Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Last Blog Before the Hunt

i leave tomorrow morning. the plane leaves at 7:40am, i should get to billings around 2:30pm central time, i will get my stuff together, do a little shopping, and stay in great falls tomorrow night. then thursday i will be hunting in the highwood mountains! i can't wait to get out there.

walking so much at work has been killing my feet, i hope i can get them a little rest on the trip tomorrow so they will be ready on thursday.

the thought of the day is simple, thanks to everyone who has read my blog, posted comments, gave encouragement, etc. i think it will go a long way while i am out there all by myself in the mountains. there is an old movie that starts out by talking about why "pilgrims" would want to go up in the mountains, and it says something like the pilgrims go up in the mountains to get from the mountains what they couldn't get from the world down below. i will be getting all of it that i can in 2 weeks! thanks everyone!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Wednesday, get here quick!

well, i have outdone myself. i was on call this past weekend, and i will be on call tomorrow for my regular week day call, well i had to get switch my call while i will be out of town (trade around a little). so i get to take call tonight too, so 4 days in a row. working 96 hours in a row before i go on my trip. good thing i was so excited i got almost everything packed over a week before the trip.

my ankle/foot is a little better today. still hurts a little. i had an x-ray taken of it today and nothing suspicious really showed up.

i did get my satellite phone in the mail too. that thing is almost as big as an old bag phone. a phone booth would be lighter to carry around.

the thought of the day is this: even when you are getting close to going on a trip or leaving for a while, do not get in a hurry and get sloppy. finish the things you are working so that no one will need to ask questions about it. that way you do not have to worry about it when you are away and it doesn't stress others out to try and get it done for you. i always try to do this, but, inevitably, there is always one or two little details that i miss. it always seems the day before i leave everything goes crazy and i have to deal with twice as much. but i do my best because i don't want to stress others or make them work harder than they need to.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Track me while i'm on my trip!

here is the web address to track me while i am hunting elk.

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0G7P3EkQzolCbLNfzeu1TyxePJ2vlpqBu

Just Believe

it has been 2 days since i last blogged. they have been 2 busy days. i was on call yesterday and worked from 8am-11:30pm, it was a long day. my foot is still hurting, friday it felt much better and yesterday it hurt a little more. it really hurt all along the outside of my foot but it does not hurt up into the calf anymore.

3 days until i leave for montana!

i am a little sad, i was going to carry a voice recorder to montana with me to record my thoughts while i was out there, after looking for the voice recorder for a while i think i might have sold it in our last yard sale or gave it away. i am still thinking about buying one of those video recorders that attached to your hat and is very small. bass pro has them for $129, anyone want to make a donation to the cause?

thought of the day: "if you want it, you've got it, you've just got to believe, believe in yourself." this is a quote from the Lenny Kravitz song Believe, one of my all time favorite songs. i believe in this life there are not many things that we can't achieve if we truly want to, and believe we can. of course, i do believe that to truly want to achieve something you should make sure it is God's will for you, but i believe people achieve things everyday because of their desire that are not in God's will. but as a Christian you should try to always be in God's will (and then that goes back to the quote, if you want it you can get it).

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Less than a week

the ankle is still hurting today. it was hurting so bad after lunch that i wrapped it with tape. i think the running is over with until i get back from montana. i may try to ride my bike or something in a day or two. i hope all the other runners reading this are doing better. in less than a week i will be sleeping out in the mountains of montana. the satellite phone is in the mail, i think i have everything else i need for the trip, most of it is already packed. i can't wait to get out there. i have been waiting 2 years to get back there and the time is almost here.

still need to shoot my bow at the longer distances to make sure it is still sighted in. i'm on call this weekend and have to work monday and tues, then leave wed. guess i'll have to do what i have to do.

