2010's List of Awesomeness

And the skiing starts all over again!

We completed the pack with Chance-the second greatest running dog of all time!

Wendy won her 3rd NCAA title!!!!!

Amy ran a marathon with her BFF!

We showed Grandma & Grandpa some of the ADKs most beautiful spots!

Kevin finished Elm St!

Bandit got muddy and Quenton got old:(

We enjoyed the sites in our new hometown!

Ruby graduated from Kindergarten!

We bought a motel!

We drove to New Hampshire so Ruby could finish a 1000 meter race and Amy could dnf and get hypothermia!

Kevin killed and stuffed this bear!

Amy won Duathlon Nationals!

We adopted Roxy-the greatest running dog in the world!

Wendy was name Tupper Lake's Athlete of the Decade!

Ruby became even more of a badass on skis tearing up almost every trail at Whiteface by the end of April!

Thankful for...

...www.petfinder.com to find the perfect pair of running dogs

...saucony for making the xodus 2.0

...the guy who plows the sidewalks in tupper lake

...my husband, parents, friends, neighbors, and faithful runner girls who babysit, Faustsit, dogsit and inspire me to get my ass in gear

...jenn for strength and flexibility that have tamed my sciatic nerve

...petra for giving me the opportunity to take on this wonderful business and live in a great place to run

A Season in Review

It's been a long time since my last entry. It's been a long time since I wasn't running around like a chicken with my head cut off, but that's the way I like it. When I was growing up I was surrounded by constant motion. My parents both have seemingly endless wells of energy-there is always something to paint, lawns to be mowed, second story additions to put on! It's really inspiring to see them refuse to slow down. This summer I tried my best to become Jim and Janet Farrell. The guests who came to the Faust Motel will hopefully tell you I did a pretty good job at getting all my work done.

After some mixed racing results on limited training because of the Jim and Janet impersonations, over the next few months I'll try mixing in some more vintage Amy (selfish time running on snowy back roads and hours in front of the TV on the Rainbow Ghostbike) to see if I can get my mojo back. It actually felt good to work really hard at something new and not freak out about not getting as many hours of training in as everybody else. It sucked to go back to Rhode Island hoping to be 15 minutes faster and being 15 minutes slower than last year, but I guess this year wasn't about kicking ass in triathlon. It was about getting my shit together in personal life and making a new business seem like the same old business. It was also about jumping into some new events, having fun, and prepping the pack for another shot at a fast marathon (even dogs need to train to train). Here's a brief recap of 2010:

June 6, 2010 Mooseman 70.3-great trip with my mom and Ruby to New Hampshire, wonderful homestay with our new friend Joanne, hypothermia and a DNF. When we got to the race site of Saturday the sun was shining, water seemed warm, and Ruby had a great time in the kids race. After a restless night of sleep we came back to the race site and found it chilly and starting to spit rain. The announcer kept suggesting we leave extra clothes by the bike, I ignored him and paid dearly. The swim was worse than I expected but after a solid spring of riding I was excited to get out onto the hilly course and play catch up. Instead I froze my ass off and never warmed up. At the end of loop one I pulled over with another female pro and called it a day. My body temp was around 93 so I was relieved to catch a ride in the ambulance they had called for the other woman, who had crashed. They drove us around in the ambulance for quite some time, but eventually were told they couldn't bring us into the transition area so they dumped us at an aid station where we hitchhiked for a ride from a nice local policeman! A highlight of this trip was definitely a stop at a NH State Liquor Store with Janet!

June 13, 2010 Lake Placid Half Marathon-After DNF'ing at Mooseman I needed to finish a race and I needed to do it sort of fast. I did a last minute entry into the Lake Placid Half Marathon and was accompanied to the race by my devoted parents, who happened to be in town for Ruby's dance recital. As I scurried to the start I noticed a seriously badass looking woman on the line. When I got closer I realized it was former high school running rockstar Sara Facteau, who repeatedly beat the snot out of most of the girls in New York State in the early 90's-yikes! I decided I would see what I could do and try and hang with her. As we hit the first mile way faster than I meant to go I asked what sort of pace she was hoping to run. We were also way faster than she meant to go. I tried to be wise and settle into a reasonable half marathon pace, instead of a fast 5k pace, and let her get away. I hit 5k under 18 minutes and knew it was really time to buckle down and pull hard on the reins! The out and back on River Road was perfect for this as I was easily distracted by looking for friends who were running and cheering for anyone who would listen! When I finally got back out to the ski jump hill the pink singlet was coming back into sight and I was feeling good. As I entered the oval she was heading for the finish-if I'd only had another mile or two! I did walk away feeling better about my training and better about racing in a skirt and I had a new open Half Marathon PR!

June 19, 2010 Great Adirondack Trail Run-this was the race I was most excited for this season! I've had friends run it and try to describe the special sort of pain racing up and over mountains can bring a person's legs, but this was even better. As this was my third weekend of racing in a row I was starting to get a little sick and run down, but about an hour in I started to feel great. Lots of stumbling and screeching-next year I know what to expect and how to improve! Probably the best running experience of the summer:)

June 25, 2010 Tinman Sprint Triathlon-After not winning a race since Duathlon Nationals I was starting to doubt the custom made, non puffy painted Ruby's Mom singlet. I wasn't really planning on racing this weekend as it was our first busy weekend at Faust and I was heading out of town for the St. Lawrence All Starz Wedding of the Century (congrats Amy and Lawton), but when a race goes right by your house it's impossible to pass it up! I was up and out of the water well before Kevin, Ruby and our biker guests thought about waking up. I rode by Faust and nothing! 45 minutes later I rode by again and there was my family, only they didn't seem to notice me-nice! After tripping over my bike on the way into transition I was off and happily running through my new hometown. I was able to the win, improve my previous best on the course by 9 minutes, and my family showed up to cheer me in!

