Dad & Jane visit!

So, Dad and Jane are visiting and we've had a really fun weekend. They arrived Thursday evening and we had a great dinner at home. Friday, while Kathy and I worked, they took the car and went to check out the geneology library to find out about some relative links to Scotland since they will be traveling there soon. Afterward, they drove to our school to check it out and meet some of the staff and kids. We then went to our usual "Friday Afternoon Club" meeting - meaning happy hour with some of us staff.... fun! Kathy and I had to zip down to get our race packets and then we went out for some carbo-loading. Saturday, of course was the race, and then after the race we went to the Tulip Festive at Thanksgiving Point. It was realy pretty - the flowers were amazing!! We strolled around and enjoyed a relaxing, after race, mellow activity. That night we went to Tiburon, a ridiculously good restaurant and had some fabulous food! Elk, Lamb, Bison, AhiTuna.... yum yum!! Birthday presents afterward!! We had a blast. Sunday, we drove out to the Salt Flats to see where the World's Fastest Indian raced! A rainy, cloudy, day but a nice way to spend some time together.

SLC Half Marathon!!!

Saturday, April 25. Kathy and I ran the SLC Half Marathon - what a great race! I, personally, was very happy to be running at all, considering all the medical stuff I've been through lately. We ran comfortably and in great time - 2:12! A perfect 10 minute average pace. It was especially great because we has super support - Dad and Jane happened to be visiting this weekend and were there to cheer us on. Also, a couple of our great friends from work, Amy and Gloria, were sighted along the way giving us cheers and high fives. The weather started out pretty dang cold - a long wait for the the start in about 40 degree weather was tough, but it ended up perfect temps for running. All in all, as usual, a great experience!

Next challenge: The Wasatch Back relay!

A new day!!

Well, the snow is done, for now. Got about 2 inches here on the bench, 13" in the ski resorts. Enough to make it look white again, but all melted by this am when the sun was out. The gardens and apple tree blossoms looked pretty for awhile as well. Time for the nice sunny weather to return though. The spring is always a great time to ride here, because it is relatively cool. Into the summer I need to be off the bike by 10am or it is blistering hot. Bill and Jane come in tonight for the weekend. We look forward to having them. Kathy and Karen are running the half marathon on saturday. Should be a cold start(36F) but nice to finish. Hopefully, they will finish in about 2hrs to 2:15. They should beat the elite runners of the marathon this year since none of the Kenyans are here, as the winners never got paid from last year. Should be close though. No other big plans I don't think. Just run and train, eat, drink and be merry!!

rk

err....Maybe not yet?

Well, just when we thought it was bike season.....it snows. Has been snowing most of the day today. Was sunny and 70 yesterday, then a winter storm from the west and here we are with snow all day today. Supposed to warm up again in the next few days, but still. Most of the ski areas are closed now, though will open on the weekends. Forecast is for 18 inches up there. Maybe I'll have to go search some runs out tomorrow?

Back to bike season!!

Ah..so good to be back on the bike!!! A nice little MTB ride in park city yesterday and up Emigration today. A nice weekend in the 60's with partly cloudy skies. Perfect for those base miles and getting ride of the winter fat. Too bad I have more of that I wanted. Hopefully the power will come up since the weight is is up. Anyway, just doing the preliminary workouts now, while trying to figure out the summer season and possible races. Which brings me to feuling during rides. Had a Cliff shot today (vanilla), which was quite possibly the worst tasting crap that ever went in my mouth. I don't see how they call it vanilla, because it does not taste ANYTHING like vanilla. It seems I have tasted almost every brand over my 15yrs or so of racing. Now that there are an almost endless number of companies and flavors, it seems as if quality has gone out the window. I guess that proves that competition is bad for quality!! My goal for the summer is find something to fuel myself during long workouts, that tastes good (well at least tolerable), and is not ridiculously expensive. We will see. Okay, see you next week.. Paris-Roubaix is starting!!!!!!!!!!!

rk

Step It Up

STEP IT UP events will take place across the nation calling for Congress to pass legislation to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.Washington Square will be the site of great music including Los Lobos! There will also be food, exhibits, presentations, vendors, informational booths and even a children’s playground.

Jen and I rode our bikes downtown to attend the Step It Up event hosted by our mayor, Rocky Anderson. Unfortunately, we couldnt stay as long as we'd like as Jen had to be somewhere by 6:00. I love that this city has such an environmentally aware mayor and puts on events like this!

The Swell

Since Kathy and I had Friday off of work we just HAD to take the opportunity for another road trip. Gloria, our friend from work decided to come along. Our original plan was to go for a long weekend, but those plans had to change to an overnighter. Hmm, where to go for just one night? We got some great info from the uutah website and decided to go to The Swell. That would be the San Rafael Swell. This is an area in central Utah about 3 hours away. The San Rafael river runs through it and it is flavored with beautiful canyons and scenery. There was an awesome pictograph panel along the way where the pics were 2-4 feet tall! It was amazing to see. We then drove down the Buckhorn Wash road to find a trail to hike, which we did - along the river into what is known as the "Little Grand Canyon". We hiked for about 4 hours and then came out to find a camping spot. In the Swell, you can pretty much camp anywhere that is accessible by a two track road, most places are marked with little tent signs to show that it's cool. We found the perfect place, not a soul around and set up camp - well, the Vanagon! haha. We built a fire, cooked some pizza, had a glass of wine and totally relaxed. So nice. The next day, after a morning fire and breakfast burritos, we headed over the the Wedge Overlook to get a view of the "Little Grand Canyon" from up top. It was awesome! You can click on the link to your right to see more photos.

Running for fun, Running for pain

I've been training for about three weeks for the Salt Lake Half Marathon. Although running is never exactly easy for me, I've been enjoying the work - moving my body, step by step through time and space, my footsteps on the pavement reminding me I'm alive and well and all is good. It's a liberating feeling and one that I love. To run is freedom. So, although it will be difficult, due to a short training schedule, I'm going to proceed, hoping to avoid injury from the fast acceleration of miles. April 21, Kathy and I will take on SLC.

This, then will be the kick off for training for the Wasatch Back Relay. This is a race that Rich and I are doing, along with some friends. The WB is a 178 mile relay race run through the mountains between Logan and Park City. Watch the Youtube video on this link to find out more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUE2n56Xqv0

We might be crazy. Yep, definately crazy.