Utah Half

WOO HOO! I completed my biggest race of the season this past Saturday! It was a 1/2 iron distance triathlon - 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. 70.3 miles in all. We had major weather issues that almost cancelled our swim, but instead just shortened it to about .75 mile. My goal was to finish in 6 hours, and my final time was 5:32:03. Very happy with that! I will outline the gory details below for anyone who wants them!

Swim - as I said, major weather (as in WIND) nearly cancelled the swim. Finally, they decided to let us swim one lap, which was a little more than half the distance due to the swim out/back in. Now, I have practiced in some pretty big waves at Sand Hollow Resevoir, but this swim was SO tough. We had to swim out in a straight-on headwind. Sighting was very hard because every time I looked up, I got a face full of spray off the white caps instead of a look at where I was going! Anyway, finished the swim in 21 mins, 22 secs. Crawling out was one of the hardest parts, but they had people there to help us to the mats!

Bike - Again, the wind was a major factor in this part. We had steady 40 mph winds the whole way. Most of the time, the wind was either head on or coming from the side. The only part of me that has been sore since the race are my shoulders, which I think is from holding the bike up through all that wind! About 40 miles into the bike, the hail started coming down - OUCH is all I have to say about that! Hail turned into rain just as I was headed back into the downtown portion of the course, which meant going very slow on the corners so as not to slip. Finished the bike in 3 hours, 3 mins, and 15 secs. This is about 18 minutes slower than I thought I could do it, but I wasn't expecting to do the flat parts at 11 mph in a headwind!

Run - When I got off the bike, I was frozen to the bone! I was shaking so bad I could barely walk my bike to the transition rack, let alone lift it onto it! I had trouble aiming my feet into my sopping wet shoes that had been sitting out during the rain, and my hands were so numb, I couldn't get the shoes tied right. I ended up having to re-tie both shoes at different times later in the course. I really thought to myself, "I can't believe I'm going to go run a 1/2 marathon after all that!" But, run I did! The weather finally cooperated for the run. We had a few refreshing sprinkles, got to run by a perfectly smooth lake, and the sun even peeked out just before the end. I kept myself entertained on the course by yelling encourgement to all the runners passing by me (there were two out and back sections on the two-loop course). The Southern Utah Triathlon Club had 29 racers in this one, so I knew lots of people and had several friends racing with me. I finished the run in 2 hours, 2 mins, 9 secs. That was better than my first 1/2 marathon, and slower than my recent San Fransisco race, but I felt it was respectable, considering.

The high after this race was unbelievable. I've trained all summer for this race, and the feeling of accomplishment when I crossed that finish line was amazing! I can't wait for my next long course triathlon, which I hope will be in Miami in November! I have to give some MAJOR kudos and thanks to John! He drove me and two other friends, Andrew and James, up there and back, took all the pictures, and popped up on the course at all the intersections. He was there to hand me my sandals out of the water, and encourage me at the end of the run! It was awesome to have him there supporting me!

Lake Trip!

So I finally got to go to the lake this weekend! (I promise this is my last post for the night!) I have been wanting to go out all summer, but training, family reunions, birthdays, etc have made it hard to plan a time. I talked John into going up to the Egbert reunion a day late so that he could get his truck in for some work, and I could get a couple days at the lake with my parents. We had SO MUCH fun! This is definitely my cup of tea. The kids loved tubing, swimming, playing on the beach, riding on the boat, picking up shells, and eating all day. At one point, I decided to go for a little swim out to a point we could see from our beach. My dad estimated it was about a quarter mile away. I told him I'd be back in about 15 or 20 mins if that was the case. When I finally got back, I asked him how long I'd been gone, and he guessed about 40 mins. The point was actually about a 1/2 mile away, so I got a good swim in! I think the highlight of my trip was riding the tube with Koda. He just loved it so much, and I am a sucker for his hysterical giggling!

The Toothfairy Visits the Egberts!

