally and physically worn out.

On the up side I did find Lake Cunningham which does not seem to have any water and Lake Robinson, which is beautiful. Picture above is me taking a break at Lake Robinson, which I rode many roads to find. It was my goal to find these two lakes today - so at least I did accomplish something!

The pony loop

First let me clarify that I know these are NOT ponies. These are actually warm-blood foals at a farm that is a breeding facility for Dressage horses. For the last two years they have bred the horse of the year here. Every year they have 6-8 foals turned out in the pasture near the road where I bike past. They are usually born in the spring and stay in this field for at least 6-8 months before they are weened. At this stage they are very curious and sweet so I make a point to have a snack and visit with them on my bike rides. I have nicknamed the loop the "pony loop" for some reason and always enjoy my stops there. Yesterday while riding with Pam 7 of the foals came over to visit. I could not get them all in the picture but here are 4 of my friends.

Training Update

I have been training again! Two weeks ago I hit that wonderful 20 hour mark - that means I was swimming, biking or running for a total of 20 hours for the week. That was the same week I had to take a day off to recover from my bee sting incident too. Last week I had a bit of a "recovery" week and still managed to get in a good 15 hours. This week is my 7th week of training for Ironman WI. This means I have 5 more big weeks and then I get to taper. Next week will be pretty easy too because I will be racing on the weekend...but that will at least count for my speed work for the week!

A few fun stats:
2 weeks ago I biked 270 miles which is more than I drove my car.
Last week for my easy week I rode 142 and ran 33
This week I should hit close to 300 miles on the bike and 45 miles of running

Doggie Update

Smokey has a new home with Sarah the marathon runner. He has already been running with her, taken over her sofa and tried to boss around Tripp (the other Weim). When Smokey left last Saturday he did not look sad at all. He jumped up in the SUV and said "take me for a ride people!" He already had a play date with another pup on the schedule, new toys in the front seat and his own bed waiting for him at home. Smokey is finally the spoiled pup he has always thought he was! I can't thank Sarah enough for giving him that loving/running home he deserved.

Duke on the other hand is not so easy to place. Due to his abusive background he is not so quick to accept just anyone which is why I am lucky that Reva has come into our lives. Reva lives exactly 1.5 miles from my house. I pass her house every day on the way to town but yet I had never met her. I have however noticed that she had a Weim. Unfortunately her Jonsie passed away last month and she is now looking for another forever friend. She is working with me and Duke to win his heart over. Duke and I went for a visit (a walk and biscuit) on Monday. He was certainly not perfect but he was at least well behaved. We will visit again at the end of the week. I think I will need to leave him with her so that he will not focus on me so much. He is a very loyal and dedicated dog...I would just like him to direct a little bit of that towards her!

Duke - Blue Weimaraner Needs Home Too

Duke is a 4 year old blue Weim. He came to me 3 years ago with mange, starving and with heart worms. He has since undergone treatment for the heart worm and mange and is a beautiful healthy dog with wonderful manners. He is a gentleman’s dog. He is very obedient and heels nicely on and off the leash. He enjoys running and has a special talent for hunting turtles. Yes, he sniffs out turtles and brings them to me without injuring them. He is currently living with 6 other Weims which he does ok with but in a perfect world he would be an only dog. He loves going for walks and playing ball. He stays outside in a fenced in area or in a dog run during the day and sleeps inside in a crate at night.

Duke came to me from Arkansas via Texas. A friends mother had passed away leaving 14 dogs behind. Supposedly her boyfriend was talking care of them but based on Duke’s behavior upon arrival he had been abused or neglected at some point in his life. Because of this I think Duke would do best in a family with no children or older children because he does tend to get scared easily. Duke would make someone a wonderful friend because he wants nothing more to please and be loved. The right family for Duke is a must. While I love this dog I have rescued and rehabilitated him to the best of my ability. It is time for him to have a family and for me to make room for another.

Duke is up to date on Shots, heart worm prevention and Advantage Plus.

Please contact:
Katie Malone
864-415-5804
trichick@alltel.net

Weimaraner Needs Home! Smokey...

Smokey is a 2 year old neutered male. He is about 100 lbs of pure love and happiness. He is very energetic and is a wonderful running partner (3-6 miles). He heels nicely off the leash but will also walk nicely on the lead. He has had basic obedience training and loves to jump agility jumps or horse jumps (more his size). He is house broken and will “go to bed” on command but he gets excited when initially let into the house. He is crate trained where he sleeps at night and stays inside a fence in the yard during the day without a problem. He is a little clumsy but is very sweet. Like most Weims he is strong willed and will need an owner who can command respect.

