Triathlon Time!

Imagine being elbow to elbow with a thousand other athletes, barefoot, all donning racing wetsuits, swim caps and dark lensed goggles - the pull straps bobbing around as they move their heads.   Everytime I first see how far out the buoys are, my stomach drops.  "Whoa. I wish I had trained more."  The feeling is hard to describe, respect for the guy beside me but secretly I'm measuring him up wondering if I can beat him out of the water. 

There is loud music coming from somewhere and a voice on a PA system announces "Ten seconds to start."  My chest gets hot with anticipation and I push my goggles on tight and shake my arms one last time to loosen up.  The starting buzzer, then the sound of thrashing water as arms slash and feet kick the water.  There are three large orange triangular buoys out on the water, the first is about 300 meters away.

  The 800m swim takes about 17 minutes and when I finally get out of the water, I'm dizzy and breathing heavily.  But I can't slow down, I have to peel off this wetsuit and run to find my bike among the hundreds of others all mounted neatly in racks.  My helmet, shades, and biking shoes are ready to put on - and I'm off for 15 miles.  My bike speed goal, 21 mph.  

By far the most difficult part of this race is the transition from biking to running.  The first 100 yards is extremely difficult as my quads are still burning from the bike, but now I demand they power me three more miles on foot to the finish line.  

Highlight of the whole race: My cheering Section - Lauren, Rylee, and Janna!  They boost me up as I pass by with some high fives (or low fives).

I have made the loop, slowly, but I did it.  Here is where I can make my greatest improvements in speed and time.  But, this is the final stretch, I can see the finish line.

A quick summary:

Bear Lake Triathlon, September 6th.  

• Water temperature: 61°F. I know. I know. "Lookout, Ice Berg Ahead."


• Ambient Temperature: 73°, Sunny Blue Skies


• Distance: 750m swim (.46 miles), 12 mile bike, 3.1 mile run.


• How did I do? 1 hour 20 minutes. 13th out of 42 in my age group, respectable.

I'll Be Brave

There is a Dinosaur Park here in Ogden.  I have to admit that the little boy in me still comes out when I see the terrifying life size T-Rex.  Today was free admission day, so we indulged.  Rylee was scared at first, so much that she was trembling in Janna's arms.  There is an animated display in a dark room with an "electric fence" around it.  The mammoth creatures move their heads, turn their necks, open their jaws you hear what you can imagine is the intimidating groan of a T-Rex.  My favorite part, they even blink.

Lauren & Rylee pose in front of a pipsqueakosauruas.  Rylee finally found the courage to climb out of my arms and posed with Lauren.  She said, "Ok, I'll be brave."

Lauren makes a gruesome discovery on the trail. They are decorating for Halloween at the park.  I'm betting this place would be far superior to any haunted house to visit on a dark night.

Rylee manages to catch one of the slow, dumb ones.  

Laurenosaurus.

Calling 911

  

A fun sitting log.

Some foolish unsuspecting victim.

The river and duck pond have trout and catfish that are about 2-3 feet long, probably 25 or 30 lb.  Gotta come back late at night.

Catching lizards. This one saw me and tried to run, but it was too late.

 Pals.  At least for now while they are young. 

Rylee's 3!

Rylee has repeatedly told us since her birthday Monday, 'I'm so big now!' And so she is. She is and probably always will be petite, but so full of spunk and life. What a sweet little blessing she's in our lives. She is as 'girly' as they come. He birthday was full of barbie dolls, barbie cake, hand-made barbie clothes from aunt Amber and a house for all the barbie's to live in. The princess pajamas from Nana and Papa have become the every night necessity. So much pink and fun. Mark called the girls 'girly girls' they other night and was a little distraught when Rylee replied, 'Dad, you are a 'girly boy'.

Pictures will be coming, dumb computer problems.

Aspen Lakes

Three little girls + one strange guy+two paddles = canoeing in circles. Try a 50 miler.

Sharon showed us all how it's done by doing a triple summersault with a half twist into the . . . Ok. Not really. But she did ride the zipline, that's more than some of the other adults.

So. . . what exactly is happening in this picture you might ask. I'll tell you. There was a mountain lion approaching the camp, I heard the roar from the bathroom and I dashed down the mountain with the dexterity of an acrobat and the speed of a ninja to head him off before he could pounce on the unsuspecting victim. Ok, not really, it was only a couger.

