Leaving in one week!

I cannot believe that I am leaving in one week! I go up on Saturday afternoon to check into a B&B up in Hinkley and then Sunday is the training day for the team. We have to leave on Monday morning at 4 am.......ughh! I guess that means that I won't get my full-english breakfast on Monday morning at the B&B. The long drive in the bus begins and we arrive in Norway on Wednesday afternoon. Do they have Starbucks in Norway? I think I will be needing lots of caffeine!

Yesterday I set up a course based on a USDAA steeplechase course I saw on some videos. Today we set another (The Grand Prix) as it is fun to set a course after watching a few dogs run it on video. We have to eye-ball the placement of the obstacles but after watching different dogs run you get a good idea of where the obstacles are.

Lisa and I ran both courses and we were pleased with how both Zen and Chi ran. We don't do too many "tunnel under contact" discriminations so these were good courses for us to work on. I don't have those courses to put up but if you were curious you could check out this website. They take a long time to download but you can see a few dogs running the same course and it is really cool how he can overlay different runs to compare just what works best.

http://www.powerpups.net/Competitionvideos.htm


After that we set up another WC judge course . I haven't run it yet but am saving that for tomorrow. That long run at the end worries me a bit and I need to feel energetic to run this course.

I have been trying to put some clothes aside to bring with me. I have such a hard time packing light! I am trying to coordinate my wardrobe along the same colour theme (red white and blue of course) but I do love my pink! Lisa says it takes someone brave to wear pink and red together.....he he. Anyway I need to bring my crocs and think I will be wearing them on the bus for three days. They are decorated fully now with croc "bling" so I thought I would post a photo to show them off! Please note that Hex's shoe has a skull/crossbones for her evil side but a heart and lambie for her sweet side. I do love my Hex. And if you are wondering what the flags are on Zen's side...the Union jack for Britain and the Norwegian Flag for the World Champs!

I got a lovely "care" package this week from my mate Diane in Rhode Island. Diane makes polymer clay sculptures and jewelery and is basically a super talented artsy person (so unlike me!). Anyhoo.. two years ago when Zen was in the World Champs for the first time..Diane sent me a "Don't Worry Stone" made out of clay with Zen's name on it. It is meant to be carried in your pocket and you can rub it when you are worried and presto..You are not worried anymore! Well, dontcha know it, I went to take it out this week and HOLY SHIT I couldn't find it! Major panic and a quick email to Diane begging for another one! Bless her, Diane made another one overnight and shipped it to me Priority and it arrived yesterday. I have been keeping it in my pocket whenever I take Zen out for her short training sessions and I feel very calm and focused!

This new updated version is even Gold plated! Lisa took it home tonight and promised to Reiki it up for me so it will be well charged with good vibes for Norway. Hoo-Ha!

Dennis has been practicing taking action photos and he got these two of Zen during our last practice run this afternoon. Zen has lost all her coat and is sleek and aero-dynamic! At least that is my positive spin on bringing a bald sheltie to the World championships! Here she is making me happy and doing perfecto contacts! That's my Zenny!

This will probably be my last post until after Norway. Thanks to everyone for their support and good wishes. I am very proud to be representing Great Britain and plan on doing our very best!

Let's go, I'm ready! It's Hamar time!