Monday Musings...seriously?? you do that??

I awoke suddenly to the sounds of sirens.  That brilliant wail piercing through the chilled night air.  It sounded like it was right outside my window.  Momentarily I was miffed...how come the pager hadn't gone off?  Why was I not on that truck?  Who didn't invite me to come out and play? Then I remembered.  I was far from home, staying in downtown Indianapolis for a conference.  I wasn't home and those sounds didn't belong to my department.

But that didn't matter, those sirens do something to me.  I was instantly on high alert.  I could feel my adrenal glands instinctively reacting to the high pitched welps.  It's the old fight or flight response that is hardwired into us from an earlier time when there was danger everywhere.  Do I stay and fight or it is time to hit the dusty trail?  My senses become heightened and even though it was 3am I was wide awake and ready to go.  The same thing happens at home when the pager goes off during the night.  We go from being in deep deep sleep to awake, very awake.  There is a surge in blood pressure, body temperature, and heart rate.  Respiration elevates as we start to go through a quick mental checklist.

I remember the night of my first fire.  It was a warm July night at about 0230 when the pager sprang to life.  There were a string of multiple tones indicating that something serious was going on.  Each tone is a different department getting activated.  Firefighters just like me being awoken all simultaneously for the same job.  We were headed mutual aid to Pittsfield for a single family unoccupied structure fire.  From the end of Rt 126 as we turned left onto Rt 28 the orange glow hung low in the night sky.  This was no false alarm.  I was in the middle seat in the back of the engine and I was fumbling the straps to my airpack, making sure I had a flashlight and a radio.  Note to self...next time grab the radio and flashlight before cinching up the straps the SCBA.  I was thanking myself at that moment because I had taken the extra 10 seconds to put my contacts in.

When we pulled up on scene the house was fully involved.  Our assignment was to attempt a stop before the fire destroyed the garage.  Getting down onto our knees, we quickly donned our face masks, tightened our helmets and put our SCBA regulators into place.  We advanced our hoseline into the door and I think we made it about 20 feet into the breezeway connecting the house to the garage.  The flames were lapping furiously across the ceiling above us and the heat was hot, but not unbearable because of our protective clothing.  We were here to dance with the devil and send him packing.  This was everything I had spent the last months in Firefighter 1 getting trained to do.  And everything worked like clockwork.  We made the stop and saved the garage.  As I sat in rehab later that morning the past two hours were surreal.  Had I just done that?  This had to be a dream, but it wasn't and I had done exactly as I had been trained to.  And I wanted more.  Little did I know that the next month was going to be a wild and crazy ride and would serve as the beginning of my fire service career.  Days later I would be at my second fire and weeks after I would be in the first truck on scene of the aftermath of an EF-2 tornado that directly hit our town.

In the garden of..

Each spring I get high hopes for my "garden" and I have decided that after 5 years of poor yields that I am just not going to do it.  So this year I have planted some shallots and garlic...and if they take great and if not well I am just going to let it go.  I do have a successful herb garden and my inside plants look great.  My next project will be to plant my rosemary that I picked up this morning.  Just trying to decide if it is going to go in the ground or live in a pot.  While planting that I also have a spider plant cutting that wants to live in its new home as well.

I love fragrant herbs and you can find lavender, chives, sage, thyme, and mint growing around my yard.  I can't wait until my yard looks older because right now it still has that "just moved in" feel to it.  I love older homes with their well tended and well loved yards.  One of these days we will get to landscaping our backyard with a stone patio, pergola, and built in fireplace.  I want my yard to be our little sanctuary and I want it pretty as well as functional.

And if it weren't for the onslaught of black flies, I would be out tending to my yard before the rain moves in.  But I was forced back inside with new little bites all around the back of my neck.   For a cloudy day, it's been delightfully sunny here in Barnstead.  The windows are open and a gentle breeze is blowing through the house.  The only creature not enjoying the breeze is the cat who has decided she needs to live in the basement again.  But as seen in these photos, she does come out of hiding every once in a great while.

