9:21pm MST NYE in Salt Lake City

Randy and Carolyn have been the greatest Grandparents this trip.

Tyler and Sam sporting the NYE hats and smiles


My Josh

Jackson and Mom on Christmas morning opening presents



I did not want to loose the opportunity to write a few feeling down at such an epic time of life. 2009 is ending and such a vast amount of "new" can usher in 2010. I look forward to the years to come and feel that I am on more solid ground than I have ever been and at this writing I feel I still have so much up in the air.
We were hoping to finish our complete financial overhaul this year but have fallen a bit short. (We still have not found a home) We were able to payoff all debt we had made goals for, we have been able to live for 12 months on a budget that was 40% of what it was in 2007-2008 and stay happy. We have started a serious plan of working towards retirement and at this writing we have a very small nest egg. BOOO YAAAAA
Anne has decided that working on her family is more important then for others or money so Dwell Design will slow down in 2010. My Practical Coaching family has changed and this year I have taken a break and will work towards other goals. I have joined a cycling team called Rocky Mountain Spine and Sport and will ride for them in a few races this year. I will do a few triathlons this year but not like I have the past several years. I will continue to train because of what it means to me but I will cut my weekly hours by 50%. All of this change I hope will cause a huge void that I will be able to fill with FAMILY. I want to Camp, Travel, Color, draw, play, ride, climb, hike, run, swim, tube, wakeboard, ski, work, cry, smile, support, dance, build, create, guide, teach, encourage, pray, hope, and love my kids and wife this year and hopefully I have created a big enough hole that everything listed above can fit in it for the upcoming year and possibly many more after that.

12 years ago I said "Yes" in marriage to my best friend. She told me tonight at dinner that I am still her best friend so something is still working. I love you Anne, I always have and always will. You inspire, guide, and give me the strength to try it all and I thank you for that.

I will continue to write this year, it will have a lot more pictures, and even some video thanks to the coolest Christmas present from Anne.

I love my friends and family and wish you the best at the close of this year and hope for great success for you in the years to come.

T

Lexi and Josh at Keystone take 2

This past weekend we were able to take our second day in the mountains at Keystone. For the second time I took snow boots rather than Ski boots so I would be able to assist Lexi easier. After lunch all the family encouraged Lexi to show them how she had progressed. I helped her with her put each ski on and by the time everyone was watching she was headed down the slope. I was holding onto the "Wee Ski" ropes and was trotting to keep up and not slow Lexi down. The Magic Carpet run only was a few hundred feet and so the run was fast. After her cousins left she told me she really wanted to go down the big hill to where everyone else went. I felt she was doing a good job and what the heck I had not done a workout for the day so off we went.
The first hill was much steeper than anything near the Magic Carpet run and so my trot turned into a full run. Lexi was giggling and yelling "Weeeeeeeee" as she headed down the new hill. At the bottom we saw the first big yellow sign that said "Slow". To keep Lexi working on turns I told her to hit that big yellow sign and she responded and was pleased after she hit the pole holding up the sign. As we approached the second hill of many Lexi again went full speed, or as fast as I can run in snow boots on the ski slopes having the same joy as the first hill. Again at the bottom we saw the yellow sign that said "slow" and so off we went to hit it again.
Half way down she got tired and wanted to take a break and make snow angles. I enjoyed the break since I was not planning on doing this. About this time Becca, Andrew, Jackson, John, Anne, Josh, Liv, Parker showed up again. They encouraged Lexi to ski with them again and so off we went. At the bottom of the next hill about 20 feet below the yellow "slow" sign we stopped and took a break. John, Anne, and Josh were still at the top so we watched them come down the hill. Josh took off and was flying down the hill. Fast enough I thought to myself "he is going to hit the SLOW sign". He started to try to snowplow about 50 feet before the sign and realized to late the he could not. WACK....ROLL.....Cartwheels.....coming to a stop in a dead man position. Yep, Josh took out the SLOW sign at 90%. Yep the sign won and Josh took a very cool digger a few feet in front of me. I loved it and felt bad at the same time. I can see why people that know Josh say he is like me!!!!! I would have tried to show everyone how fast I could get down the hill without thinking about stopping until it was too late just like he did.
A few minutes later he was up and skiing again, Lexi was done and the day was pretty much over. We had a blast for our second day, next week I am planning on taking my skis and taking Lexi all over the Mountain.

Cheers,

T

Turkey as the Main Course

Flying home from Salt Lake City on Tuesday after working out a deal with my largest client for the next few years started the week off right. I was able to sit back and relax after a some what rocky start since the trouble of Sunday.(My car was broken into and my wallet and phone was stolen and used, $3,000 USED) I was really looking forward to the rest of the weeks activities and so I worked on staying focused on the Fun.