I didn't think I would have to be thinking about the toothfairy so soon! While I was in San Fransisco running my little tooshie off, John took all 4 kids camping (???!!!). While there, Koda and his cousin Noah were wrestling on the top bunk in Denny's trailer, and Koda ended up doing a nose dive. He pretty much must have landed right on his face. He got a bloody nose, and at least one fractured tooth out of it. Matt x-rayed the tooth, and said we could just watch it to see what happened, but that if it abscessed or hurt worse, we would have to pull it. Well, it kept hurting him worse when I brushed his teeth, and he always wanted me to cut up all his food, so we decided to pull it. Matt was nice, and gave him some nitrus and some novacaine, so Koda was pretty much oblivious to the whole process. We stopped at Grandma's house afterwards, and she whipped up a tooth fairy pillow for him, which he hasn't stopped carrying around yet! When I asked Koda how much he thought the tooth fairy would give him for his tooth, he first said, "Eighty thousand." I said No way! So he said, "Maybe about 10." 10 what? "10 quarters." OK. It was a front tooth, after all.

More Races!

On June 27th, John and I went to Las Vegas to do a mountain bike race just for old times' sake. I was really nervous since I hadn't been on a mountain bike for something like 5 or 6 years. The race was "grand prix" style. They started the experts out first, then the rest of the men, followed by the women. The first person to cross the finish line for the 3rd time ended the race. After that, whenever you crossed the line, you were done. So if you only did 1 lap, or 2 laps by the time the first expert finished 3, then you were done. If you didn't want to do another lap, you could stop before the finish line, and wait for that guy. SO, before we signed up for the race, I told John I was nervous about having to do so many laps, and he tells me, "Don't worry, there is NO WAY you'll have to do more than 2 laps." So I sign up. After my second lap, I asked the guys at the finish line how long it would be before they expected the winner to finish his 3rd lap. They said, "He's about 4 minutes ahead of you." So much for only having to do 2 laps! I ended up winning the race for the females - not a whole lot of competition. There were a total of 4 women racing, but it was exciting anyway.

On July 26th, I ran my 2nd half marathon in San Fransisco! The trip was so much fun; I went with my good friend and racing buddy, Sadie Best. We got to go see Wicked, the musical, we shopped till we dropped, and did all the touristy things you do in San Fran. I was very happy with my race time of 1 hour 49 mins. It was a 16 minute improvement on my 1/2 in Austin back in April. I give that credit to Sadie, who spent the entire race yelling, "ON YOUR RIGHT!" so that we could pass, and pass, and pass. :)

Birthday Celebrations and Family Reunions!

This is a little late, I admit, but just so that it's here, I'll post it anyway! Kole turned 1 on May 1st. I was talked into throwing a complicated, themed birthday party for him by my sister-in-law Haley. She did the cutest little party for Macey a month earlier, so I was feeling a little pressure to diverge from my usual rent-a-spot-at-the-local-pool party. I was further pressured into it when she handed me a piece of paper with nothing less than 40 ideas scribbled onto it for a monkey-themed party. Everything from food and drink ideas, to decorations, to games and party favors was on this paper, and she hands it to me with the comment, "These are just some things I've been thinking of, if you wanted to do that party..." Then she volunteered to make the monkey-themed homemade cupcakes. All out of excuses, I threw the party.

It turned out so cute, I feel bad for not posting this sooner, really. Thanks to Haley for the monkey cupcakes, the monkey smash cake (whose face is made from a pancake!), and all the ideas for the tropical smoothies, fruit on a stick, and Mango salsa chimichangas! Yum, and oh-so-fun!

On July 11th, Kaden turned 3. We were at the Hardy family reunion camping that weekend, so Kaden got to celebrate his birthday with LOTS of family! We had a pinata, cupcakes, and presents from his cousins. He even got to wear a name tag that said "It's my birthday" on it!

This last weekend, August 7-9, was a very busy one for us. First, I took the kids to the lake with my mom and dad Thursday and Friday (See separate blog). Then, as soon as we got home of Friday, we left to go the Egbert Family Reunion in Zion.

I've always said the Gifford property that John's family owns on the top of Zion is the dirtiest place on Earth, and I finally have the pictures to prove it! The reunion was lots of fun for the kids and for Mom and Dad. We are glad we went. I especially love the shirts from this one. They say, "A true friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg even though they know you are a little cracked." Love it!

