I now prefer eating my toes!

26.2? You're crazy!

The saga of my first marathon:

4:15 AM - Why is my alarm going off?
4:20 AM - I think maybe I should get up now, why in the world are races so early in the morning!?!?!
4:30 AM - If only I could get up at 4 every morning to eat bananas and bagels.
4:45 AM - It's raining outside...can I go back to bed?
5:00 AM - Luckily my wife loves me and dropped my off right by the buses.  Why is it still raining?
5:15 AM - How do people fit on these school bus benches?  Oh yeah, they're 8 years old.
5:20 AM - Sorry man next to me, I was asleep and did not mean to put my head on your shoulder as we took the corner.
5:25 AM - Sorry man next to me, I was asleep and did not mean to put my head on your shoulder as we took the corner.
5:30 AM - You get the idea.
6:00 AM - I hope I don't see that man again, and hopefully I didn't drool on him at any point.
6:10 AM - Bathroom stop #1
6:30 AM - Found Hyrum and Wade among 2000 people.  Why is it still raining?
6:57 AM - Bathroom stop #2, cutting it close.  Why is it now POURING!?
7:05 AM - Why do all of these people that are hardly moving insist on starting at the front?  At least now it's only misting.
7:40 AM - Hmm, 10k split, that seems like a good distance, am I done yet?
8:10 AM - What is dripping off my head, down my back, and sloshing in my shoes?  I think I will take off my arm warmers, wring a gallon or two out, and put them back on.
8:20 AM - HAIL????  You have got to be kidding me.
8:40 AM - LIGHTNING???? Am I supposed to die today??  13 miles...I really like half marathons, am I done yet?
8:50 AM - Was that sunlight?  Nope, must have been car headlights bouncing off the river I'm running in.
9:00 AM - Yeah, my cheering section!  Does this mean I have to keep running?
9:30 AM - I don't think they can advertise this as a downhill race.
10:00 AM - Does anyone hear that screaming?  It must be close, it sounds like it's right in my ear.
10:30 AM - That screaming is getting louder and seems to be following me, good thing I can finally see the finish line.
10:37 AM - People say they cry when they finish a marathon because it's such an accomplishment, I think it's really because they don't realize how bad their legs hurt until they stop moving.  Maybe it's just me.

The wrap up:
Everyone wants to know, would I do it again?  Sure, why not?  Will I do it again?  Who knows. 

Cheering section.  Apparently Camie didn't want to be in the picture...

Ouch, my calves, ouch, my calves, ouch, my calves...mmm, chocolate milk

This is much better...watching people run!

This was all Hyrum's fault.  Was it worth the moose bling?  Maybe...

I love eating all 10 fingers-well actually just 9!

Many faces

The smug "I know I'm cute" look

The "can I go to bed now?" look

The "you lookin' at me?" look

The "I can't believe you just said that!" look

The "I'm sorry, I guess I just let that slip" look

The "you don't say!" look

The "don't mess with me or you know what will happen..." look



Epic the Relay

Despite swearing off overnight relays recently I had decided to give it one last chance.  I guess as the captain I couldn't really just bail out.  I wanted sleep, I wanted some free time to just hang out at home, but despite all of these objections I couldn't let it go.  I'm an addict.

With all of this swirling through my mind I headed off on to join the ranks of Family Feud at the 2011 Cache to Teton Epic Relay.  What's 210 miles among family?

It started off wonderfully, we met up with everyone in Logan and the first van got the party started.  I watched them run, ate, and lounged in my flip-flops.  Then my turn came...I think it was only something like 88 degrees, but it felt like 110.  It was hot and dry and I was running down a busy two lane highway outside of Preston Idaho dodging large farm implements.  It was tough, but somewhat satisfying, at least after I got over the urge to hurl...

 Lindsey was obviously having more fun at this point...pre-run.

 Now she knows what it feels like...  She had probably the hottest run of the relay, in the scorching sun, up a long hill, and in a canyon that prevented any breeze.  Did I mention she just had a baby?  Luckily for her she's tougher than I am.  Don't worry, we spent plenty of time dousing her in water.  And just in case you were wondering, yes, that is a burp cloth on her neck (we soaked it in cold water for her.)

 Recovery as the evening gets a bit cooler.  We enjoyed chatting with the few teams that were with us at this early point on the course when we could find a bit of shade.  We started with 4 teams and there were only 4 that started after us, so the first hours were a bit lonely.

 Once it cooled down to about 75 degrees the girls felt the need to hang out on the asphalt to soak up some additional heat.  This is in Idaho countryside near Grace as we wait for Devin catch up to us.

 Night running anyone?  So much better than heat-of-the-afternoon running, I guarantee it.  The night runs were great, except for the occasional unknown noise that might have been a stalking cougar, buffalo, or elephant.  I'm just sayin', you never know what's out there where you're out in the sticks at 1 am.

 The whole team bringing it to the finish line.  We made up a lot of time overnight and that morning and finally had a lot of other teams around.

 The entire family, feuding and all.  Luckily our senses were dulled by a lack of sleep and bright sunlight, otherwise there's no way we could have stood this close to each other after the ordeal.

Okay, so maybe I made it sound kind of hard and terrible.  Don't get me wrong, some of it was tough, and the smell inside the vehicle was definitely terrible, but we had tons of fun.  I had to reverse my decision and tell Greta I was in for Hood to Coast if she could get us in.  Also, we did AWESOME!  We were just a family team out having fun and we ended up 9th overall out of 80 some teams, and 1st out of all family classification teams (I believe there were 12.)  We rock!

Blessing Day

We decided since we were actually going to be in town for the weekend that it would be the perfect time to have Gavin's blessing!  Fortunately we had a lot of family who were able to be here for the day.   Also fortunately, Brent got a new camera and felt like practicing his photography skills with little Gavin.  It was fun for us to get to visit with all of the family and Gavin enjoyed getting to spend time with them!

I am so cute!