If the horrors coming from my bottom are any indication, I managed an accidental gluten poisoning somewhere in the past few days. Ugh. Nice reminder of why I did not act on the urge to test it, unless I acted unconsciously to test it. Regardless, it's not fun. I especially hate the odd smell associated with it. Bleck.

On the other hand, I'm making some serious headway in getting set up to start moving tomorrow. Just a few more details to work out and I can start seeing about rallying the troops. Here's to a new spot. Might spend some time later wandering the new place checking for drafts so I can get them sealed before moving all my junk. THAT would be a major step up from THIS place.

I only brought running shoes to New Orleans this time. As with last trip, three days of running felt fine, but yesterday my stomach rebelled from all the holiday food, and today my shins argued so convincingly that I chose to cut my run short by about 10 minutes. Were I not getting in my car for a 9hr drive in a little bit, I might have pushed through. The idea of sitting in that car with my body sore from pounding pavement did not appeal. I feel a bit more stretched out from my short run, but not nearly as worn out.

Leaving is always a little bittersweet, as with all family visits. Knowing I'm going back to a whirlwind of activity as I close down yet another temporary housing situation and open another (the deposit check hasn't been cashed, should I worry?) makes it all the harder to want to leave. I miss my dog though, and I want to return to the barn for the warmth of horse's breath.

If I don't have anything to say between now and then, have a Happy New Year.

I really don't have much to say. Looking forward to going and seeing my Momma and Doc for the holidays. Happy that after today we'll get more daylight every day. Looking forward to moving to the new place and getting my stuff from Atlanta so I don't have to pay any more storage fees. Excited about spending some time running with my dog and riding horses, not worrying about the bike for a while.

Yeah. I've decided. Twenty-Ten is going to be a good year.

Today I got hit with a massive urge to test my gluten sensitivity. I didn't, but the urge came upon me like the surf of the ocean, crashing against my mind in a body slam of wishful thinking and dreams.

I've never been tested for celiacs. The tests a few years back all required exposure for at least a month and even then often came back with false negatives, so I didn't bother. I was facing the urge to disbelieve.

So, I got online and did some digging and discovered an enzyme that helps ease the symptoms of gluten intolerance. It doesn't stop the damage to the intestines or other organs, but it does make the symptoms a little less awful. That's useful in itself and I'll be looking for it in some health store chains for travel. It's HARD to be truly gluten free when traveling or eating out. Then I discovered a new testing lab. If I had the $365 to spare right now, I'd order the test myself since I don't have to go through a doctor for this group, but it'll have to wait. The test checks for evidence of gluten sensitivity AND checks for DNA markers for celiacs as well as for lactose and casein intolerance.

Many people with gluten sensitivity are unaware of it. They may have symptoms that no one pays attention to (bloated, acid reflux, some arthritis, maybe a little anemic, random pains here and there... ) or not realize there could be a connection (children with celiacs often are mistakenly believed autistic). Apparently, this test is more accurate than the blood tests too.

Yeah, I'll have to remember to get that done when I have the cash. I think it would be a good thing.

Every time I ride Taylor, it seems he gets a bit easier and better for me. Mind you, he was never unwilling, but it takes less and less physically noticeable direction from me to communicate what I want to him. My hands barely move, I can merely tighten my grip and apply a little knee pressure and he turns. Ok, so we're only in the ring but it's at the point where I don't really much have to think of what I want him to do. Getting started is a tad slow, he gets stiff and takes a bit to warm up, but I understand that. Once he smooths out his trot nigh floats (though it's not an incredibly comfy one to sit, I've even gotten used to sitting that jouncy thoroughbred trot again). There's not much the boy wants more than to jump. I'll get back up to that soon enough. Today I did not ask for more than a trot because I noticed he was a tad tender on his back right foot and had another lesson an hour after mine with a girl that does almost nothing BUT canter and jump. I figured if he was about to get an abscess on his hoof from all that mud and rain, I'd not be the one aggravating it.

