The Lake Powell Triathlon

Jed (my Father-in-law), Cody and I competed in the Lake Powell Triathlon on Saturday, October 17th. Below are pictures and a break down of each leg of the race.

Swim

The lake water was about 65 degrees so wet-suits were "highly recommended". I borrowed Sydney's surfing wet-suit which was very nice, but if anyone is considering doing a triathlon, I would highly recommend getting a triathlon suit. After the countdown and the horn, we all took off. Within seconds I couldn't breathe. I thought this must be due to the cold water and the excitement so I turned onto my back and did the backstroke until I got my breathing under control. When I turned back over to do freestyle, I couldn't catch my breath again. I realized that I had not practiced enough with the suit and it was too tight around my chest and neck so I couldn't breathe. I ended up doing backstroke the entire 750 meter swim.

18:26, 4th place in my division

The Trio

My Father-in-law

Cody's right in the middle

I'm right in the middle...in the pink swim cap.

Bike

After we got done with the swim, we had to run up the boat ramp and then about another 100 meters to the transition area. Removing a wet wet-suit is difficult, but try doing it when you are in a rush. Wow! I thoroughly enjoyed the biking except for the one really long and really steep hill. Thank you Katie for letting me borrow your amazing bike. I passed Cody around mile 4 or 5. I was so glad because Cody did not even train for this and if he beat me, I was going to be really mad. My average bike speed was 16 mph over the 12 miles.

44:36, 4th place in my division

Jed

Cody

Me, I know, cool helmet, huh!

Run

When I got off the bike, my toes were completely numb. I began my run and could not gauge at all how fast or slow I was going. Because we weren't allowed to use our ipods (meaning my Nike+) I couldn't even figure out how far I had gone. I decided to concentrate on passing as many people as I could. The nice thing about this run was that the first half was a slow incline and at the half way point, we turned around and ran downhill. This was a 3.1 mile run.

23:09, 1st place in my division

Cody & I enjoying being done.

My bling...1st place overall in my division (25-29 year olds)

Thanks Kristi for supporting us!

Our "After" picture

Desktops

I absolutely love the Shabby Princess website. Every month they offer a free desktop. I wish my digital scrapbooking looked this cute. Rachel's going to help me with that...right Rachel?

June 2009

June was a crazy month!

Cody had a week off work so we were able to work on a lot of projects around the house:

Before

I had a better picture than this, but it wouldn't load right to the post.

After

Cody laid the travertine and I painted the walls a taupe color.

Before

I had a single rod going across the top of the closet and a shelf on top of that.

After

We bought two 300 gallon water tanks a couple months ago, but couldn't fill them with water until we had shade for them.

Cody built these to protect them from the sun.

We got to spend time at the cabin too.

Cooper loves his cousins and the cabin.

Elizabeth is so good to Cooper. She takes him everywhere she goes.

These were a mess.

June was the month of sugar cookies. I think I ended up making them at least once a week for different reasons.

He licked off the frosting and discarded the rest.

We watched Elizabeth and Crew for 2 days while Whitney and Chris were out of town. Three kids under the age of three. Wow!

We also spent a week in Salado, Texas for a work retreat. Of course I didn't take any pictures, but we stayed at a charming bed and breakfast with a huge room and a gigantic bathroom (my perception might be skewed since our bathroom is the size of most people's closets). Thanks to Whitney and Angie for watching Cooper while we were away. He had lots of fun!

Cooper had his first and second known ear infection (one in each ear). The doctor said "Wow...he has a 'wicked' ear infection!". Poor guy. He was actually really good considering the constant 104-106 degree temperature he ran for almost a week.

