Amelia

Thursday we found out that we are having a girl. We have already decided to name her Amelia. K came up with this name a few weeks ago, and we both decided that we liked it. What we didn't know until we started telling family members of our name selection is that name Amelia has deep roots in my family.

When I told my grandmother what we planned on naming the baby, I found out that one of my great-grandmothers was named Amelia. Interestingly it was her husband, my great-grandfather that my parents named me after.

Talking to my parents I found out for the first that had my brother or I been born a girl, Amelia was on the short list of girls names that they were considering.

The fact that we unknowingly picked a name with so much family history, absolutely convinces me that we picked the right name. Now that my little girl to be has a name my impending fatherhood to be feel even more real, and that is exciting.

Amelia or Owen

Tomorrow we will know. K has an appointment tomorrow morning at which we should find out the gender of our child. I am way more excited about this than I was for Christmas.

Inga Goes Home

K and Inga

This weekend Inga's new family came down from Phoenix and picked her up. Inga found all this very exciting and when the time came for her to go she jumped into the waiting car with out even looking back.

It was amazing how far she came in two plus weeks that she stayed with us. Most notably she managed to pack 10 lbs, on to her emciated 39 lbs frame. Unfortuantley in order to this we had make a lot food avalible, something that Berkeley and Zack to full advatage of and they porked out, Zack is pushing 90 lbs. But even more amazing than Inga's physical recovery was how hew sweet personality emerged as came to feel safe, and how she quick and easily she integrated herself into our household.

A Full Couch

While I a very happy that Inga has gone to a great home, it is sad to see her go. She was such a great little dog. Berkeley ans Zack have been even sorry to her go, they had really accepted her as one of the pack. The cats however are estacic, they love the idea of the number weimaraners in the house going down. They must think Santa came early.
I

Inga and I

Through the Lettuce and Broccoli

Lettuce Field

After talking about it for weeks I finally got off my butt yesterday and began training for my next marathon. I only went 12 miles because I had to knock off two months worth of rust. It was great to go for a long run again, a nice reminder of why I love to this. I was also reminded why I love winter down here. It was perfect running weather, in the high 50's and somewhat overcast. For a change running outdoors was brisk and refreshing.

This time of year the valley resembles a giant salad bowl. Between November and April 96% of the green vegetables eaten in the U.S. are grown here. One of the funniest things is how much the valley smells like a salad bowl this time of year. The broccoli fields in particular have a strong odor. This is not fun for K right now, one of the more bizarre side effects of here pregnancy is that the smell of green vegetable, which she used to love, now make her nauseous. This being case, she could not be pregnant in worse place or time. Fortunately the veggies smell does not make up onto the mesa where we live.

Broccoli Field

3 Weimaraners on a Futon

All 3 Weimaraners

Last night the weimaraner rescue group sent around an e-mail profiling Inga and announcing that she was available for adoption. With in 12 hours three families had asked to adopt Inga. The rescue group has selected a nurse from Phoenix as the lucky person who gets to adopt her. I am currently awaiting a phone call from her so that we can set up the logistics. While I a thrilled that she has found a good home, it will be a little sad to give her up because she is so sweet, and fits in to our household so well. However with a baby on the way we really don't need a thrid weimaraner .

Sleepy Inga

Inga

Inga Rests at Ease

Tonight I brought the rescue weim home from the vet. Even though ultimately we will be passing her on to a permanent home, I decided that she needed a name, so I have decided to call her Inga.

Inga Has a Bite to Eat

Aside from suffering bad bloody runny poop, a common sympton of stress in Weimeraners, she seems to be doing well. She has her appetite back, something she did not have at the shelter. Someone must of crate tranied her, because when she saw the bed in a crate that I had preapared for her she made a beeline for it. Berkeley and Zack are getting along just fine with her and house is a peaceful as a house with three Weimeraners in it can be.

Zack Checks Inga Out

Soon Inga will be off to the family that will love her forever, but I am going to enjoy having her around for a few days because she seems like a very sweet dog.