Still, he continues to be such a pleasure to ride. What was even more of a pleasure was as I walked up he looked and saw me coming, perked his ears and gave every indication that he was downright pleased to see me. Mind you, he wasn't very pleased with getting groomed... seems he didn't want me to curry the dried mud caked into his fur at the girth line... and he didn't like the saddle being cinched up, even one notch at a time, but he was really really stiff too. It took a bit of walking around for him to loosen up to where he didn't feel like he'd somehow gotten into some fermented apples.

After the ride, as I was driving home, I thought to myself "yeah, running BEFORE riding is fine... but not after."

I am out of coffee. So this morning I brewed up some tea as a coffee replacement and realized it just didn't do the trick.

So, I went out with the dog to get myself a runners high in hopes that would help.

It did. For a bit. Now I want my bitter brew.

Meanwhile, it's actually pretty nice out. I mean, if you ignore the overcast it's not too cold for a late December day. I could get to liking days like this. I'm sure it won't last, but hey, it's here now so I'll enjoy it!

and she
being lazy and you know a little bit
sleepy did not
as planned get her butt moving and
go to a trail to run but
watched the rain drizzle
down
from the relative warmth of
her apartment
until the dog did
demand
his
walkies
and yet even then did she
avoid trails in the damp
cold air
but inserted chemical
warmers into her
gloves and her
shoes
and thus armed took
the dog to
the park where she walked with him
in the
cold
drizzle
for an hour
but this was not
enough for the dog
for lo the dog wanted more action than
mere walking
she did not listen
to the dog and insisted instead on
lazily passing the time
being warm
and dry
with promises to run
tomorrow

Not that it was that cold, it just was so damn damp that it felt like my fingers and toes were cold all day. I just could not get motivated to run. I walked plenty, but running just didn't happen.

Signal Mountain Blvd was closed the other day. There was torrential rain overnight a few days back and part of the road was washed away. That morning I ran up a road normally too dangerous to walk and looked at the 20' wide hole in one lane of the road and wondered "how the heck are they gonna fix that?"

Last night I learned that the road will be closed all weekend. I foresee some dog walks up the mountain as well as another run up to the hole. It may not be a LONG run, but it's quite strenuous to run up a mountain road, even if it's not the steepest climb in town.

In other news, the holiday festivities have begun. Two parties down, not sure if there will be more. Soon I'll hie my way to Momma's for the holiday and her birthday. I can't stay through New Years, I can't afford to board Strega that long, but I'll get about a week of New Orleans time. I'll be sure to pack my running shoes!

Today I went for a swimmy-swim. Sure, I could have done spin class with everyone else, but it just felt like a swimmy kind of day. Must be all the rain.

Anyway, I figure I better follow up on earlier stuff before anyone thinks "oh Cat must be crippled." A few days rest and the shin splint is no more. I should be fine for tomorrows planned little morning jog.

Also on the days agenda will be another bit on horseback. I'm so loving getting back into riding. I could wish I had the means and lifestyle that would allow me to have a horse of my own, but such is not to be. I have to make do. As it is, there are two wonderful horses at the stable I can enjoy riding and it's been a fun little bit of cross training for me.

In other news, there is no other real news. It's December. It's raining. I'm gaining weight because I'm stressed out and eating too much but can't seem to care enough to stop the madness. I think things will settle back down after January though. At least I should be better able to figure out what I'm doing then. After THAT I can recoup and get back to life as it should be.

Yeah.

So, that's the news.

My body is not my friend recently. Well, actually it's just the lower legs that are not friendly.

Yesterday Strega and I went for a 16 mile run for the Fat Ass, and I finished tired. I walked soreness out of my legs with Strega a few times as the day wore on, and this morning woke with legs aching. So, after breakfast I took him out to another trail and figured I'd hike a while. It was beautiful with snow still scattered here and there. Here's the thing though.

My left ankle still gets tweaky if it starts to roll with weight on it. No worries if I don't get unstable, but worrisome if a rock slips. On the return to the car this morning, my right shin started to ache. Soon it became a constant pain. Now, an hour later, it still hurts to pull my foot upwards (heels down, toes up). Going downhill was pretty sucktastic. Uphill wasn't much fun either. By the time I got to the car, walking in general was pretty agonizing.

I'm starting to think it's a conspiracy on my body's part to make me get fat and lazy.