Over the past several years I have enjoyed doing a Turkey Trot 5K and have had my family join me in one way or the other. Some years I would run and Anne would watch with the kids and others Anne would run and I would watch the kids. Last year Jackson and Josh ran with me and I pushed Lexi in the Burley, it was beyond funny since during the race one or all kids were in the Burley. This year we tried to find a race that did not cost as much and had no luck so I offered to map and mark a 5K course on the trails of Highlands Ranch and invited my entire extended family and friends. As I finished my run setting up and marking the course we had almost everyone show up and for my family that was 30 people. I asked my parents to be our starters, work the aid station and record every ones time as they came across the finish line. The course was fun I had us go a mile out then come back the same route to finish mile 2 and our first aid station. Then we headed in an opposite direction for .55 and back to cross the finish line. My parents who started us and worked the aid station and the finish line did not have to move and the racers were able to see each other since we had 2 out and backs. Jackson was eager to do better than he did last year by 5 minutes and so we spent some time taking to him about running the race smart. Josh wanted to ride his bike and go as fast as he could and Lexi spent the time with Bella in the wagon with Rob. Anne and I were both able to run and so the gun went off and I had 3 kids take off running. Andrew is my 14 year old nephew and had a great first year in Cross country. He took off and I wanted to keep him in sight so I pushed to stay close. The first mile was mostly up hill and by the time we hit the turn that was the end of mile 1 I looked at my watch and we hit a 7:04 first mile. I hoped he would slow down a bit and as we headed down hill for mile 2 he relaxed a bit. At about 1.75 miles he ran out of gas and I was able to pass him and came through the aid station (mile 2) at 14:30 or a 7:26 2ND mile. I keep rolling and finished at 22:30 on a very hard course. Andrew can in at 23:30 and after a second season should take the crown next year. Josh rode himself into 3rd place and Anne was 4Th. Jackson never stopped and came across the finish line in just over 33 minutes. Jackson took 16 minutes off his last years time.
Having the 5K as a family saved us over $1,000 in entry fees and we decided that it was just as much fun as a real race. In fact, Anne said it was more fun since we were able to not worry about others so close. We handed out Finishers ribbons to all and this makes me look forward to next years event.

The next activity was at the Church Gym for Kickball and Volley Ball. For the next few hours we had a blast and really enjoyed playing with one another. We had a few hours to Chillax and so we went to my Parents apartment and took a break. Lexi took a nap and we hung out until it was time for the big Dinner at 3pm.

Thanksgiving was great, 3 Turkeys, tons of food and a table full of pies. We ended up staying at John and Jenn's until almost 9pm. The day started at 7am so we were all tired by the time we headed home. I was very thankful this year and loved being with my family. My parents were back from their last mission so it was fun to have them present.

Friday was Christmas tree hunting in the National Park. We went to Buffalo Creek about 1.5 hrs away from our home and took a fun lunch to enjoy with everyone. 5 Cars caravaned together and parked in the same grove. Anne and I with the kids took off and started to climb up the mountain. We looked at a few that were close but climbed up a litter further to find the perfect tree. We all took turns cutting it down and taking it back to the car. We are please with our tree this year.







The fun did not stop and on Saturday Morning it was time to make our way up to the ski resorts for our first time as a whole family skiing. Lexi is trying skiing and after putting the skis on she took off and headed down the hill. I took her over to the magic carpet for for the next hour she did great learning how to ski. Jackson, Josh and Anne took off and had a great day. The crowds were pretty low and so the day was just perfect. The weather was warm and everyone again had a great day. We headed home and by Idaho Springs decided that a Van is a must for our family.

Thanks for a great weekend Anne,

T

My Coffee table book

Anne strikes gold again this week as a present arrives for me. Anne took the time to format my blog from 07-08 into book form and it arrived today. I have a picture on the front of my three wonderful kids by our Christmas tree last year that I took and have loved. As I opened the pages for the first time and started to read what I had shared last year I was a bit taken back. I would frame up the last year as a very hard year with all the change that has gone on. As I turned from page to page I was reminded that we had a Awesome year. We did so many fun activities with friends and family. I loved seeing the pictures, reading some of the stories again and I am really thrilled with the present. Home run again for my wife taking care of her 4 children (cause we all know that she is the only real adult in our family).

Thanks Anne,

T

XC Moab 1109

Click here to view these pictures larger

XC running race in Moab Utah

This past weekend I was able to sneak away for a first time XC running race. The event had 3 distances, 10(really 12.5), 20 (really 24.2) and 50K (really 30+ miles). I signed up for the 10 miler and wanted to have a very enjoyable event.

The group known as FOB (not going to tell since I am not an official member) was in full force at the starting line. We took pictures and enjoyed the 8am start. The weather was cold and overcast but not raining so everyone was in good spirits. The vibe was calm and really different from normal tris that I have done so I enjoyed the laid back nature of the crowd.

I started with my group (I mean the group that I am still not an official member of yet!!!) and we headed up a canyon for 4 miles of climbing. We took pictures and really started slow and ran as a group. I enjoyed the flavor and spent the time getting warmed up and rolling. At the top of the canyon we all collected for pictures and then ran the mile or so to the first aid station. I loved the dirt, the trails and running on rocks but as I approached the aid station I really fell in love. M & M's, Potato chips, and pretzels were the first row of items and the crew managing the station spent the day before Jeeping up to the site and sleeping outside to help us have a good day. I filled up my hydration and after 1.5 hrs I had drained 45 oz of Hammer Endurance. I filled up with H2O and headed out with my new peeps. We were rolling on the flats and then turned a corner and started our decent out of the canyon. Paula who is a FOB took off and I followed at a full sprint. Long story short I never did catch her and took my first loss of many for the day. We were on single track going down the canyon with 2000 feet to the left and running at 8 min pace. IT ROCKED. I wanted more and was very sad to have my day end from the others at mile 9. SO,,,,, John M and I decided to Join Beth and run the longer distance (24.5). I filled up at the 2ND Totally AWESOME aid station and took off. We ran up a dirt road and then had a 1.5 mile out and back up a canyon following the stream that was flowing. Back to the road for a few more miles to where the valley opened up and I could focus and see little colored dots climbing the side of a mountain that was several thousand feet tall. Beth noticed what I was looking at and with a NEW YORK SMILE said "yep were going to climb that". I spent the next 2 miles climbing straight up the side of a mountain and taking in mental shots of the view. Making it to the top I allowed myself to run out of H2O and Calories and was pretty nervous. I took what Beth would give and what John could give and ran concerned to mile 17 the next aid Station. I felt OK and filled up my fuel to the brim. 70oz in my Nathan pack and then I took a few PB&J's for the road. At this station they had cooked potato's with pure salt in front for dipping. At this point I had been moving for over 4 hours and this stuff tasted great. We headed back down a canyon slipping down the Red Rock of Moab and having a blast. I was able to start feeling better a few miles later and we headed for the last decent to the finish line. I was proud of my day because after 5 hours of running I was still moving and feeling great. Beth had taken care of me with great advice for the event as we were doing it and I appreciated her company. We picked it up on the last few miles down the canyon wall towards the finish line which tells me I was doing well with my long distance nutrition. We made it to the bottom to Ken and Lori Cheering us on as we came into the finish. They did the 10 miler and waited hours for us to finish and I REALLY APPRECIATED IT!!!!!.