here is another thought o' the day: "Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say why not?" of course it was JFK who said this and this is what i feel like i am fighting everyday in life. i don't know why people want to sit around and watch the world go by. how boring. why not try to do something new, try to do things that other people are afraid of trying. what is there to lose? grab life by the horns and just do it (that is really all of the cliches i can think of this late), etc. have fun, accomplish something new.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

R E S P E C T

i did another best today, but at a price. i ran 3 miles (so i am back on track) in 26 minutes. i think that is my best time to date at 8:40min/mile. however, my ankle was a little sore yesterday but fine when i woke up today. after i ran it was a little sore, then i put on some boots i thought would give it some support. it may have, but my ankle hurt and got worse all day long. hopefully it will be better on friday so i can run again, if not i probably won't be running again until after the hunting trip. i'm sure it'll be better though.

thoughts of the day: respect others and treat them as you would want to be treated. don't talk about others behind their back, help one another, if you are an adult act like it (just remember adults have fun too, but responsibly), stand up for yourself AND others. don't cry because someone has it better than you, take it upon yourself to have it better, don't depend on others to provide for you. i regress. have a great day!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Rest?

today was a rest day, i didn't rest very well. the new clinic has us all taking a lot more steps! we run around all day trying to get everything done. i have been there at least an hour late every night so far, and some nights 2.5 hours late. i guess that means business is good and i am getting more exercise, but i don't know how long i can take it.

tomorrow i start decreasing the distance of the runs by a lot to give my legs rest before the trip. i think i am scheduled for 3 miles tomorrow. i need to get to the bow range and shoot a bit too. i have been shooting at 30 yards a little but need to make sure i am sighted in at least out to 50 yards.

here is an interesting thought, who learns more in a conversation between a wise man and a fool? the fool has more to learn but he is foolish and doesn't learn anything. the wise man may not have much to learn from the fool but makes it a point to learn something from everyone. think about this the next time you are in a conversation and think about which side of the conversation you are on;)

1 week from tomorrow and i'll be in montana!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Hot Sun = very hard run

i did go for my run today, first day in over a week. i got up a little late. i left the house around 10:30am, the thermometer said 87. i ran for a little while, the sun felt like it was shining right through me. finally at mile 8 i decided i better not try to push it too much and decided stop running. so i walked another 1.5 miles and started running again. i ran for another mile and walked the last 1/2 mile. when i got to the house the thermometer said 99. i know it didn't get that hot, but i think that is what it felt like in the direct sun , that is what it felt like to me anyway. so i'll do a little light running this week and leave for montana in 8 days. after that i will get back on schedule and be right on track for the marathon (hopefully it will be much cooler for running when i get back).

the thought i had today came to me as i was running and i was getting scorched by the sun. occasionally the sun would go behind a cloud and i would feel so much better while i was running. then the sun would come back out and it would be hard running once again. so my thought is this: not every cloud brings rain, some bring shade, and just because the sun is shining on you that isn't always a good thing. ok that was lame, it sounded a little better when i was just thinking it and hadn't written it down. i guess the point i was trying to make was this, things that seem like they are bad can work out for the good and vice versa. so always look for the positive side of things and don't get too comfortable when it seems like everything is going great and nothing can go wrong.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Getting Closer

well, thunderstorms kept me from running today (or the forecast of thunderstorms). so, it has been a week today since i have ran. i will try to run a long one tomorrow. i will get it done. after that it is slow down time until the big trip. 10 days from now i will be in montana!

i have been trying to get all of my gear together and organized to make sure i can pack it all. i have bought 2 new rolling suitcases that i thought i would be able to put my bow and all my other luggage in for the flight. however, neither looks like it will work, they do not have enough protection for my bow. i do have a very good bow case that is ultra protective, but it will only carry a bow, my arrows and nothing else. i thought i would get something that would carry it all since they charge for every bag you check now. oh well, back to the drawing board, i think i will send one of the bags back and just check 2 bags and fly knowing my bow will be protected in the heavy duty bow only case.

