post

Running of the Leopards

I got the chance to run a 5k this Saturday called Running of the Leopards. The race was located in Salt Lake City and was pretty much all down-hill. When I heard about the race, a few days before, I was excited to run it because it sounded like it was perfect for  a PR & my team, Hawks Running Team from Runners Corner, was sponsoring me to run it.

It was a pretty cold morning in Salt Lake, and we had to be bused to the starting line 30 minutes prior to start. I felt fine once we started the race. It was definitely a competitive race, but very enjoyable. I finished 2nd in my age division at 6:02 pace. All in all, it was a fun quick race.

post

Rex Lee Run

Pretty much on a whim, Kristie decided she wanted to run the Rex Lee 10k (6.2 mile)  race on Saturday the 12th. She’s been training for the upcoming Provo half marathon, so the distance seemed pretty doable.

Mom, Lilah and I dropped Kristie off at the starting line at about 8:00, then drove to a section of the course that she’d pass after mile 3. Eventually we saw a few runners pass, including one woman, and then came Kristie tearing down the stretch. She acknowledged that she was currently the 2nd place female by excitedly holding up two digits on her way by.

We whooped and hollered till she passed, then quickly ran back to the car to head over to the end of the course.

After parking we rushed to the BYU track, where the crowd filled the bleachers at the finish line. Moments later, we heard the race director announce that the first female runner had just arrived at the track. My eyes automatically scanned the field of runners, looking for the girl that was leading Kristie at the halfway mark. Then, to my surprise, I realized that it was Kristie he was talking about! The girl that had been leading was now trailing behind.  I was immediately ecstatic, jumping around and yelling–so much so that I realized I’d better hand Lilah over to my mom before I scared the poor girl any further. Down the home stretch we cheered, witnessing Kristie take first place in a field that included 251 other female runners.

As she walked through the finishing corral, we caught up with her to share our excitement. Mom took some really fun candids as we spoke.

At the awards ceremony, Lilah had latched on to Kristie…so when Kristie was summoned to receive her recognition for winning the 10k Female Open, she carried Lilah with her. When race director presented her with a trophy he also joked, “and the most remarkable thing is that she ran the whole way with this baby!”

It’s the first big race that Kristie won outright, and she killed it. From the outset I had no doubt she’d do well…but to take first?! I’m pretty darn proud of my girl, she’s amazing.

post

Marriott Center Introduction

BYU kicked off its season today with a win over Fresno State. The $1 family tickets sold the place out – it gets rockin’ when the venue is packed with 23,000 screaming fans.

Lilah did pretty great with all the noise. Here she is celebrating…like a true blue, born-in-the-covenant Cougar fan.

post

Kristie’s B-Day Treadmill

Since winter is fast approaching and it’s harder to leave the house with a baby, I decided to get a treadmill for Kristie’s birthday. Most husbands would have landed in the doghouse for a gift like this, but my runner girl loved it.

Trying to assemble it after she fell asleep was quite a fiasco…but the surprise was worth every second.

post

Lilah’s First BYU Game

We beat the Wyoming Cowboys with a thrilling defensive stand with only 16 seconds on the clock. Many thanks to Ry for the tix.

Lilah: May all your Cougar games result in W’s.

post

Big Springs to Rock Canyon Park

This was my dream run.

For over a year now, Kristie’s cousin Nathan and I have been contemplating a trail that begins at Big Springs Park, climbs over the Cascade Saddle, and supposedly ends at Rock Canyon park in Provo. We heard rumors that the trail exists, but couldn’t find any definitive documentation of its course, elevation or distance. Google Maps made it look plausible, but certainly didn’t inspire any confidence.

We tried on several occasions to reach the Saddle in 2009, but each time had to turn back due to darkness, fatigue, or some combination of both. With each trip we got closer to what looked like the peak, but it always seemed just barely out of reach.

So fast-forward to late August, 2010. One evening Nathan calls me out of the blue from a business trip in South Carolina to suggest that we finally set a date to conquer the mountain. Since I was totally out of shape this year, I requested mid October to give me a little time to train. We settled on a Saturday, the 16th and immediately into my phone calendar went the entry “Epic Run.”

Two weekends prior to the day and I had only ran twice. One weekend prior I was out with a cold. I sent Nathan an email letting him know that I might have to bow out if I couldn’t get over an awful cough. Instead of letting my illness decide, what does he do? Immediately call Kristie’s phone and invite her to run it with him instead.

