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

I have been Tagged...

This seemed like a fun idea so I decided to play along:

10 years ago
I had gone back to college and was running cross country on a full scholarship at USCS - now known as USC-Upstate. Not exactly what I had imagined for my college education but it was better than one might think. I looked at running cross country as my part time job. My other job included cleaning houses. I cleaned everyone on my hands and knees as if someone were going to eat off the floor. Each house was a workout because I got paid by the job and not by the hour. I would clean as fast as I could so I could get home to study, so I could get back to afternoon cross country practice where I would run the workout as fast as possible so I would have time to shower and eat before going to class with all the other "adult" students who had day jobs. It was hard, money was short, but for the most part I was happy.

5 years ago
I had just quit my day job that I had worked so hard to earn. A job that I worked so hard at and one that helped me stand on my own feet financially for the first time in my life. A job with benefits, a job where I got to travel and feel like I was somebody. Yes, I just quit because it was not what I had dreamed of. It was not where my future was. It was just a job. It was a means to an end. I had always dreamed of doing the Hawaii Ironman and in 2002 I had fallen short of qualifying by 2 min in 2 different races. I needed more sleep and more time to train. The goal was so close so the choice was easy - give up the job and go after the dream...duh!

1 year ago
I was getting ready to have the race of my life at Lake Placid Ironman. I was in great shape, I was going to qualify for Hawaii again and set a PR. I was focused, I was determined, I was enjoying racing. Coaching was my way of sharing my passion for sport and earning a living. They say that if you have a job you love you will never work a day in your life (almost true).

5 things on my to-do list today:
Write training schedules for all the athletes I coach
Swim
Schedule someone to take down trees in the doggy area
(Yeah I know that is only 3...but it is Monday and I spend all day writing schedules!)

5 snacks I enjoy:
(this list always varies)
Donuts - Krispy Kreme, Bavarian Creme. I can eat a dozen glazed and still go for a bike ride. No kidding
Blueberries, Strawberries, Blackberries (best when picked during a trail run)
Graham Crackers
Prunes
Bolthouse farms smoothie

If I were a billionaire:
I would buy love and give it to all the little kids who don't get enough and then I would pair each child up with a pound puppy so they could be forever friends. I think I would then spay an neuter irresponsible people and pets...is that allowed?

5 people I would like to have lunch with:
Kahil Gibran, Frank, Alex and her entire family, Christy, My father

5 places I have lived:
Oldwick, NJ
Bakede, Germany
Groningen, Netherlands
Pheonix, Arizona
Walnut Grove, SC

5 jobs I have had:
Waitress at Waffle House
Gold's Gym Sales
Cleaning Lady
Groom - yes, I cleaned the horses and picked up poop - glamorous!
Project Controls for Engineering company

Newfoundland 70.3 - July 27th

Registration for this race was easy. I just got on Active.com and within 2 min. I was in. Then I called Colette to tell her the good news. She was very excited since she was going to be going alone and we all know that is no fun!

Tonight I started making the plans - when to leave etc. I got online to book my ticket and I got some serious sticker shock. What happened to all these discount travel websites? Their prices have gone through the roof. I guess it is not that often that people actually go to Corner Brook, Newfoundland because getting there is not easy at all. I finally have the flights booked.

Colette informed me that I have to leave on Tuesday because Monday she has a big hike up a mountain planned for our recovery. The view is supposed to be amazing...

Bike 115.5 on Saturday & Run 21.5 on Sunday

I have been quiet for awhile on the bogging front. There has been nothing terribly interesting to report, maybe part of that is because I am training again. Yes, I am actually doing structured training to prepare for Ironman WI in the fall. The past 4 weeks have hurt. After my season ending prematurely last year I am more grateful than ever to be able to do all 3 sports. The long rides and runs hurt but in the best way possible.

Yesterday I was lucky to have a long ride on my schedule with no structure, since I am still just in the base building phase (speed comes in another few weeks). Long rides are times when I like to get out and explore. I have plenty of time to get lost and then find my way home. Yesterday I realized I might have pushed the envelope when I found myself out past Pumkintown on roads that looked familiar from a ride I did that started in Brevard...I had to stop and ask someone to look at a map. When I told them I needed to get back to Tryon (which was not even on the same page on the map I was looking at) they kindly suggested getting on Hwy 11! Normally I would not even consider this but I needed to get home. Amazingly enough there is even a bike lane for the first 15 miles (which was rideable)- which I admit was very nice to ride in...especially aero. So I got a little TT (time trial) for about 20 mile before seeing a road that I knew would take me back towards Saluda. Unfortunately that road had a killer hill right at mile 90 of my ride. Rolling into Saluda at 100 miles I had to stop for a Coke and some ice for my finger where I had been stung by something nasty that I tried to get out of my top. Coke has never tasted so good. It made the rest of the ride home much more manageable. Of interest for some of you who ride and train might be what I ate during this epic ride. Listed in no particular order:
1 big bag of Haribo Gummy Bears
1/2 bag of donuts
2 packages of Fig Newtons
1/2 Orange Smoothy Powerbar (new flavor - tastes great)
1/2 bag of Baked Lay's
1 small bag of Gold Fish
Coke
5 Bottles of Gatorade & Carbo Pro Mix (about 260 cal per bottle)
2 bottles of Water + extra water every time I stopped

Today was run day. After getting home yesterday I took two Benadryl tablets to alleviate some of the pain of the sting in my finger. I got stung on the end of my finger and by the evening it had swelled so much that I could not even bend it. 2 Benadryl after 115 mile ride had me knocked out within moments. I was comatose until 6:10 this morning. I woke up and I felt fine! So that meant that the game was on. I had to go get this 20 mile run done before it got late and I got lazy. I was out by 7 and on the trails. My legs felt ok, but not a lot of spunk. I decided to just get busy thinking about how beautiful it was, how nice all the little birds sounded and kept my eyes peeled for other wildlife. I saw lots of deer, some of which I got very close to. I saw a turkey with all her little babies - whatever you call them. Of course a few people out on horses but that was about it today. After letting my mind wander I started feeling pretty good, after a sip of Coke and some ibuprofen at mile 12 I felt great...bring it on! The last 2 miles I actually ran hard, oh yes, all this training is starting to pay off.

You know what I did then? I came home and thought, I need to push a little more...how about I surprise my best buddy Colette and sign up for the race she is doing at the end of the month. I dropped the cash and have the registration in my hand. See the trouble you can get into after a good week of training!