The day was great, 24.5 mile in 5:46:36 and race director did not yell at me too much for changing the distance when I was not allowed to.

I loved it and want to do more of this style of events.


At this writing, Anne and I were able to spend a day with Friends Boone and Nicole showing them around Denver and hoping that they can find a practice here that will work.
I Love the outdoors and hope for many more awesome adventures.

Thanks ANNE,

I love you

12 mile XC run

During the week I had a 7 mile tempo run. I decided to see what my actual weight loss would be on a faster run that was a short distance and time. (I mean short since I am trying to work on nutrition for events lasting over 1.5 hrs) My starting weight was 185.2 and when I ended the scale showed 181.6lbs. The weather was about 50 degrees and I kept my HR around 174 for the Tempo run. I figure that I loose between 1.0-1.5 liters per hour and will try to lock this in over the next many months.
Saturday I joined, Beth, Julies, Ken and Lorie for a 12mile XC run starting at about 7500ft elevation. The course was up and down and the views were to die for. My goal for the event was to see how I would feel on 400 Calories per hour and 70 oz of water. I mixed 750 calories of Gatorade and took 1 package of PowerBar Gel Blasts at 130 calories and 2 Granola bars at 90 calories each. I liked having solids better this time than the gels that I took last time. I am not sure why but I feel better processing the solids better.
The weather was warm but not hot and I took everything in a newly purchased Nathan Backpack that held everything that I needed. I monitored my intake much better this run and took drinks every 2 minutes or close this time. I took the solids at 1 hour and 1.5 hours and felt the same as I did last long run GREAT. I did not feel depleted and just before 2 hours we has a .75 mile section along a ridge that Beth and I took the pace from 10/mile to around 8/mile. My HR stayed on the level section under 168 even though we picked the pace up by almost 2 minutes per mile. I was very tired at the end and used parts of my legs that the road does not. I finished feeling very positive and feeling good. I felt that this event was a huge success. I have not found the top of what I can take and process and will continue to work to this result but for now I felt that the run was awesome. 2.18 hours and 12.31 miles and I had an average HR below 170. I did pee only once this time as I did 3 or 4 times a few weeks ago. I think that because the weather was 30 degrees warmer I was able to process everything easier.
I have signed up for the Moab, Utah 10mile XC race November 14Th and look to see how I do running a very hard XC course at race pace working my new program.

I would appreciate any input because I am doing this only because I have not found success the other way. I feel that at 183lbs I could loose some weight and over the next 6 months I will work towards this direction. I started my life change at 235 and have kept myself around 180 for nearly 3 years now. I think that I would do better close to 170 so I am trying to get to this area. Anne says go not by the scale but how I look and feel and so I will have that be the largest factor.
Stay tuned for the next update.

Love you Anne,

T

Plan for the Winter

Hello all,

I know it has been too long since my last post and many events have passed under the Blogger bridge to try to catch up on all things. Anne and I did sell our home in Highlands Ranch and we are renting in "A" town. We have a 1425sf house that keeps us close and happy. Work is going well and Miche Bag continues to consume a large portion of my time. My parents came home from a Church Mission after almost 2 years and it was great to see them so happy and back in Colorado.

With the off season now in full swing I spent some time with Coach Steve after spending a large amount of time with Team Walton and here is what we decided.
-Training is going to become a bigger challenge as the kids grow so I will continue to adapt and have family as my #1, this will take my training volume down but not quality
-Spending time this winter getting stronger and faster will be my main focus.
-I would like to slim down 10-15 lbs and will work all off season towards this goal.
-Longest race distance will be Olympic Tri's next year and I will try to increase my speed.
-Training LSD while working on training nutrition will be a huge factor and I will expand on this topic below.
-Lexi will learn to ski this winter and so all of Team Walton will be on the hill almost every weekend.
-I will not do an Ironman in 2010 and its Boo Yaa cool that I am not.

Distance training:
PROBLEM: I run out of energy after 1.5 hours of running or 4 hours of biking and have been for the last 3 years
I have come to the conclusion that I have changed my endurance in a major way over the last 3 years but I still feel the same doing longer efforts. On a 2 hour steady effort run I can loose between 3-8 lbs. I have been consuming about the same as those that I train with both Liquid and calories even though I sweat and burn much different.
TRIAL AND ERROR:
Since the I know that the definition of Stupid is doing the same thing expecting different results I am going to work on what I need to consume to feel good and have the energy that I need on distance training and racing.
TRIAL #1: 15 miles LSD in 30 Degree weather.
Goal: I want to over consume calories and H2O to the point that my stomach will allow no more.
VOLUME: 70oz of Water with Gatorade mix at 1.75 normal volume or 500 calories. 2 Gels at 100 calories each. Total calories 700, total Liquid 70oz.
REALITY: The group allowed me to set the pace of the day and we finished 15 miles in 2:45 and my GPS said I burned 2066 calories. I did not weigh my self for this run. I used a Nathan backpack hydration pack with 70oz capacity and finished it by the end of the run. I did not have stomach problems and consumed the majority of the Gatorade the last half of the run.
LESSON LEARNED: I can consume more and will try to take in 300 calories an hour between food and water. However I was able to keep my Heart Rate consistent the entire run and for the first time EVER I felt good at the end of the run. I hurt and was tired but not worn down to below empty. I take this as a positive trial and look forward to the next one.

