Peaceful Saturday at Mount Krumpet

So what’s a Mastripolito to do on a “peaceful” Saturday morn at Mount Krumpet?

Get out the paint gear and gettum painted (the outside of the house that is)... in the garage and find the right brushes, paint, gloves, ladder, back in the garage for painting shoes and old painting clothes... and that’s odd... hey Joe I think someone may have lost a dog or something...noticing that the SAME car pulled into our cul-d-sak... 10 times... and well.... set up the paint stuff... and gotta getter done... lovely day to paint... 

....you know sitting way up here on mount Krumpet you can hear everything in the valley, in the woods... and those damn dogs in the distance barking and barking and ...here comes that damn car again... ... 

I march myself down to the street in my rubber duckies & painting gear and stop the lady who is on her 15th time down our road.. What's you looking for I ask...? 

She stops and explains that her older neighbor's 2 dogs bolted out the back door and ran away... ohhh...I ask what type of dogs?..... Beagles she says... I tell her I have been hearing dogs in the distance.. hear that..I point over younder into the woods... that sounds like beagles I say and she nodded but she said that each time she tried to get through the woods she got caught in thickets... I said I would keep an eye out for them... she drives away calling the dogs... telling me the address if we happen to see them... 

I walk back to the house... thinking... you ... know... I stop and think.. and look into the distance... that damn well sounds like a damn beagle... gosh darn it.. I take off sprinting IN MY RUBBER SHOES and paint gear... I know the woods well.. as I do spend time in them on occasion.. you just need to make sure you are NOT IN THEM AT NIGHT!! JUST SAYING!!

And I know where the clearing is and where the thicket is... and I run up our hill into the woods... running FULL JAUNT at the sound which is WAY in the distance... and moving... I am leaping logs, ducking branches...clearing a path and then I see something... and its moving... and OMFG.. I see one of the beagles..!!!

I race over to it as it bellows and I stop and call to it slowly.... and it's frantic.. and I can see really old... and I get her to come near me.. and I pet her... and just as I am about to see if she will let me pick her up she BOLTS... . HOWLING...

I am now in a FULL SPRINT chasing an old beagle who BTW can run damn fast... and I manage to run back out of the woods down to my house grab a dog leash (so next time I get her she aint going nowhere).. I sprint back up to the woods and racing around trying desperately to catch back up to the howling she devil...

.... briars are ripping into my skin...THORNS...CLUNK... a tree branch nearly knocks me off my feet.... vines rip off my hat... I jump rock beds... busting through the woods ... 

....it was a chase and I was LOSING!... I AM OUT OF BREATH and not giving up... and why do damn dogs run back and forth!???!!! 

.....She finally busts out to the clearing and starts ripping through the cornfields.. I MUST be clocking in at 6 min miles at this point.. did I mention in my RUBBER BOOTS!???

Joe is frantically trying to ...I don’t know find me ...find the dog?... I could hear him calling me in the distance... AHAHAHA...wrestle her to the ground... I got you my pretty!!! Good god I was tired...

I had caught her and clipped her in the leash ...as Joe caught up to us... I think I need to throw up now.. 

AND NOW she does not wish to go... ANYWHERE...... aint no way we were moving a SOLID beagle no how no way... Joe carefully picks up the rather LARGE canine... and she starts howling like she is being murdered and slumps her FAT butt in his arms and we carry her back down out of the corn field, out of the woods, and down past Mount Krumpet.. then we proceed to WALK the half mile to the owners house... 

The older owner was soo grateful, almost in tears telling us her husband is away and the younger one (this one) darted out the backdoor and through the electric fence and then the older one darted out to follow as they were best of buddies... she tells us they were rescues that they have had them for 8 years and they came together... She said she called the SPCA to report them missing, put it out on Facebook... they are both microchipped... there were two.. the other one was fatter and slower....

I looked down and noticed that i was in my painting gear still and rubber boots and so we excused ourselves to walk the 1/2 mile back home... and told her we would keep an eye out for the other.

I had a feeling that if they were buddies.. that the other one HAD to be near where we found the first... Joe and I walk back and listen... nothing.. I hear no more sounds... I hear nothing else in the woods.. nothing.. it's just really silent... we want to WILL a sound now... but NOTHING..

I go back in the woods to where I found the first one and call the other dogs name (now that I know the name) and I listen.. I walk, and walk and walk... I hear the owner calling in the distance.. I listen.. nothing.. not a damn thing... Joe takes the truck to check the local roads... nothing... 

SO sad to think we could save one but not the other... heavy hearted I put my paint gloves back on..and Joe stands next to me... we sigh..and then he says.... did you hear that.. I did... I small deep howl.. in the distance.. IN THE WOODS!!!   We sprint up to the woods... 

I heard it again... joe goes in the woods one way.. I started sprinting another way.. I am crashing through the woods again and OMFG NO WAY!!! I see her.. !! I yell to Joe that I got her ... I clipped her into leash and yell to Joe again..... I found her.. I found her...but Joe no answer ... 

I manage to have her follow me attached to the leash... .. and we see Joe... he came a running... FINALLY!!! And we were once again out of the woods... and she STOPPED.. she NO WISH to move any more.. and she was a LARGE BEAGLE one.. and quite tired... So joe ran down to his truck to go the neighbor.. I carried her down to our yard... 

I just gotta say that I am going to put this down in my running log as TWO trail races... with some crossfit in-between .... just saying.. OH yeah and then I had to go back to painting.... and then run my 5 mile recovery run... just saying..