July 11, 2010 Rhode Island 70.3-racing 4 out of 5 weekends leading up to this race may have been a bad idea. Spending the afternoon playing in the ocean with Ruby, my sister Tammy, and my niece Hillary the day before the race may have been a bad idea. Eating pre-race pizza at a dive called Fat Jack's Pizza Shack may have been a bad idea. Staying with Jen's cousin Carol and Andy was a great idea. I was excited to redeem myself after Mooseman and see if I could still hang with pros but after about 8 minutes in the water I knew it was going to be a long day. I got on the bike and just couldn't get my ass in gear. When my coach, who started in a wave 5 minutes behind me, rode up next to me and passed me it was like she had given me a swift kick in the ass and I sort of held it together for the rest of the ride. When I came into transition 20 minutes slower than I had told Tammy and the girls I had a hard time being positive as I headed out on the run. The only thing that kept me chugging along was seeing Ta and the girls and my run wasn't nearly as bad as my swim and bike-phew.

August 22, 2010 Xterra Lake Placid Trail Run-after a brief hiatus and lots of short dog-filled runs I was eager to try another messy trail run. This course, which went through our old Riki Hill stomping grounds, did not disappoint. Total mess, lots of fun!

September 16-17, 2010 Reach The Beach Relay-was in SLU Alumni All-Starz withdrawal and 24 hours in a van with the sweetest, smelliest SLU XC alums totally hit the spot. While it sucks to run slow it was just the kick in the ass I needed!

October 22, 2010 Octupperfest Mud Run-a race up Big Tupper and then back down! Ouch! For a solid week-ouch! Awesome lil race, can't wait to attack it next year!

October 31, 2010 Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon-the last time I did this race Tammy and I wore real wedding dresses and my poor nephew Sam had to be our groom. This year we were cavewomen and my nephew Mitchell got to be our caveboy. We arrived at the race with about 20 minutes to get our numbers, put on our costumes and stand in the bathroom line-yikes! Ta walked out of the bathroom just as the gun went off and Mitchell spent the first 3 miles leading us through the crowds we started behind! We didn't end up on the news like we did with the wedding dresses, but left with tons of laughs (Tammy ran an extra half mile or so trying to follow me onto the half marathon course, instead of following her son to the finish of the Squirelly 6 mile finish).

November 7th 2010 Manchester Marathon-When my BFF Alison got closed out of the Philly Marathon I got the idea that maybe I needed to accompany her to whatever race she found to take it's place. Manchester turned out to be a much needed girls weekend! With cool temps in the forecast Alison found us some lovely throw away sweatshirts to start the race in. We found a 13 year old boy to run with and he proved to be perfect motivation as she dropped him around mile 23 when she started to get sick of the sound of his footsteps and she pr'ed by 5 minutes! If you ever get the chance to run a marathon with one of your bestest friends in the whole world do it!

Telepathic blogging for moms on the run!

Has anyone been getting my telepathic blog entries over the past few weeks? Race updates, life updates, dog updates-I've been sending them out during my swims, bikes, and runs. If you aren't getting them-I've been busy, very very busy! One week in May amongst the craziness of being Ruby's mom, teaching, and training I made some huge decisions-I got my Pro license for triathlon, put an offer in on a motel, and started seeing my ex-husband. Big stuff! Huge stuff!

After performing well at Duathlon Nationals I decided it was ok to try and race pro this season and it would allow me a little bit more flexibility in planning my season, the only thing I forgot is that any 70.3 race I get into I would be swimming alone and then have to cycle for my life before I could put my running shoes on! The race round up will follow soon:)

So I bought a small motel with 5 cute little cabins circa 1955 and a cute little brick house circa 1978. My house in Saranac Lake was on the market again and I had started looking at houses in Tupper Lake when Faust Motel popped up and I snagged it! I know the whole thing seems very random, but for 5 years I've been driving by another motel with cabins, that has been for sale, saying, "that's where I'm going to host my running and triathlon camps." I never bought that one because it was twice as much as Faust and half as charming. We took over June 12th and have been having a great time meeting people, cleaning rooms, and moving out of the nightmare on Elm St so tenants could move in. The cabins each have 2 very basic, very clean rooms and if it weren't for the TV's one would think they are walking into a 1955 motel room in perfect condition.

When we started Ruby, my assistant manager, was going to be the window washing girl, but quickly realized she likes scrubbing toilets a lot better-she will leave here with a serious set of skills! She has had so much fun making friends with everyone who comes through. I think she especially likes making friends our European customers and showing off her sweet trampolining skills!

We have this maintenance man/on-site bike mechanic that's been hanging around helping us out too. I call him Kevin 2.0 and he's the new and improved version of the man I married in 2002. He is almost as good as Ruby at making friends with our guests as he talks bikes (motor and bi), shows off his new 1986 Chevy pickup, and grills like a madman! He's gotten a chance to do it all here at Faust as Ruby and I have had some busy weekends racing out of town. Kevin 2.0 is proof that if you persevere you can become exactly who you want to be. He just had a marathon couple of weeks finishing the Elm St house, but it's done and tenants are in and now he can sleep for a week or two! After 3 years of being separated it's amazing how much better we have become at communicating and being friends.

Huge Things!

