My Motivation to Train

I must have a little crazy in me. I've never run a race in my life. I'm not sure why. I love to run and have a competitor's drive deep within me. So, you may be asking why I think I'm crazy?

Here is why: I've decided to train for the Pikes Peak Ascent. Why start with a small race when you can go big? Plus if I can make it through this without managing to hurt myself, I will be in tip top shape for hunting season which for me... opening day just happens to be a week after the ascent.

If you are unfamiliar with the Pikes Peak Ascent, let me provide some context. It is a 13.32 mile race with 7815 vertical feet to climb. The goal? Reach the summit of Pikes Peak. Now there are some really hard core runners who will make a marathon out if it and run back down the mountain. (I think I'll pass on that this year.)

You must also qualify for the race. Apparently they don't want people just showing up, attempting to run this thing and end up scattered on the face of the mountain passed out. So, you need to have either already run a half-marathon with a qualified race or participate in the Tripe Crown series and put down qualifying times in the first two 10 Ks. Only if you meet these requirements are you allowed to participated in the final race - Pikes Peak Ascent.

Every morning since I've made this decision, I wake up staring this purple mountain in the face. She dares me to run. She motivates me to train harder. And in the evening there is a little flicker of light on the horizon, pretending to be a star in the fading light. I know better. It is the lone building on the summit reminding me of how far I'll have to run / climb. My constant reminder whether by day or night pushes me to train. So I'll train.

What is your motivation to train in the off season?

Some First Person race accounts (what am I getting myself into?!):

• "It was agonizing. I was delirious from oxygen deprivation"
• "I guess altitude and I are never going to be friends"
• "The race began a constant search for a good "sitting rock."
• "I realized that I would have to qualify for the Boston during another race."
• "I think I'll go back to sport climbing. I suck at that also, but at least it doesn't hurt so much."
• "What the heck was I thinking? This is a stupid idea!"

Not Intended for a Bow Rack

Friends, have you ever bit your tongue when your spouse does something that you think is a really bad idea?

In the recent past, a situation occurred in my house where biting my tongue couldn't stop the words from coming out. In an effort to not be the nagging wife, I promise I only volunteered my input once. I had to say something though. In my mind it was a bad idea and I didn't want to be responsible for what may happen. So, I simply uttered the words, "Is that a good idea?" And upon being reassured there was nothing to worry about. I never said another word.

You see that lovely european elk rack on the wall in the above pic? Yes, it is missing half the skull. This is my husband's elk from a couple of years ago. It used to be mounted on a wooden plaque. It used to have the full skull intact. It used to be where my husband hung his bows.

One quiet evening while watching t.v., a very loud crash occurred producing a fine dust cloud of white shattered elk skull on the end table below.

I froze not knowing what to say or how to react. I bit my tongue and resisted the "I told you so" comment from flowing from my lips. I think I said something stupid like "are you okay?"

I honestly wondered if there would be tears.

After realizing it wasn't Elk #1, I heard my husband say something like, "You warned me. I should have listened to you. You were right." (I wasn't going to say it.)

We recently finished painting the office, and Mr. broken elk skull was jerry rigged so that he could be hung up once again. I think he looks pretty good. I kinda like it better that way anyway. It reminds me of what a great husband I have.

Is that Goat Following Me?

Here is an interesting idea: goats for packing out game in the backcountry.

Seriously! While hunting in the backcountry last year, we ran into a dude who mentioned this idea. We were discussing the problems with worrying / caring for pack mules or horses and he proceeded to tell us how some people utilize goats to carry out their meat. Although he was totally serious, we joked about how funny it would be roaming around the mountains with a herd of goats following us. (I secretly stored the idea in the recesses of my brain.)

You may be saying things like, "yah, right! I'm not falling for that" or "you're crazy. I'm not taking no darn goats hunting with me." (Some of these reactions sound vaguely familiar since I think they spewed from my husband's mouth.) Before forming your own opinion, let me explain why you may want to give it a second thought...

Reason #1: Goats are cute

Okay, while that isn't really a good reason. But I figure if you are going to have to put up with take care of them all year, they might as well be cute. And cute they are!

Although a word of caution - they can jump. Okay - leap. My friend, Garnie, who previously owned goats can attest to this. Big Al didn't see the humor in little leaping goats on the hood of his truck. They no longer own goats. But maybe if he saw the value in how they could help in packing out an elk, he may reconsider their worthiness.

See for yourself how cute these little boogers are...

Reason #2: They will follow

I've been told that your little herd of goats will simply follow you around in the woods. Apparently, they are very loyal. There is no need for pack trail or tying them up. There is probably some training involved in this, and it would be wise to test it out before venturing out on a week long hunt.

