1st points race 2019 TQMA

Sunday was our first Topeka Quarter Midgets Race.  I was unsure how it was to go.  Andrew had had the class in which he had been a little speed racer, a really bad practice where he wouldn't go above idle, and then a really good practice with another novice kiddo.  

Getting suited up for check in and practice

We also are totally rookies, so we saw a schedule, but had no clue what we were doing.  We still don't have a trailer yet (coming soon I hope), so we just threw as much in the back of the truck as we could and headed to the track for check in at 9:30 am.  

It was cold, which we will be wishing for I am sure very soon.  Uncle Cayce was chief pit crew, so I could stay out of the pits and just cheer, video, and take lots of pictures.

AC Coleman and his race car 

The Coleman Electric Pit Crew

After check in, it was time for a novice controlled practice.  The novice kiddos got about 30 minutes of time on the track, which at times was a little scary with all of them on there buzzing around.

getting strapped in for practice

After practice we had a general meeting and then we had some down town before qualifying.

I don't think Andrew totally understood the whole concept of go as fast as you can during qualifying, so you get put in a good spot.  I think he had the slowest time of all of the racers, but again he came off smiling and happy, so we don't care.  

Post weigh out and tech check

Then the rain started.  We got through qualifying for all levels and classes but we didn't get through any heat races.  I am still learning what heat races are and why we do them.

Don't have a fancy car cover so blankets will do

Hoping to get some track time before the rain starts

water for the racers on rain delay

new friends

all of the safety gear including hans device, fire suit, gloves, and restraints

I love the fact that he is learning how to take care of his car and loves helping daddy get it tuned up

horrible storms around us

After several hours of waiting and having volunteers drying the track in the pouring rain (or trying to I should say), the rain moved out and we were able to get our heat race in.  Heat races were 12 laps I think.  All of the kiddos went from the heat race into the main race. I am still learning what all of this means and how they seed kiddos.  I think heat races are usually 8-12 laps and they determine the starting location for the points race or main?  Feel free to correct me because I am still learning.

After everyone did their heat races, we moved on to the mains or features (again correct me please).  I hope the videos work so you can see Andrew.  He blew me away with the fact that he stayed out for the full 25 laps, he didn't get scared even after a brief wreck, and he came off of the track with a HUGE smile!

big smile!  3rd place and going into tech check

Plus post race he stayed around and played with many of his new racing friends.  This is the part I love the most, the new friends and the fact that he can basically free range at the track with all of the kiddos.

Here is his car waiting on tech check.  They take safety and playing by the rules very, very seriously.  

long day but new friends

Andrew qualified last with the slowest 3 lap time, which started him first in the heat race.  He finished second in the heat race, so that started him outside pole position on the feature race.  He finished third in the feature race and I am not sure how many points he got since I am clueless to all of this.  

Here is one of the professional photos from practice I believe since the girl in the green car is in senior novice.  

photo from Donny Reed Racing FB

We had so much fun and I can't wait to see how he does as his confidence grows.  I hope this is something he sticks with for a while because I enjoyed hanging out with the other parents and asking lots of questions.  Onward and upward!

Recovery Week 3: Back in the Swing of Things?

Going to take it easy again this week and just see how it goes.  I am not totally ready to have a nailed down schedule and would like to just go with the flow, but of course my brain kind of likes having exacts.  Going with the flow really isn't my thing, but I am trying to make it more my thing.  Many of the great ultra runners and many of my friends who kick ass regularly just run what distance feels good and what deal feels right. I  want to be more like that!  Heck Courtney D doesn't follow a plan so why not wing it LOL!!!

I do want to back up a little and explain something that confused many and I got questions about, and also give an update.  I posted about my son and his performance anxiety/ bad practice we had on Saturday of last week.  We went to a group practice (we are given keys to the track and the parking lot, so we can go any time as part of our membership fees) to get our car inspected and to get some track time in.  I think Andrew was very, very intimidated by the kids that were practicing and it went to his head.  When he finally got out on the track, he puttered around and wouldn't go much above idle.

Anyway, we went back Sunday, as we believe the old adage, if you fall off of a horse, get back on and ride again.  We had the track to ourselves for a while and then shared it with another novice kiddo.  He was back to his normal self, driving a good speed for him and even being a little competitive again.  My concern with his "slow driving" is not that we want to win or we are pushing him to do anything he doesn't want to do.  He was the one who showed interest in this sport initially and continues to show interest.  My concern is that there is a minimum track speed that he has to maintain for safety reasons. I know that there is at least one novice kiddo who is older and is already going pretty darn fast, and I don't want him to run over or hurt my kiddo.  Yes, they normally have an older kiddo division, but it looks like there is only one older kiddo this year, so he will be grouped in with our kids.  I do think that this is fair, he needs to get track time with other cars.  Am I worried? Yeah,  a little bit after watching him drive.  So no, I am not mad or sad at my kiddo for not being competitive or "fast".  I just need for him to be safe and to do his best, whatever his best might be right now.  I don't care if he wins anything this year, we are just here to learn and to make sure this is something he really wants to do, which after Sunday I do think that he does.  I am working with someone on his fixed mindset to try and help him with sports and all endeavors that he tends to start strong and then fizzles out on.  We have lots of strategies, so we are going to continue to try and get better at our mindset, both his and ours.

time for the annual summer hair cut!

