This kid has some serious talent!!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The brawl that begins with a prayer . . .
Tis the season for church ball. Now that the season is over, we're glad to report that no one got kicked out, Jerel only got yelled at once by the refs to "let them call the game," and only one game got stopped right in the middle for bad behavior. When Jerel just saw me write about the refs yelling at him he said, "That's because the refs didn't know what they were doing." The ref actually is a friend of his. lol One funny story about Chase's team. One night Jerel was asked to ref. A couple of Jerel's friends, Matt and Jake, were up there for the next game. (Matt was the winner from the ugly sweater contest.) Every time Jerel called a foul, they gave him a hard time about it. Especially when he called one against Chase. They would yell stuff like, "Oh, come on, he's your own kid" or "Chase, did you get in trouble tonight?" I guess turn about is fair play. :) Too funny!
Jordan played with the Deacons, and we're sad to say that they lost every game. It wasn't a good season for them. Sometimes they lost by over 40 points. But the good thing was that every member of the quorum came out to play every game, some non-members from the neighborhood came for fellowship, and camaraderie started to develop between the boys. Those boys had great team spirit and never gave up. You would think that sometimes they would get hard on themselves, but they all had good attitudes. Way to go Jordan! It's too bad they don't have swimming and football in church sports. We actually have a state champion league swimmer in the quorum.
Jerel played with the "Seniors." I just love to say that--Seniors. It makes me laugh so hard. And I tried to say it as much as I could every time I talked to the players in that age bracket. I especially cracked myself up when I was talking to the young college age kids. Jerel's just glad that they don't have the "Veterans" division anymore. It was one of his games that got stopped because a fight was about to break out. I was just glad because he wasn't involved this time, and he was glad because it counted as a win for his team. His team was up in the score and when they didn't allow the game to restart, it counted as a win for his team. I was talking to a new member of the church and a wife of one of the players. Her husband is more mouthy--I mean talkative--than Jerel and she had never heard the phrase "Church Ball, the brawl that starts with a prayer." She laughed so hard at that.
A funny side note is at the beginning of "the game" a couple 18 year old guys from the ward were sitting on the bench and talking to Jerel. They commented that they thought the game would be "all slow" and were surprised at how intense things were. Jerel commented, "Just wait, it usually gets worse." Sure enough, that's the night the fight happened. Jerel just "corrected" me and said it was just friendly shoving. Yeah, whatever. lol The game got stopped right in the middle--sounds low-key and friendly to me. I'd like to say that Jerel was so fast that the picture was blurry, but in all honesty the picture taker probably was at fault. :) But it looked cool, so I had to include them. I also loved the picture of Jerel making sure the scoring table is marking down the extra point for being fouled. It looks like he's hailing a cab. They had a fairly good season and won more than they lost.
Jordan played with the Deacons, and we're sad to say that they lost every game. It wasn't a good season for them. Sometimes they lost by over 40 points. But the good thing was that every member of the quorum came out to play every game, some non-members from the neighborhood came for fellowship, and camaraderie started to develop between the boys. Those boys had great team spirit and never gave up. You would think that sometimes they would get hard on themselves, but they all had good attitudes. Way to go Jordan! It's too bad they don't have swimming and football in church sports. We actually have a state champion league swimmer in the quorum.
Chase's team did really well. And that's saying a lot when you consider all the facts. They have 6 Teachers, but only 5 were allowed to play because the other kid plays for the Junior High team. A couple games they were able to get a non-member kid from the neighborhood to play, but that was it. And it was usually when they needed a 5th player because a player couldn't make it. That means no subs for most games. All the other teams had anywhere from 9-21 kids on their team; they always had fresh legs to play. Plus, a couple of our boys were on the school wrestling and baseball teams. Most games they would practise until 6:15 and be playing 30 minutes later at the church game. They came tired, but ready to play. Also, only 3 of them are basketball players, although the other two are still athletic. Chase is one of the boys that doesn't play basketball much anymore, but does well in track events and soccer. The other boy is a lacrosse player and into dirt bike racing. One time a player fouled out and they had to play with 4, and they still won! They in fact "creamed them" as Chase says. They won by about 40 points.