How fun would this be though? I would probably be yelling something like "come along my little goatsies!" And in goat-like fashion, straight up the mountain we would go!

Reason #3: Concealment

There has to be some validity into the fact that animals don't get as spooked if they think a herd of non-threatening animals is grazing nearby. I figure - if cow decoys work for antelope hunting, why not live goats for stalking up on deer /elk?

I realize these critters are short, so there would still have to be some type of stalking involved. On the upside - this could make for some interesting video footage. I can see it now. Crawling up in the middle of my goat herd upon an unsuspecting mule deer. Then standing up arrow nocked and loaded to take my trophy deer. Yep, in my dreams. I would then have to change my name to something like "Heidi" or "Hunts with Goats"

Reason #4: I'm tired

I've often been referred to as the mountain goat in our hunting group. This is probably due to the fact I don't mind climbing straight up the mountain. To me it makes perfectly good sense. It is the shortest way to the top. However, if we start venturing any further into the backcountry I would gladly welcome the option to lighten my pack. My legs are tired.

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While I seriously doubt that I'll be able to convince my husband on the whole goat thing, if you are interested here are a few websites that may help:

• Northwest Pack Goats
• North American Packgoat Association (above photo taken from gallery on this site)

Oh, and one final word of caution before purchasing goats: Research your goats. You wouldn't want to end up with a kid that does THIS. (Could make for an interesting trip out of the backcountry!)

Forced Competition: A Short Rant

I like guys.

I don't like competing against them (usually). But if you force me to - I will!

Growing up with a younger very athletic brother produced a sheer will deep inside me to stay in the fight as long as possible. A friendly brother - sister competition existed in our household in almost every activity. Since my bro is younger than me, there was a brief moment in history where his legs were shorter than mine which meant that backyard races usually were in my favor. These races provided the opportunity for me to gloat a little each time I would sprint across the finish line just ahead of him. However, the gloating of winning first place didn't last long and soon he could beat his big sister at pretty much everything. (I think I could still beat him in archery even though he claimed the sniper "top gun" thing. Whatever. Like that's cool.)

The motivation to push harder and obtain that coveted first place along with the bragging rights never really goes away. My competitive events growing up included talented things such as... racing down ski slopes at unsafe speeds, trying to nose dive the jetski to launch it out of the water farther, producing the better spray while slaloming on the lakes, or jumping a huffy bike off the river dock the farthest. I must say that I did have to draw the line on things like... jumping off bridges or lighting myself on fire. You know, the type of activities that mom only found out about long afterwards. Anyway, I've recently found myself in competition mode once again. A little competition I think is good, as long as it doesn't consume you.

That is the struggle I've been dealing with this past week. To be quite honest, I was mad. My feathers were ruffled and I felt like stomping around like a two-year old repeating the phrase "not fair"! But then after realizing acting like a young child is not very mature and remembering the reality that life isn't fair, I determined to simply suck it up and do what I know how to do best: compete.

Let me explain my frustration. We've been shooting league for a couple of years now and once in a while will enter a one day tournament for fun. However, the thought of going to Las Vegas for the NFAA World Archery Festival has recently intrigued us and we were actually thinking of participating next month. So, in checking to see what all is involved, e.g., entry fees, divisions, etc., I learned something. Most tournament competitions include several different divisions, such as Freestyle Recurve, Freestyle Compound, Bowhunter Freestyle, Barebow, Senior, etc. And in addition to the different divisions, the competition is usually split up so that guys shoot against guys, and girls against girls. I realize that there are exceptions to this since the ratio of guys to girls in the archery world is far from 50:50. So, I'm used to being lumped with the guys and actually secretly enjoy it because I am dangerously close to beating my husband's score (much to his dismay.) However, I fully expected that when going to one of the biggest archery shoots in the country that there would be enough gals in the bowhunter class to have their own category. I was so wrong!

As of now we've decided not to contribute our $175.00 entry fees this year for the Las Vegas NFAA tournament. However, I think I still want to shoot the tournament someday because the thrill of the event intrigues me. Plus there is a small chance that I could be good enough someday to finish towards the top and if I do - the guys will just have to deal with being beat by a girl. It wouldn't be my fault though. I didn't ask to be in their category.

So, what do you think? Am I being silly? Do you think there should be a separate category for women even though there aren't as many gals competing? What is the magic number of gals needed before separate categories will be considered? Should there even be separate categories? As a guy - are you okay with competing with girls?

(play fair in your comments... or I may have to execute my power of using the delete button)