running with 4 muddy paws: Dogs are the Best!

Struth and me after a longish evening run.

This week in the news, among many sad events, was this story on the bust of a puppy mill here in my own state of Washington. http://article.wn.com/view/2009/01/24/600_rescued_dogs_80_are_pregnant/
This is so heartbreaking. Be sure to hug your dog today, or your friend's dog, in appreciation of all the great things dogs bring to the lives of many people. Struth got extra biscuits and no bath!

In other news, it is snowing again. But nothing quite like last month. The ski mountains actually got fresh snow. I haven't been skiing once this season. Part of that is due to my main skiing partner being gone this season for work and part of that is due to an increasing fear of skiing injury. When I was 15, I spiral fractured my tibia and fibula and was on crutches for nearly a year. 2 operations later, my leg works great and I am able to do all the physical activities I like to do without consequence to that accident. Admittedly, I have a fear of a skiing injury that grows each year. As the saying goes, when you fall off a horse, get right back on it, immediately. However, when you have to wait many years to get back on due to surgeries and healing time, it makes it mentally tougher. The fear factor remains high for me and to this day, skiing is bitter-sweet.

Enough doom and gloom, this past weekend I had an awesome run with dogs and people.

Struth and his buddies Brutus and Ella joined in with Michelle, Deb, Kathleen and our token male, Owen. We ran the TMT at Tiger for about 4-1/2 hours through snow and a pretty big landslide on southeast side of Tiger. The snow was not deep but it was amazing that in less than one week, the conditions were drastically different. On MLK Day, it was sunny, warm, no gloves required. But this past Sunday, less than one week later, gloves, hat, multiple layers and partially frozen hydration packs were the reality. Not much stopping and chatting because the temperature did not allow. I don't know if my fingers ever were warm, but I did manage to snap a few photos, of course. I had made peanut butter chocolate chips cookies (without salmonella) for after. Cookies were a strong motivator to get back to the warm car. Michelle picked out the route, I had never run some of these sections and it was a welcomed change to be on different trails. Here's some photo highlights!