All that being said, they were a force to be reckoned with!! When I said they did well, that's an understatement. They only lost one game in the regular season and didn't lose any games throughout the tournament until the championship game. The ward they played in the championship game was the ward with 21 Teachers. (But I think only about 12 or so showed up for the game.) Still that was a lot of subs. Plus, 4 of the kids were several inches taller than ALL of our boys. They lost 62-31. It was so disheartening. But then we had to play them again the next night, because we had beaten them before and they came up in the loser's bracket. In the second game, Chase's team played like champions and never gave up. They had so much heart. One kid even ended up chipping his tooth. We were up most of the game, but just got too tired at the end. We ended up losing 46-42. So sad, but everyone (the refs, the other team's coach, parents, etc.) congratulated the boys on playing hard, being tough, hanging in there, and good sportsmanship. We were proud of them, and they had much to be proud of. Good job Chase!
K, a couple of funny pic's I just had to add. One of them is Chase at one of the games. He's there with all his posse--I mean friends. Chase is hiding his face and trying to be so funny. Actually, his friend Ethan brought an air horn to one of the games, and THAT was funny. The other is Jerel trying to show Chase some moves during halftime. He was asked to coach a couple games--I'm sure he was in heaven. He's sooo into sports. :)
Angela
Yes, Angela from high school, I mean you! Your blogs are the funniest. My favorite is "Christopher, Christopher, Christopher." You are an extremely good and entertaining writer. (Maybe they are so funny to me because I remember you from all those years ago and the fun we had together.) Although, Jerel said the same thing the day he read the Christopher post. He called me from work and told me I had to get online and read it asap. We both laughed so hard. I encourage anyone needing a good laugh to click on her blog link and read that post. I loved it!
But on a serious note, Angela was a great friend from high school. She was there for me through all the tough times and the fun. She always had a listening ear when I needed one. I really did go through some trials, but she was so sweet through it all. Even though we lost track of each other for a while, she often came to mind through the years. Whenever I think of a fond, fun memory of back then, she's always a part of it. I guess you could say it's because she's a genuine person. Thanks Angela! I can't wait to see you again at the reunion.
p.s. I never responded about Lindy. She is my sister-in-law, my husband's sister. What a small world we live in.
But on a serious note, Angela was a great friend from high school. She was there for me through all the tough times and the fun. She always had a listening ear when I needed one. I really did go through some trials, but she was so sweet through it all. Even though we lost track of each other for a while, she often came to mind through the years. Whenever I think of a fond, fun memory of back then, she's always a part of it. I guess you could say it's because she's a genuine person. Thanks Angela! I can't wait to see you again at the reunion.
p.s. I never responded about Lindy. She is my sister-in-law, my husband's sister. What a small world we live in.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
What don't you know about me
Soooo...Megi tagged me and I am supposed to list six things about myself that maybe not everyone knows about me. I'm sorry this has taken me forever to do... :) Ok on to six things:
1. Everyone knows that I am an avid, obsessive reader. (When I read, sometimes the rest of the world comes to a halt until I finish a book.) But what most people probably don't know is that I peek at the end sometimes. I don't want to spoil the story or anything; I just have to make sure certain people may still be around, etc. For example, in Harry Potter #7 I checked to see if he was still alive at the end. I know, I shouldn't, but I can't help it. It's just that I get really into the story (did I mention obsessive already) and really like certain characters. I want to make sure everything is going to be okay. It all boils down to impatience. I'm working on it. Another thing people probably don't know is that I am particular about whether I will read a book or not. I get kind of "stubborn" about the new "it" books and won't read them for a long time. I think it boils down to pride--I want to read a book because I want to, not because everyone else is doing it. And I justify books like Harry Potter because I was reading them BEFORE they became huge. I don't know why I wait, because I eventually end up reading them a few years later. I know, whatever. lol
2. Maybe people know this about me, and maybe they don't. I would love to be a motivational speaker at youth conferences, EFY, firesides, women's conference, etc. I love to teach lessons and speak in church . . . actually speak in any public setting. Everytime I go to a Women's Fireside, Timeout for Women, etc., I just smile as I watch the speakers. It just looks like sooo much fun. I don't get nervous, and always could talk for twice as long as the time they have allotted me. (I'm sure that is not a surprise.) And I would love to be a motivational speaker at anything, not just church events, although that would be my favorite. So, if anyone is looking for a great "guest speaker" at an upcoming event, I would love to.
