Wild Iris 21k Trail Run In Lander, WY

The Wild Iris 21k Trail Run was part of the International Climber's Festival held in Lander, WY during the 2nd week of July. The race is held in the foothills of the Wind River Mountains, and it was one of our favorite races from last year. This year didn't disappoint either. The trip started Friday morning when Audrey and I loaded up the Tahoe and took off for Lander. We shopped at an entirely gluten free store in Riverton for Audrey, picked up our race bags, walked around downtown, checked into a cheap motel, got some sleep, and headed up to the Wild Iris area outside of Lander.
The race started at 7:00 a.m. with only a handful of runners (maybe 30 max). We took off and just cruised along not really pushing hard, but just enjoying the beauty of it all. After about 7 or 8 miles Audrey wasn't feeling too hot, a little bit of sickness or flu or hitting the dreaded "wall". So we power hiked, jogged our way back to the finish, which is no small task since the last half of the race is all uphill. I'm talking 2,000 ft. of elevation uphill.
So we finished, had a great time in beautiful country, headed back and showered, ate at Gannett Grill (I got the Bansai Burger - grilled pineapple on it), enjoyed some good conversation over lunch, then headed back to Kemmerer to get ready for Sunday.
All in all it was a good trip!
Pictures will be posted soon!

Linda K. Woody Memorial 5k Race Report

July 4th started off with driving to Mountain View, Wyoming to participate in the Linda K. Woody Memorial 5k Fun Run. We found out about this race last week, and since it was close to us decided to give it a shot. The weather was overcast and cool - just about perfect to run in. The race started at 8:00 a.m. and we rolled into the parking lot about 7:30 a.m. Enough time to get our bib numbers, put on our shoes, go to the bathroom, and head to the start line.
There was probably only about 50 or so other runners so we figured we had a good shot at being towards the top. They director yelled, "Go!", and we were off. At a 5k everyone takes off way faster than they should, including me... I guess I get caught up in it all too. But Audrey starts more conservatively, so I hung with her and didn't wear myself out in the first 1/2 mile. There were about 8 people in front of us that we started to pick off methodically. We passed 4 of them and the ones ahead of us (Cross Country High School Boys) had about 30 seconds on us.
At this point I thought I might be able to catch them, so I sped up some and stayed about 30 seconds ahead of Audrey the entire rest of the race. Needless to say this is how it ended. I was 5th overall; 2nd in my age division from 18-30, and Audrey was first female overall! and 6th overall total.
I finished in 20:09 and Audrey came in roughly at 20:30. After the race was over we grabbed postcards that I made up for the Burn Your Lungs Run and put them on all the cars that were parked there. Hopefully some of those people will come up and run in our race!
Where we really did good was with the awards. Since Audrey was 1st place she won a new pair of sunglasses; a $100 gift card to Amazon; a hydration pack; and a medal. And for my 2nd place Age Division I won a medal; a small cooler; and waterproof backpacking sacks.
Totally worth the drive! And we made it home by 10:15 a.m. 
If you follow the link below it will take you to my Garmin Stats on the race. Time/Elevation/Splits/Etc...
Linda K. Woody Memorial 5k by roscol24 at Garmin Connect - Details

Audrey claiming her 1st place female prize.

Showing off her winnings!

Bling.

Rambler Trail Run - Pictures

Park City Mini Trail Series Race Report

 On Saturday Audrey and I ran in the Park City Mini Trail Series 5k put on by R-U-N? Events. They do 3 different trail races during the summer; a 5k, 10k, and 15k. Last summer we did the 15k, and Audrey was one of the female winners which won her a free entry into this year's 5k. So we decided we better run it since it was free for Audrey.

The race started at 8:00 a.m. and we showed up around 7:00 a.m. to get our bib numbers and everything else squared away. One of the cool things was that Pearl Izumi was allowing runners to demo their new trail shoe; the Peak II. So, I figured I would run the race in them!

5k's are over so fast that you don't really have time to conjure up a race plan. You just go out hard and basically kill yourself until it's over. At least that's what I did with this race anyway. The lead group of guys was about 30-50 yards ahead of me after about a mile when my shoe came untied (stupid new shoes!), so I did a quick stop and retied it, leaving me no chance to catch them, but I was sitting with a good cushion behind me so no one passed me.

The rest of the race went well. I finished 8th overall and 2nd in my Age Division. Audrey came in pretty stinkin close behind me and she was the first female to cross the finish line which netted her a $50.00 gift certificate to Salt Lake Running Co.

And my 2nd place Age Division netted me a sweet water bottle....

 We also got a couple of post race massages for free.

Ross completes national personal trainer certifcation (The Other Ross That Is!)

Modified: Thursday, Jun 23rd, 2011
BY: Nancy Banister, Gazette Reporter


By Nancy Banister

Gazette Reporter

It took more than 14 months of studying and testing, but local marathon runner, Audrey Ross is now a certified personal trainer. She grew up in Rock Springs and has a Bachelor’s of Art degree in youth ministry from Barclay College.

