Tyler's Mind (Figuring out how to finish Ironman Coeur D' Alene June 2012)

Week 2 IronMan training recap

2012-01-16T13:03:00.000-08:00

Week 2 IM Training recap
This was a build week and so I wanted to try to focus and get everything out of it that I could. I started working on the basement exercise room and was able to get a treadmill to use thanks to Peter Atwater. We set our bikes up as well as weights. It will be interesting to see if we use the room as much as Anne and I think we will. Working from home this week it was pretty easy to get all the workouts done during the week. The workouts seemed really hard this week but I was able to surprise myself when it was time to get going because I could and I did. The swim on Tuesday night was disappointing and I will try to learn from it so the next time I will do better. I hate when I miss judge and run short of the finish line. The strength day really took it out of me and ended up producing soreness for a several days. I did 3 workouts this week in the basement and felt good about being able to get them all done. It takes away the “It does not fit mentality” that I get sometimes when my days are busy. This weekend was the Walton’s winter 48 hours of fun at the YMCA of the Rockies. We rented a cabin and had 28 people come and stay Friday-Monday. We did not ski since the kids just wanted to hang with cousins and do the activities that were onsite. Saturday we went sledding for 2 hours, Ice skating for 1 hour and then swimming for 3 hours. I woke up early and went to the swimming pool and did one of the swim workouts that you asked me to do. On Sunday I had a super fun adventure running on the snow shoe trails that were hard packed so I was able to run with my Yak trax's. I ended up going over the requested workout time and felt great with the event. I am proud that I was able to get these workouts done since in the past I would not do any real training while with the family. The snow sledding, swimming and ice skating had to count for something because the next day I was totally sore!
My attitude this week was pretty positive and I look back at the week and was proud of what I was able to get done. It looks like the best thing that I did this week was planning. Family, work, training, vacation was all done and nothing was really pushed out.
Happy Anne, happy Tyler, happy family.

5 Months, 7 days, 16H:55M:31S until IMCDA

IM training week 1 recap.

2012-01-08T19:26:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to jump out of the gate strong this year and take what I learned from the marathon and have it influence me for the first few months of IM training. I know that I need to build a base that will allow me to be active the entire IM race and hitting more workouts and doing better to regulate my HR is another focus.

On my ride last week I had 30BPM swings while riding on a "Easy" ride and kept popping into z4 so I took the second half easier and tried to ride smooth and balanced. I did not get to my Tuesday workout because of such a big travel day and I let it go quicker than normal. I hit the other workouts this week and felt good with the steady effort. On a treadmill I can regulate a low HR better than outside and so I took comfort in having 2 workouts done this way.

I was up early each day this week while traveling and felt good because I was able to get everything done that I needed to. I liked the swim outdoors in Valencia and feel that it will be a treat while I am in California.

Skiing was good and it looks like I am getting some value out of the day. I enjoyed the swim workout today and as I write this recap my arms are starting to become sore and tell me that my efforts to pull better took a toll on me today as well as the 20x50's on the minute.

The run this afternoon I tried 6 times to jog, waddle, bounce or anything but fast walk and after 6 times jumping well over 140 I gave in and walked at a moderate pace and stayed in the 130's for the hour and 10 minutes that I was out. I averaged 15minute miles today and felt good about giving in and getting the base work done.

The next two months theme will be Faith. Faith to be willing to come outside of my norm and get it done. Faith to slow down and walk if I have to, get up when I don't want to and get a workout in that I usually would not. Faith to know that base work at 130BPM for the next bit of time will bring a smile to my face while I am running (maybe very slowly) but running after 18 miles on the run course in CDA.

Getting my long day in the past few weeks was also something that is working out well thanks to Anne giving me this time to train and chase my goal. It is a team effort and being able to focus on getting my long day done and not being worried about the family is a very kind act. Thanks Anne!

The next few months I will have faith.

2011 NYE

2011-12-30T11:59:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve 2011
By: Tyler

15 years ago was a very special day
Your mother said yes and committed her life away
We were married forever and our journey started
Then off to Dallas the pathway parted
A year later we moved back to Utah and built a house
Jackson was born and was NOT as quiet as a mouse
We were learning how to be parents and best friends too
Most days Dad did not know what to do
Then to Ohio for a job Rob was kind to give
The house was old and a different style of life we would live
The food was strange and the weather was bad
Josh was born and we both were glad
We bought another house and that lasted a short while
Then off to Colorado we went with a huge smile
We found a home and a Lexi too
Our family was complete, happy and true
Dad worked hard and started to succeed
Mom turned the house into a home and it rocked indeed
We are learning how to be friends and be nice and kind
Some days we do good and some days we are behind
So I wanted to give this bracelet to you
Every time you look at it be kinder be true
Because if you wear it
It will tell us you will try
To be kind to your family and never lie
Wear it proud so all will see
On that day kinder you’re going to be
I also want to invite you to join a special trip
A hotel, good food and a pool to take a dip
Mom and I thought that we would invite you this time
On our anniversary weekend with so much design
So pack a bag with a swimsuit, warm clothes and fancy ones to0
Swimming, dinner, fireworks WOW there is a lot to do
2011 our voices you will hear
2012 as a family we will bring on the New Year!

THE END
BOOO YAAAAAAA

This is a poem that I wrote for the kids to let them know about the New Years Eve party for this year that we are going to have. We have also had our fair share of fighting between the kids and simply put they are not treating each other kind. I picked up a bracelet for each one of them to wear as a reminder and promise to be kinder to everyone. We will see how it goes and hopefully we have a great NYE trip.
We were very blessed in 2011 and hope that we can some of the same experiences in 2012. Last Year on NYE we went downtown with my Parents and watched the fireworks in sub-zero temperatures. This year a hotel stay might make it a little better.

Sacramento Marathon race report

2011-12-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

Coming off a tough day at Harvest Moon Triathlon I had every intention to get it right on my first road marathon. We had really about 7 weeks to prepare for this event and so we crammed as much running in as possible. I had to deal with a cold and missed one of the long runs and Anne has a huge bump appear on her knee 10 days before race day.
I have signed up for two prior marathons and due to injury was not able to run them and then I just let it go for a few years. I have personally been scared of this distance and did not think that running hard for hours was something that I would do well. Signing up for IMCDA made the need for a marathon experience important so our group (Beth, John, Keith, Jewles, Nancy, Anne) all signed up together, trained together and come race day some of us even ran together. Beth decided to get a long time injury worked on and did not run. Jewles and Nancy ran the half and Keith ran sick while Anne ran with knee twice the size of the other knee. The road to getting ready defiantly took its toll on us. I did not have a time goal and simply wanted to be able to execute a good game plan and be strong at the end. Very simple and very clean race plan.