For all those that do not have a runners body and sweat a ton know that you are in good company. I want to figure out how to have the strength to finish longer distance events and so I will keep you posted on my success and failures.

Love you Anne,

T

2009 USAT Age Group Nationals Race Report

Getting the opportunity to race in a qualify only race is always a treat for me as the consummate "middle of the pack "athlete and for it to be the top 10% in the country makes it all that more special.

Tuscaloosa Alabama "Bama baby" was the location and over 1100 athletes converged last weekend with our Type A personalities for 2009's National Championships. We had the best professionals in town as well and it is always cool to see a Pro do what we do only REALLY, REALLY fast. I arrived on Thursday with friends from Practical Coaching and by the time all arrived we were 13 strong. The weather was crazy with rain for two days but it did not dampen our spirits as we had fun getting ready for Saturday's race.

I always try to rise to the occasion on race day and give all that I have to give. And when the alarm clock showed 10 minutes before the alarm was set to go off and I was feeling awake and excited I knew that it was game on.

Normal pre race went well, my rack was good, I felt good and the sun for the first time in 2 days decided to show up. In addition to the sun the Core of Engineers had to release some of the rain fall in the river so a nice river swim turned into a current that caused many not to finish the swim and for others an increase of swim time over 2 hours. The sight of the first wave of swimmers hitting the turn where the current was and seeing many of the swimmers not go anywhere or even loose ground had a huge affect on the crowd especially me. The race was set up for the first 5 waves to be men and woman over 50 and then a 30 minute pause to allow for them to get on the bike course and spread out a bit. During this 30 minutes I was doing a run warm up and was really affected by seeing these older athletes struggle and not quite. A normal swim time for them should be 25-45 minutes to finish a mile swim and as I said earlier it took some of them over 2 hours but they did not quite. Some had to but the majority put up a fight and did not back down. All the many hours of training put in the "training bank" and they were not going to be cheated a finish and I felt and saw with my own eyes one of the best feats I have ever seen and I will always be impressed looking back at the men and woman twice my age giving it all they had to beat the current that the river had that day. The oldest athlete to finish the race this year was in the 80-84 age group. Yep 81 years young and still rocking, what inspiration that will always be for me.

I jumped in the water and cleared my goggles. I looked in the river water again and realized it was not my goggles but the "Dingy" river that was making it hard to see. The swim start was down river from the swim exit so we were to make 3 turns in the water and the second turn, the longest leg was up current. I decided to take it really slow and easy the first until the turn into the current and this decision paid off. By the time I hit the second buoy I was passing people left and right. I relaxed, kicked hard (the water was too warm and so wet suites were not allowed)and tried to be as smooth in the water. I pushed harder than I normally do and felt the struggle of the current. I pushed my pace even faster and started to make some headway. I saw many struggling swimmers and felt for them but had my own race to fight. I found some feet to follow the last leg of the swim and as we exited the water the crowd cheering us on was lined all the way up to transition and I welled up and ran with a huge smile on my face.

SWIM TIME 36.01 (normal for me is 24-25)

The bike course was up and down and two loops and so for the first loop I settled into riding and choosing where I was going to push for the second loop. I was getting passed by athletes that were trying to make up ground after such a tough swim and felt good that I has so much swim practice at Lake Powell (thanks again Mom and Dad). The second loop I was feeling good and climbed hard and pushed my bike as best as I could. I was not getting passed much on the second loop and came into T2 feeling really good.

BIKE TIME 107:33 (22.1 MPH close to a PR for me)

I took the time to put on socks since the run course had 3 steep hills that we needed to climb and also grabbed two hand fulls of ice that I brought from the hotel to keep me cool on the run. I felt good the first mile and the first climb. I took a steady pace and passed a bunch who were walking. The humidity was up and since the sun show up as well it was getting really hot. The second climb went just as well as the first and so on the third climb I did not let up as I had on the previous two and survived. I was more than half way done and it was little rollers back to the finish line. I increased my pace and gave all that I had for the day to this last section of the race. I stayed focused and did not pay attention to my surroundings until I heard the crowd at the finish line. This year the finish shoot had a huge Jumbo Tron that was showing the athletes crossing the finish line. I heard my name announced and it was a huge honor since I was still standing when this happened.

RUN TIME 47:26 (7:38 Pace)

TOTAL TIME 2:33:55 (55TH of 77 in my age group and 456 of 925 overall)

I had a great race and I am really proud that I was able to execute as well as I did for the day. I am learning how to race well in this sport and look forward to the years to come. Hopefully I can be the 81 year old finisher one day. I will always be amazed at those I get to train with, we have 5 of 13 Practical Coaching athletes make it to Age Group Worlds representing the USA in 2010. I am very thankful to my family that allowed me the time to be at this race and their willingness for me to spend time exercising. I am glad that I made the choice 3 years ago to change my life and make a new direction.