Poor Weim

I have wound being the contact person of the Weimeraner rescue group for my county. Last night I got the following e-mail through Weimeraner recue group, from the local Human Society, the very heartbreaking picture, above, attached.

Sorry for this pic, but I wanted you to see her real situation. She is a stray about 18 mo and in heat. How ever there is more than that causing the blood and weight loss. I have a doc coming to see her and give me an opinion as to what the issues might be. However we can not treat serious issues, nor can we spay her or put her up for adoption. I have been on vacation and sadly,it has cost her in time. So sorry, can you help her? She is sweet and friendly, but is getting very sick. let me know.

This morning I got more e-mails, that painted a dire picture for the poor weim in question. It sounded like she pyometra, an serious medical emergency. So I worked with the rescue and my vet and set it up so I could pick up the weim at the humane society and rush it my vet for emergency care fortunately the weim rescue group has the resources to pay for the emergency care. So at about 10:00 I left work and headed down to the humane society. I steeled my self for the very real possibility that all I was going to be able to do for the poor dog was to take it more comfortable environment to be put down.

In the shadow of the Mexican border and adjacent to the sewage treatment plant, the local human society is a truly grim place. As I waited for them to bring her out, I was prepared for the worst. But when they brought her out I a began to have hope, because despite extremely emaciated and filthy her eyes still sparkled, her eyes brightened even further when realized that I was taking her away from the shelter. Still I have never seen an adult weim that small, she would weigh in 39 lbs. Berkeley my adult female weigh close to 80 lbs.

Happily at the vet had god new, besides being malnourished the only thing wrong with her was low grade infection. So currently she is getting spayed. After she has healed up, she will be heading off to the Phoenix area where the rescue group has lined a couple of prospective homes for her.

Sadly I am pretty sure that I know where this dog came from. Apparently she found very near my house. About a year ago I ran into a older women with a weim puppy. Seeing that that I had mine with she began asking me questions about the breed. She had now idea that they are extremely high energy breed. It is not uncommon for people who ignorant of the true nature of the Weimeraner to abandon them when they are about 18 months old when they have ceased being oh so cute puppies, and are no 50-80 of dog driven insane by a lack physical activity.

It chills my heart to think very likely that that seemingly sweet old lady who was doting on her cute little puppy that day would in 18 months abandon that same dog out in the desert. God people suck sometimes. I am just glad this story has a happy ending.

With Fingers and Everything

K and I, went to the doctor again this afternoon. For the first time what they were showing us on the ultrasound really looked like a baby, with fingers and everything. We could see it waving its little arms around, and kick. It's little nose, ears, and eyes were evident. Then the they let us hear that heartbeat. What a profound moment, hearing the heart of my child beat for the first time. Wow

Next Marathon

It has been more than a month since I ran the Long Beach Marathon. Since then aside from take the dogs on their twice daily runs I have not been doing much running. However I am starting to feel the itch to do long runs again. The weather has turned absolutely beautiful for running. The upper 60's are so much nicer for running than the upper 90's.

So I have decided to get ready for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast by making myself hungry with resuming training for a marathon.

Have selected the Lost Dutchman Marathon in Apache Junction, AZ, as my next race. I have heard lots of good things about it, so I am excited.

Eat My Shorts

Zack Snack

Three years ago one or dogs Zack got a sever case of bloat that resulted in emergency surgery to remove a 10" by 3" section of his stomach. He recovered well and leads a normal life, except for the fact that he now prone to upset stomachs. When he has an upset stomach he takes the advice of Bart Simpson literally and eats my shorts.

Zack apparently finds the consumption of amount of fabric to be soothing to his stomach. The picture above is of an old pair of my shorts the now make up part of Zack's bedding. It is his propensity to eat fabric that has resulted in Zack's bed now being composed of discarded clothing and old blankets. After he ate a multitude of holes in all the dog beds that we bought him, we figured that we might as well give him stuff that we don't care if he eats.