I am also making steady progress on John's sweater.  I am well more than 3/4 of the way done with the body of it and have used up at least half of the total yardage of yarn.  Good thing too because in my mind I am already onto my next project.  I have some cotton yarn I want to use up with a knitted tank top.  Simple yet pretty.

And since I didn't run this am, here is to hoping for a dry run on Sunday morning.

What (not) to wear

Now I am not one to use my girl card very often.  John tells me that someone who runs voluntarily into a burning building and can use a chainsaw doesn't get use of her "girl card" EVER.  I should've thrown that away when I joined the fire service, but at times I still need it and this afternoon well it was out!  Oh the decisions I had to make when trying to decide what to run in this evening.  I started with my BFR running shirt and black EMS shorts and that wasn't cutting it for me, so then I tried my navy blue tank and black shorts.  Nope that didn't work either.  Next I dragged out the running dress and contemplated putting that on.  Okay didn't do it for me.  So then I got out my North Face running skirt and back on went the BFR shirt.  That shirt soon got stripped off and exchanged for the tank which I then paired with the running skirt.  Holy smokes!  Man was I rocking it!

And I even made it out the door in time for the race.  I do not recommend the North Face running skirt for anything longer than a 5k or even for warmer weather.  It's got a nice lightweight feel, but the shorts underneath do some not so nice rubbing.  That is where the infamous chub rub (aka Body Glide) came into play tonight.  That stuff saved the day so I could look oh so trendy out there.

Props go out to the folks at NHTI for putting on a slick Friday evening 5k.  It was a nice run through the campus with some off road trails in the middle.  Tonight I finished at 29:17 (it was a wee bit warm) and 20th overall in my division.  I finished dead smack in the middle of the pack at 250 with 500 runners total.  

Oh just heard the horn in Pittsfield...time for the hoodlums to get in for the night.  And with that I am off to do some knitting!  

WIP Wednesday...changing the pattern!

We watched an episode of Channel 5's Chronicle on Monday night and it was all about running.  Tonight John and I started out on our little trek trying to train our brains and change our gait patterns.  The whole point was to avoid the heel strike to decrease the overall force that each step produces.  This is the theory of minimalist or barefoot runners.  I must say my first mile was around 8:30 and the second mile at around 9:30.  Super fast for me.  John just dashed my theory and said my first mile was that fast because I was running downhill.

By not leading with the heel, you land on the front part of your foot and in the process actually speed up your cadence.  It's a great theory and it's going to take some time to change the way we run.  I hope by changing our pattern that my IT band pain will go away and maybe I won't feel so tired so fast.

On a side note, did not get as much knitting done as I would've liked last night after we made two trips to Belmont.  The first was for ice cream at Jordan's and the second was for a 3rd alarm structure fire.  And as we were heading to Belmont in the fire truck, I got to thinking that the mint chip ice cream in a waffle cone was not such a good plan as it sat like a brick in my stomach.  Someday I will learn...but it sure was tasty!

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

I was given permission to use the roads for the 5k so the Barnstead Firefighters Association 5k is offcially off the ground and we are ready to run with it.  Pardon the play on words!  Mark August 25th on your calendars for this inaugural race!  There will be t shirts for the first 150 people registered and it will start at 9am.  The race is an out and back along the scenic Barnstead Parade.  It is a flat and fast course so if you are seeking a PR then this is the race to do it.

Also got out on the bike today because in the back of my mind I did say I would do a sprint triathlon this summer.  And last check of the calendar, the tri is just under three months away.  I put almost 12 miles in this afternoon on dirt and paved roads.  And yes, the hills of town kicked my butt again.   Thanks to our vacation a month ago, the bike seat wasn't all that painful and I can actually sit on my duff this evening.  I can't swim yet because the water is still on the chilly side.  But if I can get some swims in early June and throughout the month I should be ok.

I look forward to the challenges the months ahead have to offer as I put together my first road race and train for a tri.  Looks to be a fun filled summer with new and old friends!

