Fun on our Feet

This last Saturday was the kids' school walkathon.  It's a very common thing out here where schools raise money by getting students to ask friends and family for donations based on the number of miles they walk at the walkathon.  Our kids have always enjoyed the event - not that they do incredible mileage, but it's a fun time to be with their friends the whole day and it's a good way for them to earn little prizes for each mile they walk.  So guess who walked the most miles on Saturday ... Brig.  That little guy walked 7 miles, with the girls somewhere relatively close behind.  And he was asking to keep going when it was finally time to call it a day.  That kid's a stud.

Angela and I were set to go out to dinner with some friends on Friday night, but they called to say they had gotten some free tickets to a concert and would we like to do that instead.  Angela called me and said, "it's some band called 'Cheese Trick', have you heard of them?"  Well when I stopped laughing, I was able to explain to her that it probably was "Cheap Trick", yes I had heard of them, and it sounded like fun.  It was at a small venue called the Mountain Winery, and it turned out to be a very fun evening.  There were six of us there together, both other couples not people we regularly hang out with, but was VERY fun to be with them.  It felt refreshing to expand our circle of friends and realize there are lots of great couples and friends out there who are fun to be with.  The concert was loud, and we stood the entire time, so we were tired and had ringing ears by the end of the night, but it was lots of fun.  And by the way, they were Steve Young's tickets...

Hello Saturday, October 2

Six months ago today I had my knee surgery.  Seems like it hasn't been that long, but I'm definitely glad to be on this side of it than the other.  While it generally feels good, I have only just started going out on some tentative, short runs this past week.  It's ok that it takes a while to heal fully, as long as it does...


This morning is a big tradition for our family.  For many years we have been in St George, UT for the wonderful and challenging St George marathon.  I have run it 8 times, Angela has done it 6.  It's funny how we really miss being there this year.  So in honor of our good times there, and in early preparation for next year when I WILL be back there, here are my favorite memories of STG:

• The training - it has to start with the training - long, laborious, fun when with good running partners
• The anticipation - starts really building on the drive out there
• The Expo - fighting the crowds and parking congestion (especially if you go late in the day on Friday), always seem to see old friends, fun to browse the booths, and of course, getting the race packet & timing chip mean it's finally real
• The dinner - fretting about what to eat, and where - in the end being happy to stay at the condo and cook a good normal dinner
• The race prep - laying out clothes and gear, pinning number to jersey, arranging gels, maybe going over a pace chart if feeling like the next day could be fast
• The down time - hard to go to bed too early, so maybe watch a movie, a game, anything to relax
• The fitful night - not too much sleep, seems like as soon as you start actually sleeping the alarm goes off in the total dark
• The bus - getting to Worthen Park, usually with some degree of stress to not miss the buses, boarding a bus for the drive up Snow Canyon, wishing I hadn't started hydrating already, wishing I had an empty Gatorade bottle for emergency use because I had started hydrating already
• The starting line - music, lights, bonfires, a long row of port-o-lets, people everywhere, lots of nervous energy and jitters, sometimes freezing, sometimes not too bad, meeting friends, waiting in line at the 'Lets, stripping off layers, throwing the clothing bag into the Uhaul, feeling uncomfortable in all my lubed regions, stretching cold muscles, fighting into the crowds all cramming over to the road, trying not to lose friends and running partners, getting watch ready, wishing I'd used the 'Let one more time, wondering how I was going to actually run with all those people around
• The Horn - hearing the horn go off, the crowd slowly starting to inch forward, the surreal feeling of "wow, I guess this is when I start running after all these months...", seeing the starting banner and timing pad approaching, hitting Start on my watch as I cross the start line, and here we go
• The race - starting in the dark wishing it was a little lighter, winding and gently rolling hills for the first 6 miles, pulling over once or twice to water the sage brush, coming down into the tiny town of Veyo for the first spectators, Veyo hill looming, slogging up Veyo hill, cresting Veyo hill and feeling the sun for the first time, realizing it's going to be a hot day, dreading the long slow 3-mile steady incline through Dameron valley, wishing it was darker, making it to the top of Dameron Valley, anticipating Snow Canyon where family and friends will greet you, running down into Snow already feeling tired and maybe a little cramping starting to peak through, stopping for a quick drink and hug from the fam, pushing through the wall at mile 18, starting to anticipate running down into the city as you near miles 21 and 22, super steep hills - both up and down - that really hurt, some years hitting full leg cramp mode that requires a few unplanned walking sessions, dropping down into St George amid the spectators and heat, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, seeing runners sitting on the street or curb, pushing on because you have to, rounding seemingly endless twists and turns, and all of a sudden there's the finish line, the longest slightly uphill finishing straight known to man, the crowds cheering wildly on either side of the barriers, the announcer calling out names as you near the timing pad, crossing the finish line with arms raised, the glorious feeling of being able to stop, volunteers cutting off your timing chip, putting a medal around your neck, enjoying the coolness of the misters, heading for the food
• The food - Great Harvest bread is my favorite if I have the energy to eat, more liquids, a banana and other fruit
• The park - grabbing a massage ticket, searching for family and friends, taking pictures, staying cool or staying warm - depending on the year, rejoicing or agonizing over the run - again depending on the year
• The massage - painful, heaven
• The end