I called him a traitor, but knew that it was a good plan. Despite having had a baby four months ago, Kristie was in killer shape, and could run circles around me. The only advantage I had over her was that if we got lost in the wilderness, I had more reserves to survive on. That, and I’m better at fighting bears.

But when Saturday rolled around I was feeling about 90%, so the three of us decided we were in. We couldn’t have attempted it without Kendra, who was cool enough to hang  back with James and Lilah. As a triathlete herself, I knew it was hard – but I promised her I’d swap roles the next time we got something on the calendar. We left one car at Rock Canyon, and Kendra dropped us off at the trail-head, so this time there was no car to return to. It was Rock Canyon or bust.

We hit the trail at about 2:30 pm with a bottle of water each, and an iPhone 4 to map our GPS coordinates. The trail commenced with the familiar, unrelenting climb that would carry us past Big Springs, through the changing tree lines and ultimately (we presumed) to a point where we could crest the elusive Cascade Saddle.

It was apparent early that Nathan and Kristie were in much better physical condition, but they encouraged me when I struggled, and helped to keep me plodding along. Occasionally we’d pause running to take pictures of our beautiful surroundings, which offered a temporary respite for my leaden legs.

Upon passing the furthest point that we’d previously reached, the peak began to look like it was right around the corner. After the fifth or sixth time I caught myself believing this, I decided that it would be mentally advantageous to pretend that there wasn’t going to be a top. At least that way I’d be less crushed every time I saw a new wall of mountain facing me.

Eventually we did make it, and it was awesome.

We took a few pictures at the top, and then, with empty stomachs and water bottles, hastily commenced the long, pounding decent.

About 2/3′s of the way down I remember wanting it all to be over so, so badly. I was feeling good for a while, but the loose rocks and endless switchbacks wore me down and became increasingly infuriating.

By the time I reached the car I could barely jog. My quads were shaking and I felt physically ill. Nathan and Kristie, who had beaten me ther, were exhausted as well–but we all felt a little elation for having completed it. In total we ran 11.8 miles over a mountain pass.

Nathan's dirt tan

We piled into the car and I drove us to a supermarket, where Nathan jumped out and bought chocolate milk for a post-run replenishment drink. He actually had to drive from that point on, since I was feeling (let’s just say) a little worse for the wear.

But we did it, and it was about as hard (harder?) for me than the St. George marathon. Here are few things that put it in perspective:

post

Labor Day Weekend

We got to head up to Boise for Labor Day weekend and spend it with the Tanner fam, which was crazy fun. If you want a really solid recap on the weekend, read Ang’s excellent post here. To avoid reinventing the wheel (and ’cause I’m being lazy), I’ll forgo a full post of my own, and simply include some fun pictures:

Backyard Football

Tanner Girls

Dad and Lilah

Croquet

Houston and fiance, Rebecca

Funny picture of Lilah, minding her own business

Drive home – caught a few bugs.

post

Off to the races

Kristie has gotten back into her running routine, which I figured would happen pretty quick. But last night at 11:00pm she looked over at me from her laptop and announced that she’d found a 10k race that she’d like to register for. I thought, “sure, fine…get a race on the calendar, have something to train for…sounds good.”

Then she told me, “it’s tomorrow night at 6:00.”

Ah man.

Apparently she ready for it, because she showed up, ran it, took 1st in the women’s division and 2nd overall. Granted, it was a pretty small race, but she had a pretty strong showing for someone that just had a baby a couple months ago. I think she’s crazy awesome, and probably equal parts of both.

post

Owlz Games


Back when we attended the Orem Summerfest, I got a free ticket to an Orem Owlz minor-league baseball game. So last Thursday we decided to catch a game. Upon arriving at the ticket office, however, one of Kristie’s old friends was just walking out to give away a pair of extra tickets that he didn’t need. So we got in totally free, and had so much fun that we decided to go again with Ryan and Mandy tonight. Here are a few pictures from both games:

Friday vs. Raptors

Clover and Lilah

Thursday vs. Chukars

post

Y Hike

Today Kristie and I decided to go for a hike to see if we couldn’t dislodge this baby of ours a little bit. Destination: Y mountain. During the 1,100 feet of switchbacks, almost everyone we passed reached out to Kristie–conveying everything from words of admiration, to unsolicited tips on other labor-inducing techniques. I think she’s reached the point where people that see her being active assume it’s labor-inducing activity, and not her daily routine. Ha.

No baby yet!