Angels and Antelope, By Randy Mijares

 

Just finished up another book. Got this one from my great sister and bro-in-law, Janeen & Patrick for Christmas. The book is titled "Angels and Antelope" and is written by a Wichitan (Someone who lives in Wichita, KS) and is also co-owner of a new running store there, that just so happens to be very close to where Janeen and Patrick live. Very convenient for them, since our closest running store is about 2 1/2 hours away. 

The gist of the story is about a cross-country race and the girls team that is running in it. They are all around the ages of 10-12. The author does a very good job of describing different emotions, thoughts, and actions that all occur during running. It is a fast read, and if you are a runner you will be able to relate on many of the things the book opens up, and if you are not a runner it will give you a glimpse into what goes on inside someone's head while they are running. 

Thanks for the gift J & P!

Just When You Think Everything Is Going Your Way

Ever have one of those days when it just feels like something good isn't going to happen? Yet, you try and talk yourself into believing that everything is going to be okay. Well, I had one of those days on Monday. We were planning to go to Pinedale, WY to go cross country skiing and meet up with Audrey's family that's here for Christmas Break. It didn't turn out as grand as it sounded before we left. Let me break down for you the list of things that happened.
1st thing that went wrong - The roads were completely covered in ice, very slow going. Not fun driving in when you have totaled 2 vehicles from the very same driving conditions.
2nd thing that went wrong - When we got to Pinedale we stopped at a gas station where I promptly locked the keys in the car. Luckily there was a guy in line who overheard me asking about a locksmith. He called up his buddy, and they got the door open after only about 30 minutes.
3rd thing that went wrong - Audrey got car sick.
Basically it was a drag of a day, and I'm so glad to be back home and a few days removed from all of that frustration.

Course For Kemmerer Winter Triathlon

Lance Armstrong's Book "It's Not About The Bike"

Just finished Lance Armstrong's Book about his battle with cancer. It was a good read, and I always enjoy stories about real life situations that people go through, especially with sports or outdoors. This book also gives a good perspective on what it is like to go through chemo and the whole cancer situation. Just within the past 2 years I have known 3 people who have been diagnosed with cancer, and one of them passed away this summer in which I officiated their funeral. If you know anyone with cancer or have been affected by this disease in anyway I would say read this account.

The Runner In Winter

A Social Network Christmas

The video that I'm going to play for our Christmas Eve Service this Friday evening. 

Snow

I'm not really a big fan of snow. When it snows I have to shovel (already did that 3 times today), I have to drive very slowly (drove 40 mph to Evanston yesterday), I have to make a path in our yard to get to the leashes for the dogs, I have to start up my vehicle about 30 minutes before I want to go anywhere, and it makes me want to stay indoors all winter long.
But there are times when I don't mind the snow. Once I am out in it I kind of enjoy it. Audrey and I did a 2 mile warm-up run this morning at 7:15 a.m. 10 degrees and snow falling straight down. It was actually kind of pretty, and nice to be running outside as opposed to inside on a treadmill.
Supposedly we are supposed to get 12 inches in the next 2 days. We shall see if that truly happens. And I guess I'll have to live with snow for at least the next 3 months. So here's to getting out in it...

Upcoming 2011 Races (Tentative)