The Dogs Rest in Their Beds

Meander Blue

The Soon to Be Nursery

Since I had the day off for Veterans Day, I decided to use the time to pain the room that is going to be the nursery. K chose all color called Meander Blue, despite this choice we still do not know the gender of the child. Of all home improvement tasks I think I loath painting the most. But, I managed to get the room paint with only a minimal level of difficulty, no major spill of foul-ups, so I will count that as a win.

Now that we are starting to put together a nursery, the whole impending fatherhood thing is starting to feel a little more real. My parents just bought us a crib for the nursery. K found it on Craigslist for a very outstanding price. Apparently it is some sort of ubercrib. All the fine details of it are lost on me. But K is very happy with it, so that makes me happy.

One of My Favorite Parts of the Nursery is the Nice View of Gila Mountains That it Has

Red Meat

Today the doctor told K that the pregnancy has made her slightly anaemic. Her doctor told her that she needed to eat more red meat. This has be the most fun advice I have ever heard of anyone getting from a doctor. This overturns the prepregnancy advice she got from her doctor to eat much less red meat. So tonight's menu: juicy steak!

Fossil Dig

Yesterday K and I got to go on a fossil dig. The dig was part of a class from our local community that K is currently enrolled in. I tagged along because a fossil dig sounded like something really cool to do, and because someone had to gear all the stuff for the pregnant lady.

The dig was way out in one of the most remote parts of the desert about 20 miles northwest of where we live. The creature that is being dug up this site is an ancient miniature camel, that was about the size of a large dog. Apparently our barren desiccated corner of the world use to be home large herds of mini-camels who roamed across a marshy landscape.

The dig site was on the banks of the wash where rushing water from the rare storm cut down into the layer of rock containing the fossils. The whole looks exactly like how you would imagine a site for digging up fossils, except for the 500 kilovolt power lines running directly overhead. The air was filled with a sound that resembled crackling bacon. The rock that the fossils were in was very soft and could mostly just be pulled apart by hand.

Most of the fossils where just fragments and extremely hard to spot, at least for me. K seems to have much better eyes for this sort of thing. Of all the people there, she made the best find of the day, the end of femur bone still articulated with what ever bone the femur attaches to, and whose name I can’t recall. My best find was a toe bone.

It was a pretty good time. The only really negative was the heat, we had a unusually warm day and nearly broke 100. Needless to say, all us of us were pretty wilted by the end of the day. The other thing that is a shame is that we forgot to charge the camera so we have no pictures of the trip. Two weeks from now the class going to fossil on the beach in Mexico. We are not going that trip. A remote isolated beach in the middle of nowhere in Mexico seems like a bad place to take pregnant women.

More Fun Than a Barrel Full of Monkeys

K's Halloween costume showed up in the mail today. A Barrel Full of Monkeys. That is so sweet!

A Heartbeat

The whole becoming a father started to feel a little more real yesterday. K had her first appointment with the OB. All the news good, everything going exactly they way it should it this point and both her and out child are healthy. We had our assumption of a due date in very early June confirmed.

The really cool part of yesterday though was the sonogram. We got to see the baby's heartbeat, which was so cool. I am kind of blown away by the thought that I know have a child with a beating heart.

Go Rockies

Tomorrow the Colorado Rockies play in the World Series for the first time and I am excited. To describe my self as a big baseball fan would be a lie, I can't not remember the last time a watched a baseball game start to finish devoting my full attention to the game, I enjoy a baseball game the most when it is on in the background while I do other things, this allows me to pay attention during the interesting parts and do other things during the copious dead time that baseball games are so full of.

However back when I was in elementary school/junior high I had a much greater love for baseball and followed closely. It was an exciting for baseball in Colorado, as in 1993, the summer before my 7th grade year the Colorado Rockies played there first year, and I like much of the rest of the state was swept in Rockies fever. One of the fondest memories I have from this era of my life was going to a game during their first month of existence at the old Mile High Stadium. They were beyond bad, but nobody cared and over 70,000 people, an unheard of attendance figure for baseball, packed the stadium.