Smokey’s owner died almost a year ago and he was inherited by her son who boarded him in a kennel where is was kept in a crate with no walks or exercise for 3 weeks before I rescued him. He had literally chewed his tail off and had to undergo surgery to cover the exposed bone. He still nips at it when he is nervous but it has healed nicely. He has been in my care for 7 months living with 6 other Weims. He is at an age where he needs to bond with someone. He is a wonderful, sweet dog who needs a Weim savvy family to give him the love and attention he deserves.

He is up to date on shots and is on heart worm protection and Advantage Plus.

Home must have fenced in yard, time to exercise and love to give. I will keep Smokey until I find him the home he deserves. References will be required and checked.

Please call
Katie Malone
864-415-5804
trichick@alltel.net

4th of July Surprise!

Happy 4th of July! I know I am a day late but honestly I am just happy to bee here. (that will make more sense in a moment). I love the 4th of July because it almost always starts with the Fabulous Fourth Bike Ride that starts right here in Tryon. So for a change everyone has to drive here to ride with me! I am always excited about this ride and the day. I always have my sights set on a faster ride than usual and then maybe stopping in Columbus for funnel cake (that did not happen this year). I always start at the back of the pack and take it easy for the first 5-10 miles and then start having some fun and riding a little faster. This year I happened to ride with Pam and her husband Scott (who was just humoring our pace) and Brad and then Laura too. Pam always has the potential to kick my butt on the bike but thank goodness she is still recovering from her Half IM. Laura has been very dedicated with her workouts showed huge improvement on the bike which was great to see.

A little over half way into our ride I felt a big smack in my forehead and then the pain. It was a pain I knew all too well. A bee got stuck between my helmet and sunglasses and of course I got stung again. Every week for the last 3 weeks I have been hit and stung. We were almost at a water stop so I put some ice on it. I even put a Penny on it, I stopped when someone suggested mud - Oh come on~! I will not lie - the darn thing hurt like someone had taken a hammer to my head. We rode on and bantered back and forth. At the next water stop I was feeling a little swollen. I tried an ice pack but it did not really work. Then some wonderful girl gave me some Benadryl. Kelly drained my lymph nodes - probably saved me from drying up the watershed. At this point I am still thinking this is all normal swelling. By the time we got to Saluda my eyes were shut and my face was getting more swollen by the minute. Back at Harmon Field I was shocked to see my face. I did not panic but at the urging of anyone who saw me I made my way to the hospital quickly. I literally ran in! Once at the desk I took my sunglasses off and a woman in the waiting area recognized me from Pet Therapy. She told her husband, "Oh that is Katie Malone, she is normally very pretty" and her husband's response "Yeah right!" anyway within a moment my friend's mother, a nurse in the ER, took me back and I realized it was a good thing I was there. The trouble breathing came as soon as I sat down - I guess I just got lucky. A few quality hours on a drip and I was as good as new. Well -I still don't look so great but I am now the proud owner of an EpiPen.

The hospital was amazing - did I mention that? They were quick, friendly, efficient. This happens to be the same hospital (St. Luke's) that I do the fundraising for with the Ache Around the Lake race. I am now more motivated than ever to make our race bigger and better than ever. We take donations big and small so if anyone needs a tax write off please let me know!

Kid Fun - What kids should be doing

If there is one thing I believe in that is giving back to my community. Sometimes I don't think that the things I do make that much of a difference. I try to reach out to people on a one on one basis. Sometimes I spread myself too thin and I end up running myself ragged trying to do everything and doing nothing well. For a few years now I had been looking at the Big Brother, Big Sister program and thinking that it would be a good program for me to be involved in. Did I have the time? Certainly not. I signed up anyway and I have made the time. Hai'lee is my little sister and out of all the things I do spending quality time with her is the best use of my time. Hai'lee has a little brother, Don'tae who did not have a Big Brother yet so I started taking him with us to the pool in the winter. They play so well together that I never mind taking Don'tae too, as long as it is ok with Hai'lee.

A few weeks ago the kids got out for summer vacation and while so many kids are privileged with camp Hai'lee and Don'tae are not. So I took it upon myself to have a day of "camp" at the lake. We paddled the canoe (which they had never seen before) then went in the boat to watch some water skiing and finally got to practice their swimming from the dog dock. They were in heaven and honestly so was I. They had so much fun, spent quality time outside and did what every little kid should do - had fun at the lake!

State of Mind

I got this from my friend, Caroline's blog. I thought it was a great motivational poem that we all could use to read...I don't know who the author is or else I would certainly give him/her credit.

If you think you are beaten, your are
If you think you dare not, you won't,
If you like to win, but don't think you can't
It's almost a cinch you won't

If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out in the world you find,
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in a state of mind

For many a game is lost
Ere even a play is run,
And many a coward fails
Ere even his work is begun

Think big and your deeds will grow
Think small and you'll fall behind
Think that you can and you will
It's all a state of mind

If you think you are out-classed, you are
You've got to think high to rise
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize

Life battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the fellow who thinks he can