Race plan segment #1
Start time was 7am and I was going to run the first 6 miles with Jewles and Anne. We started right near the 4:25 pace group and crossed the start line about 3 minutes after the gun start. My plan for the first 6 miles was to run between 10-11 minute miles and not to worry about heart rate. The course was defiantly bumpy and I had a tough time getting a consistent pace and so my mile splits were all over the place as you can see. Jewles was only running the half marathon and took off after 4 miles. Anne on mile 4-5.5 was running ahead of me and ended up kissing me and taking off. It was very hard to let my partners go but I was committed to executing my race plan and hope for a good finish. It was awesome to be running with thousands of other runners and the miles seem to tick away pretty quickly. Even starting as far back as we did I was getting passed a lot in the first 6 miles as those that I trained with told me to expect.
Mile 1-6 ( 10:24, 10:38, 10:09, 10:47, 10; 33, 10:37)

Race plan segment #2
After 6 miles and now being on my own I settled into just relaxing and trying to enjoy the next few miles. My heart rate would creep up on the hills and recover just a bit on the down hills since I was running the down hills at a quicker pace to make up for the slow effort on the climbs. For the next segment I was to keep my heart rate in high zone 3 to mid zone 4 (150-165 BPM) I set my Garmin to alert me if I went over my desired effort and I would slow down until it would stop alerting me which was my battle for the next several hours. Fun note here is my trusty Garmin 305 crapped out on race week. REI does not sell the 305 anymore so I had to upgrade to the 310XT which rocks. Its waterproof, better HR monitor and a much longer battery and best of all it has a vibrate alert so you don’t have to keep listening to the alarm sound. Bonus…. I was hoping to speed up a lot the second segment but my heart rates told me otherwise so I compromised and went to the highest part of my HR effort and even push that a few times. Miles 7-13 (10:24, 10:14, 10:04, 9:52, 9:51, 9:55, 10:13)
Race plan segment #3
I saw Beth yelling and cheering me on just past the half way mark and that totally lifted my spirits. I settled in for the hardest part of my day. I needed to relax and not go out of zone 4 until mile 20 (Under 175BPM). I adjusted my HR alert to the higher alert and the next 5 miles seemed to have longer climbs and shorter downhills. I had a hip pain creep up and so I stopped, stretched and filled my water bottle up at mile 14. These miles were painful and they seemed to last much longer than the first 13 miles. I was happy because I was now starting to pass people. I was not running by them fast but I was running past them. My alarm kept going off more and it would take FOR EVER for it to come back down and my alert to stop. I really started to hate my watch about this time. My leg acted up again and I had to refuel my bottle by myself at miles 18 and that cost me some time. Miles 14-20 (9:46, 9:56, 9:50, 9:49, 10:59, 9:29, 9:35)
Race plan segment #4 (this will hurt expect it, plan on it and deal with it.- Coach Beth )

I was looking forward to this segment because I was able to turn off my HR alarm and just run. My plan called for a steady effort speeding up my pace each mile and do what I could to make the last few mile the fastest of the day. I had several highs and lows during this last hour and the leg started to hurt more and more. I stopped a few more times try to get the pain to stop and each time I did it would help for a few miles. I was so excited about being able to run on feel that I went straight to fast and did not really do well with a steady slow increase. As I look back it was a surprise how long the lows lasted and how short the highs were. You really have to battle at this point in a race and face your demons and keep going. Having to run hard and then try to run harder at this point was one of the greatest challenges and I now understand what others were trying to explain in their own way about what happens after mile 20 in a marathon. At mile 23 I caught back up to the 4:25 pace group and moved passed them quickly and that was a huge boost for me. I hear the term “dig deep” often yelled at races and I am pretty sure I had already done that and still had 3.2 miles to run. I closed my eyes a few times the last 3 miles telling myself not to stop, just keep running, I will be done soon and I will have won. I heard Beth and Nancy at just before mile 26 and it was so needed. I closed my eyes again and then opened them and on the right side of the road I saw Jesus. He was holding a sign that read “THE END IS NEAR”. I had to smile at that and chew on it for a bit, I even laughed. I am not sure how I did laugh but I did and as soon as I was done I turned the corner to the finish shoot. I had finished the last effort and did the best I possibly could. I had nothing left at 23 and kept going to 26.2 and I finished my first road marathon with a smile on my salt encrusted face.
Mile 21-26.2 (9:11, 9:30, 9:01, 9:59, 8:59, 9:36, 8:35)

I did not like the next few hours because they hurt but a few weeks later as I look back at that race a smile comes to my face just as it did when I crossed the finish line but this time with a little less salt. I finished a race in control and accomplished my goal. I can now look forward to 2012 IMCDA and know that I have a marathon in the bank. A huge thanks to those that helped me get to the finish line, friends, family, Coach Beth and my training partner Anne you all rock.

Marathon Week

2011-11-29T07:39:00.000-08:00

Race week has finally arrived and the rest has started to take it's effect. I am feeling stronger every day and I am looking forward to the weekend and the race. Over the last two months we have done a very steady build without any drops in training. After the 20 mile long run I was on a plane headed to LA to work and caught a cold that put me out of the 22 mile long day and several other training days. At the time it was hard to relax and not stress so my body could heal as quick as possible. Anne is suck a rock in these situations and on the phone one night was able to get me to realize stress was making it worse and I needed to relax. The very next day I started to feel better and I was running 2 days later. What a miracle worker she is.
I ended up going only 21 miles on the 24 mile day because my strength was not back to where it needed to be and I did what I needed to do on the day.
Training with Anne each week, doing our weekday workouts together and having the group that we did to do the long runs on the weekend made this Marathon training program a success. I have liked having our date night be date morning and spending time watching Anne grow as a runner. She is awesome and really will do well this weekend. We both are prepared and if the day goes well for both of us she will take the 1st position in our home. So no need to ask, Anne is the better runner!
We leave on Friday afternoon with several other friends and I am really getting excited thinking about what to bring and pack. We have run so many training miles to get ready for the 26.2 marathon. Over 5 years of multi sport activity and the day is finally her to see what a road marathon will do to me.
This is the next step in the Ironman CDA training program and will allow us to end the year with a positive.
The beginning of next year looks crazy with two half Ironmans before June.

