2nd Annual Goody 10K and Y Hike

Tuesday was our 2nd annual Goody 10K.  This years route was changed from last years.  Last year, we took off from the house, ran a route down to Provo Canyon and back for the 10K.  This year it was suggested that the racers be dropped off up the canyon and run down for the 6.2 miles.  I figured out a route that would work, everyone that wanted to go was on board and up we went.

This year we had three runners and three walkers.  Sarah, Rachel and Malinda were our three runners.  My wife, Alison and I were the walkers.  It was a beautiful morning and the canyon is in shade most of the day so it was fun.  We had a good time talking as we tried to make it down as quick as we could.  We got a slight start on the runners and it wasn't long before they came running past us.  We were pushing one of the grandsons in a stroller but his Mom grabbed the stroller and off the runners went.  The came close to their finishing goal and were well under an hour.  The walkers finished up a little over an hour and a half.  It was fun to cheer each other on and I hope this can continue on as a regular tradition.

We finished the day's fun by going to a local pool.  I was enjoying hanging in the shade and trying to get a nap until my oldest grandson came up to me with a big smile on his face asking if I would go down the tallest slide with him.  It was hard to turn him down and I found myself at the top of the slide surrounded by lots of kids who were all at least a foot shorter than me.  The things we do for our kids/grandkids. I am just glad I can still do it.  My grandson went down before me and when I hit the pool at the bottom of the slide, water went all over and my grandson was stifling a laugh.

I wrote a while back about hiking to the 'Y' above Brigham Young University.  There have been plans to hike it every year but something has always taken precedence and the hike never has happened until this year.  Friday night, one of my daughters texted everyone else and said they were going to do it on Saturday morning and wanted to know who else was in.  My wife and I were in for sure and there were 10 of us then ended up hiking the 1.2 miles up to the top of the Y.  It is steep and gets the heart pounding, but the view is nice and the strain is worth it.

Start of the hike at the trailhead

Starts out steep and doesn't let up!

I caught up with the some of the hikers that got a head start.  Here I am
telling a granddaughter about an old man who started after the rest and beat
the grandkids to the top.  She didn't stop after that!

Off she goes, never to be seen again with the lead hikers.

At the top of the Y.

Joined by the rest!

Enjoying the view!

Hope you are staying active and having fun this summer!  Hang in there and I will too!

Amethyst Lake

Some of my out of town kids and their families arrived this week.  July will prove to be a fun and busy month. One of our annual traditions has been to do a hike in the Uintah mountains.  This mountain range is unique in many ways, but the most interesting thing about them is that they are the only mountain range in the United States that run east to west.  I've written about several of my hikes in the Uintahs in the past.
I took Thursday off to go hiking with one of my daughters, Rachel, and her husband Troy.  Much to my surprise, my wife joined in on the hike as well.

We hiked to a beautiful lake called Amethyst.  The hike wasn't excessively hard, but it was over six miles one way and it had a good climb for almost half a mile.  It was worth it though as we hiked through pines and meadows to reach the lake.  Even the steep section was worth it due to the waterfalls that were right along the trail.

We got up to the lake around noon.  As the sun climbed in the sky, we were all getting warmer, but not long after we approached the lake it rained pretty good and cooled things way down.  We even had a bit of hail that caused us to find brief shelter underneath some trees.

My son-in-law packed his fly rod and had a great day of fishing.  Amethyst Lake itself didn't yield him any fish, but the water was choppy.  On the way back, my wife and I decided to stick to the trail and my daughter and son-in-law did a bit of lake hopping to try fishing at other lakes.  They were glad they did as the fishing picked up.   We were glad that we stuck to the trail when they told us of the steep boulder hopping they had to do to get from lake to lake.

We ended up hiking close to 13 miles for the day.  It made for a long day, but we were all glad we went.

Last week I told you about another son-in-law who ran the Freedom Festival 10K with my daughter and I without training and beat us both.  Rumor has it he was so sore the next day that he said never again!  My daughter and I already have talked about future races coming up!  :)

I logged 7 days out of 7 this week.  It is probably one of my best weight management tools.  I need to do this for 2 months.  So far so good.

Tuesday is the second BGoody 10K race with the family.  I think there will be five or six of us running this year.  More to come.

Hang in there and I will too.

Finding the Other Side of Someday

For several years now, when our adult children come into town for a reunion, each of us puts together a playlist of songs based on the theme for that year.  I was listening to a song off of one of the playlist that Rachel put together called Gonna Get Over You by Sara Bareilles.  I like the song because it's great to work out to.  It has a good back beat and drive to it that I like.  The last time I listened to it, this piece of the lyrics caught my attention.