Monday Musings

I sit here on yet another abnormally warm evening wondering what possessed me to start a sweater at this time of year.  It's actually going quite well and coming along nicely, but it sure does get warm sitting upon my lap as I add row upon row.  This is the second sweater I have done from the top down and it seems to be my new favorite approach to sweater making.  My bottom up sweaters have either been way too long or way too short.  At lest from the top down I can get a more accurate look at how it will look before it's done.  I am two weeks into it and more than halfway along.  I am now at the easy mindless portion so I can sit back watch some playoff hockey and keep my fingers busy.  Always planning ahead, I am going to knit myself a top down hoodie next.

Busy week ahead for the Savages including a trip to the selectmen's meeting tomorrow night so we can start to move forward with the Barnstead Firefighters Association 5k.  And we will round out the week with a Friday evening 5k up in Concord as part of CARS.  It's a mere 26 days until the Big Lake Half and I am really looking forward to my sushi dinner apres run!

Our little run this evening was hot, but we were going to head up to Belmont to Jordan's Ice Cream after our showers.  I decided to check on their hours to make sure they would still be open when we got up there and it's a good thing I did because they happened to be closed today.  Bummer!  Guess there will always be tomorrow...

Damn you junkyard dog!

I finally got out to run yesterday morning and started early in the am before the temps started to warm too much.  I had a great pace going at 9:20 min/mile until I hit my second mile.  I could feel my mojo coming back and this seemed fun.  Until suddenly I had this snarling, barking, growling pit bull chasing me down the road.  The kicker was that the door to the house was open and several vagrant looking children were playing in the yard.  Ever hear of coming out to check why your kids are yelling and your dog is freaking out?  Although this is the same house where I once saw a small boy of about two left unattended and wandering in the road so maybe they just don't care.  They definitely get my "Parents of the Year" award.  And while out on my early morning runs I usually encounter a Barnstead police cruiser at least once in my travels.  Yeah no such luck Saturday morning.  So I will give the homeowner a reprieve this once...next time not so much.

And this being just one of the several junkyard dogs down on this stretch of road so I am always on the side of caution.  More often than not they are all tied up or fenced in their yards and they just bark a lot.  I was just thankful that I didn't have Scout with me because she does not take kindly to being chased by another dog and doesn't realize that she is a mere 15 pounds of fur.  Not really a match for a pit bull.

Thanks to another firefighter in our town who happened to be outside his garage when I walked (notice I was not running anymore) by because the damn dog was still nipping at my heels.  He offered to give me a ride home and I politely thanked him, but I still had 5-6 miles to cover.  So he ran interference while I continued on my way.  I never did regain my pace because I tackled some serious hills.  I made it to my water stop at mile 6 and decided to buy a new fuel belt yesterday.  The rising temperatures and warmer sun have made it necessary that I start carrying some water with me on my long days.

And I have to send out congratulations to Phoebe and family on the birth of their baby boy yesterday.  She can be found here on the interweb and I am looking forward to hearing about her new adventures with baby as she gets back to running.

Afternoon on Blue Job

Took a short walk after work today up to the Blue Job fire tower over in Strafford.  It was a gorgeous afternoon to be out with John and the little dog.  The wind gently blowing to keep the black flies at bay and the warm spring shining on our backs.  We head up Blue Job several times a year, it only takes a mere 10 minutes to get to the top and the views are stunning.  To to the east we could see Rochester and Dover and to the north, the big rock pile that is Mt. Washington which is covered in snow again.  All  in all one of the top ten days of spring for the views because there was not a cloud in the sky.

Now back during the summer between high school and college, I had found an ad in the paper for a seasonal job of manning the fire tower on Kingston Hill.  I thought it sounded like the perfect job for me.  Dad said I would just be bored.  But the lure of the fire tower has been with me ever since.  And today was the first time I had ever seen someone up in the tower doing fire watch.  I immediately start thinking that a trip up to the top of the tower would make a great blog post.  Actually getting to do something I wanted to do way back before I joined the fire service.  As we walked by, I chickened out knocking on the door and instead waved to the spotter before we started down.  But you can check out the NH fire tower site and see for yourself why I find these so interesting.