My Dreambike-Serotta CXII

I meant to write this the other day after a 1 hour ride on my old red road bike when I felt like I was being stabbed in the delt. In 4 and half hours on my custom Serotta CXII a couple of days before this pain was not there, but 1 hour on the wrong bike and yowzy! The truth is I love my Serotta! Love like you love the comfort and coziness of your bed after a long day of barking orders at high school kids, love. From the moment I laid my eyes on it, I knew it was my baby. I've ridden everything-aluminum, carbon, titanium-multiples of each material and the carbon/steel combo is dreamy. It's not that I don't think big carbon aerodynamic bikes aren't cool, but after a quick trip to Lake Placid the other day I was reminded that if your bike doesn't fit and you aren't fit there's no possible way to be aerodynmic on the bike. Tons of shims take that aero bike away from it's original state and original point. The fact that this bike was made precisely for me is also dreamy-nagging aches and pains no more, I can stay aero comfortably for hours! After being blown off of bike courses from crosswinds and nearly bucked off by crappy roads I'm a huge fan of keeping it simple. I'm not the most stable rider, I'm downright twitchy to be honest and on this bike wind, logging trucks, hills, and rough roads are not a problem because it's so stable and powerful. Which means I get to be stable and powerful to go really really fast! Perfect fit, perfect mix of materials, and perfect frame construction from Serotta are my CXII-simple!

Sometimes Dogs Just Know...

and sometimes they chew through your daughter's Smartcycle cord. But it's the times when they surprise me by being especially sweet or considerate that I think-wow that dog really gets it! When I started teaching Adaptive Physical Education I brought Quenton into school to play therapy dog, and except for that one time when he shredded that playground ball, he went from my crazed puppy to a calm cool collected gentleman as soon as he hit school grounds. After Ruby was born we sent home some of her clothes for the dogs to smell so they wouldn't eat her and when she came home Bandit was so gentle and treated her like her own little baby. When I moved to Jen's for a year Q knew that Ruby and I needed extra spooning and he would have get used to falling asleep in my death grip. Roxy, sweet baby Roxy must've known that it was time for an easy, quiet dog to make my heart burst with pride when people remark about how gentle and well behaved she is. She has also been the best little runner from the first day we hit the trail-she knew what I needed.

The other morning I was running with the whole pack when we happened upon someone meditating. I was startled but the pack just ran right by him and left him alone! They never leave people alone on the trail unless they've been out there for hours, I really felt like they knew it was best to leave him alone and let him meditate. Then on the way back Roxy decided he needed 2 tiny paws to the back and Bandit gave him a bark-I guess they didn't know!

Duathlon National Championships Highlights

Raced the Duathlon National Championships this weekend-hit my goals square on the head, felt pretty awesome and proved that winning my age group last year wasn't a fluke after the freight train debacle. Phew, I'm not really sure if I would have gone through with trying to race pro for the rest of the season if I didn't win this race. Good thing it went as planned! Here are some Highlights from the weekend!
Most Insight from a 6 year old-
During the 4 hour drive to Aunt Kim's Ruby and I had a lot of time to talk and sing. The best conversation we had was when she woke up from a lovely hour nap and informed me that Earth Day should be everyday and that we all need to feel lucky to have the Earth while we have it and we need to take good care of it to make it last longer. Then she listed some of the ways we can help the environment-by not driving so much because the gases from our cars go up into the air and get trapped in clouds and then come back down in rain and kill plants and ruin lakes and rivers, by not using lead sinkers when we fish because they kills plants and fish, by not pulling grass out of the ground, and by turning off all the lights we don't need we can save a lot of energy!
Best Pre-flight Distraction-
When they brought me to the airport Ruby and I sat on different sides of a glass partition and talked to each other on the phone for 15 minutes and I explained to her that this is what it's like for people in jail-what a fun game!
Nicest Sight for Sore Eyes/BFF to the Rescue-
I made it to Virginia and pretended to be calm waiting in the airport for Jenny. I hadn't seen since she drove away from my house in August, so when she finally walked around the corner I ran up to her, gave her the biggest hug and then I just stared at her for a little while to make sure she was really there. She was and she really enjoyed the beautiful Econolodge I found for us on the Midlothian Turnpike. It took 4 tries to find a suitable non-smoking room, but we did it and we will live to tell about it!
Best Magic Potion-
Coach Martha promised-I'll be sprinkling invisible go-fast glitter dust on you during your race. she did and it worked
Best Cheer-
On the phone with Ruby before the race Jen asked her what she should cheer at me when I went by Ruby suggested, "RUN LIKE A MONKEY!" This was one of my favorite things to yell at teammates at SLU and for some reason she knows this and likes it.
Best Pre-Race Laugh-
On race morning I got a text from Kevin that said "kick ass! Ride like you stole it! Run like ur running from me! haha!" it's good when people make you laugh before races:)
Worst Foot In Mouth Comment to someone from USAT-
I like the duathlon scene, it has a good vibe, a little bit more relaxed than triathlon. Less of a flexing contest.
Funniest Post-race Field Trip-
Stumbling through Colonial Williamsburg on aching weary legs
Best Comment about Amy becoming less of a basket case at races-
I used to have this panic about things going wrong at races, I don't really get that anymore because things just sort of work out. -Jenny

Learning To Suck It Up & Move On

I don't think I ever gave racing parents enough credit when I first started out-I remember always wondering how they could race at a high level but figuring they must have nanny's or amazing overworked spouses. I know I thought it must be a juggling act, but I never realized how much. The minute I realized I was pregnant I gave up swimming and mostly just ran ran ran to my hearts content. It had been a long time since I didn't have to get in 2 or 3 workouts a day and could do whatever I wanted. One of my triathlete friends was also pregnant at the time and didn't take her time off as seriously as I did so when I turned to her 10 miles into a bike ride and said I had heartburn from the 3 hotdogs I'd eaten before we took off she looked at me like I had 2 heads, but without a race in sight and an alien having taken over my body I didn't see any reason to push it. This was the first time I had to learn to suck up my natural instinct to be aggressive and worry about what my competitors were doing and just enjoy moving as much as possible. I was hesitant to get back into triathlon at a high level because I knew how hard it was to reach my training and racing goals when all I had to worry about was one dog, how could I do it with a baby, a husband, a track team and two dogs? More often than not life gets in the way of the plans we make to achieve our goals. That's why I started back with marathoning, because it was uncharted territory so I wouldn't constantly compare to what I had done 5 or 6 or 8 years ago and it also wouldn't take away as much time from the family as triathlon. While the marathon year was fun and everything, lining up next 95 pounders floating through 6 minute mile after 6 minute mile was discouraging and tore my legs up like nothing I have ever done!

