Natural Instructor

Ricki taught her first official full class of Kickboxing on Friday. She has been shadowing other instructors and teaching sections of class for a few weeks. As many of you know the rigorous 3 day training course she took was only training. To "certify" you must record yourself teaching a full length class of at least 5 people and send it in. A board of certified instructors critique your teaching and give you a pass/fail. It is customary to record yourself teaching an unofficial class full of friends but since all the students and fellow instructors had complimented Ricki on how advanced she was the head of group fitness for the Miramont Gyms told Ricki to tape a "live" class. So on Friday she taped her very first full length live class to send in. She did fantastic of course and all the long time kickboxing students complimented her. I was going to try and post some video but I haven't managed to get any on my laptop. The powers that be have already given Ricki 2 classes to teach so now all the gym schedules have her name on it. She has worked very hard and loves it. Proud of you Ric!

First day of Kindergarten!

Well today was Brig's first day of school and he was very excited!

I took the kids to the park so they could play with some friends before school and as I was leaving the park on our way to school it happened. Yes, I got teary eyed! I think something must have been in my eyes because it seemed to happen more than once today! I'm fully not going to admitted that as much as I love having a little free time I miss Brig and it is hard to see him grow up!

As You can see Brig was all ready to go.

He even let me take a few pictures in front of the school.

In fact I think I set a trend taking these picture's because a few people after me thought it was a good idea and did the same.

Brig wouldn't let me leave with out taking a picture of his "Coolest Backpack Ever!" that quote came directly from a little boy that Brig made friends with 2 sec. after getting there!

And last but not least a picture of him saying Bye to me with a very excited wave!

Reading Assignment

So, 1. In anticipation for the inevitable trip to the movie theater to take Ricki to the Twilight movie that will be coming out (and because I hate reading the book after the movie if I can help it), 2. In recognition of several friends who were "Men Enough" to admit they had actually read the Twilight series and 3. because I had nothing else to read, I decided to do the same and check out what all the hype was about. I admit that it has been very entertaining. The reading is easy and she seems to have an "elemental" writing style that I like. Reading it as a "guy" makes it a bit different as I can identify with both Edward and Jacob. Even though I didn't read it just because Ricki suggested it, I thought she would like it if I read something she likes. I've tried other books she recommended but I've liked this the best. Maybe I'll talk her into reading The Hobbit before the movie gets close.

Backpacking

After my recent 50 mile run I was the recipient of many "You are a bit crazy" remarks so I booked a private weekend with my shrink. We spent a few days out in the backcountry working out my mental aversion to Moose, leaky tents, and proving that Mountain Hardware and North Face can peacefully coexist. In all fairness Ken and I spent little time discussing real psychology (since this was the exact thing he was trying to get away from) and spent more time talking about books or simply listening to the wind. It was a great trip. Thanks to Ricki and the boys who sacrificed their time, Kristen who let Ken travel to Colorado without her, and the anonymous donor who provided me with a very excellent backpack, it worked great

Happy 30th Birthday Bard!

Bard celebrated his 30th Birthday a few weeks ago and we got him this card.

When I read it I had to laugh because it was so fitting since Bard just ran his 50 mile race.

You ran how many miles?!?

Let me start off by saying thanks to Ricki and the boys who tolerate my training and support me in running down my dreams (pun intended) if they were not on board I would not be able to do what I do. Thanks to Mom and Dad who inspire and support me, and only occasionally hint that I should chase a less painful goal. And of course my Heavenly Father who created this incredible planet to explore and created the human body that I get to push to the limits.
Yes this is me, running at nearly 6000 feet elevation and yes, that is Mt. Rainer in the background. This was about 15 miles into the race, just after a 10 mile climb. I have posted the course profile for everyone to see, mostly to remind myself just how difficult it was.
We drove down to the course the night before and stayed in a "Quaint" little hotel. Ricki wasn't too impressed but the boys loved the twin beds in the loft. I was up and O-Dark 30 to get ready after a fitfull night of sleep and Ricki took me down to the starting line.

You can see how mountainous this terrain was. I started the course easy, you can see the rock faces behind the starting line. Our first task was to climb to the top of those faces. I did not know this to start. I became intimately aquainted with that mountain. I soon found a group of 3 other runners, all first timers as well and we swapped training stories and kept each other motivated for most of the first half of the race.

The insane uphill trudge was soon moderated by a much too steep decent which had my quads cramping. By 27 miles I had left most of my friends behind and was making up time. The 27 mile mark was rewarded by a small cheering crowd near the starting line where Ricki and the boys cheered me on, fed me, supplied a much needed IPOD, but the boys didn't understand it when I started off again. Tired legs, an exposed 8.5 mile 3000 ft climb in the heat of the day was made emotional by cries of Krevan who just couldn't figure why he got to see me then watch me disappear into the woods. The support was awesome. You would run into the aid station. They would read off your race number and mark you down on their list. They keep track of everyone's progress to ensure no one gets lost. Then they fill up your bottles while you grabbed whatever you could eat (mostly P&J sandwiches, fruit, and sodium supplements for me. Occasionally a cup of Coke or Mt. Dew). Other than that I survived mostly

on water and GU. Soon after I left the 27 mile aid station Kre's cries were drowned out by the cries of my legs. The second climb was difficult but I proved my stuff by passing 12 "runners" over the next 8.5 miles of serious up hill. By 37 miles I was feeling it. Sun Top Peak aid station was awesome and I even felt good leaving the top. The next 6 miles of steep gravel road transformed my legs from human muscle tissue, capable of feeling pain into very effective pain amplifiers. At 43.6 miles I was spent and had run further (distance) and longer (time) than ever before. Ricki met me at the aid station, supplied me with more electrolyte tablets (to stop the muscle cramps) and a much deserved kiss. The officials at the aid station ruled the kiss to be "Out of bounds" support but kindly forgave the foul and decided not to DQ me. :) It was a struggle to finish the last few miles. I knew the family was waiting, and regardless of how irrational it is to run 48 miles and quit, all I wanted to do was sit down on the trail and stop moving. Eventually I found my way out of the forrest and my rough patch to the finish line. Soon after I finished I collapsed to the ground, lucky for me Krevan was there to revive me :)

So yes I survived my first 50 miler, became stronger, faced a new challenge and overcame. Will I do another? Yes. Do I still want to do a 100? Yes. I'll start training just as soon as I can walk down stair unaided. My final time was 10:07:52. That translates to a 12:09 mile pace, not bad considered we faced over 17,000 feet of elevation gain/loss. I was 89th out of over 200 finishers, 250 starters. 13th in my age category. I'll look for a stronger finish next year. Thanks Ric for always wanting a picture with me and sharing in my adventures, it wouldn't be worth it without you!