3. I love teen movies. All those pre-teen/teen, fun, goofy romances . . . LOVE THEM!! High School Musical, Ella Enchanted, Ice Princess, Never Been Kissed, 10 Things I Hate About You, Drive Me Crazy, Mean Girls, Princess Diaries . . . the list is endless . . . it doesn't matter who's in it . . . I love them all. I usually end up watching them on video by myself because my family is not really into them. And if they are on TV, I have to watch them. I do have 2 friends who know this about me and are sweet about inviting me to go to the movies with them when they take their daughters. Picture this, Laura, her 2 daughters, 5+ friends, and ME at the movies. And Natalie brought one of her daughers over the other night to watch Amanda Byne's new movie out on video. Such good friends. Thanks Natalie and Laura--you're the best!! And I made my whole family go to Enchanted with me in the theaters, and Jerel and my boys liked it!
4. Another thing people probably don't know is that I love to travel and have been to over 12 countries in addition to all over the U.S. I would love to visit more, but Jerel does not have a great desire to travel abroad. Many of the countries I visited was 20 years ago when half of Europe was still under Communist control. I visited both East Germany and West Germany. Now it's just one country. I went to Czechslovakia and now it's 2 countries--Czech Republic and Slovakia. I stood by the Berlin Wall. Now it's all gone and changed. It's weird to think that I've experienced something and seen things that don't exist anymore--and I'm not that old. I would love to take my family to see some of the great places in Washington D.C. and show them the background and history of our country. And I'm dying to go on a church history tour. Plus, Australia would be great!! Jerel mentioned that he wanted to go back to his mission for our 20th anniversary. That's a promise, right Jerel!?
5. Do people know that I am really a math nerd? Maybe this isn't a surprise, and I have "nerd" written all over me. (Chase says that pictures of me wearing my glasses from "ancient history" are totally nerdy!!) I love math. I did really well in math in high school and college. And it makes me mad when the kids go to Jerel for math questions. Hello, just because he's an accountant doesn't mean he's better at math. I bet I could kick his trash in math. The other day a couple of women were trying to add up a column of numbers. They commented that they needed their husbands to do it. When I offered up that I could do it, and in my head, I don't think they believed me. I have been known to get out the calculator on my phone and try to figure out the math problems during Jordan's academic decathalon competitions. I'm proud to say I can beat a bunch of junior high kids and have the answer sometimes when they don't. This of course means I like math games, like Sudoku. But my friend Stephanie is better at math than I am. Once, and I hate to admit it, Jordan and I couldn't figure out a Sudoku puzzle and I had to send Jordan over to her house to figure it out. Thanks Stephanie! But really . . who doesn't like Sudoku?
6. I'm sure no one knows this about me. I hate to chew gum. The funny thing is that I want to like it. I try to like it . . . but I just don't. It bores me. I even carry it around in my purse a lot, because I want to like it. And I have convinced myself that I will some day. My kids LOVE gum. Every now and then I'm pretty sure I will like it and ask for a piece. Then after like 10 minutes, I spit it out. Then I feel all guilty that I wasted one of their precious pieces of gum from their stash.
I'm not sure what to think about myself after looking at my six things. Apparently I'm a nerd who can't grow up and wants to travel the world talking to people about it . . . with gum and a New York Times Best Seller from 2004 in my purse of course.