I'll be alright,
Once I find the other side of someday.

If you want to watch a goofy video and listen to a great song, here you go.



It got me thinking that I have been trying to get to the other side of someday for the past several months.  I have done well in my training.  I can't remember a training run that I didn't get in and I completed the Ogden Marathon and just on Wednesday ran my third Freedom Festival 10K.  But my weight and other aspects of my health suffered.  I have made several attempts to get back on track, but none of them sustained for very long as I tried to get to "the other side of someday."  I've had too may Monday's come and go without making needed changes.  While my running continues to be important and I would still like to complete my 7 peaks challenge, I would be better served by getting back on track on my overall weight and health.  The marathon training definitely stressed me out both physically and mentally to the point that my body was reacting negatively to the stress.  I need to turn this around.  This needs to be my focus for a while.
I've taken some steps in the right direction.  Today I started logging my food intake.  This always helps.  A work health challenge is to log your food intake for two months.  I can do this and I will be better off if I do.  I also started Bob Harper's latest book, The Skinny Rules.  I need to finish what I started there and follow through with his suggestions.
Also my Friday run, I really watched my heart rate.  I ran as long as I stayed in "Zone 3" and walked it down if it got too high.  I felt great after the run and felt a lot less stress.  I am going to back things off a bit on the running and get a good base built back up with heart zone training.  If I will do these three things I will be well on my way to the other side of someday.

Freedom Festival 10K Quick Report
I was going to run this race regardless of the circumstances, but my daughter Malinda asked me to run it with her since it was her first 10K.  She trained will for the race and her training paid off.  She made her goal with a few minutes to spare.  My approach to the race was not to push too hard and to finish at about 1h 20 minutes.  My slowest time yet, but it seemed like a good pace.  My training paid off as well and finished at about 1:18.  Malinda's husband entered in on race day, with no training, and beat both of our times!  He came in just under an hour.  Pretty impressive with no training.   Haven't heard how he felt the next day.  Maybe he paid the price then.   It's hard not to be like a bitter Mr. Miyagi after Daniel catches the flies with his chop sticks and say, "You beginner luck!"



Hang in there and I will too!

Have I Got a Deal For You!

The young men and women at our church with a lot of help from the youth leaders put on a yard sale to help raise funds for our various camps. Even though our scout camp is over, we will benefit from this as well so the parents don't have to pay so much for their share of the expenses. I was overwhelmed by the support we got from our church members in donations for the sale. The lawn was covered with more items than I had ever seen at a yard sale. We helped out Friday night by collecting the larger donations and transporting them to the yard sale and then came back early on Saturday to lend a hand for a few hours. It was a success. Hats off to the young women leaders who went the extra mile in organization and mean negotiating skills.


As you may have heard in the news, the west is experiencing a lot of wildfires due to hot and dry conditions. Utah is no exception. I am glad that we went to Scout Camp the week before because this last week at the same camp, they evacuated the scouts as a safety precaution due to a fire in the area that as of last week had burned 70 square miles and was still going strong. Even though we live several miles from most of the fires, the skies have been smoke filled for almost two weeks now. We could use some cool and wet weather. 


I got in my miles this week. I continue to be more tired than usual. Hopefully I will bounce back here soon. 


My daughter Malinda and I went and picked up our packets for the Freedom Festival 10k that is this Wednesday on the 4th. This is her first race. We drove the route and talked a little strategy to make the race a good one for her. This will be a slow race for me, but I am not ready to push in a race right now. I just need to enjoy the race. It is a bit challenging with the hills, but it is a fun atmosphere as you run along the parade route. We will probably head over to the parade after since my son is going to sleep out on the parade route and save us some seats. 


Have a great 4th! Hang in there and I will too!

Scout Camp 2012

As many of you know, I have been a Scoutmaster for a couple of years now.  I have been involved with Scouting on and off for many years due to our church's sponsor ship of Scouting, but this has been my first time as Scoutmaster.  Saturday, I finished up my third summer camp.
You have three choices when it comes to summer camp.

1. Attend an official BSA Scout Camp
2. Come up with your own idea for a summer camp.
3. Pretend like you don't have any idea what a summer camp is and if someone ask you about it, ask them if they could help you by attending camp with you this summer.  It will effectively stop the conversation as they now pretend that they know nothing about Scout Camp either plus they also have something important scheduled for that week even though you haven't told them when it is yet.

I have done options one and two but haven't tried number three yet.
I will tell you a few things from Scout Camp this year to give you an insight of what is involved in Scout Camp.