Keep you all posted on the progress,

Athlete tracker at www.runcim.org

Love you Anne,

Tyler

Marathon Training

2011-10-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

As the weather starts to change to colder mornings and earlier sun sets it indicates the end of the triathlon season and ushers in the fall activities. Many of my friends over the past several years have used this time to transition training to focus on a marathon. I watched as they used this training build a launching pad to an Ironman the following season. I have joined them on some of the long runs and listen to them as they talk about the building long runs, weekly speed work and trying to stay free from injury. I even made the commitment several years ago when I was able to get into the St. George Marathon and on my 24 mile long run my IT band put me down for several months. I was somewhat glad that it happened because I am really scared of that distance and especially racing it. I have never done a half marathon by itself and by the time I get to the run on a half Ironman I spend more time walking then running (so far, this soon will change).
In signing up for Ironman CDA I know that I will have to change how I race and as much as it will be a physical journey it will be more a mental battle for me to learn how to execute a plan that will get me across the finish line strong and happy. I want to race the entire effort and not put myself into survival mode because I pushed too hard earlier in the day. This has been my reality over the last 3 half Ironman’s that I have done. I have spent more time walking a run course than running the run course. I have spent more time dealing with dehydration and making it to the finish by any means then running a stronger 2nd half of the run then the first. I really don’t care what the time on the clock shows as long as I am able to stay in control of the day. I do not have a problem taking myself beyond my limits and hoping that I can survive and being surprised when I come up short race after race.
So with such a specific goal I have been working with Coach Beth on a marathon training plan that requires me to follow a very detailed training schedule. Not just following a typical speed day, easy day and the normal long run with some cross training we are actually putting a lot more into what I do. We started with a current treadmill test to help me get a current read on my training heart rate zones. Each workout has warm-up levels and specific HR targets to stay in. My running has ramped up and so we are working hard to keep me free from injury . I use the HR alerts training aid on my Garmin 305 and stay loyal to where my workout tells me to be. This last week’s long run had 3 different efforts in the workout and it was fun to work hard to execute to the level that was written in the workout. I am training with 5 others for the Sacramento Marathon in December and all 6 of us are working hard to stay loyal to our training plans. We all did the warm-up together and as we moved into our second zone we split with a couple having to slow down and let the group go on. Falling back in a group run because it’s outside of your effort is one of the hardest things to mentally do. Everyone on that run could stay with the pack but that would mean blowing off the HR effort and not getting the most out of the workout. So at the halfway point I moved from the low side of my range to the high side. I had company join me on this build and so we were now into 3 groups. We had a third increase and by that time I was dropped and stayed loyal to my effort. When my alarm would start beeping I would have to slow down. Anyone within 25 feet of me would hear the alarm and know that I was at the top end of the written effort. I would then slow down and watch as others kept going at the same pace. But I finished the run strong. I executed 100% to what I was told to do and felt great about it.
At breakfast after the run we all joked about how we all went from staying with the group to stay more loyal to our written effort for the workout. I am excited to see how this progresses for we are only 6 weeks away. Even more exciting is that I get to run this race with Anne. This will be her 2nd Marathon and watching her build last year and then race was simply awesome. Being able to do a lot of the training runs with her has made this journey better for me and for us. She has such a smooth run and makes it look effortless even though I know she is working hard.
Cheers,
Love you Anne,

Is hiding an option?

2011-10-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

I have loaded my blog page wanting to update date with a new entry so many times and have not been able to get myself to do it. I think when times are challenging and are hard some of the regular stuff that you do get's tossed to the way-side. My blog has been one item that was tossed and now that I am getting back on top I have wanted to write a post several times. The events of the past few months have been blog worthy but I just can't seem to pick one and start. Today I decided that the moment has passed and I need to focus on what's in front of me and not what's behind. So I will say sorry to the 2nd half of the 2011 summer and look forward to the end of the year activites. To make it fun I will list the top 5 events of the past several months and what my top 5 are for the rest of the year.

Past Top 5:

1. Lake Powell with my Parents, Liz and Tyler and 2 days alone with my family
2. Dying a teriffic death at Harvest Moon 70.3 Triathlon
3. Watching Jackson play flag football
4. Watching Josh play baseball
5. Work getting better, then worse, then even more worse, then much better!

Future Top 5;

1. Pumpkinman Olympic Tri this Saturday
2. Sacramento marathon on December 4th with Anne, Beth, Keith, Jewles, Nancy, John and others.
3. Skiing/Snowboarding at Winter Park/Mary Jane
4. Training with Anne
5. IRONMAN Coeur D' Alene June 2012......I AM GOING FOR IT!

Stick with me as I make a transition from the all out short course triathlete to Ironman Distance. You will learn over the next few months why my biggest goal is to "Slow down to finish fast". Stick with me as I make my run at the bucket list and hear how it goes. The good, bad and ulgy.

Mt Lincoln 14,286ft 3 Waltons strong

2011-08-10T08:21:00.001-07:00

Living in Colorado and having an active lifestyle I have heard often stories of climbing one of the many 14,000 peaks in Colorado. I would listen intently as the story teller would talk about some to the challenges with the weather, elevation, respect of the mountain and so on. I would come away interested and eager to join those that have successfully made the assent to the top of a 14er.
Earlier this spring our Scout Pack leader Brent asked if I were game to take some of the Webelos on a Scout high adventure climb of Mt. Lincoln. I thought of Jackson joining me on my first climb and was very quick to reply with an eager "yes".
This summer we had a few practice hikes to try gear, make sure we were at the right fitness level. The last few months have been busy and the planned weekend came much quicker than expected. A few weekends ago we had our pack high adventure where Josh, Anne and Lexi were invited to join us for the trip. Josh on the hike was amazing and Brent was quick to say "he could join us and with some help would be able to make it to the top". I was excited at the thought of taking both of my boys on this journey and when I talked to them about it they were as well.
We had a quick dinner in Frisco on our drive to base camp. We were sleeping at 11,680ft and I could feel some of the elevation as we started to put our tent up. The night was cool, and getting comfortable was impossible so the night dragged on. Finally around 2am I was able to fall into a deeper sleep and the light of the morning came way too quickly.

We were up and at them and by 7:15 the group of over 20 started the climb. Josh was the youngest at 8 and was jumping off rocks and having a good time never taking a straight line on the trail. We passed 12,000ft and passed tree line pretty quickly.
We took breaks and kept taking on and off layers of clothes to keep ourselves at the right temperature. I ended up taking over 200oz of water and Gatorade and plenty of goodies to get us to the top. 13,000ft was next milestone and we had a pretty steep climb to get to that point. The group had been split up with a few fathers and one scout turning around and headed back to base camp due to sickness. All three of us were having some high moments and some low moments but we kept climbing. We were over 2 miles into the climb and over two hours climbing to make it to 13,500 feet. We were able to look up at the summit and see the first group make it to the top. The trail became very steep and we had about 600 feet of climbing. Jackson and Josh took one last break and then started to climb blazing their own way to the top because it was all rock and no real path.

Steps were hard to take and breathing was very difficult and so I spent most of my time cheering on the boys to keep moving. I was tired and at times was being encouraged by both Jackson and Josh. The wind had been blowing for the last hour and as we passed over 14,000ft it relaxed a bit. The first group was cheering the boys as we made the last push to the top. What a feeling I had as we were able to stop and look around.
The view from the top was amazing. I have heard people try to explain what it looks like and what it feels like and until you experience it yourself it does not do it justice. We cheered others as they made it to the top. I was able to take some pictures of Jackson and Josh at the top. I have a picture that caught the joy in Jackson face and I love it.

Standing on top of the world you are able to see beyond a normal "see" it's like a "super see" and helps you realize how your view over time can be shortened. I see why others get a climbing high. I can see also why climbing is not for everyone.
We will do this again as team Walton, and hopefully next time we can add the girls.

