My Weary Mind

I've thought, "I need to post on my blog" a thousand times over the past few weeks.  Now I have a big list of things I was going to post about so I think I am going to steal an idea from one of my neighbors.  She frequently does a post on her blog called "My Random Thoughts" which is hilarious.  She puts all her little thoughts that she wants to share in a bulleted list and I love reading it.  So I thought I would try something a little like that, but since I'm not as witty as her and a bit more apt to complain, I thought I would call it "My Weary Mind".  We'll see how it goes:

• I was going to post about my half marathon (which I loved and did really well in), but I'm sick of posting about races.  I do want to remember forever though (even though I didn't get a picture) the image of my kids sitting in camp chairs in their pajamas ringing cow bells for me as I ran past.  Loved that!
• The weekend before the half, we went to the Uintahs camping and I did mean to post about that.  Russell was a STINKER the whole time (he was sick so I guess I can't blame him), but I did get some really good pictures:

(Russell saying "Noooo!"  Pretty much the mood of the entire trip)

• Chad's grandma passed away two weeks ago so we got to have his family get together.  I love his family so even though we were gathering for a sad reason, at least we got to gather.  I got to have all his sisters over all day Friday.  Russell LOVED his baby cousins.  

• We went to Bear Lake with our neighbors yesterday.  I love Bear Lake and my neighbors rock.  Does your entire neighborhood plan all-day outings together??  Mine does!
• Now for the "Weary Mind" part.  I have not been able to enjoy my job as of late.  I find myself having to play referee between the WWF-like war going on between my two children.  And all this when I am trying to decide if it is time for another baby, I find myself asking instead if I want any more babies at all--ever!
• Since we continue the WWF-war like behavior in Sacrament meeting as well, I think it would be nice if we had a nursery for that particular hour until kids are approximately the age of 12.  I actually think that our Sundays are so terrible right now because we have 1:00 church.  We all sit at home bored all morning, getting on each other's nerves; by time we are sitting in the chapel, we can no longer handle each other's company and the tired, restless children in such a close-quarters, keep-quiet situation.
• My summer has been incredibly busy.  Though I do not look forward to winter--I do look forward to having a lighter schedule.  If only I could keep the warm weather as well.
• We are driving to Phoenix over Labor Day weekend.  I think the drive might do my nerves in, but we will see.  We leave in less than ten days in which time I have to go to the eye doctor, get Lydia's hair cut, buy her school clothes, get Chad's car taken in for safety & emissions so we can register it, buy Chad's birthday present, buy Russell's birthday presents, get Chad into the family doctor for more asthma meds, run a four-mile race, attempt visiting teaching (probably not), have dinner with our good friends, have a primary presidency meeting, put in the maximum triathlon training for my race on Sept. 10, grocery shop, and pack.  So I probably won't be posting until after our trip.
• Will someone please remind me to take my camera on this trip?  Never has my camera seen so much of the inside of our cabinet and missed so many fun summer activities!!
• And indeed a random thought: Aren't you so glad that germs are invisible?  I mean think what life would be like if we could see the germs roaming around on the things we use everyday: keyboards, cell phone, dishrags, counter tops, and even our own skin.  We'd constantly be bathing, soaking, scrubbing, and emptying the store shelves of bleach.  But "out of sight, out of mind," and gratefully.

Echo Triathlon

Hope y'all like my racing posts because that is one of the major happenings in my life this summer.  There are at least two more races to go, so prepare yourselves....

The Echo Triathlon was on July 9th and here is the summary: 1K swim + 20K bike + 5K run (750 meter swim, 13 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run) = One good time!!

For a lot of you, the above summary will suffice for this post.  But in honor of my sister-in-law not knowing much about triathlons, I thought I would post a few more details. Above is me before the race, getting out of the car and such. I had to ride my bike into the racing area while Chad rode a shuttle.

Once there, you find your place among the rows and rows of bike racks.  There you can put her bike up and prepare the rest of your gear.  Set out towels, running shoes, pin your number to your shirt or put it on a belt you can slip on, and a bunch of other stuff you want all set so your transitions from one sport to the next can be as smooth as possible.

The race started in four different waves.  I was set to start at 8:05.  Chad and I watched the other racers for awhile and then it was time to don my wet suit.

Attractive, right?  I had never been in a wetsuit before so I was a little nervous about that. I stepped in the water and couldn't even feel the water until it got to my zipper.  And I could definitely tell that it was helping me float.  So the countdown began, and we started swimming.  I didn't dive right in right at the start.  Everyone kind of started moving together and we were all in each other's way so it took a minute for things to spread out to where we could swim.  I was totally swimming with everyone at the start, but a few minutes later, I took a peek to see where I was, and I was really far to the left.  In fact, there were some people out in kayaks to give aid to the swimmers if needed, and they were yelling at me to swim to the right.  Oops.  I finally got back on course after a long ways and was so excited to round the first bouy.  I thought that I would for sure swim in a straight line this time, but I found myself swimming to the left again.  I was getting tired fast.  The wetsuit made my arms way more tired than they would have been otherwise.  I got to the second booy and headed for the finish when we passed some of the men from an earlier wave who were struggling to say the least.  I ran into one of them a couple of times before I finally passed him and made it home.  When I finally went to stand up, I found that the water was only 2 feet deep.  I probably could have stood and ran out a little sooner.