So if anyone reading this knows one of the fire spotters who man the towers in the summer months...well I would love to go up and visit.  Or maybe we'll just have to wait for another red flag day and head up Blue Job. And this time I will just climb up and knock...now that would make a good blog post!

Hail you say!

When it rains, it pours or hails as it has been doing off and on today.  The strange New England weather continues and right now it seems almost pleasant outside with a light breeze.  Woke up this morning to a chilly house and no hot water.  Furnace seemed to be acting up the last few days and after resetting it, it still didn't work.  I mean I haven't had a really hot shower since last week (should have known something was up).  Enter my burner service man...thankful he was able to get down to the house early this afternoon and we are back up to temp.  So thank you Matt for your prompt and professional service!

Next we are off to take the little dog to the vet.  She started limping late last week after a hard play session outside.  Seems to be favoring her right front paw and has been a little mopey.  She's not the type of dog who just lays around and wastes the day.  No sir, she has lots of jobs she feels she must accomplish.  Like entertaining her humans with whatever ball or toy she has that can be thrown.  She has to keep her cat in line and make sure Lucy doesn't get one morsel of food more than she needs to sustain life.  And she has to guard her house from all of the scary mean golden retrievers that roam our street.  It's a busy life for any critter to maintain, just ask her as soon as she wakes up from her nap by the fireplace.  At least she has had some downtime over this past week as John was sick and the weekend weather didn't scream that we should be outside working on our little yard.  However even with all the extra rest, she is still gimping about and so we will take her in the doc today and get the little creature on the road to healing.

What we do...

So you want to be a firefighter?  Really?  Did you know you have to be certified to do that?  You don't just show up at the fire station and the next day you are a fireman.  Nope, doesn't work that way.  For me, Firefighter I stretched out over almost 9 months.  ,It takes dedication, a lot of sweat, and a serious time commitment.  And I think that is where the problem lies when it comes to recruitment of new people.  People just expect that their town will have a fire department and when they call 911, first responders will miraculously appear.  Isn't that what happens?  In a mixed department like ours, you will be getting people from all over town, from all different backgrounds.  Many of us have fulltime jobs in something other than fire, but we also give back to our community in ways the average town resident doesn't and never will.  Just something to think about when you head to town elections or a town meeting because what you vote on effects everyone for good or bad.

I was lucky enough to join our department just a few months after we moved into our home.  I wanted to feel connected to my community and to be honest, John had just started a new job and I didn't know anyone in town.  What if something broke in the middle of the night or what if something went wrong at the house?  What would I do?  Well as someone who likes to think outside the box I joined the fire dept because firefighters, in my mind, tend to be very handy.  Seemed logical to me!  And it's amazing what they can fix with some duct tape...

Now in the past five years I have had some interesting experiences with an amazing group of people.  From entering my first burning building to being first due after a tornado ripped through our town (these happened about two weeks apart), it's been quite a ride so far.  I am proud of what we do and who I have become.

There are many way to belong to your community and I believe it's important to make an impact.  This is my town, my home now, and I am happy to be a part of it.

Monday Musings

Ok I will admit it...I am in a serious training rut that is bordering on full burnout.  And you know what my excuse has been for about the last week.  The wind.  I hate running in the wind.  I hate the way it feels around my face or trying to run into it and just being pushed back.  Not fun!

And it just hasn't been breezy...no I can handle the gentle breeze off the river.  This is all out serious gusts that shake our house.  So here I sit almost four weeks before my half and I am ready to throw in the towel.  I always start off great when I register for the Big Lake.  I get into training mode and put lots of miles in early on. But by mid April, I have had it and this is either the fifth or sixth time I have done this particular race.  I think this mentality goes back to the fact that I am only in love with idea of running and not the actual task.  I have been trying to do some cross training, but I am also feeling burnt out by that.

This feeling will pass as it always does.  Really it's mind over matter at this point.  No sense in complaining because with each passing day the race gets closer.  And the countdown is on....

