Fartlek Workout - Don't worry, it's not another way to pass gas!

Today Sabu and I tried out a Fartlek workout and it was great fun! Despite the fact that I felt ridiculously sore from my brief weightlifting the day before, I enjoyed the unique workout and feel great now.

I'm fundraising for the N/a'an Ku se Foundation for my next race (October 19th in Namibia), a duathlon in Windhoek. My goal is to raise $200 USD to help purchase a tire for the research which is done for the African Wild Dog here at the Foundation. If you could donate $5, that would be great!

So, what the heck is Fartlek workout!? It's Swedish for a speed changing workout and slightly different than other speed changing workouts like a ladder or a tempo run. This one is great for groups or more than one person, though I enjoyed it with my four-legged friend as well. You warm up for 5-10 minutes then keep a steady pace and decide random times to sprint (to the tree, to the sign, etc.). It helps to rev up the body and can be a really nice change to the every day run.

How did Sabu do? Well, we're working on "sprint with me", but he was getting better and better at increasing his speed to match mine. I alternated between looking ahead and not tripping over a rock, and turning back to encourage Sabu. While I don't think I hit a full-on sprint, we did go very fast and got a great workout in. Hopefully the next few times we do it, Sabu will understand more about it and get more into it.

Highly recommended workout! Here is a link to a comparison of Fartlek, Tempo and Interval workouts for your perusal by Active.com.

While we went for our run, we passed a water hole and saw tracks from the local Giraffe. I snapped a picture of them the day before and got it edited by KromePhotos

to help with the brightness. Enjoy our long-legged friend!

Meeting new puppies in the desert!

One of the best things about living in Namibia, is learning all about the different dog types here and what their uses are. Namibia is largely farmland and agricultural, with a lot of conservation land smooshed in between. This weekend I went to a farm where I met 2 types of interesting dogs. Previously, I didn't really understand the appeal of a Dachshund (no offense), but this weekend I got to spend time with quite a few. Most excitingly, I got to spend time with 2 Dachshund puppies! Absolutely adorable. It was pretty funny to see them jump up stairs and stuff with their shorty-short legs, but they were excellent watch dogs and can really move when they want to! I also discovered they have vibrant personalities and are very loving. The two puppies (in the picture), were absolutely adorable. Little furry hotdogs if you ask me!

The second pair of dogs I met were also very lovable, but had a work-based purpose. They seem to just know it from birth, as they were never trained but can herd sheep and goats instinctively. They are known as 'Kelpies" here, more generally known as Australian Kelpies. Unfortunately I couldn't get a good picture of them standing still because they were so excited to see us. With natural threats like leopards, jackals, and cheetahs, it is important to have simple, sustainable, and non-deadly ways of keeping large carnivores away from the livelihood of the farmers. Dogs like these not only help keep the sheep and goats together, but also make sure that other animals are discourage in doing anything sneaky

. Obviously, the shepherds help also, but dogs have many extra handy senses. These dogs know exactly when to slow down for the sheep and goats and will naturally wait to continue. They are a hardy breed and have few health problems. That's really important for terrain like Nambia, where it is VERY hot and VERY cold, depending on the time of the year. Crazy cool dogs!

Back from the Desert!

After a week in the Namibian Desert at a Winery, I am totally exhausted. For the benefit of African Wild Dogs, I organized a mountain bike race at Neuras: Wine and Wildlife Estate, a partner of Naankuse. It turned out absolutely great, much to my relief. The racers had to do 36.5 km of terrain, and every 5ish km they had to do a group activity. One of them was to dance Gangnam style which then one of the researchers put together in one of the funniest videos I have ever seen. I will make sure to share it when it is available.

At Neuras they have a dog named Noodles, one of the cutest and funniest dogs I have met in Namibia. He is a stout Jack Russel with energy for days. When I was too scared to cycle on my own through Leopard territory, this little squirt came with me for 20km! What a rock star. I took a picture with him as he sat on my lap in the evening. Enjoy!