Love you Anne,

Tyler

Hello heat, glad to meet you

2011-07-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

Getting ramped up for the Harvest moon 70.3 Triathlon my rides and runs have been getting longer. Anne is also getting ready for the Copper Triangle a huge mountain ride on August 6th and she takes the lead on training right now. She is riding with Nancy, Margaret and others that are getting ready like Julie and Beth. The core group of girls that are working together are Nancy and Margaret and the three of them have done so well getting ready for this years event. I think that they will have a great event and I am excited to see Anne's mileage increase on the bike.
Jackson was going to a be at a sleepover and I was going to pick him up after my early ride in the morning until Anne came downstairs and said "we have a problem". She was looking at the invite and realized that the party was going to be done at 9 and so I was not going to get the 4 hour ride that I had on my schedule. I waffled a bit about a shorter ride, blowing it off because of an oversight. But no, I jumped up...really I did I was very proud of how I was able to spring into action and headed up the stairs taking them by two's like a real cool guy. I told Anne that I was going to go now and get it done so everyone can be happy with the weekend training and kids. She looked at me like I was crazy but it only lasted for a minute until I was headed up to the bedroom to change again taking the stairs two by two. I smiled as I hit the top and thought to myself that I was a good start to my warm up and it was going to be the coolest part of the day. I stepped outside after getting everything ready and realized what 95 degrees in Colorado feels like at 12 noon.
My goal for the ride was to finish and do so in a very controlled effort during the entire ride. I live about 8 miles from the start of the Harvest Moon and so I decided that today was a good time to ride the course for the first time. Anne came outside with me to pump up my tires and asked 3 times if I was OK and made sure that my phone was on. She said she would keep her phone close and would come and get me if I needed. You see I have had heat issues in the past and they did not turn out well.
The first hour was great, I was eating, drinking and doing what I felt would allow for a good ride. I had to add extra miles on the bike portion of the race route to get my 4 hours done and so I went past the 3rd turn that was the one that took us back to transition. This bike course has about 3 main roads that you ride so you can work the rollers and hills and flat and false down hills ect. I stayed about 5-8 BPM higher than I wanted to and kept dropping my effort to keep me in a good way. I hit a gas station and filled up with another 60oz of water and Gatorade and headed back to the race course. The last 2 hours were crazy hot. I have never felt the heat this bad on a ride and so I worked hard to keep my HR down because I was dropping sweat a lot more that I normally do. The last turn was back on a road that I was familiar with and was also the sign that I was about 45 minutes from home. The bad part of that was I was out of liquid and was heating up and putting myself in the tank. I slowed down and took the next 5 miles very easy and turned into the 7/11 just as I was about done. I slowly got off my bike, walked to the bathroom and put cool water all over my face and back. I grabbed more ice water and took a second to get somewhat composed before I took on the last 25 minutes home. I had burned up in several ways and took the rest of the time to think about how to be better next time.
Home never looked so good and I was able to catch Anne as she was taking Jackson to the party and the kids to the mall for items they have been saving up for. I cooled down and it took me about 45 minutes before I was able to come back from crazy land. I jumped on the scale and over the 4 hour ride I took on 140oz of liquid and still lost over 5 pounds. I will work on trying to figure out how to allow my body to take on more liquid, calories and stuff to keep me rolling in the heat. This was a good experience to realize that I have to keep hydrated to keep going. I have to keep my effort low enough to allow my body to accept the H2o and calories because today I went past that point and it hurt way to much. I am glad for the training and lessons that I learn and will keep it up. Hopefully we don't see 95 degrees on the bike/run course on race day, but if we do I know what I need to do to make it a success.
Good luck with your ride tomorrow Anne.
Stay hydrated.

Love you,

T

48 Hours of fun 2011 Lake Powell

2011-07-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Summerplace 2 Bullfrog bay Lake Powell

Tomcat on his first trip to the Lake Powell

The past several years we have been going together as a family to Lake Powell on a trip called 48 hours. We called it 48 hours to get the parents on board. Anyone can last for 2 days in tight quarters, hot surroundings and no place to get down time. Add to that the fact that we had 32 .5 attend this year and you can start to see the event called 48 hours take shape. 48 Hours of Fun was created to see if the kids could out last the parents on playing or if the parents would be able to outlast the kids in a non-stop play fest at Lake Powell. This was our 3rd year and we had the largest group attend and so we decided to go over the 4th of July and really make it a 72 hour trip. For Anne and me it was the first trip as a family that we were able to take Tomcat our new boat. Tomcat is from the MB Sport family and is a fun, kind 21 foot tow boat that I lived in for the most of the entire trip. Tomcat loves to play music and even tow tubes, surf, kneeboard and wakeboard. Tomcat did great we had a really fun trip with him and I think he will have many more fun years at the lake.
Tomcat had a friend called X-15 and they came out of the gate with such excitement. They had tubes, kids and sun a plenty and they did not stop for 48 hours. The Seadoo’s were also getting a fair amount of attention and by noon we had Summer Place 2 on a beach, in a cove protected and ready for the little ones to play on the shore. Old blue, my dad’s ski boat was taking a break for the first time in 10 years as he was not needed to take a leading role this year.

Pictures of the Wakeboarders, Surfers, and Kneeboarders

I still enjoy getting upside down

Joy to me is filling the boat up with kids, a lot of kids and to take them for non-stop fun. We had 8 jump in the boat and off we went. The first activity was to go surfing and for those that are not sure how we surf it is as close to the real thing as you can get. Using a shaped wake that curls like an actual wave and a small surf board one can toss the rope back into the boat and ride the wake for as long as they can stay in the sweet spot.
Kneeboading was the second activity as well as wakeboarding. We spend the entire afternoon playing and ended up coming back only for water and food and to change out those that wanted try something else. The end of the first day at Lake Powell always comes too quickly. But for us this was a pretty great night since Lexi was able to sleep on top of the boat with the entire family. Jackson and Josh also looked for satellites and did their best to stay awake but soon the entire boat was out cold. Rob has a great competitor in Bill for who snores the loudest and with a pair of ear plugs I was out.
Waking up to the sunrise at Lake Powell has to be one of the best experiences that one can have. No alarms, street noise or anything that we usually live with at home just the sound of the water. The sun heats us up quickly and not more than 10 minutes later the first Jet Ski was off and Tomcat was eager to get going for another fun filled day.
Tubes were the requested start to the day and something very special happed. We filled up the tubes and yellow banana up with air and took them to the end of the houseboat for the little kids ride. I made a promise to Ella that I would not go fast and I had to keep that promise. So as we were loading up the little ones my mom grabbed her life jacket and jumped on the tube and would not get off. It has been too many years to count since the last time I saw my mom playing behind the boat but as I said it was a special day and she was going tubing with her grandkids.

Time on the beach

Tubes, Tubes and more Tubes

The rest of the morning was filled with beach playing, more time on the boats. The afternoon was filled with Ice cream, wonderful food and playing on the rocks at the back of the boat. Lexi, Jackson and Josh all had a blast with cousins. Lexi was able to play with Ella and Bella and they seemed to never run out of ideas of things to do. This year catching the grass hoppers was the IN thing and they all had pets for the entire trip. Josh found it very easy to hang out with his BFF Libby. Jackson went between a few groups and seemed to enjoy several different cousins.
Later that day the wind came up and we ended up spending the early evening watching a storm roll over us. We had the boats tied up and the anchors were placed well for SummerPlace 2 so we just watched and waited for the storm pass over us. That did not stop the fun as the games went to the indoors with card games and movies with much needed AC cooling everyone down.

Taking the houseboat back to the slips is always bitter sweet as it tells us that the trip is almost over. Rather than heading back to Denver in the morning we decided to delay and go in the afternoon to avoid the traffic going to Denver and it ended up being a great choice. We played hard with surfing, cliff jumping and just playing around until nearly 2pm. We packed up Tomcat tell he was full and then made our way to the boat ramp.

Cliffjumping

A little time on the Seadoo with the kids!