I'm always amazed when we see Aaron and Robin how much our girls look alike. I made them pose for a picture first thing when I saw that Alivia got a haircut similar to Kallie's!

One of John's favorite things to do when we are camping is to take tired little boys on 4-wheeler rides to get them to sleep! This ride took about 3 minutes!

Utah Summer Games Triathlon

Okay, so I have been totally slacking on the blog thing lately. I know, what else is new, huh? With school about to start, and another big race coming up this weekend, I thought I'd better get caught up! June 13th was the Utah Summer Games Triathlon, which both John and I competed in, along with my brother, Matt. I had three goals for this one: I wanted to finish in 1 hour, 30 mins; I wanted to place in my division; and I wanted to have a faster run time than Matt, since he was telling people he thought he had me on the run!

I'm happy to say that I met all three of my goals, finishing in 1 hour 27 mins 23 seconds, 3rd place in my age group (6th overall woman), and a run time of 24 mins, 42 seconds compared to my brother's 26 mins, 11 seconds. If you can't brag on your own blog, where can you brag??

Anyway, we all had a great time at that race, and we had lots of supportive family there to cheer us on, including our Grandma Leck, my mom and dad, Matt's wife Haley (thanks to her for the pictures!), and a few kids.

The SGTRI

So, my first triathlon sort of turned into my 2nd Duathlon. They had to cancel the swim due to high winds. The kayakers couldn't hold their positions. Instead of the swim, they added a 2nd 5K run. So we did a 5K run, 12 mile bike, and another 5K run. It was still a lot of fun, but kind of a bummer to not get to have the TRI experience.

I came in 7th in my division (out of 54). My time was 1:39:59. My goal was to be in the 1:30-1:40 time range, so I just made it! I was the 22nd overall female (out of 244), and I was the 128th person (out of 571).

John finished the race too, and I'm happy to say I had a better time than he did (since he didn't train AT ALL!) He finished with a time of 2:00:58. He was 370th overall.

Of course, we forgot our camera (what else is new??), so if my friends send me the pictures they took, I will post them, otherwise, you'll just have to use your imagination for the spandex-clad Egberts.

Austin 1/2 Marathon

I did it! I completed my first 1/2 marathon! I have to say, I wanted to die by about mile 11, but I pushed on through, and finished with a time of 2:05:12. My best friend Alyssa and I ran it together, and she achieved her personal record (5 months pregnant, no less!). I was shooting for a time of 2:10:00, and beat that by almost 5 minutes, so I was very happy with my time too!

The trip to Austin was SO much fun! I can't wait to go back again! I took Kallie with me and we just had a "girls trip." She loved flying on the airplane, opening presents that Grandma Hammons had packed for her. She didn't want to wait in between presents; she just wanted to open them all, then play with them after she had seen everything. Kallie had a fun time playing with Carson, Carli, and Amy. She said she wants to live in Texas.

I had a great time just spending time with Alyssa. It seems like we are lucky to spend a couple of hours together when she comes to Las Vegas. There are just so many people in line to see her. Getting to spend 4 whole days was great fun. We got a swim workout in on Friday, and she taught me how to flip-turn (yea!). Then we ran our race on Saturday. We had to get up at 4:00am in order to get out to the race parking, then catch a shuttle to the site. The race started at 7:30am. Afterwards, there was food, music, and some much-needed relaxing. Alyssa's friend Stephanie ran with us as well, and I think she is the one who kept us moving by the end! She usually finishes a 1/2 marathon in the 1:40s, so she was definitely just taking her time with us!

Chet and Alyssa toured me around Austin, eating at all the hot spots including an Italian Bistro, a Mexican place called Chuy's, the steakhouse Alyssa was working at called Saltgrass, and my personal favorite: Yogurt Planet. We also watched good shows including General Conference, and just had a generally wonderful time!

Rosco

Well, I caved. I knew it would happen sooner or later, given how much my boys love dogs. We got a puppy last night. His name is Rosco, and he is 3/4 Border Collie, and 1/4 Springer Spaniel.