Sports stuff

Let me sum it up for you: The sport I love most is less appealing to me than ever, and the sport I rarely care about has captured my complete attention.  That happens when "your" team is either good or bad.  

1. Major League Baseball - or more specifically, the SF Giants:  I like the Giants.  I've liked the Giants ever since Barry Bonds left.  They're a scrappy team with great pitching, a sweet ballpark, cool caps, great alternative Friday-night old school pumpkin orange jerseys, but they usually can't hit, and they can't score runs.  I listen to games all the time on my way home from work, or maybe catch an at-bat or two on TV after the kids go to bed, but until this year, I have not been very focused on seeing them play unless I was sitting at the ballpark with a Brat in hand.  This year has changed that as they've proved to be good enough to challenge for a division pennant, and a spot in the playoffs.  That hasn't happened in a lot of years, and it's pretty exciting - even to the point that I'll actually sit down and watch near-complete games, or at least large portions of games, and really care if the Giants win.  Six games to go, and they're currently leading their division --- PLEASE tell me I didn't just jinx their chances!!!!!
2. BYU Football and College Football in general:  This is by far my favorite sport and team.  This also makes it by far the most frustrating when they stink up the joint.  I know, I know, they had moments where they looked good in a couple of their recent losses, but still...  It's not that I'm spitting mad, it's more that I care a lot less now that they're ordinary.  I'm definitely not a fair weather fan - I still watch and agonize - but I've realized I care less about it with all the uncertainty around how good they are, how they'll do on any given Saturday, what the nation thinks about them, etc.  Not worth worrying about right now.  And to have Texas play terribly last Saturday just sort of killed my other football team cheering motivation too.  Uggh.
3. NFL Football:  I actually care about the SF 49ers because it's my local team, and I love football, period.  But they're just downright bad - at least they've played that way this season.  Today they just fired their Offensive Coordinator, which usually means a tough year ahead.  The normally staunch defense has been swiss cheese, so they really have no chance because their QB stinks.
4. Utah Jazz:  and somewhere in the middle is usually the NBA.  I'm actually pretty interested in the start of this season because of the new players the Jazz picked up, and the new good feelings that seem to be floating around the team with the changes.  Problem is, they're not even my hometown team, so it feels a little funny calling myself a "Jazz fan".  I don't know, do I still qualify if I don't actually see that many games during the season?

Fogged or Streaked?

I don't have terrible eyesight, but I do wear contacts every day.  I've had a few episodes over the last three months in which I'll have severe pain and some swelling in my right eye.  I had some drops that helped, but it never seemed like the problem completely went away.  So I finally went to the Eye Dr this week (I know, three months later...), and there's an infection on my cornea that can't completely heal because my contacts keep going on and scratching up the infection.  So that's the cause of my bloodshot eye if anyone has noticed.

Now I can't wear my contacts for a week or two to let the eye heal.  I don't like my glasses, but obviously there's no choice.  The worst part is the exercise, which I first tried yesterday morning on an early bike ride.  The main problem is that the glasses either fog up, or they get really streaked with sweat - I'm not sure which one's worse, because either way, it's tough to see.  I might try the contact-in-the-left-eye-but-not-the-right-eye trick and see how that goes.