When I had sorted a few things out in my personal life and almost gotten over the sciatic nerve injury from 2 marathons in 7 weeks it was time to get my ass back on bike and experiment. Knowing that training and racing time wouldn't come as easy as they did in my 20's last years was an experimental year-I would train as much as I could and do a few half ironmans and see what happened. I didn't really follow a schedule and things went pretty well, so this year I've been getting guidance and key workouts from Martha Grinnell, the woman who taught me how to be a triathlete at 22, trying to complete what I can, and getting in as many hours I can. Between my family and friends and Kevin on Ruby duty I had been getting in enough to stay sane and feel ok about the prospect of racing pro this season. Ruby and I spent much of spring break with my sisters who were more than happy to send me out on runs and rides or take field trips to their local pools. I felt really good about getting my first bigger week in and saved Friday and Saturday for my long run and ride, we kicked off Friday with a trip to Whiteface and I immediately got a pit in my gut that the training plans for the weekend were heading out the window. Needless to say, instead of getting 6 hours of training in over those 2 days I got in 1 crazed 1 hour run followed by a rather dramatic meltdown because I was certain I couldn't race at the level I want to if I can't train at the level I want to. My support team responded quickly and despite trying to dig my heals in about how impossible it all was they convinced me that sometimes we just have to suck it up and move on. Extract the awesome parts, be grateful for them and just do our best. Martha, besides being a great coach, is an even better psychiatrist and always has the perfect words of wisdom and encouragement to help me put things into perspective. This time was no different and with a lot of help from Ruby, Kevin, and our wonderful daycare provider, Kelli, I cowboyed up and had my best week of training in 7 or 8 years! Suck it up and move on, suck it up and move on:)

The Easter We Had To Laugh

After starting our spring break finding the perfect new running buddy, Ruby and I decided to hit the road and go visit my sisters and their families for a few days. Our first leg was a short trip to Clifton Park, normally short unless your 6 year old is speaking in "blah" and "fart" non-stop and quizzing you about what she's saying! I don't know how people travel with more than one child-a chorus of the abc's in "blah"-ouch! So we spent a few days at Aunt Ta Ta's house playing and training. Roxy made friends with a cat cousin who is bigger than her-pretty uneventful time in the burbs highlighted by a couple of great runs and rides at the Saratoga Battlefield.

Ruby and I crammed cousin Hillary into the car on with Quenton and Bandit and hopped onto the Thruway for Easter weekend at Aunt Kim's in Lansing. When we arrive it was wine and hot tub time-so when Hillary quietly told Ruby she wanted to go home to her family I had to explain that Aunt Kim had forced me to drink a glass of wine so I couldn't drive her the 3 and half hours home. She held it together and soldiered on! It was shortly after the hot tub that we started to notice ants, tiny tiny ants sneaking out here and there-no biggy we carried on planning our adventures not worrying about the little creepers. The next day our parents arrived-yay! Whenever Jim Farrell visits any of our homes projects usually ensue whether we like it or not, so usually we try our best to get him to chill out and enjoy himself. It was a beautiful day and we were enjoying the sunshine on the back deck watching Hillary and Ruby dredge the little pond when they could keep it dog free and coloring Easter eggs. It got so warm that we decided to pull the umbrella out. After some confusion about weighing down the base of the umbrella and a little jerry-rigging we had it set and were enjoying the shade! The wind was picking up but Kim and I both thought-wow, it's working as we headed inside to gather snacks. Two minutes later there was a loud crash, the glass table top was shattered all over the deck and Jim was about to wake up from his nap! We swept furiously and gave the girls instructions for no more bare feet by the hot tub. By the time we thought we'd done a great clean up he was asking for a Shop Vac for the tiny shards of glass we'd missed in the cracks. Farrell=thorough:) Within 2 hours the table had smashed, we cleaned up, and then he pulled a sheet of plywood out to make a new table top! When Kim couldn't locate any duct tape for the fancy blue plastic table clothe we had to improvise with coordinating blue painters tape. Farrell=industrious:)

The rest of the family poured in and they (I say they because I still play helpless youngest child busy plotting my next ride and incapable of being domestic) started prepping for the next days big meal. We all went to bed late thinking all was safe, but at some point in the middle of the night I went to the restroom and found the giant plastic bolts on the toilet seat had been removed by elves! Someone must have realized this because when I woke up there were cute notes reminding the 14 people on the house that one of the two toilets could be dangerous and to use with caution. The other discovery on that lovely Easter morn was creepy little ants that had devoured a giant pan of brownies and some delicious candy the Easter bunny had delivered. We laughed, sealed everything in ziploc bags, and decided maybe it was time to go to church and prayer for a little help! As we pulled away I heard one of the 5 dogs howling especially loud but figured our favorite Jewish, dog loving uncle would take care of him. After mass I headed out on a run to let the grown ups start prepping for dinner. When I arrived home I walked into the kitchen to see anyone needed my help and found a kitchen of women who had been visited by a 6 year old face painting monster! Kim also showed me how the howling hound had escaped via the screen door, it's so nice when dogs can take care of themselves:) Fortunately we made it through the rest of the day only a couple of broken dishes, a few more ants, the normal side effects of giant family meals and a lot of laughs!