“I knew I wanted to go back to school in health and fitness,” Ross said. “I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go.”

According to Ross, the Obama administration was giving financial incentives to women wanting a higher education. “That is how we were able to afford it.”

Ross had to decide where to study and daily travel to Utah wasn’t high on her list, especially during the winter months.

“I took the online course for my certification from Penn-Foster,” Ross said. “I always had a professor to talk to and ask any question any hour of the day.”

“The hardest part of the certification program was my Anatomy and Physiology class, but the nutrition class was a breeze,” she said.

Ross graduated with a 97 percent and received her certificate June 6.

Her certification encompasses all aspects of fitness, including nutrition. The Penn Foster program is affiliated with the National Council on Strength and Fitness. The certificate from NCSF will give her the ability to practice in different states

To keep her certification with NCSF, Ross will have to re-certify every three years, but Ross doesn’t want to stop there.

“I hope to continue in my education and learn more,” she said.

She looks to further her education with more certificates like National Exercise and Sports Trainer Association, the American Fitness Association of America and AFPA.

“The more education I get the better I can serve my clients,” Ross said.

She wants to see more people learn about improving their health, not only exercise, but also nutrition.

“One thing I have learned through my studies is that I have been running the wrong way,” Ross said.

Ross has been a distance runner for a long time and has suffered from IT Band Syndrome. She has realized that the problem, the painful tightening of a “band” across the knee, was caused by how she ran.

“Once I started training myself to run correctly, I don’t have the knee problems as before,” Ross said.

She also knows that clients are more successful when exercising outside the home. She would prefer a different place, or even outside, for her clients to keep a regular fitness schedule. Ross has worked very hard for over a year to receive this certification and has decided to take the summer off, but she has a few clients.

“I am not sure what I want to do yet, but I am praying about it,” she said.

She would like to incorporate her knowledge of health and fitness with a ministry.

“There is such a need in the ministry for being aware of your health,” Ross said.

According to Ross, many ministers have stress and heart problems and the proper diet and exercise can help.She knows that having too many clients will prevent her from one of her personal goals, to run in the Boston Marathon. She will work with the personal goals of each client.

“I want my clients to understand the importance of the right kind of exercise and how what you eat is a large part of a healthy lifestyle,” Ross said.

Until the time is right for her to start her business, whether she works independently or with a group, look for Ross along the road as she trains for the next qualifying marathon.

Never Quite Reaching Where I Want To Be

Somewhere along the pathway of life as of late I either took on too much, or life just decided to throw a lot my way. I feel like I haven't been able to catch up with everything that I need to or want to get done. I have a list of everything that needs to be done and it seems like when I cross one off the list three more magically appear at the bottom. It's like the snake in some movie I watched where you cut it in half to kill it, but instead you now have two snakes instead of one. Then you try and kill those two by chopping them in half, and BANG, now you have four.
But I am going to keep slogging through it all, not necessarily knowing that I will catch up, but hoping that I will at some point soon. In the meantime here are a few things that have happened, and a few others that are on the horizon of life.

1. We decided to give Mountie a little shave since it has finally decided to become summer here in Wyoming. We took the haircutting buzzer we have and went to town. He looks a little bit funny, but he is way cooler!
2. Audrey and I are doing a 5k trail run on Saturday in Park City, UT.
3. I am officiating my second wedding of the summer on July 2nd, at the Fossil Island Golf Course in Kemmerer.
4. I just finished up reading and writing a critique for "A Handbook on Domestic Violence for Wyoming Faith Leaders". This handbook is yet to be published, and I had the opportunity to go through and suggest changes that needed to be made. It will be published in September by the Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
5. I'm in the middle of reading "King's Cross" by Timothy Keller. It is incredibly good, and very thought provoking which takes me more time to get through. You should read it.

I guess I can cross blogging off my list now, but I'm afraid if I do, three new things will appear!

Short Trail Run With Maya

Today Audrey and I decided to take Maya with us on our 3 mile still recovering from race weekend trail run. We took a bet on if one of our favorite single track trails was dry and it was. I think this was the first time that we had taken Maya out on a single track. She ended up doing great, mostly in part due to the fact that she couldn't really run anywhere else besides the trail, which is nice if you are the one holding the leash.
But, the best part of the run was when we came across a ground squirrel... Maya has been known to catch a few mice and other rodents in the past, and it brings her joy to catch these little varmints. So, when we caught this ground squirrel off guard I knew that since I was holding the leash I was going to have to help give Maya a chance at this thing.
We dodged, weaved, went forward, backward sideways, up, down, and all over before Maya finally caught it. I'm sure it looked hilarious. Audrey had fun watching. Maya, the proud hunter, pranced around in circles for a while with her catch, head raised high, joyous in the fact that she succeeded.
It was pretty funny.