I love you Anne,

T

Living a Lake Powell summer

I was raised on Lake Powell from the time that I can remember. Sleeping on top of the houseboat and waking to the sun as it lifted over the red rocks of southern Utah. Playing on the boat with the tubs, wakeboards and kneeboards until my arms were too tired to hold on to the rope. Going touring and falling asleep to the sound of the motor and the gentle bounce of the boat as it rolled through the waves in the main channel. Eating great meals and snacks all day and at night feeling the cooling sensation of lotion bringing much needed relief to the days sunburn. THE STARS in the billions looking over me in the dark night and spending the last few minutes until sleep overtook me looking for satellites. I spent weeks each summer doing these activities every year and now I get to see my kids have the same experiences and I have to say I could not be any happier. Lake Powell is magical, it was as a kid and now I even believe it more as a adult. I will always love this place, love what it does to me and my family. My kids now are doing what I did when I was 3 and 6 and 8. Jumping off the top of the houseboat, playing in the water for hours at time and living all day long on the beach. This is my Lake Powell and I hope that you enjoy some of the pictures of this summer.

We miss it already and can't wait until we can go again.

Lexi, Jackson, Sam, Liz, Johah and Josh on the Tube at the end of the day.

Lexi was tired and fell asleep after a few hours of touring on the boat



After the boat was set on the beach it was time to play with the kids

Getting Jackson and Thomas ready to kneeboard with the houseboat in the background.
(Crazy hair provided by Rob Walton)
Josh with his BFF Libby and Lexi sporting summer sun glasses

Lexi could not wait to play on the beach the first day on the trip, she spent time here every day

This was Josh's first year kneeboarding and I was able to help him get started. Jackson is looking cool on the other side

Up and away

Jackson chillin on the tube in the slips getting ready for some play time

48 hours on Summerplace 2

This past weekend I was taken to a magical place called Lake Powell. My parents have a houseboat, ski boat, and jet skies that they offer to the kids and grand kids while they are gone to use. A few of us came up with a crazy idea last year to have a trip for 48 hours that did nothing but focus on our the kids. We ended up having 26 people arrive and 8 of them were adult and the rest were kids ranging in age from 3-17. This is how the weekend went from Tyler's mind.

The cars temperature gauge showed triple digits as we arrived at our last gas stop on the way to no where Utah to a lake called "Lake Powell" . The kids were in good order, the sun had gone down and Anne and I were enjoying the last few hours of driving. The second I stepped on the boat I felt a tingle run down my spine. It may have been from driving 7+ hours or possible that I entered a magical place. The AM light came quickly and so did the giggles of kids jumping into 82 degree water at 6am. I took the last few seconds I would have alone for several days and took inventory of where I was and how good I was feeling.
The sun seemed to burn happiness into our souls and burns onto our skin but that did not stop or slow us down. The rest of the group trickled in over the next several hours and by days end we were on a beach looking at the nights starts after a day of non-stop fun. The official start did not even happen until the next morning. 48 hours went by in a bluer, I do remember smiles from my 3 year old daughter from the water and beach where she spent 20 hours a day. I remember tubing, wake boarding, knee boarding, riding the jet skies, riding in the boat, getting ice cream, building sand castles, bobbing in the water, jumping off the houseboats roof, eating great food a couple times a day, Rob snoring so loud people across the lake were yelling at us (not Rob since he was still sleeping soundly). I can see clearly the hugs between Josh and his BFF Libby, Jackson doing flips in the air off the tube both backwards and frontwards. I remember trying to dump kids while driving the boat and seeing them on the tubs holding on for dear life and not really getting dumped nearly as much as I would have liked. I remember NO FIGHTING, none at all. 26 people living for a few days with little sleep in a space that is less than my small little rental home. I remember the stories being told, jokes being played and being really sad when the trip came to an end. For 3 days I did nothing but act like a kid with my kids and loved every moment.

This trip cemented memories that will live forever and possible never be replaced, except maybe next year when we do it again with Nana and Papa leading the charge at 70+ years old. Let the good time roll.

T

To be or not to be?

Finding a buyer for our home was more difficult this time than it ever has been. Anne has always made her homes look wonderful and buyers have come pretty quickly. The effort that we had to go through to get a contract shows how tough the market really is right now.
We went to closing knowing that the buyer was having challenges with his buyer and if that deal went south so did ours. In good faith we moved out, made repairs and incurred substantial costs only to realize that the day of closing came and went. We were told that deals are harder to get through right now and waiting a few days would make sense BUT we need to prepare to decide if we want to stay in our rental and re-market our home or move back. I am not sure how many people like to pay rent and a mortgage on an empty house so I believe that we will be moving again sooner than we planned and not where we planned.
Life's like a dance, sometimes you lead and sometimes you .........get beat down by the girls boyfriend whom you clearly did not know and who at the time would love to kick your butt. (I am not sure Garth Brooks sang it this way or not!)
Anyways the adventure continues on and we will see if it was to be or not to be?