Mike Terry, Deseret News

This year we attended Frandsen Ranch BSA Scout Camp at Scofield, Utah.  It is about 70 miles away from our city in Orem.  We met at 6 am on Monday so we could arrive at camp in time to set up and get checked in.  You know you are off to a rough start when one of the mother's rushes back with Dramamine so her little scout doesn't get car sick.  On my first trip two years ago, I did have to pull over while one of the scouts puked.  Fun way to start a trip.  This time however the medicine worked.  We traveled for a little over and hour to get to Scofield.
The wind blew hard for at least part of the day, every day we were there.  It made setting up the tents a challenge, but due to our staking the tents well and securing guy wires, our tents all stayed up.  There were several other tents in the camp that ripped and collapsed that first day.
Due to some mixups, we had to guide ourselves around camp and figure out the logistics of the camp, but we got it figured out.  Most of our scouts this year were on their first summer camp and they had a ways to go in rank advancement.  We got them on a program that helps them complete almost all of their requirements for Tenderfoot, 2nd and First class requirements.  This worked out well and most of them now have almost everything passed of.  With a week or two follow up now we are back home, most of our scouts will be at a rank of 1st class which I am really happy about.  Our other scout, worked on merit badges and he was able to get several as well.
It takes a lot of work as a scoutmaster at camp.  Younger scouts are all over the map as far as confidence and comprehension.  Most either doubt their abilities or over estimate what they can do.  If you are familiar with the term herding cats, it really applies in this case.  It is always interesting that you will spend a couple of minutes with them explaining what they need to do and where they need to be and then immediately ask you what they need to do and where they need to be.  It is a scientific fact that their brains are developing so rapidly that all the wiring is not in place.  It takes a lot of patience to help them understand.  But it pays off eventually.
Here is a picture of three scout leaders towards the end of camp.  It runs you ragged!

One thing I enjoy about an organized camp, is to meet other scouters from all over the place.   One of the above leaders (left) is part of a deaf scout troop.  I talked with him a couple of times and found out what an amazing person he is.  He is over a younger set of scouts.  None of his scouts were there.  He was there to help out the older scouts.  He gave up a week of his time to help out these older, hearing impaired, scouts.  He also chose to join the Order of the Arrow, which is a service organization in the Scouts.  You can choose to do it as a scout or as a leader.  Part of the induction involves "The Ordeal."  This requires you to sleep outside, by yourself, with nothing but a pad and a sleeping bag.  For 24 hours, you cannot speak to anybody, you get minimal food and you provide service for the whole day.  Rusty went through this.  The day was hot as we watched Rusty and the others work in the sun, fixing fences and digging trenches in camp.  I then found out on the last day, that Rusty earned the mile swim award as well while he was at camp.  He swam for 1 mile for over an hour in Scofield Reservoir which was a balmy 56 degrees!  This is from a man who is not only hearing impaired, but walks with a pronounced limp when he walks.  Rusty was one of my heroes at camp!
My first few days were a bit frustrating as we tried to figure out what was going on, but as we talked to staff, I understood some of the challenges they were under.  By the time we left, I had a new friend in Colton, the program director, who is a fellow runner.  It was good to get to know him and other scout leaders both on staff and other Scoutmasters who had come up for the week.  The other leader who came up with me has been on all three summer camps with me even though he has responsibility with another
I did get one run in on Tuesday.  It was a good workout, but challenging to do the extra hills and at a higher altitude.  The next scheduled run was the coldest morning.  I could talk myself out of the sleeping bag any earlier than I had to be up.  I ended up being tired and needing the sleep any way for the rest of the week.  I did a ton of walking durning the day to keep track of everything that was going on.
What's up next for me is a lighter week of exercise as I am about 10 days out from the Freedom Festival 10k on the 4th.
Hang in there and I will too!

Late and Short

I arrived at Scout Camp this morning with one other leader and five scouts! We are at Scofield Utah. It has been a long day with much to do and worry about but I am hoping for a good week with the boys. I got all my traing runs in last week and hope to fit in my scheduled training in while I am here. It's well past lights out so I better get some rest. Hang in there and I will too!

Utah Valley Marathon

I know my blog post tend to be a little bit wordy sometimes.  This one is no exception.  I enjoy processing what running and getting back in shape has brought to my life and recording these events helps me understand what I have gained from all of this.  Thanks for following along!

