A Late Vitamin

The other night I drank some Mountain Dew.

The night was just too great and I had to share it with someone and Taylor was busy with late night homework-

I find myself in my running shoes sharing the night with the glowing white full moon, suspended from strings in the darkened sky.
Usually I like the back roads but because of the hour I find comfort in the company of cars whirring by and the lights they provide.
I am led to the main building on campus sitting high upon a hill amazed at the level of activity at such a late hour, the glowing white "A" shining bright like a beacon.
Past the Christ Lutheran Church with the glowing white sign that reads something about Jesus and forgiveness, and 'Everyone welcome. Sunday 8:00-9:30 AM',
Reminding me of the Catholic Youth hostel we stayed in during our visit to Alishan, Taiwan--a city of one single train leading up to a most beautiful sunrise where the sun jumps when it first appears--what with the large cross on the top and it set upon a hill as well.
And finally zigzagging my way back on the quiet quaint Logan streets, past the cottage that is straight out of the enchanted children's book, The Secret Garden.

I can't quite figure out why I feel so alive at this moment--It must be my thankful heart... the full moon... or the couple ounces of Mountain Dew.

I think I found my new daily vitamin.

Xango Echo Triathlon 2008

Nice bum shot!

Here's to you Taylor!!! This weekend he participated in the annual Xango Echo Triathlon. This is one of his favorite events of the season and one he doesn't like to miss.

This past summer has been a busy one for him--working many hours while taking a full summer load of classes including a very daunting calculus class. His evenings are filled with international calls for work during homework breaks, and a small run or bike when he can fit it in.

His training during the past month has been twice a week runs, and maybe 2 good bike training rides, but don't be fooled by his training-when the tri horn signals the start of a tri, something clicks inside him and he turns into a Tri Maniac. This year his swim was his fastest ever by four minutes. Wow! He hadn't even been in the water this whole summer. How did he do it.?.?! His answer, "Swim the entire time instead of doggy paddle." Maybe the new wetsuit helped too. And on the bike he's just a machine!

So as the horn blasted, I was a little worried considering his lack of training, but being the champ he is he pulled through to take fourth overall in the Elite division. Since they gave prize money to the top five we were pretty excited. Tay, you raced awesome and you inspire me to be a better person. Great job!!! I sure am proud of you! Way to work hard and finish strong!

Freedom Run

For the 4th of July we ran the Blacksmith Fork Canyon Freedom Run 15K. I wore Taylor's old flag shorts to show my patriotic pride, and Taylor wore his flag bandana. Originally he had wanted to wear his flag shorts, but upon trying them on the night before he came to the awful realization that they didn't fit him like they did in high school.

Jen's Goal for the race: Run 6:30's per mile and take top 5, which she successfully accomplished after recruiting the local men's high school cross-country team at mile 2 to run with her and pace her.

Taylor's Goal for the race: Run fast and not get caught by his wife, which he did, but I won't use the words 'accomplished successfully', since she raced like a champ and almost caught him...Maybe next time...

Running is...

It's such an awesome feeling to get back into shape. All you fellow runners can attest to this I'm sure. It's such a high to feel fast and free, and healthy. The key is consistency I know, and once I desire this and discipline myself I feel as though I can conquer anything. Running is being aware of myself physically and mentally. It's happiness. It's balance. It is a part of my life that makes me feel like a more complete person. I give thanks for this talent.

Wasatch Back!

This past month has been one of the more busy times in my life. At work we put on our anual Global Fitness Summit. This is large four-day meeting where we bring in over 100 customers from over 30 different countries. One of the highlights of this was when my hot-air balloon made a nice crash landing and then the balloon it self was shredded by the tail of Jack Nicholson's private jet. Needless to say, I don't see myself getting back into a hot air balloon any time soon. Crawling out of one sideways after a crash landing was thrilling enough for me.

After the last day of the Global Fitness Summit Jen and I started the Wasatch Back relay. This is a 12-person relay race from Logan to Park City. It is 181 miles long. The race starts on Friday afternoon and the teams run all through the night with head-lamps on and finish sometime on Saturday. The runner don't get a chance to really eat or sleep. Each runner runs three times with a couple of hours rest in between legs. I know, I know...are all thinking about what a fun time you missed out on and can't wait to sign up for next year~! The race is actually a lot of fun. I was fortunate, well unfortunate really, to be on a fast team. We finished the race in 17 hours and 54 minutes which was good enough for 2nd place overall. Considering that there were 2 teams I think we did well! j/k there were actually about 600 teams. Jen of course ran like a champ. She should have replaced me on my team as I was the slow poke. Her first leg was 7 miles up hill on a dirt road to go over Avon pass. She did great! Her team wasn't quite as competative as she was though and they finished somewhere around 26 hours. It was fun for all.

Next up for us is a 15k race up here in Logan. Jen should do really well and fortunatley for me it is a downhill course. My extra weight should be an advantage as gravity pulls me down!

Jen has not checked this posting for spelling or grammaritical errors, hopefully it's ok...

This is one of the areas the race passed through.