As the years went by my interest in baseball slowly waned, the Rockies never got good, and I just have never found baseball to be interesting enough to follow that closely unless a team I liked was winning, and for better or worse the Rockies remained my team. Once I left Colorado, the Rockies and baseball fell even further into the background. However with there amazing feat of winning the last 21 out of 22 games which has vaulted them into the World Series, had brought them back into the forefront of my attention. Once again I am excited about the Rockies and baseball, if for no other reason than it reconnects me with the 13 year old version of my self who was so excited about baseball back in the spring of '93.

Wrap Up

I took a while but the finally posted the pictures from last weeks marathon, so this good time to wrap the whole experience up. I didn't exactly get the time that I wanted but I still had a hell of a time.

The majority of the course ran along the water front in Long Beach, so the course is very scenic, with the high light being running along side the Queen Mary, which is now permanently moored in Long Beach. Not surprisingly for an event with the word "beach" in its title a good chunk of the race was actually run on a bike trail on the beach, which fit all the classic stereotypes of what a beach in Southern California should look like. I also got a kick out the fire boats which put on a display, as seen in the picture below.


One of the the things that I will remember most of about this race is actually the drive to the race. The night before the race K and I stayed with her father and grandmother in Santa Monica. Because she is a Southern California native and has one of the best sense of direction of anyone I have ever met, we decided it would be best if K drove us down to Long Beach. Apparently her pregnancy has robbed her her once vaunted sense of direction because we made the wrong turn and wound up about 20 miles north of where we should have been before we realized we were lost. I did manage to make it the start line about three minutes before the gun went off, however because I was at the back the huge number of people in the race it was another 10 minutes before the crowed thinned out enough to allow we to actually cross the starting line.

A lot of the last half of the marathon was run through a residential area. In couple of places younger kids had set up there own water stands, something that really made me smile. It also brought some really old memories, when I was about five there was a short-lived marathon that's course ran directly along the field behind the house we were living in at the time. I have hazy memories of standing on the balcony with my parents and watching all the runners go by. I remember peppering my parents with question about what where these people and doing and why would they want to run so far.

Another Tortoise

Recently K got another baby deserter tortoise from the state fish and game department. This one is even younger and smaller than her first one, eventually it will grow to the size of dinner plate, but for now it easily fits within the palm of my hand. Her students has decided to name this tortoise Yoshi, in keeping with Super Mario themed names that have selected for her tortoises. However Yoshi is more commonly now by the nickname of “stupid.” This nickname is result of the nearly daily occurrence of Yoshi being found in the water dish, turned upside down. In the wild natural secretion would not be kind to Yoshi.

Post Race Analysis

Above is chart showing the my minute/mile pace for each mile of yesterday's Long Beach Marathon, the data was obtained from my GPS unit. I finished with a time of 4:24, far from my goal of 3:55. As can be seen in the above graph I gradually slowed down for almost the entire race. In the 10 previous marathons I run, I have never had such a long gradual decline in speed.

The last marathon that I ran before this one, in Los Angeles, in March followed the typical pattern, I able to hold a relatively stable pace until about mile 20 when I hit the wall and my pace drops dramatically.

I guess all this goes to show, some times you start a race and you can immediately tell that "you got it" that day, and some day you know that it is just not going be your day. Yesterday was the later.

All this aside I still had a great time. When they make the pictures available I will write a post about the fun parts of the race, of which there was many.

Back From Long Beach

Just got back from Long Beach, it was fun trip, the marathon was fun, but sadly my time absolutely sucked, I was about 25 minutes slower than I had planned on. Oh well, more details later.

Fired Up

It is now only a few days until I run the Long Beach Marathon, and I am starting to get so excited. I always love the days leading up to a marathon. I love the anticipation that comes with almost doing something that you have spent months thinking about. I also love it because I get make an absolute glutton of my self. My goal right now is to cram as many calories down throat as possible in preparation for Sunday's race, which will burn off 3,000 calories in a few hours. This morning breakfast, 3 pork chops, 3 eggs, and yogurt. For lunch 2 packs of ramen noodles. Mmmmm, sweet gluttony.