Well, that's 6 things! Feel free to expound on any one of the things that you know about where I didn't include enough details. :) And now I will tag anyone who reads this and wants to do it. The rules are that I'm supposed to tag 6 people, but do I know six people that read my blog AND have a blog of their own? Wait, I do know 5 people--Angela, Jenn, Leslie, Chena, and Laura. No pressure to write, although, Angela, yours would be HILARIOUS I'm sure. Just list 6 things about yourself that maybe aren't so well known and then tag 6 other people...lots of fun!
1. Everyone knows that I am an avid, obsessive reader. (When I read, sometimes the rest of the world comes to a halt until I finish a book.) But what most people probably don't know is that I peek at the end sometimes. I don't want to spoil the story or anything; I just have to make sure certain people may still be around, etc. For example, in Harry Potter #7 I checked to see if he was still alive at the end. I know, I shouldn't, but I can't help it. It's just that I get really into the story (did I mention obsessive already) and really like certain characters. I want to make sure everything is going to be okay. It all boils down to impatience. I'm working on it. Another thing people probably don't know is that I am particular about whether I will read a book or not. I get kind of "stubborn" about the new "it" books and won't read them for a long time. I think it boils down to pride--I want to read a book because I want to, not because everyone else is doing it. And I justify books like Harry Potter because I was reading them BEFORE they became huge. I don't know why I wait, because I eventually end up reading them a few years later. I know, whatever. lol
2. Maybe people know this about me, and maybe they don't. I would love to be a motivational speaker at youth conferences, EFY, firesides, women's conference, etc. I love to teach lessons and speak in church . . . actually speak in any public setting. Everytime I go to a Women's Fireside, Timeout for Women, etc., I just smile as I watch the speakers. It just looks like sooo much fun. I don't get nervous, and always could talk for twice as long as the time they have allotted me. (I'm sure that is not a surprise.) And I would love to be a motivational speaker at anything, not just church events, although that would be my favorite. So, if anyone is looking for a great "guest speaker" at an upcoming event, I would love to.
3. I love teen movies. All those pre-teen/teen, fun, goofy romances . . . LOVE THEM!! High School Musical, Ella Enchanted, Ice Princess, Never Been Kissed, 10 Things I Hate About You, Drive Me Crazy, Mean Girls, Princess Diaries . . . the list is endless . . . it doesn't matter who's in it . . . I love them all. I usually end up watching them on video by myself because my family is not really into them. And if they are on TV, I have to watch them. I do have 2 friends who know this about me and are sweet about inviting me to go to the movies with them when they take their daughters. Picture this, Laura, her 2 daughters, 5+ friends, and ME at the movies. And Natalie brought one of her daughers over the other night to watch Amanda Byne's new movie out on video. Such good friends. Thanks Natalie and Laura--you're the best!! And I made my whole family go to Enchanted with me in the theaters, and Jerel and my boys liked it!
4. Another thing people probably don't know is that I love to travel and have been to over 12 countries in addition to all over the U.S. I would love to visit more, but Jerel does not have a great desire to travel abroad. Many of the countries I visited was 20 years ago when half of Europe was still under Communist control. I visited both East Germany and West Germany. Now it's just one country. I went to Czechslovakia and now it's 2 countries--Czech Republic and Slovakia. I stood by the Berlin Wall. Now it's all gone and changed. It's weird to think that I've experienced something and seen things that don't exist anymore--and I'm not that old. I would love to take my family to see some of the great places in Washington D.C. and show them the background and history of our country. And I'm dying to go on a church history tour. Plus, Australia would be great!! Jerel mentioned that he wanted to go back to his mission for our 20th anniversary. That's a promise, right Jerel!?