Luck O The Irish

Luck or fortuity is a belief in good or bad fortune in life caused by accident or chance, and attributed by some to reasons of faith or superstition, which happens beyond a person's control.

Since Indoor Track ended a couple of weeks ago I've enjoyed more time outside after work to train and play after school. This has led to some great runs and rides where I find myself cruising through some of the most breathtaking spots in the Adirondacks. On Friday I made it up to the potato fields at John Brown's Farm, with the most amazing view of the High Peaks, and I had to stop and take a huge deep breath. I did the same thing at sunrise on Saturday when I reached the top of a climb and turned around to a pink sky through the trees. Lucky, I feel lucky. When I first graduated from SLU and took my first job in Gouverneur I wasn't sure where I was going-Florida or Cali someplace where triathletes can be tan and frolic outside year-round, but I never thought it would be here. While I've visited so many beautiful places, the proximity to the best grandparents in the world makes it hard to imagine living anywhere else. Life here is slow, but I'm thankful for that. My brain moves fast enough. When I think about Ruby growing up here surrounded by endless outdoor opportunities I'm grateful for that I left the Ogdensburg City Pool 10 summers ago to sell wetsuits and chammy butter in the mountains-lucky kid! Ahhhhhhhhh


The other thing I'm feeling pretty lucky about right now is the new member of our family-Roxy. If you know me and my dogs, I haven't been blessed with the easiest dogs in the world. I had a well behaved, intelligent dog once, but he followed Quenton out onto some thin ice and never came back. RIP sweet Harry:) I had made up my mind that after these dogs, I would stick to one dream dog to make life a little easier, but then I had a couple of runs where Bandit and Q ended up limping and a lil lame and the search for a new running buddy began. I knew I wanted some sort of herding dog-a Border Collie or Australian Shepard because they like the work and could go all day. It's amazing what gets labeled a Border Collie or Aussie on petfinder.com! Rescue sites, breeders, shelters the internet is so much fun when you're searching for just the right dog. Ruby and I went to hold puppies at our local shelter and within seconds I knew a "puppy" puppy wasn't what we were looking for and I definitely wanted a herding dog. Back to the computer, I broadened the search to my sisters zip codes and hit the jack pot! At first it was a lovely border collie who caught my eye, but then I scrolled down and found her-Roxy the Catahoula Leopard Dog! A leopard print dog? After more research it was a no brainer and we were gonna spend our first day of spring break driving to an adoption clinic to stake our claim! I ran into the store like it was 1985 and there was a new batch of Cabbage Patch Kids being released. I scanned to crates to find Roxy and my heart sank until I got to the final crate and there she was. Phew! The volunteer came over and asked if we'd like to see her and Ruby and I both shouted "YES!" As I carried her away from the crowd I knew we were done for and without asking a single question about her I was telling Ruby we could take her home and my ex husband was filling out the paperwork for me. The vultures were circling and waiting for us to put her back, but lucky timing put us there just in time! She was so calm and relaxed that my sister Tammy and Kevin kept questioning what the puppies were going to be like when the sedatives wore off. Fortunately the sedatives (the volunteers claimed the puppies weren't drugged) have worn off and Roxy is the best puppy I've ever met-house trained in a day, comes when we call her, fits right in with B and Q, and allows Ruby to do whatever she wants. You get the feeling that she realizes she hit the jackpot and feels pretty lucky:)

My Winter Trails

Railroad tracks and frozen lakes are two of my favorite ways to see the Adirondacks in the winter. I've always loved running on on railroad tracks and beds and I really try not to be intimidated by sharing them with 4 wheelers and snowmobiles. Snowmobiles open up a new system of trails for us in the winter and while I pray for snow to ski, a big part of me gets psyched when I hear the obnoxious beasts zipping by on the railroad tracks a block from my front door. When we moved to Elm Street I happened upon the tracks early one morning and couldn't stop going back to explore on foot or skis further and further in every year. Last week the dogs and I spent entire long run on the tracks discovering ponds and lakes-all three of us grinning foolishly:) A couple of winters ago John and I followed some snowmobile tracks out onto Oseetah Lake for one of my favorite runs in ever, to be chuggin' along surrounded by these mountain views-breath taking! I kept dragging John and Jenny out there so we could play Alaskan Explorers and I'm pretty sure they never got bored with it!

My Little Beast

This morning Ruby dazzled my students with her fearlessness as she strapped on a harness and repeatedly climbed ropes and ladders in the gym like an old pro. The kids couldn't believe how easily she climbed a rope at 15 feet above the gym floor and one of the students said, "the kid's not normal, I've seen her ski." The kid is not normal. As a baby a man who met her called her "magical" and that just kind of stuck. When she was 3 or 4 she was dancing for me and some friends one night when she stopped and said, "whoa I gotta take a break, I'm really hot and when I get really hot I get really magical." Ruby is one of those people who can watch and think about something and then just do it! Hours spent at the pool and on a trail a bike gave her time to figure out swimming and riding a bike. The first time I looked over in the pool and she was playing "lifeguard" with her bff and swimming out to save 7 year old Emma, was such a beautiful sight it made me cry. The same thing happened on the evening when my 4 year old decided it was time to ride her 2 wheeler, so she walked it out into the street, got on and did it!