Love you Anne,

Tyler

MOOOVVING

When we received the offer on our home we were give only 21 days to closing. We hurried and found a rental home in the area we wanted to move to and were allowed to start to take our stuff over weeks before we moved in. I remember saying that this move will be ok, I will take a load over every day since the house is only 10 minutes from my office and I live 45 minutes away from there and we really don't have that much stuff. The first few load in the car were ok, Anne would take some, clean, pack, load and we did this process every day. Some times I would allow myself to kind of think that this is not really fun. I remember the last move when the hired movers showed up and it went kinda smooth. I was unloading my 8th truck load and realized that I have officially moved over to the DARK I am not really liking this attitude. I suppressed those feeling and forced myself with the help of treats and food that I should not really eat that all was going to be ok. This last weekend we officially moved out and as I look back at this process these are the weekend warrior lessons that were learned and comments that were seared into my Mellon.
1. Moving regardless how hard you try does not = FUN
2. All the offers to help move from friends and family were something that I should have YELLED "YES AT THE TOP OF MY VOICE" when they were offered.
3. Trying to do all that you normally did when you were not moving is NOT possible while you are moving (training, eating well, sleeping, staying clean and not sweaty all day long).
4. Did I say take the offers to help when they are offered, having to call last minute is not really fun since the people you are calling have to drop what they are doing and come and help and would have loved to plan for it if I would have said "yes" weeks ago when they first offered. (Is this sentence too long, I think it makes sense, try to read it like a song or a really long painfully funny poem).
5 That kids can make friends (best friends Lexi tells us) within 30 seconds of telling said new best friend your name!!!
6. That regardless of how bad I break that my wonderful wife will stay as even and level headed as possible.
7. Every rental I have ever moved into I say as I am cleaning that this is the most disgusting I have ever seen a home and I am moving into it.
8. "Dad, are we done yet, I mean like can we go back to our old home and play with our old friends?"
9. A garage is really meant to store everything but cars, they belong out on the driveway.
10. Do I really have that much stuff, I thought we gave a lot away!
11. Why is my bike getting dust on it.
12. Always turn off your water main when you leave your house vacant, because the call that your basement is flooding from the almost new owners the day before closing is not really fun to deal with!!!
13. If all has been delayed in the process should I be alarmed when the day of closing I receive a call from my realtor that we are having a few "speed bumps and it might take a few days to sort out". Breath.....Smile.......Really breath it is going to be ok............

Keep smiling,

T

Race Report for Loveland Lake to Lake

Leading up to this race was life as normal which is untypical for me the day before a race. I had a long day working on Friday, home fast to help with the kids and then off to bed by 9pm. I was not able to settle down and pack for the trek up to Loveland until 8pm. I only forgot my race belt but was offered a spare by Beth (thanks). I love this race and was pretty excited to do it for the 3rd year in a row. Last year I was able to put together a good race because I had a "rabbit " on the course a head of me named Sonja. She helped me run the fastest 10K ever that day and when we saw that this year the roles were reversed it was game on!!!! Sonja and I and Beth and I put a bet together for T1 time and T2 time combined for all out bragging rights. Jayde West from Las Vegas was up seeing family and decided to race with me and so we made plans to meet at 4am and caravan together. Jayde raced sick and gave it all he did but ended up heading home early and I was sad not to see him more on the day.






I arrive on time and was ready to go by the time Practical Coaching was taking pictures and heading into the H2o for warm up. I had talked to Coach Steve the night before and told him I was not holding back and was going to try to push the entire race to get a spot for Nationals. I was able to qualify last year and wanted to do it again.

I was the first wave in the H2O and took it easy the first 250 yards. The Wave had Elites and 34 & Under all together and it was brutal. I have never been beat-up at much on a swim as I was this day. I ramped up hard and let the day begin.

Sonja had not caught me yet but and since this course was an out and back I new that she was getting close. I was feeling REALLY good on the first 3 miles and then started to deal with cramp at the start of 4. Just then I saw Sonja and yelled "you better come and get me" and then put my head down and ran as fast as I possible could to make her work for it. She is normally able to run 30 seconds or more faster than me per mile and so I was able to keep her off my heals until mile 5 when she caught me. I again gave the best surge I had and sent her on her way feeling good that I fought a good fight. I did not think much about my side ache the last mile in but instead felt really proud of my effort. I finished with the Kids in Toe and it was a great day.

Since I was the first group off I was able to check my time coming across the mat and saw that I took 2 minutes off of my time last year. What a great feeling and I am glad that I am able to still see a drop. Thanks to all that helped to make the day great. Thanks to Anne for coming and yelling and bringing the kids. You are such a great friend and I love you!!!! I ended up taking 11th in my age group and qualified for Nationals in August in Alabama.

The Kids had fun dancing to the musice and playing as they did awards and we all rested on the hill side. Love you guys.

Boo Yaaa,

T

Fun news and the Kids Tri in Highlands Ranch

Balance Rock in Arches National Park, Moab Utah


My little girl playing at the KOA in Moab, Utah

Change is good when you desires are good. Anne and I have been trying to find ways over the last year to simplify our life, reduce our finical foot print and really work on what is important to us. We sold our cars for smaller, less expensive ones. We changed other small things over the last year and have been really excited to finish the job with selling our home. Trying to sell in today's market is hard and so Anne went to work making the home beautiful. We priced it to what we felt the market would accept, reduced it twice over 6 weeks of no showings and finally started to get some showings. We had a few offers 40-60K less then the current price and started to get discouraged but held strong. On Monday we were presented with 2 offers in the same day. We worked with them on counters and settled and signed a contract the next day. The family needed a home quick so we are closing in 19 days, we had the inspection today and things look good. This last move will allow us to move closer to my work, have over 8 hours of drive time back. We are looking in areas that meet the needs of our family and it looks like we are headed to "A" town, Northern Aurora. This will allow us to finish a goal we had started to work on over a year ago and I could not be more excited for this to happen. We will rent a home until we can find one that we want to live in for a long time. We have a chance to be picky and so we will. We will miss our friends and family that we have in Littleton but feel that this will be a really good chance for us to blossom. Booo Yaaaaa.

The Triathlon season started this last weekend for Jackson and Josh in Highlands Ranch at the Kids Tri. Jackson was sick last year and had no energy to do much more than survive the race and was really excited to rock the house this time. Josh felt his new shoes would really make him fast and so both were excited as we loaded the bikes and started to drive over. Jackson and Josh were able to get transition set up and were feeling pretty good about the day. Here is Jackson, Josh and Robert a good friend before the race.

The swim was fast and both boys rocked the entire race. Anne and Lexi were in charge of pictures and did a great job. The race went by pretty fast and both the boys where really happy at the end. They have been talking all week about the next race in July and how excited they are to try to get faster and do a better job. It is fun to see them grow and do something that they really love.