Happy Eastover

Good morning all!  Up early on yet another race day.  Today we are heading up to the state capital for the SEA 5k on Hazen Drive.  It seems a bit sunnier than the weather we had for our race in Gilmanton last weekend and maybe just a tad warmer.  I might not have to wear the giant mittens from my fire gear today.  And I did manage a 9.23 pace for today and finished by my Garmin at 28:54, they do not go by individual start time, but overall run time.  I was in the middle of the pack so it took me a few seconds to get to the start line after the gun went off.


It's the start of a busy weekend at Chez Savage.  The Easter eggs are all weighed down with candy and ready to be hidden in the yard and the four little Easter baskets are filled with goodies.  Like any good aunt and uncle, we will sugar the kids up good before sending them on their way.

Tomorrow morning I hope to get in an 8 mile run in the am before we cook Easter dinner.  I feel like it has taken me all week to recover from my long run last weekend.  I did manage a couple of short runs this week and some yard work.  But the yard work was short lived due the high winds we had all week.  Every little pile I managed to rake up would be quickly swept away before I got it to the woods.  Speaking of high winds...be careful out there because the high fire danger continues.

And I hope to get some knitting time in the weekend.  John's new sweater is coming along nicely...have the shoulders just about completed and I will be separating the sleeves very soon.  I am not what you call a fast knitter because I am feel that I have to be careful.  But today I will also be putting the finishing touches on last week's project.  I love how my little lace sweater came out and am looking forward to adding the pretty little pewter buttons to it.  Thanks to the free pattern on Ravelry and also to YouTube for the buttonhole tutorial.

WIP Wedesday

"Oh you knit?  What are you 70?"  "Knitting doesn't sound like something a cool aunt does."  "That is so frontiersy..."

Yup just some of the comments I get on a regular basis because I knit.  No I am not 70, I am a very hip 33 years old and I just happen to be able to make things with some sticks and string.  And trust me, it's not just something your grandmother does anymore.  I know lots of women and even a few men who spend their time making wearable art.  I have found a wonderful knitting community online with Ravelry.  The website is a haven for fiber artists and it's place where inspiration and ideas are shared.

Knitting has become an expensive hobby of mine, but at least it isn't drugs although it is addicting.  I cannot tolerate the feel of straight metal needles and acrylic yarn in my hands now that I have played with organic cottons and merino wool.  I am not being snobby because acrylic definitely has it's place, it's just not my favorite thing to work with.  It squeaks when you try to slip your needle into it.  Makes me shudder just thinking about it.  In the past 10 years that I have been knitting (holy smokes, it's already been that long!) I have tackled mittens, hats, socks, sweaters and made my fair share of dish cloths.  I broadened my horizons last summer when I made several lace scarves.  And I will continue to grow and maybe one day tackle cabling.

Currently on my needles is a lovely light gray sweater for the husband.  It doesn't look like much now, but give it a week or two!  It's a take 2 since the last sweater for him was an utter flop.  He was wearing the still unfinished sweater around the house prior to Christmas until I begged that he take the wretched thing off!  I learned my lesson and only top down sweaters for me from now on.  My other project is upstairs being blocked and hopefully I can wear it out this weekend.

So no I'm am not your grandmother and Megan and I are cool aunts...just ask the kids!

On my (running) soapbox

I was asked after my last post if I have any advice or motivational tips for new runners.  Well I have had a day or so to ponder this and yes, I guess I do have some advice.  I started running back when I was working at my last job.  Some of the nurses and other therapists I worked with were runners.  I thought, hey I bet I can do that.  So I started by signing up for a 5k.  I already worked out 5-6 days a week so I didn't follow any type of training program for my first race.  But I hear the couch to 5k program is a good place to start for those who need some endurance training.  