5. Do people know that I am really a math nerd? Maybe this isn't a surprise, and I have "nerd" written all over me. (Chase says that pictures of me wearing my glasses from "ancient history" are totally nerdy!!) I love math. I did really well in math in high school and college. And it makes me mad when the kids go to Jerel for math questions. Hello, just because he's an accountant doesn't mean he's better at math. I bet I could kick his trash in math. The other day a couple of women were trying to add up a column of numbers. They commented that they needed their husbands to do it. When I offered up that I could do it, and in my head, I don't think they believed me. I have been known to get out the calculator on my phone and try to figure out the math problems during Jordan's academic decathalon competitions. I'm proud to say I can beat a bunch of junior high kids and have the answer sometimes when they don't. This of course means I like math games, like Sudoku. But my friend Stephanie is better at math than I am. Once, and I hate to admit it, Jordan and I couldn't figure out a Sudoku puzzle and I had to send Jordan over to her house to figure it out. Thanks Stephanie! But really . . who doesn't like Sudoku?
6. I'm sure no one knows this about me. I hate to chew gum. The funny thing is that I want to like it. I try to like it . . . but I just don't. It bores me. I even carry it around in my purse a lot, because I want to like it. And I have convinced myself that I will some day. My kids LOVE gum. Every now and then I'm pretty sure I will like it and ask for a piece. Then after like 10 minutes, I spit it out. Then I feel all guilty that I wasted one of their precious pieces of gum from their stash.
I'm not sure what to think about myself after looking at my six things. Apparently I'm a nerd who can't grow up and wants to travel the world talking to people about it . . . with gum and a New York Times Best Seller from 2004 in my purse of course.
Well, that's 6 things! Feel free to expound on any one of the things that you know about where I didn't include enough details. :) And now I will tag anyone who reads this and wants to do it. The rules are that I'm supposed to tag 6 people, but do I know six people that read my blog AND have a blog of their own? Wait, I do know 5 people--Angela, Jenn, Leslie, Chena, and Laura. No pressure to write, although, Angela, yours would be HILARIOUS I'm sure. Just list 6 things about yourself that maybe aren't so well known and then tag 6 other people...lots of fun!
Did Trevor take up hockey?
Well, there's big news at the Campbell house . . . Trevor lost his first tooth!! Actually he has now lost two. He lost his first tooth a few weeks ago--the bottom front. And before I could blog about it, he had lost a second tooth--also on the bottom front. The second tooth was lost at the school playground a couple days ago. He was really worried about what to do with no tooth and how to contact the tooth fairy. I told him we could write a note. He wasn't sure about that, even though his brothers reassured them that they had written notes before and it worked. He dictated, I wrote it down, and he signed it. This is what it said: Dear Tooth Fairy,
I lost my tooth today! Yeah!
But it got lost in the playground.
Can you find it for me?
Will you please still come?
Love,
Trevor
That night we left the note out for the tooth fairy. The next morning, Trevor checked right away. There was a dollar waiting for him by his note. He grabbed the note and ran into Chase's room yelling, "Chase, it even still works with a note!!" It was so cute. I wish I could show a picture of Trevor with both teeth gone, but our camera got dropped and it's now broken. But look how cute he looks with his first tooth missing.
Tanner and the Bee
Tanner was in the School spelling bee in January. He was his classroom's winner, and therefore competed with all the 4th-6th grade winners in the "finals." The winner of the school would then go on to the district competition. He's always been a good speller, but I don't think he realized how much you have to study to really do well. He was sporadic with his studying, but he tried to learn some of the "tips" of how German words are spelled a certain way, and how Latin root words help, etc. It was kind of cute (and hard) to watch him as he would sometimes overthink a word before he spelled it. I think he was the only kid who asked for the origin of a word during the competition. He did GREAT and got through to the 4th round before he got out. He finished in the top 10 out of 24 kids. The word he missed was sequin. I was so proud of him. He and his friend Nate were the only ones to get out on that round so they were happy they got out at the same time. You can see him pictured above with Nate.
You wore THAT in the 80's?!?
