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June 29, 2008
ASCA Trial
This weekend turned out pretty well. We ran both days, ten runs total. We went 5 Qs out of 10 runs, which wasn't too bad.
On Saturday, we got our second leg in Open Jumpers so we were able to move up to Elite Jumpers on Sunday. We NQ'd on both Elite Jumpers runs. Mostly just dropping bars and one off course. We got one Open Gamblers Q on Saturday and one on Sunday for our Open Gambler's title. And two Open Regular Qs today - one a 10pt and one a 5pt. Katy's Regular runs were really nice today. The five points off on the second run was for a dropped double jump.
So, she now has: JS-O, GS-O and RS-N.
Posted by Mary at 10:42 PM | Comments (0)
June 26, 2008
Daily Report
Cto5k
Ran W4D2 yesterday before class. Took Katy with me. She was dragging! I think that deep inside, she's a sprinter (funny). Or maybe not. If I want her to keep up, I'll probably have to bring her frisbee with me. The run was okay. I was thinking a little bit too much about finishing up each sequence rather than just enjoying my pace. But, better days are sure to come.
Bread!
Tonight! Finally, the bread baking class with Peter Reinhart. I've been anxiously awaiting this class and it will be awesome to learn from the master. Tonight's class is based on white breads from the Breadbaker's Apprentice. Tomorrow we work on whole grain breads. His latest book about baking whole grain breads just won a James Beard award.
Posted by Mary at 01:02 PM | Comments (0)
June 25, 2008
I made Cheese!
Finally.
I've been trying to make this 30 minute mozzarella forever. Well, it seems like forever. I've tried at least eight times, maybe ten, and it's never come out. The troubleshooting that I did was quite extensive - changing the type of milk that I used, the type of rennet, adding calcium chloride, changing the type of acid that I used to break the curds from the whey. And, still didn't get mozzarella that would actually stretch.
It finally happened. I picked up our first two gallons of raw milk yesterday and couldn't wait to try and use it for cheese. Last night at 10:30, I used half of the gallon to make yogurt and half of the gallon to make mozzarella. And it worked! After all of those failed attempts, I have the recipe and process memorized so perhaps all those failed attempts were not in vain. Last nights cheese-making went off without a hitch and we have a lovely ball of fresh mozzarella sitting in the fridge waiting to grace a bowl of pasta or a home-made pizza. I'm so happy about this!
Posted by Mary at 03:59 PM | Comments (0)
June 21, 2008
Brecksville Dog Jog
So, Ellie and I did the Brecksville Dog Jog. One mile, which we both ran without any trouble. It was pretty hot and there wasn't any shade on the course - which meant that I turned beet red before we were finished and Ellie may have overheated just a bit. She wasn't interested in drinking or snacks after we were finished, so I scratched her from the tricks contest! Too bad, since her competition would have been a dog doing a roll-over and a dog that jumped up in the air.
S took some photos and let's just say that I'll have a couple of nice "before" pictures to compare myself too in a couple of months.
It was a good day, though. Later on, I took Ellie home and brought Katy up so that we could do some counter-conditioning work. She was nicely behaved - similar to how she acts at a trial. Interested in looking around at the other dogs, but not particularly zoned in on anyone in particular. Her lunges are fairly benign - though I wouldn't think of letting her loose.
I was going to run again, but decided to hold off on W3D3 until Sunday.
Posted by Mary at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2008
4 Miles in the Park
Four mile walk with the doggies in the park today. Beautiful weather and nice to be out and about. We also practiced Ellie's hot dog hold so that she can, hopefully, show off at the tricks contest after the dog jog tomorrow morning.
Tonight I made strawberry sauce and blueberry sauce to mix in with plain yogurt. I used some fresh, local strawberries and some California blueberries. Both sauces are quite tasty - tomorrow I'll try a mix-in with yogurt.
Posted by Mary at 10:44 PM | Comments (0)
June 19, 2008
Milk
I think it's funny that I have to sign a four page legal document to buy some milk. But, oh, it's gonna be so, so good!
Posted by Mary at 05:05 PM | Comments (0)
W3D2
Cto5k
Did the second run of week three again today. A nice run with Ellie. We had to dodge a few dogs, a path-blocking corgi walker and then a pair of bouncing shelties, but still a nice run.
Dog Training
Took Katy down to the station road trailhead to do some counter-conditioning work. Brought some salmon patties and charleebears. We saw about six dogs and she did pretty nicely. We kept to about 40 feet away or so. After that we went down under the railroad bridge to play with sticks and she was able to swim a bit.
Posted by Mary at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)
June 18, 2008
Lameness (Not Physical)
So, yeah.
It does seem a little bit silly to start a blog dedicated to these tiny workouts. But, my goal is to look back in six months, then a year, and recognize that I had to start somewhere.
The blog name is from the quote in the side column. I don't really feel this way now - each run takes some planning and motivation. But it's where I want to be. At the point where it's just a fact of life and a daily activity. No excuses, just making exercise a simple given.
Posted by Mary at 02:55 PM | Comments (0)
June 16, 2008
W3D1
Started the third week of the Couch to 5k program yesterday. Doing only four running intervals seemed so short and relatively easy. I took Ellie with me. She was on a bunny and chipmunk chasing mission and was bobbing and weaving all over the place which was kind of annoying.
Posted by Mary at 11:11 PM | Comments (0)
June 13, 2008
Dix Park Dog Walk
My car was finally ready, so we went to pick it up today. I've always been curious about the trailhead that we pass on 44, so we brought the dogs and planned on walking after we got my car.
The trail was mostly a tractor trail, heading out about a mile with pretty fields on both sides. At the end, the trail drops into some woods and loops around. Lots of mosquitos, but a nice little walk.
A huge storm hit us on the drive back!
Posted by Mary at 05:00 PM | Comments (0)
June 12, 2008
W2D2
Took Ellie to the park and we did this run on trails. Started out at the Harriet Keeler entry and crossed through the Meadows picnic area to the other side of the trail. That last hill was a killer on the way back and our distance was definitely shorter than it is on the sidewalk, but it was still a nice run in the park. Ellie got to dip herself in the stream.
Posted by Mary at 04:58 PM | Comments (0)
June 10, 2008
W2D1
It's nice to change over to the new podcast and run a bit longer. Took Ellie with me and with this run covered about a hundred more yards. Nice weather and new shoes!
Posted by Mary at 04:57 PM | Comments (0)
June 08, 2008
W1D4
A storm today, so the humidity was a little bit less. Took Ellie and finsihed up week one! Woohoo.
Posted by Mary at 04:55 PM | Comments (0)
June 07, 2008
Dog Walk
Just Ellie, Katy and me since Subho is in California this weekend. We did a short loop around the library since it's really hot.
Posted by Mary at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
June 06, 2008
W1D3
Went late at night today since it's so darn humid. Took Ellie. She was okay, but it may have bit just a bit too hot for her. An hour after our run she was still laying on the floor and panting! I'm going to have to seriously consider hosing her down before we run on days that are really hot. She'll hate it, but it will help her recover after the run.
Posted by Mary at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)
June 03, 2008
W1D2
Second day out on the road. With Ellie. Felt pretty good. I think my shoes are pretty close to being dead, so I ordered a new pair of Adrenaline 7s and got a really good price (less than $50).
Posted by Mary at 10:29 AM | Comments (0)