The Grand Canyon

Jed (my father-in-law), Sydney (my sister-in-law), and I hiked the Grand Canyon last Saturday. We spent the night on the North Rim, woke up early (3:45am) and began hiking. We went down the North Rim, across, and up the South Rim all in one day. There are signs on both sides of the canyon which tell you not to attempt hiking from Rim to Rim in one day. This is what one website said about it: "Going Rim to Rim in one day can be suicidal because the endurance needed. 5700 vertical feet down and almost 15 miles to the river. Then another 9 miles and 4500 vertical feet up. 24 miles!" The last 4.5 miles are ridiculous! It is constant switchbacks that never end. The hard part is to keep yourself from looking up (or down for that matter) because the trail is right along the cliff face and when I would look up I would think "I have to get all the way up there!?". At 1.5 miles remaining, Cody's cousin Jen, her husband and 1 year old son were there to greet and encourage us. That was a life saver! Thanks Jen and Ty! When we were all done Sydney asked if I would do it again (she's done it 5 or 6 times already). My response: "I will once I forget how hard it was!".

Cooper...as a Girl?

This is what happens when I leave Cooper with my Mother-in-law for two days and my Sister-in-law gets a hold of him.

He's actually a bit pretty...don't you think?

Bottles & Pacifiers

After a year, we are finally free of both of these! Cody & I decided to go "cold turkey" and it took several days until Cooper was okay with out them. I think I suffered more during this time than Cooper did. Glad to have that over with!

Ragnar Pictures

Sorry these took so long to post. Enjoy...

Our next adventure...hiking the Grand Canyon in May.

This is Steve. He's 12 years old and this is his 4th Ragnar Relay. Oh and he was averaging 7 minute miles for 7-8 miles at a time. Crazy!

My Father-in-law found this owl on the side of the road and decided to throw it on top of his car. Everyone kept honking and telling him he had something stuck up there. His reply "Dinner". This random guy jumped on the car in the parking lot and started looking at it. 

Getting my ipod ready so I could run.

Our van.

Our whole team.

Skater Boy!

The neighbor kids have taken up skateboarding and Cooper always watched them with a twinge of jealousy on his face. Cody pulled out his skateboard and took Cooper on a ride and he loved it. His favorite though was when Cody did ollies. Cooper would get so excited and run around the driveway. I think we might have a "skater boy" on our hands.

Mmmm...Strawberries!

I have been completely addicted to strawberries lately and I've tried to share my new love with Cooper to no avail. Cody was eating one a couple days ago and Cooper finally took a bite. He LOVED them! He probably ate six or seven of them by the time the day was done. Eventually I took his shirt off and had to give him a sponge bath afterwards in order to get him clean.

204 miles...1 mile at a time

The Ragnar Relay

Prescott to Mesa

204 miles

12 members

3 runs each

2 vans

31 hours

"Saguaro cactus, red rock cliffs, live bands, and

biker bars. Your team of 12 maniacs will run around the clock in this springtime relay through the Arizona desert. While this 204-miler only runs from Wickenburg to Mesa, the inside jokes may last forever."

ragnarrelay.com

What an amazing and crazy event! Our team consisted of the Riding cousins and friends. We started at 6am Friday morning and "shadowed our runners" throughout each of their runs. We would stop during their runs, give them water, and cheer them on. Paul, one of our runners, said it well "It is 204 miles, one mile at a time." My three runs were 5 miles, 4.7 miles and 3.5 miles. My 4.7 mile run was at midnight. That was crazy because we were running outside of Wickenburg on the freeway with a reflective vest and a flashlight, but it was amazing to see all the stars.

Pictures to come soon...

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday Cooper!!

I can't believe its been a year already. Cooper got great toys from MaMa & Pa Riding and Uncle Logan and adorable outfits from G. Grandpa Frank & G. Grandma Joan, and Aunt Whitney & Uncle Chris. We gave Cooper some bath toys and a blow up pool. We live close enough to Cody's parents who have a great pool, but it will be a nice option to have at home. Love ya Cooper!

By the way, we gave Cooper a cupcake to eat and after touching the frosting he just cried until we took him out of his highchair. He loved the ice cream a lot more.

What we've been up to...

...playing at the park

...preparing for the Ragnar Relay in two weeks
(Cooper likes to watch people and cars so it works out nicely that

I can run and push him in the jogging stroller...it will be really nice to run

using both hands!)

...enjoying the nice weather at the Phoenix Zoo

...the many projects involved with owing a home

...trying to keep Cooper out of trouble since he is walking now

...our callings in the ward & stake

...lots & lots of work

...and Cody's new truck (it's nice to be a two car family again)!