Monday:  Crossfit day.  Back to my back squat series.  Same work out as last week, so I knew going in it was to be tough.  Add in the fact that it was rather warm and stuffy in the gym and I was sweating like a whore in church.  I am not sure how I am going to make it through summer in this box without puking my guts up.  Me + heat + hard WOD = puke.  I got super sick last year just doing the ON RAMP in the heat, so let's hope i can acclimate this year a little better.  After we lifted, we did a WOD that was a AMRAP for 8 minutes of 8 ring rows, 12 burpees, and 20 seconds of hollow hold.  I got behind the rest of the ladies thanks to the burpees, but I gave it what I could and went from there.

the fields are planted and I can't wait to see things growing!

Tuesday:  Tried another round of running.  One mile with boom and then 4 miles with deuce and Stella.  I was very cautious due to my foot hurting the last time I ran. I am very happy to say that for the most part, all aches and pains were very quiet.  I actually was able to mostly enjoy my run minus the humidity (YUCK).

front flower bed starting to bloom

Wednesday:  Crossfit day.  I almost didn't go because the WOD included running.  I didn't want to anger anything by doing back to back runs.  I decided to try it and if my foot started hurting, I could do rowing instead.  We started with dead lifts first and then post that, set up for the WOD that included dead lifts, hang cleans, jerks and running.  On the first lap, I was kind of disappointed because I was dead last.  Me, the runner couldn't hang with the others.  I slowly made up time though and ended up finishing third overall in our class. This doesn't happen often so I am going to brag, I am usually last or pretty close to last:)  I think because I am an endurance runner, I could handle the 2,3, and 4th 400 meter run while others were getting tired.  I may not be fast but I can run long!

LOVE new to me beers!  Love left hand brewery milk stout and this one is even better with the raspberry

Thursday:  Pretty sore from Crossfit the day before, so decided not to run and just take a rest day.  I will probably run 3 days a week for a while before getting back to 4 and then eventually 5 for my 50 miler.  I may instead of 5 runs a week, do a day of doubles to keep me at 4 days of running a week, since that seems to be my body's sweet spot for running.

love seeing everything blooming!

Friday:  5 mile run.  I like having a base of 5 miles so that is my go to mileage.  I felt much better during this run and guess what, NO PAIN in my foot!  Whew!!!! One mile with boom and stella and then 4 miles with deuce and stella.  We went out around lunch time and boy are we not acclimated to the heat yet.  It was low 70s and we felt it for sure!

Saturday:  Tulip Festival day and easy longish run.  We have a annual Tulip festival in our little town that includes arts and crafts vendors, food trucks, bounce houses, and local entertainment.  Since we had our first race coming up on sunday, we were going to stay as long as possible at the festival as we could and soak it all up.

The last few years, the bouncy houses have been all down one street which is right in front of my favorite local eatery.  They have tables set out so I figure if I eat and drink from them all day, I can sit at their tables and watch my kiddo go from bounce house to bounce house.  The arts and crafts vendors are usually the same year after year so once you have seen them once, you have seen them so we did a brief walk through but mainly the kiddo bounced and I sipped peach tea and ate festival food.

blueberry shaved ice

mining for gems

I knew I wanted to get a longish run in at some point during the day, but also wanted to spend most of the day at the festival.  We ended up leaving at 5 pm, so I headed out to run around 6 to let Stella digest her food.  It was SUPER windy out of the North.  I don't envy the runners who ran the Heartland 50 and 50K today.  Those wind gusts were horrible and the sustained wind made heading north almost impossible.  We got it done, but I burped corn dog pretty much the whole way :)  Self induced and well worth it!

Sunday:  1st quarter midget car race of 2019!!!!!  I will write a separate blog post on this but here is a picture from the day.

and one more just because

There are also photographers at the race so I am sure I will have some amazing professional photos to share soon too.  Long story short, he did amazing and we are SUPER proud of him and his ability to rally after lots of tough conditions.  Stay tuned for my recap :)

Three runs this week and two Crossfit days!  I am glad to be back in the swing of things and glad my body is feeling up to the challenge.  Have a great week!  