I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path, hit the trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go.
Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner

"I run because it always takes me where I want to go." I read this quote after I went running on Friday. This was an rescheduled long run. It was hard to get up, but I knew it was my only shot to get the run in. That run did take me where I wanted to go. Not only did a do one of my favorite routes, but I wanted to see how I would do going the longest I've run since the marathon. I finished the run a bit tired, but really happy that I went and I got a little confidence back. That was where I really wanted to go. To a better state of mind and that run took me there. I feel like I'm slowly on my way back.
Saturday was a great experience for me. I got up early and headed over to the finish line area for the Utah Valley Marathon. We were busy from the time I got there until we left in the afternoon. I drove as close as I could to finish line and headed over. I found a group of volunteers that were unwrapping the finisher medals. There were over 7,000 medals to get ready so I found a chair, seated in the middle of University Avenue and started unwrapping. About the time I started, both the half marathon and marathon had begun, but we wouldn't be seeing anyone for well over an hour. The time went by quickly and all went well except for the minor annoyance of one of the volunteers who took it upon himself to be in charge. He was mostly ignored so it was a little humorous.
The first ones in were the wheelchair and mobility assisted racers. They really flew down the canyon! I was surprised there wasn't much of a fuss made about them. No one from the race other than the announcer even acknowledged that they came through. I talked to one of them when I grabbed a medal and gave it to him. He said that it was not unusual. I guess that everyone is gearing up for the mass of runners and the main event that they get lost in the hustle and bustle.
Next the top half marathoners came through and there was a bit of excitement. There was plenty of attention on them as they came through. Most of us were still unwrapping the last of the medals, but it was fun to see the elite runners come through. It is just amazing how fast some can cover the 13.1 miles in a little over an hour. The top time was:

KYLE PERRY M 28 PROVO UT 1:06:43 1:06:43

I have yet to run a 10K that fast!
Less than an hour and a half after the first half marathoner came across, the first marathoner crossed the line.

KEMBOI, PETER 2:28:56 5:41 2:28:56 1:13:12 32 HEBRON KY

Wow!
There were several highlights for me. I saw quite a few of my neighbors finish the half and full marathon. Shout outs to all of them! Wayne Y., Tanya T., Carrie J., Barbara H. Chris D. Bill H. , Skip M. and Nancy H.
Bill and Skip were pacers for the half and full respectively. Pacers are an amazing group who run the marathon, holding a sign the whole way, just to help fellow racers meet there race time. They do these distances several times a year! Thanks to all of the pacers. And a shout out to Michelle B, who had signed up to work the finish line and let me know how to volunteer. She hung in there to the end and it was fun to get to know her a bit better.
One person that I didn't see, ended up breaking my heart when I found out what happened. Super Mom Erin, is a blogger who just a few years ago was overweight and not happy with herself. She and her husband Josh have 12 kids! Many of them special needs adoptions. She trained hard for this race and was excited to run hard and fast. The race blew up on her! You just never know when that might happen. Most of us are lucky enough to have it happen on a training run, but she never had any warning what was going to happen. You can read her heartfelt report here. I choked up a bit when I read about how at 3:15 in the race that her husband and kids would know she wasn't going to make her goal and her not wanting to disappoint anyone. I felt the same way when I just about didn't make it across the Pineview Dam for the cut-off time at the Ogden Marathon. I thought how much I didn't want to disappoint everyone either. I came within 1 minute of getting a DNF!

As the focus shifted from the half to the full came on, I hung around for the last of the half-marathoners. who didn't get much attention. I made sure they had someone to congratulate them on making the 13.1 miles and greeting them with the medal that they had earned. The hard work they had put in to be able to finish. I hope it helped them realize what a big deal it was.

After the last half-marathoner came through, I helped out at the marathon finish. The volunteers were slowly disappearing, but I had fun handing out the medals and as it became hot, some of grabbed water cups and got them to the runners as they finished up. Even though the course was downhill, a lot of runners said how hard it was because they had a stiff wind in their face from about mile 7 on.

I also heled a lost kid find his parents, one runner that about collapsed on us and we helped her to the medical tent. Several other runners needed help getting their bearings straight, they had given their all physically and mentally to cross the finsh so we made sure they were ok. I kept my eye on one runner who struggled across the line. I got him some water and poured some on him. He found the nearest shade under a table and sat their looking exhausted. I grabbed him some oranges and talked with him on and off as I grabbed water for the runners coming in. In about a half an hour, he looked much improved.

The last thing I did was to greet the last marathoner in (they closed the finish 6.5 hours after it started). I told her that the last place finisher from Ogden this year, welcomed the last place finisher from this year's Utah Valley Marathon.

As I walked across the closing down expo, I saw a marathoner who was probably in his late teens or early twenties. I remembered him crossing the finish because he expressed so much appreciation to the volunteers. I asked where he was from. He told me San Diego and his goal was to do 12 marathons this year. This marked his 7th completed! I wished him well and headed for the car.

As I drove home, I saw a person with a marathon bib on still on the course and walking it in. They were still several miles out, but I'm sure they were proving something to themselves. I had nothing but respect for that!

Hang in there and I will too!