It's supposed to snow tomorrow. This should make it perfect for the Fat Ass run out of Kris and Randy Horton's place. I have low expectations from myself, but look forward to getting Strega worn out completely. Yes, that's right, it's time for a return to the Fat Ass run that so decimated us both last year. It should be a good measure of my determination to complete roughly the same route as last year. I doubt I'll be any faster than last time of course, but it's about my favorite set of trails when going out there alone.

If it's snowing, well that should merely add to the beauty of the run. It's a glorious thing to run while the flakes come tumbling out of the sky. I especially love the big fluffy chunks of snow that came down last year while I was staying in Decatur. The thought of walking and running in the silence that descends with such a snow makes me smile. Smile and crave hot chocolate. Maybe I should pick up some hot cocoa tonight. I think I'll need it.

Today I got back on the horse. A few days ago I was peacefully drifting in slumber with only the vaguest of dreams lighting my brain when my half-baked dream images conjured up a dark bay horse under me, and it kicked. I know this because I woke from my legs instinctively trying to clamp around the barrel of the dream-horses body.

So, today I rode Taylor again. Taylor, it turns out, has some lousy manners with other geldings. While I was trying to groom him prior to tacking up, he angled around with ears flat and kept trying to angle around till he finally got in range to kick the gelding tied at the other end of the hitching post. I'd thought he was acting out against ME, but that was my lesson in Taylor's attitude problem. I also learned that unlike the horses I'm used to dealing with, he's much better with a slow cinching up of the saddle. I'm much more used to a horse that you have to tighten that girth on quick before it shoots out from under the saddle and makes for the road. Once tacked up and under saddle though, Taylor turns into a wonderful horse in the ring. I know my legs are getting stronger for the action, and I'm trying to improve my balance side to side, but we worked up a nice little canter for a bit and I remembered the joy of it. It's a glorious thing, to let your body remember the joys of its youth.

I'm back up and running.


On Friday evening the hard drive on the computer died a glorious death, leaving me with only an iPhone for connection to the wider internet and no way to do my job. Today the replacement hard drive arrived and I've been working to get my aircard working and everything else back together ever since. As of now I at least have connection, though all my old emails and such have been lost. Hopefully I can regain some of my lost email addresses and contacts, but I fear some is lost forever.

On the other hand, I've had lots and lots of time to read. I've knocked out a small stack of novels over the past few days while waiting impatiently for the hard drive to make an appearance. I'm about halfway through American Gods now, but I'm happy to be distracted by the sudden re-connection and ability to do some of what my job entails. Now to re-acquire the contact sources I need to work with!

Yesterday I got my first riding lesson in ages. The horse's name was Tucker, a bay Thoroughbred gelding initially meant for the track but now having nice ring manners. He stands 16.2hh. As I walked and trotted around the ring doing 2-point and posting and transitions and practicing transitions and such, the instructor watched and made statements like "drop your heels" and "your angles are great, just bring your legs under you a bit... perfect!" and "ear, shoulder, elbow, hips are all lined up perfectly" and "Well, you have no trouble with that, most people after a long time off the horse don't remember to lean forward to a 20degree angle when starting the post, but you got that right" and then I had to tell her my legs were tired... it didn't take long. She seemed to understand that. We later talked about what I do for a living and that I'd like to do this regularly, perhaps twice/week if I can fit in the daylight and pay the club fee. At least until I find out if I'll be in the area after January. Then maybe something else would have to be tried, but I told her I'm determined to have fun, enjoy horse time and regain the muscle tone so that if I ever ride that Belgian again, he has more trouble throwing me. Mostly though, I appreciated riding a horse that I didn't have to fight every step of the way. What a pure pleasure that was! It made me wonder how he'd do on the trail... and that got me thinking I needed to stop thinking about that.