here is my thought of the day: sometimes you can really screw up and fail and be honest about it and you can benefit so much from the failure. don't look at your failures as failures but as learning experiences. when Thomas Edison was working on the light bulb he was asked if he was getting discouraged and he said something like this, "i have not failed, i have found 175 ways that it won't work," implying that he was learning from each failure.

next week i will be setting up my SPOT (personal locator) and i will let everyone know how to follow my progress while i am in montana. i hope everyone is as excited as i am!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Killa

this week has been a killa! from being on call last weekend (which seems like yesterday) and this past tuesday, and staying late at work EVERY night this week, i am about to go insane. i guess i have to say business is good and i can't complain about that, i just wish it didn't make me so tired. i have not ran a single day this week. maybe this weekend i will have a chance. on monday (which is my normal day off, so i really don't get a day off next week) i will start the slow down process which is only 3 miles 4 days a week. then i have to be on call next weekend and i have to work that monday. if i can only make it until that wednesday! on that wednesday i fly into montana not to return for 14 DAYS! if i do not come back it will not because because i got killed by a bear or mountain lion, but because i couldn't come back to work after being out there, so don't bother looking for me!

i guess i have not been very inspirational this week, i have let work overtake my running schedule. i think one reason i have allowed this to happen is because i do not want to be extremely worn out when i go on my trip and because i think even if i miss a week i can still complete the schedule for the marathon. also, i have not had anyone pushing me, no one is commenting on my post anymore, i have lost all interested people. oh well, i will keep writing, at least i still read it :)

here is my quote for the day: if you get off track or off schedule, get back on as soon as you can and keep trudging. don't let a little stop in action make you stop completely. that is what quitters do, they are always looking for an out, a reason to follow the easier path. don't be a loser. but, even if you are on the right track, you will still get run over if you just sit there. so get back on track and keep moving, the best you can. i told someone today, when they asked about my montana trip, "this is not a vacation, i am not going out there to enjoy the sites, i am going out there to work my but off and to shoot an elk. i don't want to stay in a hotel, i don't need a cozy place to sleep. i am going out there to do what 95% of elk hunters choose not to do (work extremely hard), to be able to do something 80% of elk hunters can't do (kill an elk by myself). if i do not kill an elk this trip i will not be upset. if i killed an elk on my first solo do-it-yourself elk hunt i would be upset, because that would make me think that elk were not as much competition as i had hoped. the reward is working hard and sticking with them for 10-12 days." i wish i was out there right now sleeping under the stars!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Whoa

i couldn't get up to run today either. it's not that bad, i can run 6 miles in the morning, 4 the next morning and 14 on sunday, and it's like i never missed a beat! the rest does feel pretty good though. tomorrow i have to get back on track.

just 2 weeks from now and i will be sleeping in montana, out in the mountains, all by myself. but all of you will be able to keep up with me. i have a personal locator beacon that will show my position on google earth. i will try to post how to keep up with me here and on facebook.

here is yet another quote from Cameron Hanes about backcountry bowhunting. "Rugged country, thin air, primitive weapon, hard ground, wary animals and that is the easy part!" doesn't that sound incredible. i find it hard that i can't get anyone to go with me. he then lists some of the challenges of backcountry bowhunting "thirst, temperature extremes, fatigue, loneliness & boredom and fear" just to name a few. if anyone wants to go with me just let me know.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Oops

well, today i did what i was afraid i might do. i got up and decided i would take my own advice from yesterday. i went back to bed and got more rest. my body was pretty tired from all the running and lack of sleep over the weekend. i figured my body would do better if i had enough sleep anyway. so i will continue tomorrow. i am on call again tonight, hopefully i will not get any late night calls.

here is a piece of advice that i learned in vet school that i have used a few times. it seems pretty simple but it can save you some time every now and then. if plan a does not work, do not make plan b the same as plan a. you laugh, but it happens (to you) more than you think (especially men).