Hanging out

Ella

Even the boats need a break in the day

Pictures of BFF's
Josh and Libby

Bill on Tomcat

Nanna and Pappa

The drive home was filled with talking to the kids about their favorite parts of the trip and letting them know that we love them. If they can survive a trip like 48 Hours of fun they can handle most anything. As if you were wondering, the parents won again for the 3rd year running. The kids called quits and left very tired and ready for some recovery!!!
Lake Powell will always be a part of my life. I love that place, I love seeing my family play together, work together and get along with no distractions found at home. We had no computers, phones and just movies that we all wanted to watch. We worked out the little fights and put lotion on all the sunburns and all left with huge smiles. I love you Lake Powell and the fact that we can have our crazy 48 Hours of Lake Powell each year with you is great. The drive home went fast this year since I was full of joy and memories that will last forever.

Anne getting use to driving the boat!

See you in 2012 for the 4th 48 Hours of Lake Powell, maybe the kids can come with their A game and have a possible chance.

Lexi taking a break on Tomcat

Jackson down for the count

Love you Anne,

T

Lake to Lake Triathlon 2011

2011-06-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

The lead up to this race is something that I wanted to make certain was better than last year. Last year I was traveling and was in the whole before I started the day and ended up walking the last several miles of the run. I vowed that I would be smarter with how I spent the time before the race and worked hard to know how I felt and what I could give on race day.
The other big change that I have been having this year is how I view racing all together. In years past I was training between 10-20 hours a week, racing hard and having my focus be all about improving time. I wanted to get faster and that was it. Now that training time has come down to 10 hours on a good week. I am just in a period of life where that is all I can give as they say "it is what it is" and I happy for what I can do. That being said I had a few goals coming into the race.
1. Race to what I have to give that day. No Walking on the run!
2. Enjoy the day, I have been way to serious in past races and that needed to stop and today was the day I would make it so.
3. Be smart with what I have and use it wisely. Swim hard, ride hard and run hard and do it so I can run hard to the end.

Anne was racing as well today in a relay and she was the bike portion and she rocked the house. She was with her marathon training partner Nancy and her brother and the three of them put a good race together.
Keith was our knight in shinning armor and watched the kids during the event so we could race and I have to say what an act of kindness that was. This is the second time this year that our friends have pitched in to help with the kids so Anne and I could race and we appreciate it beyond words.

Swim (26:03)
I was able to get a few arm swings in before the start of the race this year and no real warm up which usually is around 20 minutes. My timing for the day was such that I just did not have the time. I saw my trusted friend Anthony and we talked for a quick minute before the first wave (my wave) started. I took it out very slow as to try to give my body some time to get warm. It did now work and by the first buoy I was pushing race pace effort and was working my way past the gents that took the first 200 yards too quickly. The swim this year was steady and I felt really good about getting relaxed and moving forward.
I could hear the cheering from the water exit while still swimming in for the first time ever. It was AWESOME and it was fun to exit the water and hear my name being yelled as I made my way up to T1 which is a long 1/4 mile jog. I did have time to do a dance move for Coach Beth, the first act to having fun during the race!

Thanks to the Wieck's for the pics

Bike (1:28:42) 30 mile bike
T1 went smooth and I was on my TT bike racing again and it was a good feeling. Coach Beth and I discussed breaking the bike and run into segments and racing them so I could finish strong on the day. The first segment was slow out of town and easy on the climbs with a hard effort on the rollers back to town. Also for the first time had TT bar hydration and did not have to grab for my bottles. IT ROCKED and I was able to consume 75 oz of liquid on the 30 mile ride in even small sips. Loved it!
The slow swimmers and fast bikers had all passed me by the time we started climbing so I was proud that I was able to keep a really good effort and as I made it to the rollers I was able to push as the plan called for. I did not jump as other passed me and really focused on making the day my day. I kept my HR in the area that we had talked about and realized in past races that I was pushing way too hard and payed for it on the run.

Run(46:43) Not bad!
T2 was smooth and I was on my way. I stopped and reset my watch which forced me to take a few deep breaths before I jumped into the 10K run. In 2009 I ran the fastest 10K I have run 44:58 and in 2010 I ran a pretty slow one 54:50 so my goal this year was to run to what I could sustain and not push over the top. I was going to use my HR as a guide and let the time be what it was going to be. I was relaxed on the run through the neighborhood, calm around the lake and kind of happy cause I was running well. I saw Anthony around the same place I do each year and that told me he was having a good day (2nd AG) and so was I. I was even able to give some high fives as I made my way around the run course. The second half was a blast. I was able to see so many friends and familiar racers that it was a constant opportuinity to yell, smile and forget about running hard. I made my way past where I was walking last year and was running at a 7:30 pace which for me was AWESOME. I passed where I had my head down in shame last year feeling strong. I ended up coming into the finish full of joy. I did not win, I was not even close but......I took victory in my own way and that my friends is the best feeling.

Thanks for the pics Wiecks!

Here are some pics of the event and after party.....Yep we took the boat and went and had some fun at Horsetooth Res.

To all that helped, cheered and made the day fun....THANK YOU.

Lexi Walton, Charlotte Ford, Annie Wieck
Race day friend having a good time

Love you Anne

A cold Littlefoot Tri

2011-05-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

The weather all over the country has been unusual and Denver is no exception. The water temp going into the weekend was a cool 60 degrees but when you add rain and 38 degrees temp outside it makes for a bad swim decision. Amy D the race director made the call at 7:30am to change the swim to a 1 mile run, so the day would be a run (very wet), ride (still very wet) and just to make it fun another run (still very, very wet).
I was excited to be able to race, I love to train for racing and the season opener for me was Littlefoot.
I had a quick 25 minute warm-up and then rushed to get my racing clothes on and head over to the starting line. Anne and the kids, Beth, Keith and Nancy were all present for the start.
I wanted to take the first half of the mile run slow since is was a slight uphill climb and I know that the lead pack would take it out fast. I placed near the back and as the gun went off it was game on. Just a few minutes into the run those that started way to fast were maxing out and so my build allowed me to start to pass people pretty quickly. I started near the back but as I hit the half way mark I had passed a fair amount and I was still gaining speed. I came into T1 at 7:00 flat and sitting in 15th place from my wave of 29 and unders and the 35-39 men. I passed a few more in transition and was on my new Specialized Transition bike for the first race together. ( It has seen an AG victory in IMCDL with the first owner). It was still raining so I wanted to be cautious the first lap of a two lap course. I counted 10 ahead of me at the first turn-a-round and I was working to pick a few more off. The course is all within the park so I felt really safe and since we were the first wave I had little to worry about and was able to relax and work the bike. I was passed by two gents and passed a few myself and came into the T2 sitting 6th.

I had a fast transition and started the run feeling really strong. I took the first half out and tried to relax and run what I could hold the entire time. The week before I had a PR in SLC with a 21:10 5K. We had a bit of a climb to get to the turn-a-round and I was passed by Max (AG winner for the day) and another that I would not be able to keep with so I kept my same pace. One of the guys that passed me on the bike, I was able to re-pass in T2 was sitting on my heels keeping pace with me. I pushed the pace on the downhill past the second mile and still heard him on my back. I turned a corner where we could see the finish line and we were about 800 yards to the finish. I dropped the pace again and was running with all that I had on a cold spring day. I had to give everything that I had to keep the pace to the finish and ended up putting some time into the guy that was on my heels.