Last Run Before Long Beach

At the McPhaul Bridge

It is now less than a week until I run the Long Beach Marathon, so having today off for Columbus Day I put in my last training run, a leisurely 13 miler. So I decided to run up to one, one of the more bizarre local landmarks, the McPhaul Bridge.

Closed

The McPhaul Bridge is a suspension bridge that has been abandoned for decades. In its time it was no doubt an impressive structure, it was designed by the person who designed the Golden Gate Bridge. Now it stands decaying in the middle of nowhere the highway it once carried long since rerouted, and the river it spanned long since run dry.

The Gila Rive Has Long Since Run Dry

I am really excited about this Sunday's marathon. I think that I have a real chance for a PR. Also with a baby on thee way it is hard to say when I will have the time or money for a marathon. So it should be fun this weekend.

On the Bridge

Looking Good

I am very pleased with how my little office desktop fish tank has tuned out. It is amazing that has only taken me about five weeks to get it to this point. It is really a soothing thing to have on my desk at work.

Anti-Climax

So it has now been a few days since I found out that I am going to be father. While that is still tremendously exciting news, the immediate aftermath has been surprisingly anti-climatic. Despite receiving life changing news, life has continued more less in the groove that it has for the past couple of years. The big changes are still over the horizon, the only difference is that we now know for certain when this life changing events will arrive. Suddenly nine months seems like a very long period of time. On the other hand considering how much things are going to change it may not be enough time at all.

Cometh, The Stork

K is pregnant! I am both happy and and a little overwhelmed. This is going to take a while before it becomes totally real. Very exciting though.

Waiting Is the Hardest Part

Parts of the whole trying to have a baby thing are very fun, others not so much. Definitely in the not so much category is the waiting to see if success has been achieved. This is especially true when there are some signs the success possibly has been had. All this makes so difficult to focus at work. Hopefully there will be resolution soon.

Saturday Good, Sunday Bad

The Canal Access Road

For the first time in ages, I had beautiful weather for running this Saturday, when I got for my run it was a wonderful feeling 65 out. During that night it a rained so at dawn when I left for my run, the whole world a pleasant cool damp feel to it. Compared to the scorching heat that I have been running it was pure paradise, and real reminder why I love running.

A Great Day For Running

I ran 20 miles on Saturday, which makes it my second 20 miler this month, now I have only one 20 miler left and my preparation for the Long Beach Marathon will be complete. I am starting to like my chances of setting a personal record this October.

12 Hours Later Blood Was Still Coming Through the Fingernail and the Band-Aid

As great as Saturday was, Sunday just sucked. The Broncos lost ugly which always puts me in a rotten mood. Then last night I absolutely crushed my index finger in the sliding glass patio door. I smashed it hard enough to split the finger nail at its base and send blood spurting out the hole. Then I made the unfortunate discovery that the urgent care center a mile from me closes at 7:00, and so I had to drive 12 miles into town. At least it is not broken, but damn, that hurt more than anything that I have done in years. Typing without using your index finger is a pain.

A Great Weekend

Saturday night K and I went to see 3:10 to Yuma. We were impressed it was one of the best movies that we have see I a while. Great actions scenes with with an interesting enough plot to make the movie something other than a montage of actions a scenes. I have to say that I was greatly amused by the fact that they made movie with a premise of someone fighting to the death in order to be sent to the town I am living in. The prison (now a state park) referenced throughout the movie is less than I half mile from the theatre we watch the movie in. In the picture below it is the cluster of whitish building on the horizon.

The Levee

For this weeks long training run I decided to run the Colorado & Gila River Levee. Running on top of the levee caused me to flash back to my time in New Orleans. Back when I was graduate student at the University of New Orleans, I would very often spend pass the huge amount of time between my morning and night classes by running on the many levee running through New Orleans. Levee's are the idea place to run, they are flat, separate from traffic, surfaced with easy on the knees gravel, and are usually in a scenic areas.