Besides that, I feel funny wearing glasses all day - I look like a nerd.

451

I counted up my previous blog posts yesterday and was stunned to learn that I had posted 450 times since the inception of jamkmb.  So I'm not math whiz (like Brig), but I guess that makes this #451.

In case you were wondering, the beard is gone.  I got to Sunday morning and decided I couldn't take the itching any more (with an assist from my loving wife, who has reservations about shaggy bearded men).  Maybe I'll try it again though - I got a lot of fun feedback while I had it.

Another fun thing is that I finished the Book of Mormon again this week.  It always feels like a good accomplishment, even if it did ending taking us longer than our BoM challenge suggested we should take.  I decided to read the Doctrine & Covenants now since it's been a long time since I read that book.  Already enjoying the change of pace.

As many of you know, Google is famous for their food.  What you may not know is that it's not just about the cafes.  The idea is that no Googler will ever be more than 150 ft away from food and drinks, so they have microkitchens all over the place with food and drinks.  This is a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your perspective.  Recently, my building's been running a pilot of a program called Extreme Healthy microkitchens, so they've removed all the sodas, juices, chips, candy, and everything else that's not really good for you, and replaced it with lots of different waters, fruit, and healthy snacks in general.  As you can tell from the picture, my favorite is Hint water.  It's water with a hint of flavoring.  My favorites are Raspberry-Lime, Mango-Grapefruit, and Blackberry (you'll want to stay away from the Honeydew-Hibiscus or the Pomegranate-Tangerine).  I also realized when they got healthy, that the vast majority of what I usually eat, is still available - meaning that I do a good job of eating healthy stuff.  Good times.

And speaking of work, my officemate and I are both golfers.  In fact, we've been golfing most Friday mornings before work for the past couple of months.  We also have a putting green laid down in our office, and one of us will bring in our putter, which I now consider required office furniture (does that mean I can get the company to reimburse me for mine?).  I just got a new Odyssey putter so I've been bringing it in to get a feel for it, and I love it.  We have a running contest on who can hit the most in a row from a certain spot - he's at 27 and I'm lagging at 19.  It's a nice break during busy days.

OK, until #452 then...

First Day of Fall...

With the start of each new season, I always think "I LOVE Fall/Spring/Summer..., etc." I think it represents a change, however small, and progress. I also associate certain things and events with the different seasons - for example, when I wake up on a Fall Saturday morning to crisp air and early morning sunshine, I feel like I should go for a long run before the football game starts.

As yesterday was the first day of Fall 2010, I celebrated by going on a short bike ride after work, and I really enjoyed riding up a mountain with the leaves starting to change color and the cool air. It's funny because the weather is consistent here that there was probably no physical difference from the day before, but it at least mentally felt like the true first day of Fall.

I spent a good hour and a half last night helping Kennan study for her science test today. She's a smart girl but has been struggling with her new teacher's teaching style, and it's been showing in her tests and quizzes. So as painful as it can sometimes be, I enjoy helping her because it really makes her happy to learn things, and I can see her confidence grow as she realizes she can do it.

We were driving in the car over the weekend, and the road turned a bit bumpy. We went fast over a relatively big bump, and Brig said, "oh! that made my private parts tickle!" You should have heard us laugh... He's also been fixated recently on math problems. He walks around the house challenging everyone with things like "what's one hundred plus nine?" Or he'll say "what's 9 + 8?" and then blurt out "18!" He even got to the point last night where he said at the dinner table: "what's air plus air? ... Air!", accompanied by his usual proud smile. We'll work on that one.

Angela is participating in her very first triathlon this Saturday. I can't wait to go see her, and I'll try to post pictures later if she lets me. She's been ruling my blog commentary with a bit of an iron fist lately (just kidding honey :-), so not sure if she'll let me tell you how great she is, how hot she looks, how fast she was, etc.

The new look...

Nobody tell my mom (just kidding mom!), but I decided to start growing a beard for a change of pace. As you can see from the picture, I'm only a few days into it, and I'm not sure it'll even last through the week because it's starting to itch. I like it though because I forget about it until I see myself in the mirror and I get a small shock each time. No major complaints yet from Ang or the girls...