I was totally pleased with the day and my first race. I felt good about how I raced and ended up coming in 2nd place in my AG and 14th overall. I had a very fast bike split and ran faster than I ever have in a sprint.
I ended up have a 36:54 bike split 20.2 MPH on this cold day and a run of 22:21 for a total time of 1:07:22.

Next race is Pelican Fest Memorial weekend.

Thanks for coming Anne, Jackson, Josh, Lexi, Nancy, Beth and Keith. It was a great day.

Love you Anne,

T

It's been awhile

2011-05-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

I have had so many major things hit my life over the last 90 days that trying to find a starting point to share them was getting overwhelming. I pushed it off and now that things have settled down I can start to think about it.

Today I am sitting in Salt Lake City where I will be for the next few weeks. I am on site at Miche Bag corporate offices working as a point person for Deluxe. "Deluxe" you say, yep I have accepted a job with Deluxe Media Management as the Director of Complex Supply Chain Sales. My first job is to transition the Miche Bag account over the next several months. Deluxe is a billion dollar company and I work with the consumer products division helping to bring more consumer products accounts to Deluxe. I will be traveling to Salt Lake City or Los Angles (Valencia to be exact) most every week for at least a few days for the next few years.

Last weekend Anne and her training partners Nancy and Keith ran the Colorado marathon in Ft Collins Colorado. She ran the race in 4:02:47 which is a 9:14 pace. The race started running down the canyon and it was closed to traffic so we were only able to see them starting at mile 16. Anne and Nancy ran the entire race and even ran through the aid stations. She looked great the entire day and finished very strong. I was blown away seeing her run hour after hour keeping the pace she did. Anne is so strong and as you look at some of the photos you will see what great form she has and how strong she looks after running for over 3 hours.

Jackson right now is in the middle of flag football season and is the star of the team. Last week he scored 2 of the 3 touchdowns, had an interception and a runback to the 5 yard line and was the quarterback for the other touchdown. He is one of the smallest guys on the field and with his speed and determination rocks the house each week. Right now when Jackson is not paying football you will find him playing basketball, soccer or riding his bike or scooter. Jackson loves to be in motion and has a great group of friends that he can play with in our new neighborhood.

In the month of April we celebrated being in our home for over a year. We have owned 5 homes since we have been married and rented an additional 7 homes or apartments over the 13 years that we have been married. To celebrate a year without seeing any packing boxes that either needed to be packed or unpacked is GREAT.

Josh is growing and loving every second of life that he possible can. He is currently in soccer and having fun learning that sport. Josh plays with Jackson and tries to keep up as much as possible. He too likes to play basketball, jump on the tramp and play with Jackson and Lexi. Josh is doing really well as the middle child. God gives special skills to the middle child and we are starting to see them shine.

The boss of the house is Lexi. She has an opinion and the answer (right or wrong) to everything. She loves to try to hang with her brothers and most of the time does a great job. Lexi cut her hair and looks amazing and cute. Lexi is all girl and leaning to work with her has been a struggle for me. Girls as kids are so very different than boys.

Anne, the rockstar of the family is having her breakout year. She is has come out of her shell and is taking on her fears and crushing them. Marathon last month, another triathlon this month and swimming on a regular basis. She is finding time to train, hang with girlfriends and really have fun with where she is at in life right now. I am having fun cheering her on and watching her blossom and grow. This year Anne is the rockstar of our family.

The weather is turning and this year I am excited for a couple of reasons. Last fall Anne purchased a wakeboard boat and then a few weeks later it went into storage for the winter. The water is warming up and this year it is all about boating and spending time on the water. We are very excited to head to Lake Powell for the big trips. We are excited to discover our local lakes and those within a few hours. Simply put we are excited to go boating.

My training is going well and I am figuring out how to balance all that is important to me. I am training on the road and may even have a bike in each city in the next few months, time will tell.

I am happy, healthy and inlove with my wife and kids. They are my priority and everything else is a distant second.

I feel better, I hope you do as well and I promise I will start to update more often.

Webelos in Colorado Springs USAFA

2011-02-27T08:28:00.000-08:00

For those that are not aware I am an assistant leader in troop 317. We are the Phoenix Patrol and we have 16 active boys in our den. Our leader is Brent Hinkston and his drive and passion for service to the scouting program is amazing. We have quite a schedule for our Webelos this year and a visit to the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs was this months adventure for the Scientist activity badge.

(Cadet Chapel 17 spires 150 ft tall made of aluminum, glass and steel)

This was the first time on the Campus of the USAFA for the 3 of us and as we made the drive up the road past security to the visitor center we were impressed with how neat the campus looked on the mountain side amongst the pines. We were greeted by Colonel Beal who despite having a bad cold took us on a tour of the campus grounds including the "Cadet Chapel" (the most popular man made attraction in Colorado) and then over to the annex building where they have the Science and Astronautics school. We were given a tour of the control center where two active satellites are being controlled. Fact that I did not know...It take a satellite 1.5 hours to orbit the earth...

(All the boys at the Cadet Chapel with Colonel Beal)

(Inside the Cadet Chapel at the USAFA in Colorado Springs)

We then were entertained in the labs by fire, liquid and all sorts of scientists mayhem. The boys loved every minute of it and were awesome for the 4 hours we were on campus. Colonel Beal had several student assistance that help the boys make crystals, do several experiments and have a hands on experience with very intelligent students. I was somewhat jealous of the activities that they had planned and really was impressed with the effort.

(Pictures of some of the Cadets that helped us today)

Nearly 1000 students are accepted to the academy a year so the campus is very small compared to other collages across the US. We were able to pass the dorms where they live and see just a glimpse of collage life as a cadet at the USAFA. I have taken several pictures just to remember how great of a day it was and to thank those that made it happen.

(Josh with safty goggles a PRE-Cadet at the USAFA)

(Colonel Beal working on the Scientist activity badge)

Thanks Colonel Beal hope you feel better and to your staff and assistance.
We all appreciate it.

Sorry you missed this one Anne,

T

The Red Hot 55K in Moab Utah

2011-02-22T06:51:00.000-08:00

(The gang before the start)

Trying to rap my arms around the idea of running an ultra marathon distance event before I raced a marathon was different and for me it worked. Last year I accomplished a 24 mile Moab Utah trail run and I had a blast doing it. A good mix of fun friends, radical challenge and wonderful scenery made it something that I for sure wanted to do again and improve on. The idea was thrown out at a party and the idea caught on and this weekend 13 friends competed in the Moab Red Hot 55K and 33K trail race.
The training during the winter was different for me since it was the first year I really had any goal to work towards in the off season. The other major bonus was that Anne was going to run with me. Long runs on Wednesday mornings, Red Rocks and the 4 big runs that we did made the training a journey that I was really able to enjoy. I wanted to see if I could adapt to long runs and get good results from them.
Race week was fun watching the weather change from blowing snow to rain to really cold back to snow. We loaded everything we would use for all conditions and headed down to Moab. The kids were excited to be on a trip again and after finding out that the condo we rented had a hot tub they were super excited to get on the road. Liz, Tyler, Sam and Jonah with a late arrival of my Dad made the stay really fun. I however came down with a pretty bad head cold a few days earlier so I was not as perky as I usually would like to be the day before the event.
Race morning started with the sound of rain outside our window and a body that just wanted to stay in bed. I talked to Anne the night before we went to sleep and I decided that I would feel bad staying in bed or at the condo just like I would feel bad running so I would try to run regardless of how I felt and just deal with it. I even put a plan together at 18 miles to turn back if it got too bad. Plus I wanted to see if I really could last in bad weather, sick and not on a prime day and today was defiantly that day. I put my clothes on and my Garmin HR monitor and watched it settle at 15 BPM’s above normal. Here we go!
The start and pre-race Ultra style is really chillin and relaxed. People are talking and being social and not a lot of drama is going on around us. We took a few group pictures and cheered to rally those around us and to our surprise it worked. The race started and off we went running straight up a mountain.