PS: Here is a map of where the dogs house was (white x)... the path we THINK the dogs took to get to the woods behind our house (in yellow)... the yellow X is where I found them both at separate times.. and the red circle is all the crazy running area... the blue dot is our house... 

Throwback Thursday 2006

Today is Throwback Thursday and is also approx the 7 year anniversary of my running journey.. well let me correct that.. the start of my running journey as an "ADULT". I did run a few years in high school.... but then took a little break of some 20 years or so...just to catch my breath.....

This week marks a great time in my life. Here is an exert from the beginning of the madness.. that first week of running...back in 2006... I knew NOTHING of the world that I have lived in these last few years...

The Quest 
Fall 2006  

A flyer appears in my mailbox. It’s a 5K run on September 30th to benefit our local firefighters. They are offering medals for the top three placers, hmm, medals....oh I likely medals... I carefully reread the flyer,  3.1 miles... in 4 weeks... oh heck yeah I so can do this.. no problem!  I skip across the room and excitingly show Joe the flyer.  

"Do you think a month is enough time to get ready to run this 5K?.. (how can he resist this huge smiling face of mine?  I just know he will say of course and be so supportive and provide endless encouragement, and .. well after explaining to him what EXACTLY the distance was for THIS RUNNING RACE... that a 5K is 3.1 miles.  He paused, he looked me in the eye and said, “YOU ARE KIDDING, RIGHT?  That is 3 miles, you don't even walk that far, how the hell are you going to be ready to run that far in a month?  NO WAY!” 

um.. oh... wow .. ok .. that was a bit of a bubble buster... but heck whatever.. I assume all my trips walking from....,the couch to the fridge for more wine doesn't count? whatever!  I will ask someone with a bit more compassion and who will give me the reassurance and correct answer, off to talk to the daughter.  

Who promptly LAUGHS at me... LAUGHS!  And says, “Um, no mom you will have a heart attack.” .. OH jeez... NOW I am offended.. I am NOT that out of shape.. !!!!  YOU DO KNOW I was like in cross country and track some years ago and I was kinda fast for a mid packer.. and JEEZ .. that's it.. I'm going to talk to my MOTHER!  

I call my mother. Mom’s are great at giving encouragement.  My mother will BACK ME UP!..  I am her SUPERSTAR!....   And so I ask her if she thinks I have enough time to train for a running race in a month.  I hear giggles over the phone... WTH!??? ....GIGGLES.. that becomes almost hysterical laughs ..  “How do you expect to get in shape that fast, you ain’t a spring chicken anymore, you do know you are 40, right?  .. DEVASTATION... !  Total devastation.. knocked to the ground and.... but this lit a fire... a fire so deep that it created what I am today... I will show them! 

ALL THE NONE BELIEVERS!!

Pre Training Day: So the following morning I set my alarm for 5:30am. I figure I can start off running a mile before work and increase each week until September 30th. The alarm goes off. I hit snooze. 

Training Day 1: I find my old sneakers in the garage under some boots. I will show them, I can still run. I am going to win a medal! My sneakers are kind of cobwebby. I tap them on the ground to make sure no spiders are sleeping in them, I sit down to stretch. My dog Isabella licks my face, my cat Fernando starts wrestling with Isabella over my outstretched legs, for the love of G-d! 

Jogging, why is it when you first start jogging it feels like all the extra meat on you’re ass swings? 

I jog 1.3 miles in about 20 minutes... holy shit.....I cannot breathe, I cannot walk.... and OH hell that was the longest 20 minutes of my life... EVER. 

Training Day 2: Joe offers to buy me new sneakers. I pick pink and white ones. Damn my feet look cute! Wow, the adrenalin from day 1 IS GONE. EWE this really sucks, who the freak runs anyhow!! I jog 1.3 miles in about 17 minutes. No enjoyment what so ever. 

Training Day 3: Rest. Thank goodness. 
RETHINK RUNNING THING. ****************** 

Training Day 4: I RUN like a bat out of hell. There is something severely wrong with me. Less than a mile in 15 minutes. WTF!!!! I am gasping for breath and heaving, my dog is looking at me with great concern. I am ok, hyperventilating, throw myself on the ground, temple veins protruding. WHY AM I DOING THIS ANYWAY!? 

Training Day 5: Rest. 
RETHINK THE WHOLE RUNNING IDEA. 

Training Day 6: Ass swing has lightened, oh yeah. I jog a decent 1.75 miles in 22 minutes. Wow, great. Joe asked if I was on the highway? HUH? He said look in the mirror, I look, bugs are smashed all over my face. 

Training Day 7: Rest. 
RETHINK THE WHOLE RUNNING IDEA. 

Training Day 8: After some enlightening conversation with myself, asking self why, why on earth am I running?... I am tired, I am hungry, I am sore from I don't really know what.. the weather is crappy, there are tornado watches in area, but I am going to run. I check time. I run. 

So what if the course I chose was not the best and perhaps it would have been advisable to stick to back roads or at least roads with shoulders. Yeah sorry to the huge tractor trailer who had to stop in the middle of the road because he couldn’t get around me and didn’t want to hit me.  I Cant't FNG breathe just run me over... Oh and is he waving to me to wish me well.. me the runner girl!  I smile...

HI!  oh wait that is not a wave... was that the finger he is giving me?   Mean people SUCK! I  run a clear 10 minute mile!!! 2 miles in 20 minutes, yeah!

The truth be told, I ran that race on September 30th of that year and then another race and another... and it took me a few races to not actually run in a damn cotton tshirt.. but I did it... it was slow.. and I didnt know a damn thing.. but i did it... AND I AM STILL DOING IT!  HAPPY THROWBACK THURSDAY!