On the Levee

Interestingly there was a time when the levee that I was running along would have marked the border between the United States and Mexico. Prior to the Gadsden Purchase, which was the addition to the continental United States the Gila River marked the boundary between the US and Mexico. As I was running it was an interesting mental exercise to picture how the area would be today if they Gila River still was the border. The key to long distance running is keeping the mind thinking about something other than how miserable your body is.

A Very Primitive Rest Stop

The run went very well, I knocked out 17 miles with no difficulty. I have little doubt that I will be ready for the Long Beach Marathon this October. I am starting to excited about it because it is now less than a month a way. I have not run in race since the Los Angeles Marathon last March, so the the itch to race is growing.

A Field Being Flood Irrigated

The first signs of fall are finally making there appearance. This morning when I woke up the temperature was below 70 for the first time in about four months, this morning run with the dogs felt wonderful. A further sign of fall was the number of fields I saw on my Sunday run being prepared for the this fall and winters lettuce crop. Soon the roads will be once again chocked with produce trucks.

Capping off a great weekend, was another nail biting Broncos victory. For the second weekend in a row the Broncos pulled off a victory in manner that I had never seen in 20 years of watching football. The Broncos choked away a big lead and the game went into over time where the Raiders appeared to hit the winning field goal. I saw this, and quickly made for the exit of the bar where I was watching the game, not wanting to hear the Raider fans celebrate. But as I was about to step out the door I noticed that the TV was showing the referee and not the Raiders celebrating. The Broncos had called a time out seconds before the kick, the Raiders would be forced to kick again, a kick they missed. Suddenly the gloom of seeing my favorite team loose to their hated rival, was replaced with the joy of having a second chance. A chance the Broncos capitalized on by driving down the field and kicking the winning field goal. What an ending, you can't find drama like that anywhere else on TV.

Agenda

I am very excited about this weekend. The agenda is full of very fun things.

Tonight: A party in Mexico with K's former coworkers
Saturday: Another 20 mile run
Sunday: Broncos v. Raiders

Truly I live a good life.

Denver 15, Buffalo 14

This Sunday’s last second Broncos win was a great reminder of why I love football. There is nothing better than watching your favorite team pull out a last second victory. No scripted drama is even as remotely compelling. Unlike other thing that you watch on TV the bad guys can and often do win in football. The suspense can not be recreated in scripted drama. People do not gather in bars to watch the latest episode of Law & Order. The surge of elation that I experienced when the ball sailed though the uprights is the drug that keeps me hopelessly addicted to football.

20 Miles

A Pre-Dawn Start

This morning I finally go.t my 20 mile run in. I got up at 5:00 in order to avoid the worst of the heat. Unfortunately I got a rather slow start and did not actually leave the house until around 6:00. Still, the weather was a relatively pleasant 80 degrees. One new thing for the run was that I was trying a visor, I have never liked how they looked, but I was curious to see if they were any cooler than a regular hat. As it turns out they work great

Following the Tracks

I started the run by following the same route along the railroad tracks as I did last week. Because I started before it got light out, I did not feel comfortable running along the roads and the railroad tracks provide a nice look route that is separate from traffic.

A Burrowing Owl Takes Flight

While running along the tracks I came across one my favorite desert creatures, the burrowing owl. There is just something about the idea of a pocket sized owl that lives under ground the amuses me.

Through the Citrus Groves

It was a very successful run, the 20 miles went by as easy they could. Unfortunately the problems arose when I got home. When I got home I found a note on the door from K, saying that she had gone out looking for me. Apparently she though that I left right at 5:00, and such I was still not home an hour after I should have been. I did have a cell phone with me, but because it just barley charged I had off in order to save power for a situation where I would need it. Unfortunately it was K's cell, so I had no way of calling her and letting her know that I had made it home ok. So she was left to worriedly search for me while in actuality I was at home floating in the pool. I think we need a better system