Ruby and I have been trying to hit Mt Pisgah and Big Tupper at least a couple of times a week this winter and it's been amazing to see her skiing progress-from her fear on steeps the first day of the season to her choosing the steepest line possible and following her dad off jumps without hesitation. She was so inspired watching Billy Demong race from 24th place to 6th in his first Nordic Combined event at the Olympics we went out for a cross country ski and she started using her own version skate skiing. A few days later we took advantage of NYSEF's Learn to Fly Wednesday's and she learned to ski jump! On the way home she was so enamored by the act of flying down and off a ramp that she couldn't stop saying, "I loved ski jumping so much, I wish I could still be jumping right now!" It was that day that I was certain-what an amazing place to raise a kid:) Ever since the ski jumping episodes she responds to every challenge by stating she's ski jumped she's not afraid of anything. Last night we got to Mount Pisgah just as it had frozen after a beautiful early spring day, Ruby shoved me off the T-bar because my snowboard was cramping her style and flew down the ice covered slope. After 5 runs like this, her flying like a bat outta hell, me slip sliding away I asked if the ice bothered her at all. She responded by saying, "What do mean? It's just louder than regular snow." Oh yeah, just louder.

The Llama Encounter-DEc 4, 2008

A couple of weeks I was out on a lovely late fall run with my beloved Garbage Hound, Quenton and my bff's beloved Lion Hound, Tucker. We were running on a trail behind the Saranac Lake High School that we've each run on at least 50 times-always with out a leash. Quenton, being a curious Garbage Hound, sometimes gets distracted on runs and requires help to get back to the group. So when Tucker and I were cruising along and noticed Q was missing we did what we always do and went back to get him. If his distraction isn't major-a squirrel or bird- he rejoins us quickly, if it's a biggy-a cat or fresh, hot bag of garbage he likes a little bit of a chase. When we discovered him it looked he had treed a cat, he was barking furiously and a saw some brown fur moving around. As Tucker and I got closer to the scene I saw more brown fur and realized it was not a cat, Quenton had discovered Sasquatch in the middle of the village of Saranac Lake! The thing was shuffling around, it had long brown fur, and was the size of a Snuffleupagus! Tucker stuck to my side like glue, when we realized that Q was barking through the fence at the biggest llama I've ever seen. He just kept circling the tiny pen that was attached to the back of a broken down shed barking at the top of his lungs. Tucker and I gave chase and Q quickly slipped under the cobbed together fence and was face to face with the giant brown monster. These are the parts of subnormal dog ownership that make me ask why he survived getting hit by a tractor trailer 9 years ago? I started to worry that I was never going to get him out on my own, so I decided to go find the owner of what appeared to be a junkyard full of broken down cars with one shed for the llama and another for the humans (the human shed cam complete with a tarp on the roof). As I walked across the driveway I noticed a small mob of neighbors standing at the bottom of the driveway so I asked "do you live here?" And an old man replied, "no, but the guy who does is not going to appreciate this!" No shit! So Tucker and I headed to the front door and I prepared myself to get shot. I'd had a dream the night before that I was in a plane crash but I woke up before the cabin filled with water, so I was convinced today was my day to die and I was probably going to get shot by a gun from at the scary house with a llama hidden in a tiny pen behind the shed. I held Tucker close on a leash now because he's not a subnormal dog and I figured he loved me enough to attack my shooter. I yelled hello a couple dozen times on my way to the door, so they wouldn't be surprised when I finally did knock. I knocked and tightened every muscle in my body, ready to take the shot, and waited. No one came to the door-oh shit, do I leave my now unbeloved Garbage Hound and hope he can someday find his way home?! I've been in some messes with Quenton before, but this was the worst! Suddenly Q was silent! Totally silent and backing away from the llama. For the first time in one of his big messes he looked to me for help-uhn what? He came to the side of the fence by Tuck and I and I clipped his leash on over the fence, passed it to my other hand under the fence, and snuck my baby under the fence to freedom. I've run by a couple times since then, always with dog on leash, and I see the scary shack of a house, I see the junkie cars, I see the shed, what I don't see is the goddamn llama!

TITWDD & My Wolf

On the way to my parent's this morning the dogs and I stopped at one of our favorite trails and headed out for a quick ski. It was a beautiful morning and I immediately felt calm and started grinning. After being cooped up all week I think the dogs were grinning too. They live to run off leash, don't we all? Ruby and I have been pretty busy with ski lessons, ski jumping, and swimming so this was the first time in a couple weeks that the dogs and I have been out to crash through the woods the way we love to! While skiing and grinning I came up with a diagnosis for what we've been suffering from during the work week-TITWDD (Time In The Woods Definiency Disorder) and it usually makes me run around like a chicken with my head cut off! It was nice to feel calm and not have to think of anything but keeping the dogs in sight and moving forward!

At one point I got so wrapped up in nothingness that I realized I hadn't heard the dogs in a few minutes and it might be a good idea to give em a holler and regroup. When I turned around to yell Quenton was quietly trotting behind me with half a dead bunny in his mouth-I couldn't stop laughing. The old man seemed so proud to show me his new toy, he carried the back end of that bunny like it was his new born baby. He even let me take a picture of it. You might be thinking-what is wrong with her, the poor bunny is dead, but there's a story behind the laughter. This year I've gotten fixated on turning my indoor track team into a wolfpack. I think it's because I have so many students that wear those awesome wolf t-shirts mixed with the fact the wolves are fast and fierce. For our Sectional Championship last night each athlete recieved a card from with a pic of a wolf and an inspirational quote. These are a couple of the best ones. These cards worked cause the kids channeled their inner wolves and had a great meet. Back to the dog carrying the dead bunny, imagine my surprise when I turn around and he's playing wolf for me carrying half of a dead bunny-very strange Q! When we got closer to the car he ducked into the woods and found a nice place to lay his bunny to rest and jump into car, sat down, and grinned calmly:)