I know that this happened last month, but it's too much fun not to post. My good friend Natalie had a New Year's Eve Party. She thought it would be fun to add a twist--she made it an ugly sweater party. Concidentally enough, I had been cleaning out the garage earlier and found a forgotten box of sweaters. I had saved them with the idea of "Well, I'll need these so I can have something warm to wear when I visit Utah." I boxed them up when I moved to warm Arizona, and promptly forgot about them.Opening the box was like opening a time capsule from some ancient civilization. They were all sweaters that I wore in high school and college. Not only was it fun to reminisce, but I couldn't believe how UGLY they were. I about peed my pants laughing at HOW ugly some of them were. The scary thing is that they were once in style. They had ended up in the DI (Deseret Industries/Goodwill) pile until Natalie called about the dress code for the party. I immediately pulled some out to wear and shared with a few friends too. What I want to know is "Why does my sweater have an arrow on it and what is it pointing to?" And no, it is not a maternity sweater, even though it makes me look pregnant.
We had a contest that night and the winner got the sweater that I am wearing below that says 1st place. Yes, I wore that in high school too. And no, I don't know why I have a sweater that says 1st place. And yes, it too was in style back then. lol The winner is shown below; that's our friend Matt. I think the thing that made his the winner sweater was how well it fit him. Don't you think it really shows off his physique? And no, his sweater is NOT one of mine. He got his at Goodwill. I would also like to add that Jerel's is one of his own sweaters. He apparently also had great fashion sense in the 80's.
The kids couldn't believe we wore things like that. Chase just was looking at the pictures as I was doing this post and said, "You wore that in the 80's on purpose? I'm glad I didn't live in the 80's." I told him it was all about bright colors, shoulder pads and leggings. To really appreciate the sweaters, you have to picture me with BIG bangs--actually just BIG hair--and maybe even crimped. I tried to tell him I was really in style in high school. I don't think he believed me. I loved the 80's! Chase you don't know what you are missing!
Pinewood Derby
On January 17th, Tanner competed in his pack's annual Pinewood Derby, which is something akin to church basketball. In other words, what should be a fun, learning experience for the cub scout and his parents sometimes turns into a knock-down drag-out free-for-all competition. The movie Down and Derby is a fairly accurate depiction of how the whole event can get out of control. However, we always enjoy the experience of building the car, trying to learn all the tips and techniques for a fast car, and then seeing how we compare with others in our pack.Since this is the 12th pinewood derby car I have helped to build, you would think I would have this whole process well in hand. Unfortunately, the process is not an exact science and small variables can really impact the final result. Tanner really wanted to have a fast car this year so he chose a design that was successful for Jordan and for his cousin Tynan.
Here we are working on the axles to Tanner's car - sanding out the burrs and making them as smooth as possible. And of course painting the body of the car. In previous years, the kids wanted the car to have a smooth paint finish but their hands were not strong or large enough to effectively use a spray paint can. This year, I was able to find a handle that fits on the spray can which made it much easier for Tanner to do the actual painting. Tanner and I spent a fair amount of time on his car and we both felt pretty good with the final result.
Race day is always fun and the whole family came along to support Tanner. My sister Janel and her son Tynan also came to support Tanner in his quest for a victory. Our pack hired a local outfit to run the race complete with track, electronic starting and finishing gate, and computer software which generates the racing schedule and organizes the results down to 4 decimal places!
We all had a great time with one unfortunate experience. After one of Tanner's races, his car was dropped when it was being transferred back to the pit area. The fall caused 2 of the axle holes to break. We were able to super glue it back together so it could continue racing but the damage caused the car to slow down. Initially Tanner was was very upset although he came to terms with it by the end of the evening and realized that it was an accident. Tanner's car ended up in 4th place and he missed out on 3rd place by the smallest of margins--and I mean small. Even after the damage, his average race time for the derby was 3.8521 seconds. The third place winner had an average of 3.8517 seconds. That means he lost by .0004 seconds!! I guess there's always next year!