When to run with your young dog

Had to start out with a cute picture of miss stella:)

I get the question often, when can i run with my young dog?  What age is too young?  Why is the recommendation 12 months?  You have probably heard the saying don't do any repetitive motion with our dogs till the growth plates are closed.  What does that mean and why are the growth plates so important?

picture courtesy of Fit Fur Fun Canine conditioning

Growth plates are just soft areas at the end of bones that contain rapidly dividing cells.  These areas are where the bone lengthens.  At puberty, when the hormones start kicking in, these plates will thin and eventually close.  This is why it is important to take a baseline x ray if you think that running or dog sports would be in your dog's future to compare to the later x ray for closure status.  The vet can measure the thickness of the growth plate from the baseline to the newer x ray and advise you.  Typically in dog agility, our rule of thumb was to wait till the dog was at least a year old before we started weave pole practice and full height jumps.  The idea was that most dogs have gone through puberty at 1 year of age so even if you didn't x ray, you should be okay.

oh mr. cooper!

So what can we do in the mean time with our puppies to keep them out of trouble yet engage their brains and their bodies?

https://www.avidogzink.com/wp-content/uploads/puppy_exercise_guidelines_poster.pdf

Chris Zink, who is a world renowned veterinarian and canine sports consultant came up with this wonderful poster to help puppy owners know what to do and when.  One should note, this is not just a recommendation built on an opinion, this is years of  taking into account referred journal articles,  clients seen in practice, and case studies.  Chris also has several books out about the athletic dog including books about conditioning, rehab post injury, and coaching the canine athlete.  I don't want to sound like a salesman here, but in the agility world, she is our guiding light and she needs to be for other sports such as running with your dogs, because her wisdom can save you a lot of heart ache later!  Chris suggests that you wait until the growth plates are closed before pursuing endurance.  Well, what is endurance?  I am having trouble finding exactly what that means mileage wise. Dr. Zink  does say in her poster once the growth plates are closed (and she recommends 14 months to be sure if you don't want to X-ray), you can do 20 minutes of solid trotting every other day, which mileage wise could be way different for each of us depending on our pace.  She also warns that spaying and neutering your dogs early can cause a delay in the growth plate closure, so waiting even longer might be a good idea, since hormones do come into play with growth plate closure.   She does have many great ideas for what she calls adventure walks or hikes that are loose leash or on a long line.  She even gives you specific skills such as uneven terrain, short wading sessions, and hills to guide you through your hikes.

Hubba hubba Hubble!

I do keep finding articles that suggest no more than 10 minutes of directed exercise per month of age, but I can not find the science that is rooted in this number.  Technically, this would mean Boom would be able do to 100 minutes of directed exercise at this point, and I feel like that is way more than his body could actually handle in a sustained activity like running.  I did find an article about aerobic capacity, but it is based on studies in human children, not puppies.   Jane Killion (third link provided) states that "Puppies don’t have the cardiovascular system for endurance.  Furthermore, until they mature,  they're probably not able build much endurance no matter how much they exercise.  In human children, sustained exercise only increases aerobic capacity by up to 10%.  In adults, that kind of exercise can increase aerobic capacity by up to 30%.  Long walks and exercise sessions increase risk of injury  and yield few benefits for puppies, so endurance training is better left until the puppies have grown up."  

7 months old and looking good!

Here are the links to a few of the articles that I and some of my agility friends found that had useful information:

https://vetfolio-vetstreet.s3.amazonaws.com/mmah/48/37155337d24e34963af2fc8e4cdce3/filePV0709_Von-Pfeil_P1.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0G2avWbv5VYhz2lrMUmfXyiEV1kycF2TIhZ-a5n497zKANhzXfae7jrBI

https://www.dailydogdiscoveries.com/puppy-growth-plates/?fbclid=IwAR0G2avWbv5VYhz2lrMUmfXyiEV1kycF2TIhZ-a5n497zKANhzXfae7jrBI


https://www.puppyculture.com/new-appropriate-exercise.html?fbclid=IwAR1WRml3VAC8zpwLFLdCLSzk1TLbEw_N4PU5Sa43qPuSC6e7J6FWuEcKq_4

photo courtesy of Fit Fur Fun

What I have noted in reading several articles is that there is a huge agreement that the safest thing to do for our running puppies is to have an X-ray to get a baseline on growth plate size and then at sexual maturity or at 1 year of age, get another X-ray to confirm that growth plates are closed.  In the paper titled The Epiphyseal Plate: Physiology, Anatomy, and Trauma (the first clickable link in the list) you can see a two tables, Table 1 and Table 2 that give you a time line for when certain bones start growth and should end growth.  Most end growth at 12 months but there is a note at the bottom of the tibial tubercle that this may take 15-18 months for giant breed dogs.