Fish count: Bentley: 5, Lindsey: 1

Not so Boring After All. . .

So, I was scrolling through some of my old pictures and thinking, "Wow, have I really done all these cool things?"

Ice fishing on Pineview Reservoir. Don't be scared, this ice was at least 20" thick.

Ran a 5K dressed up like a tourist with my tourist wife and my crossdressing brother.

Sat on Santa's lap. This particular instance was remarkable because Santa was my brother.

Went curling at the Ogden Ice Sheet with my good friend Nathan Kester. What a stud.

Rode 50 miles on my bike during the "Tour de Park City" cycling event.

I have met Thomas the Train in person. . . sort of

I love to play the electric guitar. And I still to this very day like Iron Maiden. So condemn me.

I crawled up into my attic one night just out of pure curiosity and boredom.

I have painted little girls' fingernails and toenails pink, and I loved every minute of it.

I have raced down the slopes of the Rocky Mountains on a snowboard.

I have been to Amish country. They have my full respect and admiration. They don't care that gas prices are more than $4 a gallon.

I have been to one of the most spectacular animated dinosaur museums in all of North America.

I held my wifes hand as she endured a C-Section. Actually, I endured watching a C-Section while my wife held my hand.

I have supervised a coupon training class.

Did I mention snowboarding?

I often wonder how Noah accomplished what he did.

I have built my own swingset. Dumb idea? Maybe, but my girls love it - and I even put the slide on it the other day.

I have bowled with a pink bowling ball while wearing spectacle frames with no lenses.

I got into triathlon because of my wife. She did it first. What an amazing woman.

I have trick or treated dressed up as a Sumo wrestler with Mr. Incredible. (Nathan Kester)

I have adopted a little girl that I can't possibly live without now, and I thank my God every day for that little girl.

I beat some dude in an orange jersey during the Ogden Valley Triathlon.

I have potty trained two little girls. My wife has potty trained two little girls and a husband.

I have played soccer with some of the best players in the world.

I can do a backbend.

Yeps

From my favorite Dr. Seuss book ever. . . Wocket in My Pocket. I bring you the Yeps on my Steps.

You think you know Rylee? But you don't know the real Rylee until you have experienced RYLEE ON SUGAR. This is quality entertainment that must be experienced.

This is Lauren when she's "not tired." This is the couch in the living room, and this happened in a matter of minutes.

Lauren catches her first fish with her new Disney Princesses fishing pole. We went fishing yesterday, just me and Lauren.

Rylee Jane is a genuine one-of-a kind. This kid defines a new category for two year olds.

• She already knows most of the alphabet and lots of numbers and can even write a few
• She likes to sleep in the dark. But when she does wake up in the night she crawls into Lauren's bed - not mine.
• She has a stunning vocabulary and clearly annunciates her words. "Daddy, can you pump up my flat tire please?" (remember - she's only two)
• Her favorite food is octopus (so she says)
• She can successfully zip her own clothing. I still struggle with this myself
• She sports pink Jellies on her feet, even in the bathtub
• She prefers thick Nutella on her toast
• She doesn't like pickles
• She has mastered all of Lauren's buttons and entertains herself by pushing them in different orders
• She gives me kisses on my cheeks to soften me up when I'm frustrated
• She doesn't get tired, she only gains energy and becomes increasingly naughty
• My personal favorite - she is fully potty trained and even wipes her own backside

Bear Lake

For Lauren's Birthday we went to Bear Lake in Idaho.

Rylee & Sam are pals. Sam teaches Rylee how to make mud castles.

Rylee, Annie, Lauren. All afraid of the mildly cold water.

Collin & Owen diggin in the mud. John & Adam throwing the football, Sam in the background.

Adam Heaton. Coolest thing about this guy - he has had these cool $2 sun glasses forever and he loves 'em. I can't get enough of Adam's great sense of humor. You can read more about Adam & Lindsey on Adam's blogsite http://www.bingbonghooha.blogspot.com/.

One of the highlights of marrying into the call family - I inherited some very cool brothers. Sharon cleans the bathroom for me everytime we come to visit and feeds me like a KING. John is just glad to have other guys around that can appreciate a large screen TV and a stunning surround sound system. Adrian has just picked up the sport of triathlon and will be doing the Ogden Valley Triathlon with me this September.