He is 6 weeks old, and the kids just adore him. We got him for free, and he's already spoiled rotten. We are crate training him, but he likes his regular bed better than his crate. Last night I was up (and outside in a storm) at 11:30, 12:00, 3:00, 5:00, and 7:00. Not fun, but at least I'm not used to sleeping all the way through the night yet anyway. Tonight, I moved his crate into my room so I can reassure him better, and I'm going to try putting his bed inside his crate to make him more cozy. He misses his brothers and sisters, and remembers at night.

He will grow up to be a medium to large sized dog, and John hopes he might be able to learn a couple of hunting tricks. I just hope he learns the trick of going potty outside.

The Kidz Tandem Train

I think it's worthy of a post to say that I can now officially take all four of my kids on a bike ride by myself! We just recently picked up an awesome invention called a "Kidz Tandem" mountain bike. This bike lets the kid sit in the front seat and pedal, while the adult sits behind and steers. To that we hooked up the Tug-a-Bug, and to that we hooked up the bike trailer. Officially, everyone has a seat, and we can go for a ride!

The Colorado Trip

We just got back last week from a trip to Canon City, CO, where my grandparents, Uncle Bob and Aunt Linda, cousin, Bryan, wife and two kids all live. Canon City is about 45 minutes south of Colorada Springs, where Steven and Jen Hammons live, so we dropped our circus in on them too! We had SO much fun, I hardly know where to start, so I'll just start at the beginning. We left on Wednesday night after John got back from working in Las Vegas. We drove until 3:00 am, and made it to Grand Junction. That left us about 5 hours left to drive on Thursday, which was great since the kids just slept that first night. We arrived at Uncle Bob's house about 5:00 and it turned out to be the highlight of the trip for the kids. He was adequately prepared for us with a special basement centered around his almost 3 year old granddaughter. He had a special hideout they could climb up to, then swing on a rope to get out of. He also had a jumphouse set up in the downstairs living room! Legos, rubber mulch with lots of silk plants, and a play kitchen topped off the fun! Everywhere else we visited paled in comparison to Uncle Bob's house in the kids' minds.

The actual purpose of the trip was to visit my grandparents. Grandpa just turned 87, and Grandma is 86. They are just not well enough to travel anymore, so when we want to see them, we go there. They had never met Kaden or Kole, so we thought we better make the trip. We are so glad we did. It was so fun to see the kids make memories with their great-grandparents. It was also so nice for me to get to visit with them and also my Aunt and Uncle, who were so kind (and brave!) to let us stay with them.

The Friday after we got there, we went to visit the Royal Gorge, which is home of the World's Highest Bridge. It is 1053 ft. above the river it spans. It is absolutely amazing to see. I was so excited about seeing it, I left the camera in the car. We got there at the end of the day, so we didn't even have time to go back out and get it. Sorry!

Saturday turned out to be one of the most exciting days too! We drove up to Colorado Springs, where we got to go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo with Jen Hammons. We also met up with my closest cousin, Daisha, and her 3 boys (Rainier, 4 and twins age 2 Ky and Jonas). My two favorite parts of the zoo were the girrafes, to which you could get close enough to feed crackers, and the "Budgie Buddies" where you could go into an aviary and feed birds seeds off of little popsicle sticks. Jen was nice enough to remember her camera, take pictures, put them on a disk, and send them to me because I left our camera in the car for this one too!

We got to eat dinner at Outback with Steven and Jen before heading back to Canon City for our last night there. So fun to see you guys!

Saying goodbye on Sunday was hard. We had had so much fun! Kaden cried and cried when he realized we were packing up. He kept yelling, "I don't want to leave! I want to stay here till we die!" Just to let you know how much he liked Uncle Bob's house! We decided at the last minute to try to make one more stop in Moab, so we called our old friends Jonny and Jenny Hymas. We used to work with Jonny in Las Vegas, and he has been out in Moab running a bike shop/tour business for the last 7 years or so. The last time we saw them, Jenny was pregnant with her now 6-year-old, and we hadn't even started having kids! Being the kind of people they are, they let us drop in with 6 hours notice and stay the night on a school/work night. We had so much fun catching up with them, we can't wait to go back for a "just Moab" trip. While we were there, we found the coolest little "Kidz Tandem" mountain bike. We had to buy it. See my next post for more pics!