My Awesome Support Team

On Monday afternoon I rolled past a friend's house with a car full of children headed to the pool. He asked where they all came from and I replied, "it takes gaggle of children to raise a triathlete." Over the last few weeks of getting back into the swing of triathlon training I have been constantly reminded of this. Last year Ruby finally hit the age where she and her bff, Emma, could accompany me to the pool and play while I got my workout out in. Now whenever we hit the pool we call teh Peer family ahead of time and borrow one or two or three of their girls to come along with us! My friends and family know me well enough to recognize when I'm starting to unravel and I'm so fortunate that they seem to swoop in just at the right moments. Alison got me out on a morning run when she stayed over and totally got me through a what would have been a long week inside! A couple weeks ago Ruby and I headed to Grandma and Grandpa's for a the weekend after our Friday night track meet and the dogs and I were treated to three great outside runs where I didn't feel panic striken to get back to Ruby. Sensing a touch of crazy in my voice again last week they came to Saranac Lake, took Ruby to the circus and I got to have the nicest long run with Q and Wendy. These are just a few of the acts of kindness and generosity, as well as Ruby putting up with hours in a babyjogger or on a trail a bike or Smartcycle next to me, are what makes it all doable and I'm so grateful! Thanks team-get ready Ironman training is creeping up!

I'm Gonna Recycle This Resolution

1/1/08

I resolve to stop being lazy! To shovel my front walk and keep it clear.

I tried to start this anti-sloth movement a few days before the new year with the great ice removal project from my front side walk. I also did a great marathon paced run that day and a long run the next. Yesterday I cleared the sidewalk again but only ran 3 easy miles after I dreamt about sore legs and a trip to the massage therapist. In the past year I've rarely been lazy about running, I'd lose my freaking mind if I was. I have bigger things that I've been ignoring-unsettled relationships that are holding me back, a house that needs finishing-I often ignore them instead of tackling them, even though I feel much better when I do. For 2008 I will channel my inner Janet Farrell and be a woman with a smooth sidewalk and an unfettered soul. I'm going to be a woman who uses words like unfettered and mean it. 2008 will be about action and freedom-stay tuned!

Quotes of the day

I had another awesome day of snowboarding and skiing with my little beast at Big Tupper today. Here are a few of the best quotes of the day:
Ruby-I feel like I NEED to get really good at skiing and snowboarding. I NEED to get down the Mighty Mite on my snowboard without falling! (and she did)
Ruby-My skis are kinda getting chipped up because I go off a lot of crazy stuff.
Ruby on the chair lift-Does this mountain have any jumps? Do you think I can do that jump that Daddy did last time, not the baby one I did, but the line he did.
11th Grade Boy-Ms. Farrell, it must be so much fun being your kid. Ruby's really lucky. Me-Thank you, I think it is pretty fun, but Ruby has to put with a lot of my crap to have fun!
Ruby when I asked if we should do a green trail before we leave the mountain-Green is for babies!
Ruby on our way up the lift before our last run-THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST RUN EVER! (and it was)

Totally unrelated to Ruby but another great quote of the day came from my BFFL Jenny, who before she was a struggling grad student was a finicky food and wine connoisseur-You know who has good boxed wine? Target! Really they've won awards for it!

The Healing Power of a Morning Run

Since Kevin left for Colorado a week ago my dogs and I have had to go without our morning runs. Even though Q is almost 11 and Bandit is 8 they still need to get out a couple of mornings a week to make it to the weekends long run and ski-I love the image of their perked up ears, like they're smiling. Ruby and I had a sleepover with one of my BFFL's, Alison, last night so the dogs and I were able to get out and enjoy the darkness this morning! These morning runs have been an important part of my sanity control over the last 16 years. When I started doing morning runs at 15 or 16 life was about finding every way possible to bring my running to the next level and finding my niche. At 16 life seems completely out of your control and these runs, often with a beloved friend willing to stay awake after a night shift at a local factory to accompany me, were quiet time from typical teen craziness. 16 years later they are still serving the same purpose! As I ran this morning I thought about different stages in my life and athletic career and how these runs have brought me much needed perspective to get through the hard stuff. Almost like I have a chance to look at a situation through someone else's eyes. For me morning runs are full of extracting positives and developing a plan of attack, unlike runs at other times of the day there's no room for negative thoughts or feelings in the morning.

Thank You Rick Cowles

When I started teaching in Tupper Lake we had a great Athletic Director/PE Department Head who helped us obtain some awesome grants. One of the best things to come out of our Carol M White Grant was our fitness room which is chocked full of top of the line cardio equiptment and an endles climbing wall. This room has been a huge part of saving my athletic career and making time management a lot easier-especially during cold snaps like this one when I get to run killer hill workouts and not freeze my face off!

Bluebird Day

Last Saturday morning I awoke to subzero temps and prepped for my run. When I started the run it was -6, I had 2 dogs, and about a million layers on (including my Darth Veder face mask). In the first 4 mile loop Quenton and I warmed up while Bandit found herself completely exhausted and happy to be left in the sun on the front porch. I stripped a layer of pants, the mask and a jacket before Q and I took off down the railroad tracks which the local snowmobilers had so kindly packed down and stayed off of on this bright sunshiny morning. By the end of the run it was a solid 10 degrees so I lost one more layer and was able to thoroughly exhaust the old man-a great beginning to a great day.
The big adventure of the day was a family ski day at Big Tupper. As I drove to Tupper Lake to meet up with Ruby and Kevin the temps crept all the way up to 20! By the time we got up to Big T we were blessed with the most perfect bluebird day for Ruby to "rip the gnar," which is exactly what she did following her dad at warp speed and off jumps. It was our first day at Big T and the minute we got on the chair lift and turned around to see the beathtaking view I couldn't believe that this place could have possibly been closed for 10 years! Wow! By the end of first run the 3 of us couldn't stop raving about how amazing this great mountain was-the grooming and terrain were perfect for natural snow and an almost totally volunteer staff. It's amazing what the ARISE group of volunteers has done to get this mountain going again and the locals love it! Everybody we ran into was so positive and appreciative-kids and adults grinning like fools-awesome. Ruby even broke out her snowboard to practice on the Mighty Mite before deciding it was time to get back to the top and race her parents on the rest of the trails until the sun went down:)