Sunday, February 3, 2008
London's Run
Yesterday, February 2, 2008, I was able to participate in my first 10k road race. This was a test of sorts to see how my training was progressing for my next goal of running a half-marathon. My brother Shad told me about London's Run http://www.londonsrun.org/ a couple months back so I decided to enter.
I almost didn't make it due to coming down with a sinus cold on Thursday but I figured I would try to tough it out. Saturday morning was cold and it was even colder at Schnepf Farms where the race was held. My car thermostat said that it was 37 degrees at race time (around 8:30 am)! I know that isn't all that cold if you're in Utah but my blood has thinned out living in the Arizona desert.
I was also a bit intimidated by all the serious-looking runners that I encountered Saturday morning. Most of the runners looked the part and I only hoped to not embarrass myself. Due to various conflicts, my family was not able to attend this event and cheer me. So at least I could make up a good story if something weird did happen.
I ended up finishing 49 out of 410 runners who competed in the 10k race running the course in 51:02. My goal was to finish in the top 50 and to be under 55 minutes so I was pretty happy with where I finished considering I had been sick and I hadn't run any races before. You can see a picture of me running at the following web page.
http://sportshots.exposuremanager.com/p/10k_lr_2008/10k_0917am_20080202091742_168656
So now to the next goal: the half-marathon. Some of my family members are running in the Canyonlands race in Moab, UT next month. I would have liked to join them but we had a schedule conflict so my plan is to find a local race to run in or to at least run the distance in the gym. I have really begun to enjoy running. I especially like being able to set goals and then see how I match up to those goals. It is very rewarding and motivating so I plan to continue.
I almost didn't make it due to coming down with a sinus cold on Thursday but I figured I would try to tough it out. Saturday morning was cold and it was even colder at Schnepf Farms where the race was held. My car thermostat said that it was 37 degrees at race time (around 8:30 am)! I know that isn't all that cold if you're in Utah but my blood has thinned out living in the Arizona desert.
I was also a bit intimidated by all the serious-looking runners that I encountered Saturday morning. Most of the runners looked the part and I only hoped to not embarrass myself. Due to various conflicts, my family was not able to attend this event and cheer me. So at least I could make up a good story if something weird did happen.
I ended up finishing 49 out of 410 runners who competed in the 10k race running the course in 51:02. My goal was to finish in the top 50 and to be under 55 minutes so I was pretty happy with where I finished considering I had been sick and I hadn't run any races before. You can see a picture of me running at the following web page.
http://sportshots.exposuremanager.com/p/10k_lr_2008/10k_0917am_20080202091742_168656
So now to the next goal: the half-marathon. Some of my family members are running in the Canyonlands race in Moab, UT next month. I would have liked to join them but we had a schedule conflict so my plan is to find a local race to run in or to at least run the distance in the gym. I have really begun to enjoy running. I especially like being able to set goals and then see how I match up to those goals. It is very rewarding and motivating so I plan to continue.
Flatiron Hike
On January 5, 2008, Jordan and I joined with others from our ward for a hike on the Siphon Draw trail to the top of Flatiron. This is a peak east of Mesa, part of the Superstition Mountain range, one of the few that actually has a name. Flatiron sticks out from the range like the prow of a great ocean liner but it also resembles an upside down iron. The hike is about 5 miles round-trip but the elevation gain in the 2.5 miles to the top is approximately 2,500 feet.We met at the church early for a quick breakfast and then carpooled to the trailhead which is found in the Lost Dutchman State Park. The weather was great although it was a bit overcast.
We started up the trail which begins with a gradual incline until you reach the stream bed at the bottom of a bare rock gully or basin. Just a few yards into this rock-walled basin, there is a vertical, 40ft dryfall on the left. The photo to the left shows the trail going up the sloping rock to the right of the dryfall. Flatiron is the large protruding rock at the top of this photo.The views from the summit were spectacular. The photo below on the left is looking back down on Siphon Draw trail. The other photo is looking southwest over the valley.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)