Love you Anne,

T

A weekend of good training

Saturday I had a swim and run workout in Chatfield. I had sent my broken wetsuit to Desoto on Thursday so I was swimming at the pond just in trunks. As I was getting started I had the enjoyment of watching Tony trying to put his wetsuit back on after a run. He had a swim-run-swim-run workout and struggled to the point of laughter trying to get his wetsuit back on for the second leg.
I jumped in and got the workout done, It was a little later in the morning so I rushed to get it done before the pond closed. After the swim I quickly ran to the car, changed and was about to start on my run workout when Rob ran by the car. He waited and we ran the swim pond loop together talking and having a good time. This was the first time that I was able to hang with Rob and it was really fun to hear about him and what he is doing. We ran well together and had FUN. After the first loop he was done with his workout so I went it alone on the second. I pushed the pace and felt good and ran the second 6 minutes faster than the first. The sun was out and it was a hot fun day. I felt good about the credits going into the bank, at the end I was tired but in one of the really good ways.
I found the family at the outdoor pool and we swam for a while. We came home and I was able to go on a date with my fun wife. It was a good evening and I felt like a recharge happened.
Sunday we had a bunch of work to get done on the house and so I had a late workout. I decided to leave from my home to get the distance needed for the day. I was blown away by the amount of people in Chatfield and Deercreek at 11am. It was crazy busy, fun to be out since we usually ride early and alone. I was able to meet and talk to other riders as I climbed for the day. I pushed hard and steady up Deercreek before the down poor hit. I turned at the school house and made my way home. I arrived 55 miles later and 3.5 hours into a good workout. I pushed up to School house faster than I have all season and feel good about the month of June so far. I was able to see Tony again, (he was mending a tire on his last few miles) and I was able to see Rob just as I was at Deercreek and Wads. It is fun to see the gang since I do not train much with them anymore even if it is for a glimpse.
Here is to more good workouts, and success for the year.

T

My kids trip to Moab or mine?

Kids- We were able to get out of school early on Friday and the other kids in my class were jealous and that was fun. The car was packed so we just jumped in and went for a really long ride. We had dinner in the car (that does not happen very often so it was cool) DS, movies and of course plenty of fighting. Lexi hit me so I hit Josh and then they both hit me since I was in the middle.
We made it to Moab, Utah at dark, there was a pool, mini golf, a play ground and we were able to make friend's faster than Dad was able to put up the tents. First night was crazy, Josh would not leave me alone and kept bothering me even though we had our own kids tent. It may have rained a bit but no real big deal. The next day was fun and we went to Arches National Park. We hiked, climbed on the rocks, did some of the Junior Ranger's program jobs. We had lunch in the park, that was really fun. Dinner was during a huge rain storm. We all climbed in Mom and Dad's tent and played Uno for a long time. The rain stopped and we started to play again and did until we were tired. Their was this huge pool left in the road so we rode our bikes and had a blast until our lips turned blue. The next day Mom and Dad said they were really tired and wanted to go home (loossserrrressss). We went back to the park and climbed up to a really cool arch. Dad was really nervous when we got close to the sides and yelled a few times. I was surprised that he had kept his manners this long in a trip, he usually blows much earlier. I guess we just did not push as hard as we should. The ride home was fun we went to the Dinosaur museum and it was really cool. Dad fell asleep in the chair during the movie, I hope I do not turn that lame!!! We got home and cleaned up. I asked if we could go again to Moab and Arches next week, Mom said "well see" dad said "nope, but maybe next year". I had a good time and I am glad that we had a fun Memorial Day trip to Moab even if we only lasted 3 days 2 nights.

Dad- I hurried home and helped Anne pack the truck to it's limits with almost everything in our house. We checked the weather once more and it got worse from the last 20 times that we checked it. We decided that we needed to go anyway and it would be fun. We arrived to Moab without much problem except that the rain had just started to down poor and we were getting wet. I liked the KOA, it was just outside of town and it looked pretty all around us so we felt good about the choice. The kids did not go to sleep until 10pm and it rained all night. I had a leak in the tent and stayed wet the entire night. The kids were very kind and started to get up at 6:30am. So much for sleeping in!!!! We cooked breakfast, packed the car and headed to Arches. We hiked, had fun, took a long hike and then it started to rain really bad on us so we headed home to the tent. Anne read in the park that it was the desert and on average it rained 9 inches a year. That night as we ran home we beat the hail but landed smack dab in the down pour. It lasted for 1 hours and everything was wet by the end and it was getting dark. We moved the tent to higher ground, had another sleepless night and woke to a windy cold morning. Anne and I made the decision that we were done, we packed up and headed to the park for one last hike. We did the loop to Delicate Arch and the kids were awesome. The camera was left in safe in the car so we do not have a pic but it was really, really neat. The drive home was good and I slept for 9 hours that night. The next day the kids asked if we could go again and they were surprised that we said the weather was bad, they did not even notice and had a blast. The kids helped clean up and so I guess we will do it again.

Loved Arches, Anne and kids had fun for their first time and I would like to go again when we have time to check out other sights. I love my family and will always keep trying to give them experiences like this one even if they do not realize how crappy it was for Anne and I.