2011 Race Schedule (Tentative)

1. January 8 - Park City UT, Snowshoe 5k
2. January 15 - Ogden UT, Stair Stampede
3. January 22 - Pinedale WY, Indoor Triathlon
4. January 29 - Midway UT, Bigfoot Snowshoe Race
5. February 5 - South Jordan UT, Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon
6. February 12 - Ivins UT, Sweetheart Half Marathon or (Kansas City KS, Psycho Wyco Trail Run)
7. March 19 - Saratoga Springs UT, Shamrock Half Marathon
8. March 26 - Antelope Island UT, Buffalo Run 25k Trail Run
9. April 2 - Salt Lake City UT, 10 Mile Run
10. April 9 - Moab UT, Marathon
11. April 23 - Thanksgiving Point UT, Half Marathon
12. May 7 - Provo UT, Half Marathon
13. May 21 - Riverton UT, Sapper Joe 50k
14. June 11 - Provo UT, Utah Valley Marathon (Boston Qualifier)
15. June 18 - Sheridan WY, Big Horn Mountain 50 Mile/50k/30k
16. June 25 - Logan UT, Logan Peak Trail Run 28 Miles or (Jackson Hole WY, Half Marathon)
17. July 2 - Smithfield UT, Freedom Run 15k
18. July 4 - Lander WY, Half Marathon
19. July 9 - Park City UT, Trail 10k or (Farmington UT, Half Marathon)
20. July 16 - Ogden UT, NUTS Trail Half Marathon
21. July 23 - Provo UT, Provo 10k
22. July 30 - Kemmerer WY, Burn Your Lungs Run Half Marathon/10k/5k
23. August 6 - Park City UT, Jupiter Peak Steeplechase (Part of the Triple Trail Challenge)
24. August 13 - Afton WY, El Vaquero Loco 50k/25k
25. August 20 - Park City UT, Park City Marathon (Part of the Triple Trail Challenge)
26. August 27 - Jackson Hole WY, Rendezvous Mountain Climb or (Logan UT, Top Of Utah Half)
27. September 3 - Alta WY, Grand Teton 50 Mile/26.2 Mile/10k
28. September 10 - Park City UT, Mid-Mountain Marathon (Part of the Triple Trail Challenge)
29. September 17 - Logan UT, Top Of Utah Marathon or (Provo UT, Save Your Skin 10k)
30. September 24 - Pinedale WY, Pinedale Half Marathon
31. October 1 - St. George UT, St. George Marathon or (Ogden UT, Wolf Mountain 20k)
32. October 8 - Salt Lake City UT, Wasatch Woman 10k (Audrey Only)
33. October 14 - Faust UT, Pony Express 50 Miles (Possibility)
34. October 15 - Antelope Island UT, Mountain View Trail Half Marathon
35. October 22 - Ogden UT, Ogden Valley 50 Miles
36. October 29 - Provo UT, Halloween Half Marathon or (Ogden UT, Up N' Over 10k)

The Days Go By

Yesterday Audrey and I went to Rock Springs. We had a few things on the agenda, but the biggest one was getting new tires for our Tahoe. Let me tell you, tires are expensive! They better last a long time... But we needed to get them considering our other ones were basically bald, which doesn't bode well for Wyoming Winters. We were sliding all over the place just trying to get out of our driveway. I guess you have to beef up quite a few things when you are living in a mountainous region.

Maya is healing from her dog fight the other day, and Mountie is the same as always. Here are a few updated pictures of them.

His eyes look crazy because they were "red-eyed".

You can see the bite mark right below her eye. From this angle it's kind of hard to see.

The sun finally came out today. We have been having some pretty gray days lately, so it was really nice to see it come up over Oyster Ridge this morning. The next few pictures are the view out of our front window. Pretty spectacular. God's Creation is a beautiful thing. Looks like a great morning to run outside!

Lately Happenings

This week has been kind of a crazy one. 1st on the list is that one morning Maya got off of her leash, chased down our neighbor's dog and commenced getting into a dog fight. She came out on the losing end with a pretty good cut on the side of her face, and a hitch in her giddy up. I had to run up the driveway and pull them away from each other, while the owner of the other dog screamed like crazy.
2nd, we started a marathon training program this week. Audrey is wanting to qualify for the Boston Marathon, and for her age division that means finishing a marathon in 3 hours and 40 minutes, 13 minutes faster than our previous PR (Personal Record). We have some of our races already planned out for 2011, and the two marathons that Audrey is going to do are possibly the Moab Marathon in April as a warm up for the qualifying marathon which is the Utah Valley Marathon and that will be on June 11. So back to the original story, we have upped our mileage quite a bit this week compared to what we have been doing, and incorporating in different distances, speeds, etc...
3rd, we got some really great coffee from our friends the Wergins. They used to live in Winter Park, CO and they know the owner of Rocky Mountain Roastery. They went back for Thanksgiving and picked us up some of the coffee that this guy hand roasts. It is amazing. And I am actually drinking a cup right now.

Proverbs

10:12 - Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.

10:17 - He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.

10:29 - The way of the Lord is a refuge for the righteous, but it is ruin of those who do evil.

11:2 - When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

12:16 - A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.

12:25 - An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.

13:3 - He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.

13:20 - He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

14:16 - A wise man fears the Lord and shuns evil, but a fool is hotheaded and reckless.

Thanksgiving & Anniversary Weekend!!!