A picture of the start as we rounded the corner to start climbing

We were in the back and at the first picture spot were second to last. I was running with John, Keith and Beth and we had a plan to take it out slowly and build and have a good second half to make the whole day a sucess. As we finished the first climb I looked at Beth and realized she did not mean that slow and so we settled into a good “working” pace for the next few hours.

(A picuture of Beth, John and Keith at the first climb)

(Its hard to see but you can see the cars from the start and the trail way, way below)

Aid station number #1 was out of water by the time we arrived and I worked hard not to worry and relax. I have been working on taking the right mix of nutrition and did not have any water left when we arrived. Keith gave me one if his 20 oz bottles and I made that last for the next 5 miles until aid station #2. We really did well as a group and keep each other motivated and after about 7 miles started to pick people off and enjoy the day rain, wind or whatever the weather ended up being for the moment. We found Beth’s friend Laurie and the two of them keep us entertained for the next 2 hours. We had a great rendition of “Mandy” and some other Barry M hits. The only thing is the pace kept creeping up and after 18 miles I let the group know that we had made it to the point where anyone could take off and have the day they wanted. A few minutes later Beth and Laurie were off the front and John, Keith and I were happy to let them go. We had a huge slick rock climb and spent the next 30 minutes walking straight up hill. The three boys separated about 50-100 feet from one another and had our own quite time.

John and Keith on the huge climb of the day doing our alone time!

I was feeling ok at this point and really was pleased with how the day was turning out. I was good on my water intake and my nutrition was also working for me. I passed my bailout spot and kept going and was proud of the decision. I took my Garmin off my wrist and put it on my backpack to avoid looking at it and decided the day was going to be what I made it regardless.
To this point it had rained on us, the wind was really aggressive and so when we reached the cliff top of the first climb I wanted to take pictures of us all we had some in the group very concerned about being so close to the side with the wind blowing so aggressively. This day was also different because 30 minutes after we started Anne, Jewels and Nancy started the 33K. My wife was running a race at the same time that I was which was a Walton first. It was fun to pass the 5 hour mark thinking that they would be close to finishing. I hoped that Anne had a good experience and later that day I learned that she rocked the race course and everyone did really well in her group.

(Nancy, Anne and Jewles)

I kept my head down and kept trucking up the hill and just a bit later I could see the top of the climb with a much needed aid station. 22 miles done and a shirt change was in order along with some treats. The wind was blowing something fierce and so I did not stay long and told Keith and John that I was going to start going down. I wanted to have some more alone time and decided to put in my Ipod and see if I could get through the next two hours without hurting too bad.

(Me on top of the huge climb with the Colorado river in the background)

I started the decent and had Keith close and so I told him I was plugging in and would be on my own for a bit. He was working a blister and we did not see John so it was ok and I took off. I started to run down hill and realized I felt good. I mean that I really felt good like I have never felt this way after 5 hours of running before. I did not know what to do except just let it go. I started to lengthen my stride and pick up pace. I would walk the hills and run the flats and downhill’s and for the next 5 miles I mostly had downhill’s. I found I felt good, the best I had felt all day and so I did just what my heart told me to do and I ran, FAST. Just 3 songs later I saw what looked like Beth and Laurie with a few others and by the end of my 4th song I was right behind them. I did not slow down but had a funny exchange and keep running. Beth and Laurie were on my heels just a few seconds after I appeared and the 3 of us were running fast as a group. Beth warned me that it would not last and I should slow down but I did not care and just wanted to keep going. I kept myself plugged in and for the next 5 songs felt awesome, then slowly reality started to show up and by the time I hit the aid station at 29 miles was out of magic dust and my tank was empty. The volunteer at the last aid station said one more mile of climbing, one mile flat and three downhill to the finish. At the top of the climb Beth and Laurie agreed that we would finish together but the pace kept rising and by the time we were done with the flats I started to cramp. I asked them to finish and I would come in at my own pace.

(Our fearless leader pointing the direction to go!)

I walked and drank and walked and drank for the next 15 minutes and then started to feel better. A few minutes later I could hear the sound of cheers and I felt close to the finish line. I looked back to see Keith just above my one turn and yelled for him to catch up so we could finish together. He started to say I needed to go because he was so tired and just as he finished that comment we rounded the corner and saw the finish line and ran in together. Beth and Laurie had come in 10 minutes earlier and Anne and my Dad had not made it to the finish line so for me it was a buzz kill. It was not about the finish but the journey and today I had quite a journey, one that I will never forget. 55K (33-34 miles) 6700 ft of elevation gain and a full and happy heart, I get why people do this sport.
The day was great, when I got back to the condo I was greeted with the sounds of laughter in the back yard. I passed in a very limping manner the front door and walked to the back yard and as I turned the corner I saw my 3 kids splashing and having a blast in the hot tub. They stopped just long enough to ask how the race went and then were back to playing what ever made up game they were playing before.
I wanted to see if I could do a long distance event and have good time and perform well and I felt that I did. I now feel like I can do long distance events and look towards the future for the next epic journey. I have a plan that required a good result in Moab this weekend and with all the challenge with health and weather and still getting it done was a big huge success. Remember I pay to do this, I came home with a tee shirt, pictures, LOTS of stories and a burning fire to keep going. Bucket list caliber of weekend for sure.
Beth, John, Keith, Nancy, Jewles, Heidi, Andrea, Steve, Randy, Anne, Andy, Jackson, Josh, Lexi, Jane, and others thanks for being a part of this journey with me. I loved the training days and the end result. My Dad told Anne and the girls that because the weather was bad he would wait for a bit in case they wanted to turn around….When the fire is burning within it really does not matter what conditions you are in you just keep going one step at a time, collecting memories that will last forever.
I love you Anne you are my sunshine!

T

Mary Jane/WP State of Mind

2011-02-04T07:38:00.000-08:00

For the past 5 years I have been getting 1 to 3 of my children in the car with games and toys and snacks to keep them happy on the drive to the ski resorts. The past few years Anne has come with me and so it was a family ski day almost every Saturday. I am proud to say that I never paid a dollar towards ski instruction and took that task on by myself (brothers included).
I started with Jackson and we were excited to come home and tell Anne of the gains that he had on the day. For nearly 3 years it was just the boys while Anne and Lexi would stay home and miss out on the fun.

Claire-Sam-Anne-Josh-Thomas-Jackson

Anne came up "just to try" and found out she was pretty good and could ski the beginner hills. I was told by ski patrol the following season I could not carry Lexi and she needed to ski on her own. This actually happened at the top of a lift in the afternoon while Lexi has fallen asleep on my shoulder.
The next season we started our 3rd and final skier and she picked it up just as fast as her brothers. Jackson and myself transitioned to snowboarding and started again on the beginner hills after learning from some YouTube videos moved up the the blues and just last week took on our first black on snowboards. I told Jackson he could switch years ago once he could ski any run on the resort. I promise I took him down some pretty radical runs to make sure he was able to ski anything and he killed every run.