Epic Mirror Lake Ski Expedition

The other day Alison and I made a date for Saturday night to meet and eat some food and catch up. Last night I sent her a message that I was broke and perhaps we could go for a ski instead. She frantically got her ski stuff together to accommodate my request, but also formulated a plan that would get us to at least one happy hour. I'd already driven by so many matching puffy jacket tool box couples I was feeling slightly ill but got a little excited when she suggested we go to Dancing Bears Lounge before skiing so we could sit and watch and laugh. The most intriguing person of the night was a gray haired woman sucking on a wine glass staring into space grinning before someone brought her a child that she tended to by staring at it and grinning. The more Stella we drank and wings we ate the shorter it seemed our ski was going to get so we developed a plan to ski across Mirror Lake to PJ's for our second course of which would consist of Ubu and Pub Nachos. Before we left we decided to ask the concierge if he thought the lake was safe to ski across. He didn't think we should, but his ugly suit, perfectly gelled hair, and pasty skin told us he probably wasn't the man to listen to so we went for it.
Alison opted to put her skis on while on the lake while I decided it would be a great idea to ski down a ramp and get a flying start. Turns out the fresh wax on the skis sent me down the ramp at warp speed and I ended up on my ass for an entire restaurant full of diners to see! We set out across the vast lake working our way through puddles, snow drifts and ice patches. Alison occasionally got frustrated that the lake was so flat and she didn't have any hills to practice her tele turns so I challenged her to try the Toboggan Chute. I think she would have done it if it weren't for a pesky gate!
We skied up onto the beach by PJ's famished and parched, but it was packed and hot and a little scary so we put our skis over our shoulders and headed back to the frozen lake to try out the Boathouse. On our way to the lake a man passed and asked if we'd had a good day and I replied, "oh yes and it's not over yet!" Then we zipped off down the lake and onto the sidewalk to the front door of the Boathouse where we decided maybe they wouldn't appreciate our constant guffaws and we didn't appreciate they're menu (no nachos).
The next leg of the expedition would take us straight across the lake to The Cottage and hopefully some nachos. The serene diners must have thought Lake Placid was so quaint when we skied by waving like queens of the Rose Bowl parade. We were a little nervous about crossing the lake but felt safe when we saw a group of kids out playing in the middle of it. They scared Alison when they all laid down because she thought they'd fallen through the ice, but they were messing with us! To alleviate some of the load on the ice we decided we should evenly distribute our combined 240 pounds so we had to spread out for about a minute in the middle of the lake. Finally The Cottage was in sight and we could almost smell the nachos, but first we had to get through some ankle deeps drifts-yikes! Once inside we impressed the crowd with our headlamp light show before we attacked a plate of delicious Original NACHOS and a Long Trail-mmmmmm!
The final leg of the expedition started uneventfully and then Alison gave a massive push and her binding let loose! She had to take tiny steps the remaining 100 yards, but we made it! After bringing our skis back to the car she felt like we had to go back into the hotel and tell the concierge that it was indeed fine and dandy to ski across Mirror Lake. He acted like he didn't know what we were talking about and he looked at us like lunatics so we trashed the lobby and went home-laughing all the way:)

Winter Triathlon

Ruby likes to ask what my favorite things are-color, food, season, etc... When she asks about my favorite season I have a really hard time answering. Before I moved to the Adirondacks it was easy-summer, who doesn't answer summer? But since I've been inside the blueline now for over 7 years I can't figure it out. It's obvious why a triathlete would love summers here-trails, crazy hills to run and ride, clear lakes a plenty! When I was just getting started in triathlon I would kill to get out on the road and get hours and miles logged but that got old fast and my first winter here I found some alternative activities to stay in shape. I didn't have real job and got to spend many mornings trail running through knee deep snow with Jenny and our dogs at Riki Hill working those little stabilizer muscles:) On winter runs with teammates at St. Lawrence I used to try and alleviate some of the pain of running through the slushy streets of Canton by telling them how strong all of our little stabilizer muscles were getting with each step-sort of a what doesn't kill us makes us stronger approach! I swear I've warded off plenty of injuries in the summer with the work I've done in the winter! We might as well take full advantage of the snow and all it's messiness while it's here!

The other sport that has made me love winter is skiing. Skiing is another sport for me, like mountain biking, that I sort of suck at but I secretly love. Even when I'm screaming and bouncing off trees it makes me happy! Triathletes shouldn't hate swimming, so in the winter I pretend that cross country skiing is swimming. Over the last couple of winters I've fallen in love with crashing through my favorite trails in the dark to get my "swim" in! To close out the new year I took my aging pooches on a nice long moonlight ski on the Jackrabbit Trail, headed to Scarface to ski the next morning and by noon I was chasing Ruby down Pisgah-definetly my favorite day in a while!

The final portion of my winter triathlon is shoveling. As a kid I couldn't figure out why my parents spent so much time doing and why they were so particular about it, but now I know they were just out there trying to get jacked. For me nothing works my abs like big, heavy snowstorm and the best part is that when you are done-you have something besides ripped abs to show for it!