 This blog is going to be a long one, so hang on for the ride. Audrey and I were able to get away this past weekend to celebrate our 5th year wedding anniversary, and here is the story. We left Kemmerer at 5:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning heading for Bountiful, UT to run in a 10k Turkey Trot. It was put on by the South Davis Recreation Center and they also had a 5k race and a 1k race for kids. In the 10k alone there were 200 participants.
We had some snow that had fallen pretty heavily on Tuesday evening, and I was hoping that the roads would be cleared by Thursday morning. They were halfway cleared in Wyoming, but as soon as we hit the Utah border they were perfectly clear and dry. They use a salt mixture in Utah and Wyoming only uses sand. Needless to say it took us a little longer than expected to get to the race.

But we made it in time because we left so early. When we started the race the temperatures were hovering somewhere between 10-20 degrees. We took off at a pretty good pace and maintained it throughout the entire run. The worst part was the cold, and the best part was the views of the mountains that we had. They looked amazing with all the snow on them!

One section of the Wasatch Mountains, looking out of our hotel room window.

 Audrey and I finished the race together in 29th and 30th place out of 200 or so runners. Click on the link for the official results. http://www.milliseconds.com/participants/final_list/overall/143679 They had Starbucks coffee and some bagels at the finish. Here are some pictures from after the race.

The finisher's medal from the Turkey Trot 10k.

Thumbs up for a fun race!

Warming back up in the Rec. Center after the race.

It was nice to be able to stretch and eat a little something inside.

Audrey after the race.

All smiles for a run on Thanksgiving day!

A fellow runner was nice enough to take a picture of us together.

 We took advantage of the locker rooms at the Rec. Center and got showered up before we headed to our Thanksgiving lunch. We went to Einstein Bros. Bagels. This has become on of our new favorite places to eat out. They have amazing sandwiches, soup, bagels, desserts, and gourmet coffee. The atmosphere is really laid back too. So we got our lunch and enjoyed talking about the race.

Our great Thanksgiving lunch!

You should eat here if you never have, they have a wonderful selection and great food!

Coffee always helps to warm up after running in 10 degree weather.

Just enjoying my lunch company!

 Thanksgiving night we decided to go and see a movie since it had been a long time since we had been to a theater, let alone a really nice one. The movie theater in Kemmerer just isn't that nice! It was a lot of fun to sit in nice comfy chairs and be out on a date with my wife. A great way to end a wonderful day.

Thanksgiving night we went out on a date to a movie!

We hadn't been to a theater in a long time.

 Friday morning we decided to get up early and go for a short little run before we headed out to go shopping on Black Friday and on our Anniversary day. We took off from our motel, which was located kind of on the edge of town, so there were really no sidewalks anywhere, and the wind was starting to pick up, so we cut our run a little short and headed back for nice hot showers and breakfast before we faced the madness of all the sale day crowds.

 

This is what you look like when you run outside at 6:00 a.m. in the winter.

Our first stop was Striders Running Store. They had a few items on sale, but nothing that I felt like I had to have. We got a few small things there - socks & gels.

Our next stop was Ross (fitting I know). Audrey found some really good deals on some clothes and a new yoga mat. They have been offering Yoga classes at our Rec. Center in Kemmerer on Monday and Wednesday nights and we have been going. Audrey has gone for quite a while, and I've gone twice now. It is really good for flexibility and lots of running magazines are saying that it is really good cross training.

After Ross we went to Salt Lake Running Company.

They were having a great deal on select shoes, and Audrey and I both found a pair of Newton Running Shoes in our sizes. These are a different type of running shoe because they have 4 lugs on the ball of the foot that elevates the front of your foot. The idea behind them is that when you run you want to land on the ball of your foot instead of on your heel. There are a lot of people who run who land on their heel and this leads to numerous injuries. So with this distinct design it helps runners to have better form, to have less injuries, and to be able to run faster without as much energy.

My new Newton Running Shoes. On sale for $44.00 compared to $175.00.

That was a lot of fun to find them in our right sizes. Saturday we had a slow morning, gathered up our stuff, checked out of our motel, went for a short run at Kay's Creek Parkway (a paved trail we found that runs along a river) to try out our new shoes (they worked great by the way), ate lunch at Mimi's Cafe, got groceries, and headed home. It was a fantastic anniversary!