Today is Thanksgiving and I can't decide what I'm most thankful for so I took Strega out to one of my favorite loops (only 9-10 miles) to run. The first half of this loop I feel pretty good about letting him run loose to chase deer and get the initial spasms of energy bled off. Then we start climbing up up up and I tend then to hook him to the leash and get him trotting easily behind me. The second half has too many cliff edges that make me nervous, and I get far more nervous when I see my beloved dog standing at the edge of one at attention with muscles quivering in excitement while he tries to decide how to leap down it after some wild beast or another in the distance. By the time we reach that point he's usually pretty content to trot along behind anyway, the first half takes about an hour so he's fairly relaxed. Then once the danger of precipices is past and we're on the last little bit heading back down to the car, I let him back off the leash. He stayed close anyway, a bit worn out though not dragging too badly. I stumbled a bit there at the end. This time, it was my other ankle that almost gave. I corrected before there was a snap, but it wasn't pleasant and I limped a few yards before I could get back to trotting along. I was cursing, wondering if I'd ever get a good trail run without incident again, but decided that I will. This was nothing. By this weekend, I should be ready for another run. Maybe not a 2:14hr run, but another one none the less. Another riding lesson as well. I can feel the muscles I'd not needed in so long aching just a tad even now. I wonder if riding will help my running, swimming or cycling any?

I'm not even sure what icon to use for today's adventures. I'll go with "en guard" because I've not used it in a while.


My adventures began simply enough with a very pleasant lunch out with a friend. We chatted merrily and seemingly endlessly until the food was gone and it was time to go swimming. Mind, we originally were going to go cycling, but it was drizzly raining and neither of us wanted to ride in that, so then we were going to spin on the stationary bikes, but then I thought how nice a swim would be and there was an end.

We swam, and found that it was good, and after a while we moved to the hot tub because that is also good and there in the hot tub was a man. This man was large. He suffered from dunlap disease and a distinct lack of exposure to sunlight. He was sitting slumped such that I could not be sure as I tentatively stepped into the hot tub if he was in fact wearing anything at all or not. I determined that it would be best not to look and tried not to when suddenly his massive form surged up. My mind registered that he was wearing something baby blue with... what are those, flowers??? Little tiny flowers patterned all over it and what's that on the back... a tag showing through??? How can that...
I looked at Celeste, eyes wide. The man spoke to me, forcing me to look back at him and realize that my friend and I had left him "in a pretty good mood" before he whipped a towel around himself, a towel whose edge disappeared under the flap of his belly immediately. Then with hardly another word, the man turned and disappeared with me staring back at Celeste in sheer, unadulterated horror as the truth struck us both. The man had obviously decided that speedo's look a lot like ladies panty briefs, and so rather than buy the real thing he'd just gotten some women's underwear to put on for his hot tub time.

Wow.

Ok.

We were still stunned by this after dessert at Greenlife, but I had to get home to my sweet Strega-dog to walk and feed him. I decided since there was still some daylight that we'd go see if I could find the right trail to get to Mushroom rock this time. Knowing how fast the sun goes down, I grabbed a headlamp from my purse, just in case and thought how clever I was as I did so. Then we went off onto the trails.
As soon as I turned off onto a trail heading away from readily notable civilization, I started laying back arrows made of sticks and twigs to help me find my way out. I felt really clever. This should tell you things would go awry. I reached a point that was definitely not the right way but it was starting to head towards dark and I figured it was a good time to turn back anyway, so I called to Strega so he'd know to start back and off we went. We got to the first spot there should have been a back arrow and... I didn't see one. I looked and I looked down trails and I said "Uh... crap, did I miss a spot for an arrow??"
Well, I picked a direction and started in it. I saw it was getting dark and kept looking for familiar trail signs and realized it really didn't seem right but maybe I'd forgotten. Things often look different as the light dims. Then I saw a spot I KNEW I'd remember if I'd crossed it before and turned around. Now, it was getting pretty dusky and I wanted out of there. I jogged back to the intersection and headed now to the left. I VERY quickly established that was wrong, and decided I didn't want to keep floundering, it was time for a phone call. Fortunately, I had signal. Equally fortunate, Dreama was answering. I didn't waste time. "I'm lost."

I described what I'd crossed and where I was and asked "what direction should I turn" and she told me. I looked, I looked again and noticed there was a second "right" turn. There, suddenly, I saw my back arrow.

