payton's first 5K

payton has run a number of miles alongside me & kristin, but never before has he officially run a race. this morning that all changed & he joined me & my buddy mitchell for his first official run - the 3rd annual got guts 5K. in true payton form, he we a real animal!

he was the show of the party & in fact (not making this up) at the end of the race he gave an interview on camera (one of those small flip camcorders) to an older gentlemen that had never seen a ridgeback before & was really interested in the breed.

anyhow, it was a fun morning. kristin, carol, & kasey cheered the three of us on. the race continued to help in bringing awareness to celiac disease, introduced us to some awesome local businesses that cater to the gluten-free community, & even better mitchell & i received some real positive feedback about moon tower brewing - soon to be the first gluten-free beer brewing company in austin!

payton turned 1 year old

it's been an awesome first year with payton. we became proud parent in december of last year so we've only had him for 8 months. he's been a treat & has become a very special member of our family. so special that we've booted one cat (poor bevo) & will soon be booting another (cubbie).

payton is a pure bred rhodesian ridgeback & he is such a good pup. not only is he good with people, he's also super cool around other dogs. like most kids (pups), he'd play all day if we let him. just this past week his buddy royal (he's a vizsla) stayed with us & the two of them were at it non-stop. i wish i had as much energy as the two of them have. no matter how much caffeine i pump into me i still can't get as wired as the two them were.

now that payton is a year old (birthday - august 5th) we can start bumping up his run mileage. so far, we've limited him to 3 & 4 miles run. the vet recommends we hold back another few months before increasing it too much. we hope to have him running 5 - 6 miles before end of year & next year kristin wants to take him with her for a half marathon.

we are really looking forward to year number 2 with payton & we may even get him a younger brother or sister. i said we *may* get him a brother or sister kristin - we haven't decided anything yet :)

payton makes a new friend

payton, our 11 month old rhodesian ridgeback, is still growing. i weighed him about 2 weeks ago & he weighed 82 pounds. his dad was just over 100 pounds & his mom was 85+ so we are expecting him to put on another 15+ pounds at least. of course with all the walking, running, playing at the dog park, & eating super healthy organic dog food that kristin insists on it's a wonder that he weighs as much as he does. payton is nothing but muscle; i'm actually quite jealous of how lean he is. he makes me want to go to the gym more.

as kristin's marathon training requires her to put in more miles i've been doing more & more dog walking/running than previously. the walks around the neighborhood are quite peaceful & relaxing. it's actually a nice way to wind down after work & it clues me into what's going on in our little neighborhood.

when we aren't able to hit the trail for a run & i'm short on time for a walk payton gets to hang with his friends at the dog park just two blocks from our house. payton is quite the pain when around other dogs too. he's actually great with the other dogs; it's us that he chooses to ignore. i've been spending extra time to ensure he starts coming when we call him.

usually payton dominates the park. he's definitely got the most energy, he's usually the biggest dog out there, & with the ridge on his back he just stands out in a way that catches the attention of all the other owners. this past friday, payton finally met his match.

there was a one year old great dane at the park & he was just massive. he wasn't just big, he was very lean, had a great shiny coat, & was just so masculine looking. he was very friendly with payton & the two were playing for a good 30 minutes non-stop. however, the great dane was just so much bigger & stronger than payton that he would roll payton every time the two tangled. while it looked aggressive at times the two were definitely just having fun. of course later that night we noticed a few new scratches & bruises on our pup. i suppose he's got to learn that playing rough with the wrong dog will leave him with some bumps & bruises.

our little man is growing up

i weighed payton late saturday night. when we got him exactly one month ago from this past saturday he weighed 47 pounds. not a bad size for a 5-month old pup. as of saturday night’s weigh in he weighed 58 pounds. in the last month he's put on 11 pounds. that’s not bad for a pup that is also running a solid 6 – 9 miles a week & walking at least 5 – 7 a week.

according to the dog experts he's coming out of kiddy stage & graduating into adolescence. months 6 – 18 are supposed to be some of the best. he should still have that puppy energy, yet he *should* really begin to calm down & not have everything involve so much trial & error. what kristin & i are both looking forward too is taking him to the many awesome dog parks in town. our vet recommended we wait until he’s had his final distemper shot & then we can let him loose.

out with the old, in with the older

today i departed with my a4. i know it is going to a good home; however, i am still sad. i’ve never owned a car longer than 2 years & i had this a4 for 4 ½ years. i was $2K away from having it fully paid off too. we had some good times & i will miss driving it. i remain very impressed with german engineering. a good friend of mine likes to say, “if it isn’t german, sweedish, or jap it is crap.”

so now i start a new chapter with automobiles. the old (’03) a4 has been replaced with an even older (’99) 4runner. the 4runner fits my current lifestyle – i don’t need a fancy car to pick up hot chicks (didn’t have one when i picked up kristin 6 years ago either - i was driving a civic at the time), i don’t need a standard transmission to have fun driving because now i need something that is hands free so i can hold conference calls from my car & drink coffee at the same time, i need it to be easy to haul around bikes, we now have a BIG dog (payton – a rhodesian ridgeback), & most importantly i don't need a car payment & now i’ve got a car that is paid off! NO more car payments – well that’s not exactly true, we still owe on kristin’s ’06 4runner.