My first race was the St.Charles Children's Home 5k held in Newington NH.  It is held every year on the Monday of Labor Day weekend.  For a small fee I got a t shirt and a winner's medal (first time racer).  I was hooked on the swag.  From there it kind of took off.  And before I knew it winter had rolled around and the girls at work convinced me that a half marathon would be the next best thing to try.  I found a training plan that would be carried out over the next 12 weeks.  The worst thing I did training for Big Lake was the weekend before the race, two of the girls and I decided to run the course.  Yup I slogged through 13 miles without water and got scorched in the process.  It was miserable and I had to do it all over again the next weekend.  Except race day came during the first day of what was to become some of the worse flooding rains New Hampshire had ever seen.

That was about 8 years ago and I am still going strong.  Wow, 8 years!  And once you start running, you find other people do it too. A lot of other people do it! This is the first year I have ever run a race series and I will once again be doing the Big Lake Half.  I can't wait until May 11 when Steve-O arrives for our annual pasta dinner and a night of watching NHL playoffs.  Then we will be off early the next morning for Alton Bay.  The boys will finish hours (ok maybe not that long, but it will quite awhile) before me and will be waiting for me at the finish line.  It's a tradition I look forward to carrying on for many moons to come!

So as for advice, start slow, don't bite off more than you can chew and most of all, have fun.  Enjoy being outside and taking some time to yourself.  

Monday Musings: The kindle edition

Finally got my yarn to begin my next project and my block squares so I can block last week's finished object.  I cannot wait to wear it!  Didn't do a whole lot of knitting over the weekend.  I was pretty spent after my run yesterday afternoon and spent the evening hanging by the fire reading an Anne Rice novel.  If books were a drug, I would be heading to book rehab.  I love getting lost in another world and almost  hate when a book is done because it's back to reality.

I bought myself a Kindle last year before we left for Italy.  Nothing fancy just the wifi edition that I can download books at home on.  Best thing I ever purchased!  I have no use for the fancy models like the Kindle Fire.  Hell, I have one smart phone, why do I want something else that will do just about the same thing?  I want to do one thing with it and one thing only...read.  It's got the e-ink and since I spend much of the warm days outside there is no glare to contend with.  It's also much less cumbersome that carrying 4 or 5 books with me on a trip.  I just slip it into it's little carrying case I bought and off it goes into my every day bag.

And recently I found that my library does offer downloadable books.  I just wish I didn't have to wait for most of what I want to read, but it's free and I can be patient.  I don't even have to go to the library to do it, but log onto New Hampshire Downloadable and from there I use the secret squirrel code provided by my library and start my search for the next great read.

Love it or hate, does not matter cause I will still do it

I love the idea of running.  I love lacing up my sneakers and heading out into the early morning light.  The way I feel after a long run is pleasantly exhausting.  My excuse for an afternoon nap curled up in the sunny warmth of our office.  It's the one form of exercise that keeps my weight stable and allows me to eat my favorite foods.  I enjoy the paths that I travel and running makes you an accidental tourist in your own backyard.  I like having a list of races coming up that we are going to take part in.  It's a unique group of people and it's nice to see that running has become such a popular activity.  It doesn't take a lot of talent just a little will and dedication.

But in all honesty I hate running.  I hate how sore my IT bands get in my legs.  I hate the opens sores that develop on my back where my sports bra decides it should rub up and down rather than stay in place.  I don't get this supposed runner's high.   Never do I feel like I hit a point that I could go on forever.  It's a myth, it has to be!  I slog through my training runs cursing that fact that I have signed up for another race.

Yet it has become something that defines who I am.  I like getting out in the fresh air and having an hour just to let everything go.  It's actually a great stress reliever.  I do it to stay in shape for the other activities I enjoy.  Firefighting demands a lot of aerobic effort and I need that strength when the tones come in.  I do not know how out of shape firefighters do it.  It would literally kill me.  Though I do keep up with statistics and do know that firefighters die every day due to cardiac events and so all the more reason to hit the pavement.

So I will lace up the old running shoes and out the door I go.  In search of the elusive runner's high, in search of serenity, and in search of why others like this so much!  And I'll do it because I have a half marathon in 5 weeks and in all honesty I'll run because I do not want to become a statistic!