With renewed confidence, I hightailed it down that trail, Strega now back on leash as it was getting quite dark. I pulled out my headlamp and pushed the button to turn on the light. Nothing. I pushed it again as I walked. Nothing nothing nothing. Crap. I realized that I was about to be out of light and relying on my cell phone to find my way. That's when I topped a hill and saw the lights. Ah, civilization. I also saw my next back arrow. I looked at it, and I looked straight ahead, and I saw that straight ahead brought me to a street, and that beyond the next treeline was a building that looked like it was very likely to be the back of the very building I'd parked in front of. It wasn't particularly CLOSE, but if I went straight I'd be on a road with streetlamps instead of winding through the woods with no light. I went straight. I heaved a sigh of relief to be on the road with street lights as the fog rolled in, and an even bigger one when I confirmed that the building on the other side of that hill WAS in fact the back of the building I'd parked in front of.

Today's adventure was discovering a car show in Fort Oglethorpe. Unfortunately, my camera was in my other purse, so I had to make do with my iPhone. Also, I had Strega-dog with me which limited the time I could spend getting any one shot. Still, I had fun. Pictures behind the cut.
( Read more... )

(PS, second to last is my favorite)

It's been one hell of a day.

This afternoon I took a circuitous route to go see a man about a horse. I was severely humbled upon realizing that this horse wasn't under western saddle but English hunt seat. I was more humbled to find myself lurching on the horses back like a beginner. At first my body seemed to remember what it was doing, then suddenly I didn't. I got myself under a semblance of control, but then the horse decided he was done with me. After a third buck, I landed on the ground. When I tried to remount, the saddle slipped. I started to try to retack it, the horse took off, broke his bridle and... I spent the rest of the day mucking stalls and sweeping the barn while wondering if the owner was annoyed and just being nice by not saying anything. When I finished sweeping I went to help him get his horses (the one that kicked me off and the one he had been riding which he turned out soon after). I got to the back pasture in time to see the horses run into the woods with him chasing behind, one of his dachshund's barking at the horses heels. I waited for them to come out the other side, figuring if the went around again I'd herd them through the gate heading towards the barn. They came out, looked at me, looked back and eventually here came their owner back out behind them. The dog must have gotten underfoot when they started trotting back towards me. I was ready for them when I suddenly heard the yelping cry of the dog. The horse I'd been riding had stepped on him. They stopped near me, I saw the one had on a halter with the lead rope dangling behind him, the other was still loose. The owner had his dog in his arms. I got the lead rope, patted the horse and told him I had it, go see to the dog.
The dog was ok.

I still feel humbled by the whole thing.

and then this morning for breakfast he's a good boy again, attentive and acting for all the world like he's subordinate and willing to take direction.


I may need to get his thyroid checked.

I admit it, he's driving me insane. Actually, he's just bugging the crap out of me. Why is it I was able to help Romeo overcome so many of his issues and Strega instead just piles on more without ever overcoming the old one? He's not neurotic and nervous, but he's got some other serious issues that I keep dealing with over and over and over again.


He's not a dominant dog, but he is assertive. Fine. Ok. So I do all the "I'm in charge" stuff every day, keep consistent and what does he do? Growls at me last night at bedtime for giving him the same loving pat and kiss on the head he gets every damn night. He's settled into our location and has had time (considering how quickly he tends to adjust to new situations) to acclimate to my current schedule and routine but what does he do when I leave the place? Get's in the trash and last night ate a bunch of wintergreen Trident gum. He's been known to counter surf when I left for a bit in the past, but the trash and the gum is all new. He's even tried counter surfing with me there, with me sending him from the room. He's becoming one of those "I wont be controlled no matter what you do" dogs that laughs at positive reinforcement as "free treats" and refuses to do right if the treat isn't right there in hand. I'm getting so frustrated I'm starting to fantasize about being dogless. Something has gotta give.

Late night resolution. I'm going to get back on track (again) with eating habits. I need to detox.


Of course, I do have some breadlike items I will have to eat before they go stale, but that can be breakfast. Then it's juice, mostly raw veggies and walks.

Of course, it's bedtime and hence easy to steel oneself to these kinds of resolutions. Tomorrow when I meet my friend for aquajogging followed by Thai food, I'll forget I made it.