Upcoming Anniversary

Audrey and I will be celebrating our 5th year wedding anniversary this coming Friday! We are totally looking forward to being able to spend a couple of days away, and I'm praying that the weather gets better and stays that way so our traveling won't be an issue.
We are going to run a 10k on Thanksgiving morning and spend the rest of the weekend enjoying the city.
So here's to marriage!

Substitute

I subbed for the 5th grade class today at Kemmerer Middle School. Everything went relatively smooth with all the kids. I had one class that was getting out of hand and I said, "The next person who says anything without it being productive or asking me a question gets their name written on the board!" And as soon as I was done this kid mouths off about something, so I went directly over to the whiteboard with my marker and wrote his name down. Then I turned around and another kid had his had raised and he asks me, "What did I do?" Turns out that I didn't exactly know all of their names and totally wrote down the wrong one. Then once I got the right name I spelled it a different way, and by the end of the entire thing everyone including me was snickering because I was totally portraying the tough guy routine and it half back fired. But they were quiet the rest of the time.
I also felt pretty decent today considering my massive sickness attack of the past three days. I ran 2 miles at the Rec. Center after school. It felt good to finally move after not being able to for so long, but I could tell that I was dead tired. It felt like I was dragging my legs along the ground.

Sickness

Well, I have been sick since Sunday afternoon, and am only now feeling half way decent. I think I got a horrible case of the flu. It was no fun at all. Sunday night was one of the longest nights of my life. I couldn't get comfortable anywhere and moved from the bed to the couch all night long. And I was awakened every two hours by my stomach wanting to get rid of whatever was in there. Needless to say it was bad.
But hopefully the worst is over.
Now on to some good news. On Saturday Audrey and I got to take a date day.

We went to Starbucks and sat in there for a good 3 hours just being together. It was so nice to have good coffee and no time frame whatsoever. When we were getting ready to leave one of the baristas said, "You guys really made yourselves comfortable here!" I guess that's when you know that you have made another place feel like home.

We also bought a french press while we were there. We have been talking about buying one for a long time, and we finally just went for it. Totally worth it! We used it on Sunday morning and the coffee was amazing! So much better than just having a normal cup out of a coffee maker.
Maybe we had such a great day on Saturday that I got sick on Sunday to make up for it!

My Life On The Run by Bart Yasso

I just finished reading "My Life On The Run" by Bart Yasso. I really enjoyed reading this book. He writes from a very humble and down to earth perspective about his life, and how running changed everything for him. He was an alcoholic from the age of 14-18 or 20 and then he started running and it changed his life. He eventually got a job at Runner's World, a leading magazine for running, and has traveled across the globe running and doing a job that he never even dreamed of. The book is full of great stories and great lessons learned.

First Dam Run 2010

This past Saturday Audrey and I ran in a race in Logan, UT called the First Dam Run. The race route was an out and back that took runners past the "First Dam" on the river that flows down Logan Canyon, hence the name of the race.
The race didn't start until 10:00 a.m. which was nice for us since we had to drive 2 hours to get there. Our friends Barry and Janice and their son Benjamin went with us to cheer us on and we all had to stock up on groceries afterward at SAM'S Club and Wal-Mart.
We ran in the 10k race (6.2 Miles) and there were 91 other runners doing that race. It was cloudy and overcast at the start and a little chilly, but once we started running it warmed up pretty quick. We took off at a pretty fast pace, and there were probably only 10-12 people ahead of us. We maintained a good pace throughout the entire race and methodically passed people. The course was fairly flat and the views were awesome. The mountains on one side, the river, the fall leaves, it was gorgeous.
Once we hit the 1 mile mark and there weren't any other women remotely close to us I knew that Audrey was going to win first place female. Coming into the turnaround point there was a really strong wind coming down through the canyon, but once we turned around it was really nice because it pushed us from the back. The next closest girl was about 1 minute behind us.
I pulled ahead of Audrey a little bit towards the end and I finished in 42 minutes 39 seconds, and Audrey finished in 42:43.
Here's the link for the official results:
http://www.milliseconds.com/participants/final_list/overall/143635
After the race they did awards and Audrey won a trophy for being first place (a piece of driftwood that had come over First Dam) and I won a ribbon for first place in my age division of 20-29.

More Halloween Half Pictures