The 30-miler

So, I did the Ragnar Trail a week before the Ironman St. George.  This event was down in Zion's Traverse and I did it as an ultra team with 3 other guys in the neighborhood instead of an 8-man team.  So, you basically run twice as much as the other teams, which of course there is a joke that you are "ultra cool" being on an ultra team.  I think it was due to these guys being nuts and gluttons for ultra pain.  Trail running is so different from street running.  You don't go nearly as fast, but it sure is so much more enjoyable...to just be out in nature and see God's beauty.

My biggest physical challenge this year has been the asthma and anemia.  I used to never be sick or sickly.  The weird thing is that I get sinus infections every year, but this past year I didn't get that.  Instead, the infection went right into my lungs and flared up into asthma, and I feel that I can't breathe too well.  It has debilitated me a little bit in that I can't seem to push myself harder.  Nor, can I do the uphill very well anymore...not like I was ever good at that.  But, it has definitely slowed me down.  I can't ever seem to get enough oxygen and my energy level is not quite where it used to be either.  When I start an event, or even during training, I feel I could keep going and maintaining but it is all at a much slower pace.  Regardless of the challenge, I will keep trying to do my best.  Hopefully, I won't start letting the guys down.

  From left to right: Chris Nelson - Tim Flinders - me - Nate Younger

Why do kids just love playing in the dirt?!

Amazing, there was one strand of dirt  So, what is it that these hooligans get into?...

High Adventure with Ethan

THE BIG EVENT

From left to right: Devin Durrant, Chance Burnham, Ethan and Adam Baca.  These 4 did this obstacle course at least 20 times.  They wanted to break the course record and come in first place and were bound and determined to not let anyone beat or upset them.  They did keep getting the best time, but then another team would come in and beat their time.  It was good for them.  They got so tired.  In the end, they tied for first...accounting for human judge errors.  They first had to unlock themselves, which one of their teammates had to get them the key.  They then ran over a see saw horse that lead to a climbing wall.  After the climbing wall, the group had to swing over a pit hanging on to a long rope which was kind of difficult.  The concluding event was to strap one boy onto a rope which was tied around a type of pole in which they could not hit the ground.  After that, they had to all sprint to the finish line.  I believe the object lesson of this event, besides getting them all tired, was to promote team.

The hike

We decided to do our own hike which was not part of the scheduled events.  Upon concluding with dinner on Thursday night, James looked up into the mountains and said, "let's go on a hike."  I don't think they knew what they were getting themselves into, but I did.  I was very hesitant in starting such a strenuous hike so late in the evening.  My sole concern was for the safety of these kids.  I didn't want to have to call any mom or dad and give them any bad news for which I was responsible.  This turned out to be an extremely difficult task.

James Johnson - Adam Baca - Nathaniel Hanna - Chance Burnham - Ethan - Devin Durrant

The start of the climb was awesome and beautiful! 

The area had a fire about 7 years ago which destroyed most of the natural habitat.  Nevertheless, it was pretty  breathtaking.  I love the Utah mountains

The boys found a burnt and dead tree which created a natural "fence."  As most curious boys are, they were fascinated with it and just wanted to hang out for a while

When we were eating, this is the peak that we saw from the campsite in which we were determined to conquer.  From the campsite, it didn't seem too far away, but it turned out to be pretty far away and with a lot of elevation gain.  Surprisingly, each of the boys did amazingly well.  I should have known that teenagers would be full of energy, not like their 40-year old counterpart.  As you can see, the peak was pretty narrow.  I was pretty nervous letting these kids go out because of the very steep drop off on either side.  Plus, the wind was howling and I was a little afraid of anything bad happening.  Needless to say, we weren't out there very long

The kids dared me to go out to the edge, but I told them there was no way they were getting me out there

 

The view from up here was amazing!  This is what it was all about...spending some time with my boy

For the trek downward, one of the boys, Devin, had the bright notion to take a different route, one that followed the river.  It turned out to be pretty gnarly.  From the fire, there was a heck of a lot of debris and trees.  It was brutal trying to navigate through all the brush.  In fact, these two pictures don't do it justice at all.  These areas were super easy compared to the majority of what we found ourselves traversing through.  I think the more difficult the journey, the more thrilled these boys were.

We just barely made it back before nightfall

On Friday evening, at the conclusion of our adventure, we had a campsite fireside.  The cool thing, is that most of the boys shared how awesome the hike was, even though it wasn't part of the scheduled events.  They loved doing something difficult and challenging.

Jaxon Hanney.  He decided to stay back from the hike.  But, he was awesome with the hatchet throwing.  He was one of just a few to get the hatchet to stick multiple times in the wood roots.

Matt Hanna - he was too tired to head out on the trek with us.  But, this boy has a brilliant mind

Brad Erekson - our Young Men's President.  He is  a spiritual giant and a great man.  It was fun hanging out with him for the 3 days

Ava's preschool graduation

 Ava with her really good friend, Kennadie.  They make best buds.  I get to home teach Kennadie and her family with Ethan.  She loves that Ava gets to come over every time.

 I love the hats.  One thing that Ava really like about preschool is that Miss Julie is always nice.  Ava loves Miss Julie and says, "Miss Julie is pretty and is my favorite preschool teacher.  After preschool she would give out candy and water"

 Ava learned a lot of songs and learned her ABC's

 Kaylee is a good friend to Ava who is to the left of her.