Brim 7 months old

I think the take away from delving into the research is that yes, it truly is up to you as the dog owner to make the decision, but make it wisely based on science and not intuition.  Science says the safest bet is to wait till the dogs are at least 12 months or older due to the still growing and sealing of the growth plates.   If you induce trauma to those growth plates before they are closed, you can risk fractures, uneven bone growth, and arthritis to affected areas, all of which can affect your dog's quality of life for the rest of his or her life. 

Apollo learning loose leash manners

There are so many other things we can do with our puppies while we wait that cause no damage, so why risk it?  I know in our area alone, there are trick classes, nose work classes, clicker training classes, canine fitness classes, as well as foundation agility classes that you can take that work on body proprioception and skills off of the agility equipment that will help you later.  I think we as humans tend to want to rush this whole process and the best idea in my honest opinion would be to wait.  I waited to start Stella until she was 24 months old,  due to her early spay, and she has been running for 6 years now.   As for Boom, he is now almost 11 months old and we do daily walks to my son's school, which is about three quarters of a mile round trip, and has lots of starting, stopping, and sniffing both due to the child and the dog:)  We also play a little fetch in the back yard with the big dogs, as well as his favorite game of tag with our cat.  I am incorporating very short run/walks of a mile or less 2 to 3 times a week just to get him use to running with Stella, with a 4 minute run, 1 minute walk interval.  We also do trick training and I pay close attention to all of my running dogs nutrition as well.   Read the articles, make an informed decision, and have fun with your puppies!!!!

Mister on the run!

Recovery week 2

Love my lilacs!  They smell amazing!

I am calling this another recovery week because while I wanted to get back to some sort of schedule, my body had other ideas and that is okay.

This is my favorite yard in our neighborhood.  They always have the most amazing flowers!

I tried my normal Cross Fit on Monday morning, back squats and then a WOD including power cleans and shoulder presses.  While I felt great during and tried to really, really focus on form, I did something to my right shoulder that immediately starting hurting a few hours post working out.  By Wednesday, it felt slightly better, but I respected the pain and did not work out with weights the rest of the week.

smiling even though it was a suck fest!

I didn't get to run till Wednesday, and I did my one mile with Boom and Stella and then dropped Boom off and grabbed Deuce.  During my one mile, I felt fine, but as soon as we headed out to do 3 more miles, my foot starting hurting on the top (thanks ruts) and I just felt like an easy run was way too hard.  My heart rate was super high and even though the humidity wasn't that bad, I felt very sluggish and tired.  I immediately upon getting home scheduled another deep tissue massage with Trina.

I had cups, deep tissue, and cramps OH MY!  She worked out all of the kinks and I was excited to see how this massage helped get rid of some of the niggles.  

We also went to the track for practice. I had not been to actually see Andrew drive in person, so I was SO excited.  Except when we got there, he wouldn't do anything.  He would go out on the track, but he would barely go above idle.  My little speedster wouldn't race like he had been and we and the track dads were all puzzled.  Not sure if it was the fact I was there, or that tony had turned up the throttle, or messed with the shocks, or what.  Plus, add in the fact that the kiddo he had been beating had been practicing and was doing really, really good and was going around the track smoking everyone.  Sigh.  We finally got him going faster than idle, but still not the kiddo we had previously had in the car.  AH, the mind of a 6 year old.  He has done this in pretty much every sport we have tried.  We start out great or at least on par, and then we slowly deteriorate as the season goes on (i.e. wrestling, going from attempting take downs to not even getting close to the opponent).  It has to be mental for him, and I am not sure how to help him other than not do sports or anything scary (not the answer just putting that out there).  Unfortunate for him, we have already paid our dues and spent quite a bit of money investing in this sport, so he is going to have to tough it out this season and learn to overcome and then we can re evaluate.  I am hoping we can get more practice time and try and cure these mental demons, because he went from the kid to beat in novice to the kid that will probably be pulled every race.  I had hoped we had found that sport that fit him the best, but the jury is still out.  Stay tuned.  

Happy Easter!!!!  Went on a short 4 mile easy run with the dogs.  Oneish mile for Boom and 3 miles for Deuce and Stella.  Had to stop and take a picture with the beautiful tulips in City park.  The top of my right foot still hurts so not sure what to do. Everything just feels a little off, nothing really hurts but that foot.  It ONLY hurts when I run, doesn't even bother me when I walk so I am wondering if now my foot is hitting something in/on my shoe.  I will take another rest day and try again next week and re evaluate.  

Have a great weekend and see you next week!  Hopefully I can solve this mystery of my right foot and do 2 cross fit work outs this week.  Keep your fingers crossed for  me!  While I am in no hurry to get back on a training plan, my little Type A brain has been going a little nuts without some structure in my life.