Posts from — April 2010

Brenda’s been telling me about this tree, this tree they pass on their walks, she and Hooper. Apparently there’s a knothole at the base of this tree, where Hooper keeps one of his prized possessions — a tennis ball.

I was told where the tree was, and all I had to do was unclip his leash when we got close and say “go get your ball”, and off he ran. He bounded across the tall grass and hooked around the tree I suspected. I found myself running so I could catch up and see where he was hiding this ball, but, too late. He trotted out from behind the tree with a celebratory strut and a faded tennis ball jauntily held in the lower left corner of his jaw.

As it turns out, the hidey hole tree is conveniently located next to the Boulder mountain bike short track race course across the street from our house. This provides an excellent location for a Sunday evening walk.

Walking along, I threw the ball and Hooper would sprint down the track and fetch, like usual. But the variety of up- and downhill sections, the berms, the ruts, added a lot of fun to the proceedings. We made our way to the middle of the course, where there’s a high vantage point and from which there were steep dropoffs in every direction. I coordinated my throws so as not to send Hooper into a collision course with any of the mountain bikers who were also enjoying the evening on the course.

After a while, Hooper & I were really hitting a groove. He was familiar with all the varied ramps and dips, and my throws were timed just right so that Hooper’d reach the bottom of a particular hill just as the ball did, usually timing it just right so he could catch the ball on a bounce with a nice leap.

And then, the capper. Hoop caught air. Hooper caught air off a jump, so help me god. Hooper is better at BMX than I ever was. I threw the ball from the top of the hill, toward this steep jump; Hoop tore off down the hill after it, bolted up the slope, and leapt for the ball as it arced over. The jump was so steep and Hooper was going so fast that he literally caught air, as he flew up and over the jump and disappeared behind the mound. Moments later, he charged back over the hill, ball in mouth, ears flapping, and I just beamed with pride.

After an hour of this, it was time to go home. Hooper & I walked back to the tree, the special tree, and I guess we hadn’t exercised enough because I had to go put the ball away in the hidey hole. According to Brenda, when he’s really tired, he puts it away himself.

Hoop hasn’t moved much since dinner.

It’s tough to put into words how special this dog is.

Riding home from work tonight, I was struck by the nice dusk light and wondered aloud to my carpool buddy what it might be like to walk up the Shanahan Ridge Trail toward Fern Canyon. She was all about it. She said she often goes trail running around there with another friend. Suddenly it all made sense. I need to combine my evening walks with Hooper and some actual exercise.

I don’t exercise, even though I should. Hell, these days I want to exercise. I’ve decided it’s time to exercise regularly, partly because I want to, but partly because I need to. I turned 42 last week, and I officially have a “spare tire”. Shirts of the “large” variety now hug my belly a little too closely. Extra large provides the tent-like drape I used to prefer but now rely upon, to hide forty-something girth.

So, it’s time to get moving, on some sort of regular schedule and reasonable intensity.

To me, exercise means bike riding, but winter around here is still being a sporadic bitch, and the bike is simply too efficient to make a good exercise buddy during the week — too long a ride is needed for any reasonable training effect. I have been thinking running might bridge the gap to summertime, but I got into road cycling precisely because my knees were giving me trouble all the way back in sophomore year of high school, when I ran the mile in track. And, of course, the first order of business when arriving home from a long day at the office is to walk the dog. How to fit in a workout and walk the dog?

So, the answer was obvious. Head to South Boulder, and walk up the Shanahan Ridge Trail toward Fern Canyon, one of my first hikes in Boulder, and still one of my favorites. I could simply use the incline to make a workout of things, walk as fast as I can, and get the heart rate up while not actually running. Hoop could come along for the stroll.

And so we did.

I had no real plan, but arriving at the trailhead at 6:30 I just wanted to get in a decent walk before the sun went down. We started off at 6:36, at a good clip. Hooper was down with this idea from the first step, but it also took him no time at all to nose out a stray tennis ball, so we had a game of fetch going as well. I decided I’d walk as fast as I could until 7PM; I had hoped I’d at least get to that big rock known as The Slab by then. Hooper seemed to be having a good time. I was huffing.

At 7PM, we arrived at The Slab, and Hooper wanted to know why exactly we were turning around. But around we went, and headed back to the trailhead. I want to do this on a regular basis, and so that is precisely why I did not overdo it tonight.

Hooper kept flipping the tennis ball in front of my feet, imploring me to toss it downrange, all the way down the hill. We had a blast.

Working on a familiar trail, I have a very obvious yardstick with which to measure any progress, should I end up doing this on a regular basis. And at the same time we incorporate Hooper’s evening constitutional. The uphill grind gets the heart rate up there, without the impact of running. Sure the downhill is hard on the knees, but I can always bring the trekking poles to take the edge off. I think this can work, and get me in shape so that by summer I can take the bike out on the weekend and actually climb some mountains, or at least post a respectable FKT (fastest known time) up to the summit of Bear Peak, one of my favorite places to be in Boulder.

Hoop is snuggled up next to me on the couch; I laid out a blanket and he hopped on up and has been crashed out for a while. So, he’s getting a workout too. Win-win.