 Ava did 2 years of preschool with "Miss Julie."  After we got home, I told Ava that she would no longer have Miss Julie as a teacher anymore.  I think it finally dawned on her because she realized she wouldn't see her as much and started crying.  She learned it is hard to have to say good bye to those you like and care about.  My little tenderhearted girl!

The Ironman wannabe

On May 4th, I entered the St. George triathlon as a super underdog to come out on top.  By all assumptions, I guess I did not really compete for the coveted top overall finisher prize for the US National Pro Championships.  But, that was okay, because I was just excited to be able to be in the race.  I think it was due to the novel experience for me of  my first time entering an "Ironman."  This triathlon was a Half Ironman which is 1.2 miles swim, 56 miles bike and 13.1 miles run.  Don was supposed to do it with me, but he did not register in time.  

So, I ended up doing this triathlon all by my lonesome...with another 2167 athletes.  My overall time was a lethargic 6:26:26.  My swim time was 38:34.  The bike time was 3:19:47.  And, the run time was 2:17:07.  I felt I did well on the swim, okay on the bike, but horrible on the run.  I was expecting to come in under 6 hours, but I guess it was okay for having done a 30-mile run race the weekend before.  In hind sight, had I been smart or at least thinking straight, I would not have signed up for the run race because I really wanted to do well on this, my first Ironman.   On a positive note, though, the race was so awesome and fun.  I would love to do another.  I ended up coming in 1183rd place overall.  

Coming out of the water

The hard part with the swim is the mere fact of quantity.  With nearly 100 people starting at the same time, you are always jockeying for position and it is hard to get into a rhythm.  Pool swimming is so much easier and calmer because you're not fighting against other people.  The wet suit makes you more buoyant so you use less energy in that regards and it makes you a little faster because you are more streamlined.  However, I prefer the sleeveless because it frees up your arms a little more.  It took me until about halfway through the swim to finally get into a rhythm so I felt I could have gone faster and done better, but I was okay with it because I came out of the water feeling good and not sick.  My motion sickness wasn't a factor this day...yay

I had the energy on the bike but not the power or the speed.  As seen in the picture, I do not have a time trial bike.  So, when I top out at 40 mph down a mountain, other people are flying by me like I'm standing still.  It's the same thing on the flats.  Really the only time I passed people up was on the climbs, which weren't a whole lot.  The time trial bikes are designed differently to allow you to use your quads more and not sitting up straight as much.  You're positioned differently to get more speed.  Overall, I did about a mile per 4 minutes which isn't too bad and averages out to only 17 miles per hour.  I should have been around 21-22 mph, but on this type of course, it was respectable

I came out on the run and did good for about, oh, the first quarter mile.  I felt I had the energy, but then I soon realized my lower legs were shut down.  They were so tight because of the run race from the week before.  All I could muster was a speed walk for the first 4 miles.  The legs finally loosened up enough to do a slower run for the next 4 miles.  I was finally able to get my pace down to the 7 minute/mile for only the last 5 miles.  Funny, I felt the best on the run at the end.  In fact, the last 1.5 miles, I probably passed up nearly 100 people after finally being able to kick it in gear.  Lesson learned...don't sign up for another event a week before the prime event.

Something cool, awesome and inspiring was that I encountered a gentleman doing the tri who did the run portion in his fireman gear.  It was amazing.  He must have been so extremely hot, but to see him carrying all his fireman gear and to be decked out in the uniform was pretty awesome and inspiring.  He won a lot of people's admiration and was saluted by nearly everyone I saw.  Way to go!

Coming into the finish line and feeling good

 It was so great to have the family there for support!  I love you guys so much!!

Memorial Day

One of the best things we like to do as a family is get together with one another and have a bbq.  This time we went to Dean and Alisa's house down south in Spanish Fork to spend the day.  I love all the good food and especially that there is always a seemingly large quantity of it.  Sometimes, and I say only sometimes, quantity does in fact debunk quality.  As far as cooking goes, I'd have to say I'm a pretty mean barbequer, but that is about the extent of my claim to the kitchen

Good times with the cousins!

Little Mr. Brown Eyes!

Currently, it has been a struggle for Nichole's brother, Dean.  He has been unemployed for quite some time with seemingly not many probabilities.  It is a strong possibility they may end up having to move, so it was good to hang out at their house.  I sure hope and pray he will be blessed soon with opportunity to provide for his cute and sweet little family!  This is one area where I have been extremely blessed in that I have never been unemployed.  This would be very difficult to go through not only individually but also as a family.  It seems I can empathize with him, but feel there is nothing that I can actually do for him.

Two hooligans

 Bathtub pictures are always cute.  Why?  I don't know why. They just are.  Once these two are in, it is hard to get them out.  They could stay in all day

Da bros

Playmates

These two are always fighting, playing, wrestling and teasing each other.  They are like two little kids always getting in trouble.  They love each other and then instantly get mad at each other like brothers.  Pip always nips at Eli, then licks him all over, and Eli loves to pull Pip's ears or tail, whatever he can get his hands on.

Why the chair you ask?  I love being naughty by going up and down the stairs when no one is watching.  Nice try mom and dad.  You can't keep me out!

 

 "We didn't do it, mom.  We swear."