I made my way to the transition area where I had to get out of my wetsuit, dry off a little, put on socks, shoes, shirt, bike helmet, bike gloves, and I grabbed an energy bar and a swig of water before hauling my bike onto my shoulder and heading for the out.  The out was a long ways from where I was and carrying that bike was hard. (I carried my bike so I didn't run the risk of getting something in my tire since it was dirt and stuff).  Later I found out that my transition time was over five minutes.  So much for being smooth and efficient.

I headed out for the bike ride.  I was excited for the ride, I thought it would be fun.  And it was, but it was also a serious quad burner.  I hadn't had time to train on the bike like I had wanted.  I think I had only ridden like five times before this race and I could tell that I wasn't prepared.  But I huffed along anyway, feeling the burn the whole time.  By about mile 10, I was ready to get off that thing.  I made it in, put my bike up, ditched the helmet and gloves, grabbed a water and a few energy chews, and set off for the run which was an easy, flat 3.1 miles.  I was feeling pretty good, but was holding back a little so I didn't burn out before the end.  A few of the runners commented on my race shirt.  It is hard to miss, but that is also the point.

And here I am sprinting to the finish. My final time was 1:43: 48.7 which got me 7th place in my age group.  Not too shabby, eh?  But I figure I could easily have done much, much better.  I could have swum straighter, had a straight bike tire (after the race, we realized my back rim was bent and the wheel was wobbling back and forth against the brake the whole time--no wonder it was so hard!), and I could have run faster because I can do that run well under 30 minutes easily and for some reason I did it in 32 that day.  I think I was just over pacing.  But it was my first time doing an open-water triathlon and I definitely needed to get a feel for things.  So I went home excited about it, but really wanting to do another one so I can do much better, much faster.  We'll see.  I'm having trouble finding one that is on a weekend that would work for me.  Hopefully I find one though because I am totally addicted!

Running Ragnar

Chad and I have always wanted to run Ragnar.  It is a grueling relay race that runs along the Wasatch Back from Logan, UT to Park City, UT--a total distance of 192 miles.  A team of 12 will each take three legs.  The first six teammates will ride in Van 1 and run the first six legs, then Van 2 will jump in and run the next six.  Then the process starts again.  Chad was runner 11 and I was runner 12 so we were in Van 2.  We headed to Eden, UT around 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon to meet up with our first van of runners.  The first four teammates in our van got to run flat, easy legs through Eden and Huntsville.  And then it was our turn.  Chad took off on a relentless 3.2 mile climb up Trapper's Loop.  For those of you not familiar with the area, the only way to describe it is straight up! Here he is on his first take off:

  

And look how relaxed he is while beating up this hill:

He made the climb and handed off to me at our first exchange:

And then it was my turn.  I had to run 4.7 miles along the hill that continued straight up to Snow Basin ski resort.  While preparing for this race, this was the climb I was most nervous about--especially with my injuries.

I know I am not very big in this photo.  I'm the bright yellow dot, but this picture is the only one that even gives a hint to how steep this thing was.  But I conquered!  I was able to run the entire time and then for the last mile I got to cruise downhill for a good way and then finish off with another hill at the end to throw down a 8:50 mile for my last mile.  I ended up loving this leg and by the end of the race could easily say that it was my favorite.

After I ran, it was time to eat and rest while the other half of our team ran.  We just happened to be in Morgan, UT--my native land so I knew where to take my team for a great sub and then we headed to Chad's mom's house to try to catch some sleep before our next leg.  As is always the story, the men slept soundly for two hours and the women tossed and turned the entire time.  By 1:50 a.m. it was time for us to be up and at our next exchange.  I wasn't estimated to run again until 6 a.m. and was a little disgruntled that I couldn't just stay and sleep.  But that is all part of running the Ragnar so Chad and I sat in the car and supported our team all through the cold night.  He started running around 5 a.m. and I took off for my 6.9 mile once-again-uphill run around 6:15.  The one good thing about it is that it was light enough by then that I didn't have to wear the headlamp and buttlight.

My 6.9 miles felt pretty long.  I felt like if I saw one more hill I was going to go mad.  The course finally turned downhill for the last mile, but by then I had a searing pain across the top of my right quad and was fairly hobbling into the finish line.  When I finally got there at a time of 1:08 I had to wait an extra four minutes for our next runner to get to the exchange.  Apparently they got more rest than we did!

Me after finishing my night run.  I look pretty chipper, eh?  After that we went and got a shower (the best two dollars I ever spent) and some rest on the lawn of a school in Heber, Utah.  After a good nap, I felt like I was ready to run.  Unfortunately the first half of our team wasn't doing so hot and we had to wait for at least one guy to walk an 8 mile leg.  We were there FOREVER!  We finally got going around one p.m. for our last leg. Our team had to tackle the most wicked hill of the entire race up over Guardsmen Pass.  It covers parts of three legs and is so steep you could probably reach out and touch the ground because you have to lean into the hill so much.  Our first guy ran/walked his 3.2 miles up the hill and then our best runner cruised up his 4 mile section and actually ended up taking 10th place overall on his time up this hill.  He was a beauty to behold while running.  He had finished a marathon in 2:53 the weekend before and could run easy six minute miles on his easier legs.  He is the guy standing next to me in the picture below:

When he got to the top, Chad was actually a bit further up the hill using the port-a-john so he kept on cruising up until he could meet Chad.  Chad continued to run uphill for a bit.  