it’s been 10 years since i haven’t had a car payment. i was 20 years old living in hawaii & i was driving an ’89 prelude. i suppose i’ve owned a few cars – 8 in 14 years to be exact. that’s a different car every 1.75 years (21 months). i think i like the aspect of buying a car more than anything else. not to mention my needs (wants) change as i mature. i’ve got an entire theory on male car buying (based on my own knowledge) that will find its way to the blogosphere very soon.

vorsprung durch technik

out like a light

who says a pup has more energy than a 30 year old? after a morning walk, a 3 mile run around the lake, some fun with some other pups at the park, & a slow walk around the neighborhood this pup is out like a light. no worries about him not sleeping through the night tonight. i wonder if dogs count sheep when they sleep...

my man payton

kristin & i got a new pup late last night. we named him payton, after walter payton (http://www.payton34.com/). kristin is such a sport being a packer fan & all. she really understands how much payton meant to me growing up as a kid & how much i enjoy naming our dog payton.

anyway, it's been a busy 24 hours with payton. he's almost 5 months old & he is already pushing 40+ pounds. he's a rhodesian ridgeback & when fully grown will weigh between 85 & 95 pounds. the breed is amazing to read about. they were breed in south africa in the late 1800s to kill lions - the were referred to as the african lion dog or simba inja. kristin has been eyeing the breed for sometime. greg & katie, some friends of ours, have a vizsla that we are very fond of & we wanted something like the vizsla, just a little more stout/squared. we saw a rhodesian one day down at the trail & from that moment that is the breed we wanted. i grew up always wanting a great dane - i'm sure most boys did. anyway, the ridge marking on their backs is like no other is & he is sure to stand out amongst a crowd of other dogs.

(AKC blurb about the ridgeback: the ridgeback represents a strong, muscular and active dog, symmetrical and balanced in outline. a mature ridgeback is a handsome, upstanding and athletic dog, capable of great endurance with a fair (good) amount of speed. of even, dignified temperament, the ridgeback is devoted and affectionate to his master, reserved with strangers. the peculiarity of this breed is the ridge on the back. the ridge must be regarded as the characteristic feature of the breed. )

we lucked out with him big time! he's a pure breed & he is so well tempered. the original owner had him fully house & crate trained. the original owner, andy, (a cool dude from england) then ran into problems with his landlord & now needed to find him a new home. we met andy & his family last night at a starbucks in bastrop (everything takes place at a starbucks these days it seems like) & after about an hour of talking with the family - us questioning them & them questioning us - we decided we wanted him. they provided us his crate, his bed, a few toys, a food dish, etc. for almost nothing. i even asked them if they wanted more cash because i couldn't believe what we were getting for the price. (i suppose what goes around does come around because kristin & i did try the dog thing almost three years ago when we lived in round rock & 3 months into owning this pup we ended up finding it a new home & with it came all of it's toys, food, crate, bones, etc. for free.) they are a really cool family & the mother (gilly) works at the starbucks we met at & i'm definitely going to pay her a visit next time i bike at the lost pines.

the ride home was interesting to say the least. try having a 40+ pound pup on your lap for 30 miles :). when payton walked into the house last night he was amazing. we took him off his leash & besides him smelling everything in sight he didn't bother with anything. no trying to jump on the furniture, no picking anything up off the coffee table, etc. he slept like a baby too & needed it because he's been on the go since we all got up at 5:30 this morning.

kristin popped up out of bed first (i'm on vacation right now & relaxing on my ironman training until the new year) & had her coffee. she took him for a 30 minute walk in the neighborhood & then brought him home for breakfast. both prior to & after breakfast he took care of himself outside. i then took him down to the lake at about 8:30 & he got in a good 3-mile jog at a 9-minute mile pace. not bad for a first timer in my opinion. i've heard that they can run up to 35 miles; if he can maintain 20 miles i'll be more than happy. of course i'll have to keep his mileage low as he is just a pup & still growing.

when we got home from the lake he went right to his bed & passed out. it was awesome. around noon i put him in his crate & i went to the gym for a spin class. when i got home, kristin had just come home for lunch. again, payton went to the bathroom outside with no problems.

around 2:30 i walked him a block to bark n' purr & we cruised the store. man, chics really do dig guys with babies or pups. even with the mountain man beard i'm sporting i got hit on by three chics. i picked payton up a raw hide & some healthy treats & then headed back home. i promised kristin i wouldn't open the treats until she got home & so far i've been good on my promise.

around 4:30 i walked him down the street to a local dog park. we ran together in the open field; i felt like a kid for a few minutes. then a friend (adrianne) that i hadn't seen in probably 2 years came walking in with her two pit bull mixes. payton was fond of the female & he & the male (simon) played pretty rough for a good 30 minutes. we then walked back to the house & after his evening meal of organic puppy food that we got him at central market he walked straight to his bed & is currently passed out again.

i think we are going to have a very good time with him & we'll have many great stories to share. tomorrow morning we take him to the vet for his first check up - this is when we'll really find out if he's worth what we think he's worth :)