Love you Anne,

T

Success at Littlefoot Triathlon

I decided last minute that I wanted to do the Littlefoot Triathlon on May 17th 2009 in Morrison Colorado. I had plans to ride with friends but after talking to Anne I went and signed up and started to get pretty excited. The distance was was a sprint with a normal swim (750M) long bike (15M) and long run (4M).
The day started at 5am and I was off to Morrison, I was racing solo but was really excited to hear and see Annie, Troy and Sonja cheering me on. 7:20am was the first wave and I as I walked into the cold 55 degree water the day started with a brrrrrrrr cold. I took it out slow and found some feet to follow the second half of the swim.
Out of the water Sonja told me I was close to the lead pack and I felt a surge that I have never felt before in a race. I was not sure what to do because I have never been close to the lead or the front runners of a race so I smiled and keep up the effort. I took the bike slow on the first of 2 laps, I had not done any recon on the course and felt that I would learn the course and then press hard on the second lap. The course was 2 loops with plenty of areas to mark your progress. It was also on the technical side and I came out of arrow in a few areas to make the turns. Passing the first lap I realized the I was sitting in 7th or 8th place and ramped it up a couple of gears. I passed a few guy and came into T2 sitting 6th in my wave. The first 2 guys were well past me but I had a few in my sights. The wave start was for men 39 and under and so I felt I was doing pretty good for my age group. I took the first part of a 2 loop run course mellow and started to pick it up after the turn around. I had 2 guys in my sights and I was able to get past 1 of them. I started lap 2 with some power in my legs and after hearing Sonja and Troy yelling like total rock stars I push it as hard as I could. I came into the last mile feeling like it was my fastest and and had a HUGE smile running into the finish shoot.
This was a totally fun course and I will add it to my next year schedule. The race was safe, fun and very cool to push the early season effort.
Since I never have had this happen I feel that I am able to blog about it and have that be ok. I have waited around for almost every awards ceremony to see my fellow friend take the podium and celebrate their success. Today I was my turn.......Yep 3rd place in my age group and 7th age group male overall. I had a great day and really feel good about it. So yep, I feel that the year is off to a good start and I am feeling good about that. Sometime you just have to throw in the mix a little FUN and today was not just a little it was a whole bucket full.

Thanks for letting me go and have fun Anne,

Thanks for coming and cheering Wieck Family.

Boooo Yaaaaa

T

PS here are the stats.

TYLER WALTON
Swim 13:23.6 T1 0:48.4 Bike 44:42.0 Speed 20.1 T2 0:54 Run 23:47.8 Total 1:23:36.1

A good miss and a good workout

The last few months have been a challenge for me to string together a good set of workouts. I have been able to keep up on most but I have had a challenge trying to be on my game consistently. This week it happened, back to back good workouts and it looks like I have more to come.

It started by looking at my May calendar and seeing the distance shrink and the variety of what I like in workouts starting to appear. Tuesday I had a personal track workout with 16x400 as the main workout. I live 1.5 miles away from a good track and headed there in the morning. I felt good, decided to do the workout without my Ipod toed the line and started my first set. The pace was written at a 10K pace but I ended up missing and rolling in on my 5K pace. The same problem happened rep 2-4 so I decided to go keep the change and see what the last 4 would feel like. Each set I felt better and better, my mind became clearer and the stresses of the world left for awhile and I was able to focus on my workout and push myself. I remember this time last year that I was having the same challenges. Soon I was done with 12 and keeping myself within 3 seconds of my starting lap. I finished strong with the last 3 being the fastest on the day. I ran slow home and started the day feeling great with a good workout under my belt.

The very next day was TT for 2 hours, 1.5 sub R/P with 10 :30 pickups. BOOOO YAAAAA. I started from home and headed south. They finally paved the road over Daniels Park to Castle Rock so I headed that direction. I did my warm up and then settled down into my 1.5 hr effort at sub Race Pace. I climbed harder than normal, I pushed the downhills a little faster then I usually do and 40 minutes later I was at RT 85. I was going to do an out and back but missed on my timing so I took a left and headed to Chatfield. I was on flats, in arrow and pushing like it was race day plus a little. The time flew by, so did the morning traffic which was very cool to me this day. I keep interjecting my 30 seconds of pickups, some on the flats, some on the hills. I took a right on Highlands Ranch Pkwy and headed back through HR to home. I had a few good climbs to finish up the ride and did so with a good solid effort. I felt good mentally and was proud of the workout.

I love the spring when the weather is nice in the AM and you can get a good workout in before the day starts. For the second day in a row I was able to put work aside and concentrate on what I enjoy as my hobby and it felt great.

Tonight is a group run at Chatfield,

Love you Anne,

T

A few things!!!!

Me: Work has been very challenging the last few months and at the point that I thought that things would be smoothing out it changed and got harder. I enjoy working in the environment that I am in and have worked really hard at changing how I look at it "who moved my cheese". I have been a bit down and to this end I am making a change and should be feeling better really soon.

After the Rage I was home for a week while Anne and the kids went to see family and work on Liz's home. I realized the simple things that happen in a given week are what I miss the most when it is gone. I love my little Lexi and hanging out with her is one of my top 10 joys.

Some days it is important to know that you just have to wear shades. At Josh's birthday party Lexi keep it very cool.

Jackson worked very hard on his Pinewood derby car at the Blue and Gold banquet his car raced really well. He would take 2nd or 3rd most of the time and had a blast. I was working in LA that night and I am sad that I missed it but the photos and video made me feel better.

We decided to drive to Las Vegas to race in Mid April and the boys stayed with me most of the time and were great. They rocked out to music, video and playing the DS's together. These guy rock and were really fun to travel with. We rented a home and had a good time with all the parents and kids that stayed with us. The race was good and we had a good time.

I like racing but most of all I like racing with my Peeps. It was awesome to race with such a large group and most everyone had a good race. This is a picture of the big group doing recon the day before the race. Good job everyone.

While the big group did recon Michael Ford, John M and I took the kids to see Hoover Damn. We had a really good time. The kids were excited to see the huge damn since seeing it on the movie Transformers.

I am a pretty lucky guy to have what I do. I am not sure if I make that known enough so I thought that I would end with that. I love my family, I really love my family.

Love you Anne,

T