As you can see in the picture, there was a ton of snow up there.  I think the Ragnar officials had gotten that road cleared just a few days before the race.  We were HIGH!  Chad finished off the hill in about half a mile and then ran steeply downhill for 7.2 miles to meet me at the last exchange. (Chad likes the above picture because he looks so honkey-dorey and the girl he had just passed looks absolutely dejected.)

He came sailing down that last part to the exchange and handed me the baton (actually a slap bracelet):

By this time, I had been sitting in the car for hours while the others ran and I had developed a bowling ball in my stomach from all the food I had eaten that hadn't digested.  It was rather warm out, and I knew I was in for it.  I had to run 7.3 miles into the finish.  When I signed up for the race my leg was only supposed to be 5 miles or so, but they ended up rearranging at the last minute and made it significantly longer.  I had to run up a huge hill from the get go and then was met by a very steep, rocky, rutted ATV trail to run back down before hitting a walking trail for a few miles.  I was holding it together okay considering the weight of my guts at that point until I came up over the crest of the hill and all of a sudden I could see a trail of runners for miles as they snaked up around a mountain. I wanted to cry as I realized that I would have no choice but to follow them.  So I creeped along, running like an old woman.  And when I came back around the other side of that mountain I was appalled to discover that it was all a big, freaking LOOP!  They had added all that mileage just to make sure that the teams would have time to get to the finish line before their last runners came in.  Now for some teams that may have been an issue, but not for me so I was not happy to have had to have run all that.  And finally I hit one more hill and then got to run downhill into the finish line.  I was one big body cramp by then and was running very short strides just wishing that finish line to be around the corner.  And finally it was there:

I came in, met my team, and we all ran under the huge Ragnar finish line together. Finally!  I ran that monster leg in 1:17 which was a miracle for how crappy I felt and how many times I walked up hills.  I managed to pose for a few pictures before heading home.

On the way home, I was holding on to a barf bag and urgently spent some quality time in the bathroom for the rest of the evening.  I was DEAD!  Luckily we got to sleep in until eleven the next morning since my mom still had our kids.  I was so sore!  Holy cow.  But even just a few days later I was ready to do it all again.  Except I will never run leg 12 again.  Besides it being honestly one of the toughest legs of the entire race, it just sucks to have to wait all day to run.  I think I would really like to try leg 8 or maybe even check out some of the first six legs that go in the other van.  I also really liked running with Chad who did amazing--especially since he only trained for a few weeks.  It isn't fair how fast boys' bodies can kick it into gear.  I have been training for months!  But it was fun and I proudly say that I ran Ragnar.  And not just Ragnar, but leg 12.  I've talked to a lot of other runners who also ran that leg and they all say that it was majorly tough so I'm not just tooting my own horn here.  I mean 18.9 miles in 24 hours in and of itself it pretty amazing, but when you consider that 80% of those miles were uphill......what can I say except, "Go me!"  And "Bring on the half!" (That alludes to the half marathon I'm running in July--I think I can handle it after what Ragnar put me through. I hope.)

Panguitch Lake

A few weeks (weeks? time goes too fast) ago, we went to Panguitch Lake in Southern Utah with Chad's family.  The first day was so incredibly windy and cold that we ended up hanging in the tent for most of the day.  But I was fine with that since I needed some R&R.  Chad was so excited to go fishing.  Poor thing had to wait until Saturday to go.  And as usual, I was the one catching the fish!  Seriously, since I married Chad and took over his fishing pole, I've had fantastic luck fishing and actually like it now!  

This picture only shows one fish, but I actually caught two.  One of which was a cutthroat--yummy!

On one of our days up there we drove to Bryce Canyon to see the sights.  Lydia rode on Chad's shoulders a lot.  She kept holding on to Chad's glasses and pressing them into his face.  She is a little nervous about being up there, I think.

The whole clan.  Russell loved every minute.

Love this picture!

We had a great time for the most part.  The nights were rough though.  Russell is terrible at sleeping anywhere  other than home.  He spent most of the three nights on our air mattress with us which means I didn't get great sleep.  One night, after he had awakened me three different times, I remember saying outloud, "I hate camping," and thinking in my head that I never want to do this again until our kids are grown.  Luckily the days made up for the nights.  On Saturday morning I had to run 9 miles as part of my training.  No time to slack off!  I could definitely feel the difference in the altitude and those hills were killer, but I made it. Unfortunately, later that day, on the way home, we had to deal with this: 

Doesn't that picture just capture exactly how it feels to be stuck in the car when all you want is to get out?  Needless to say, it was a LONG drive home.  I think next time we'll find some good camping a little closer to home.