Rockstar 1-Rockstar 2

Anne-Lexi-Claire-Jackson-Sam-Thomas-Josh

This year is almost half over. We have finally found equipment that is the right size for Anne and now she is rocking the hills. Lexi is all on her own and so the family last week skied together in the morning and had a blast.

Jackson-Thomas-Max-Sam

The new chapter for me came in the afternoon when the older kids wanted to go ski and board the harder hills. For so many years I stayed behind and sent Jackson or Josh with them while I was with the younger kids. Not this week, I was able to go with the older kids and we went to the rail park and had a blast all afternoon. This was such a joy for me and to know that I now have the rest of my life to ski with my family is AWESOME. It is hard to put into words how I feel about family ski day and how hard the past has been and how sweet the future looks. I figure that I will work hard over the next few years to put it into words every time I have an epic day but be warned I expect many of them in my future.
Go team Walton!!!!

Love you Anne,

T

Ready, Set, Derby (Pine Wood Derby)

2011-01-22T17:14:00.000-08:00

Being an Eagle Scout and now having both my boys in scouts the Pine Wood Derby is something to take very serious. Father and boys, mostly fathers spend hours working on these small little blocks of wood trying to transform them to the most perfect, most aerodynamic, fastest cars known to mankind. These traits are passed down from father to son, Eagle to Webelos for generations to come. NOT Ok the facts and only the facts please I had another father help me with the "Rough cut" Anne spent 95% of the time getting the cars sanded and painted and made perfect with a surprising amount of time spent with the boys helping and crafting the PWD car themselves. note that it was Anne and not me! Oh it gets better I was left to work on the axles (Nails) and wheels. The three of us borrowed a dremel tool to smooth and get the final stages of the car ready. We finished the night before the "Weigh In" and felt good show up with our PWD cars ready to go. Weigh In This was an event all by itself. We had 4 stations that needed to pass before we turned the cars in to be held for two days in a secure location and only displayed minutes before the actual races would start. Station 1- Getting the name entered and the weight passed Jackson- Pass but the car was 4.4oz of a 5oz max Josh- Pass but the car was 4.7oz of a 5oz max Station 2 Making sure the car was the proper height Jackson- Fail the bottom weights were hitting and needed to be removed Josh-Fail the bottom weights were hitting and needed to be removed Station 3 Making sure all 4 wheels were touching and set properly Jackson Pass Josh Fail we needed to bend one wheel down(NOTE THIS BEND IDEA STINGS ME LATER) We went to the Father reject corner where other fathers were with their heads bowed in shame and only soft words were spoken. We used hot glue guns and made the best of what we could. We jumped back in line and here are what the cars looked like as turned them in. This is Josh's car, the weights were on the bottom originally Jackson's Car ">< Race Day We showed up with a few minutes to spare and were surprised to see the school gym transformed into the race zone. We took our seats and participated in the National Anthem and were jazzed and ready to race. Jackson was first and on his 1st heat of 4 he took 1st. Yes he was down the track before 3 other suckers and I made sure to smile and look at as many fathers as I could. The second and third time down he took a very respectable 2nd place. The 4th time he was 3rd and I just about stated to approach to track official to complain about such a overlooked mistake since my sons car was far superior to other but was distracted by Lexi needing to go to the bathroom. The bathroom took precedence and by the time I was back and even more motivated my window had passed. They were done with the Webelos 2 and were about the name the winners. Jackson took 7th out of 16 boys in his troop and I was extremely pleased with these results. Who says you need to be an engineer to win...Sales guys who only do a small amount of the work can compete with the best of them. Jackson felt great and took a few pictures from fans before heading off the play with some of his friends. Warrior Josh was next 22 boys were facing off the take the title of Bears #1. Josh was in heat 6 and as the first 5 went by I was feeling really confident. I was that father ready to see my sons PWD car kill the others. Heat #6 was started and the cars were released. I was filming the race just in case the local news needed my footage for the leading 5pm story. As the first car zoomed to a stop and the 2nd and 3rd were close behind a strange feeling came over me. I felt light in my knees as I saw Josh's car creep over the finish line a good second behind his other 3 competitors. I looked down just with a growing pit in my stomach and was able to meet eyes with Josh trying to silently ask "What happened". I mouthed the words it will get better and for the next 3 heats until he was up again I was silent. I could say nothing and considered sitting down a few times to avoid fainting at the thoughts of what was happening. Heat#2 started just the same, I held my breath and as the cars started down the track the horror only got worse. Josh's car did not make it to the finish, one of the scouts had to give it a push to the end so it would register REJECT for all to see. Josh was in tears by this time and I did the only thing that I new could help. I ran and pushed the track over in a rage and ran out never to be seen again....I pulled him aside and held him as he cried into my arms. He did not care about loosing but that the car needed help to get to the finish. I failed him as a parent, a scouter, an Eagle Scout. I am a failure and need to be tarred and feathered and stoned to a slow death. We made it through the next two rounds with not much communication between us. Jackson was trying to do anything possible to make his little brother feel better and was able to do so. What Jackson did not know is that he needed to fix the pain I was feeling, today I was the worst father around. We left shortly after and I took the kids out to a lunch at Red Robin to sooth our souls. We fought the best battle we could and came out with some scars that will take some time to heal. Maybe they will never heal but we will do our best to hold our heads high. Today will build character, and we will prevail. We will be victors next year for sure, I have already started working on the cars for next year. Troop 317 will never see PWD cars like the ones we will show up with next year. Watch and see! My little girl Keeping it real! My little rock star Love you Anne, T

A not so white Christmas

2010-12-28T08:29:00.001-08:00

This year in Denver we have not had one snowstorm that has left us any snow for more than a few hours. Our mountains are getting dumped on and we are seeing records in some parts of the state but as far as Denver we are zip, zilch, nadda. I miss seeing the snow until I look at my training load. A few weeks ago we had a 4 hour run and the last two hours were in tee shirts and near 70 degree temps. I was actually able to get a good sunburn. This season the coats have been used just a little and the jackets have been used all the time. I wonder if this will be the case for the rest of winter or will we get some change soon. Either way it is historic and worth mentioning.
Our house has been full this year with the Christmas spirit. It started with Mom right after Thanksgiving and never let up. I believe this year more than ever that if Mom is excited and in the Christmas spirit it is impossible not to catch it. Just like a cold but in a good way!
This year has been different from the start. Jackson and myself started Snowboarding and Lexi decided that she could ski without the "weeski". I had a tough time keeping up with her and will post some video of the kids later. We have been skiing 5 times this year so far and we are really loving the kids being just a litter older. They can stay out longer, do more by themselves and the overall day seems to be more fun.
The Christmas week started with some skiing and and we were able to stay at Susan's condo overnight. Staying up in the mountains and not having to drive up and down to Aurora is the most enjoyable way to do skiing and loved it.

Family at Winterpark

Christmas eve dinner was spent at John and Jennifer's home and we had a great night.

John and Jennifer Christmas Eve 2010

The table was set with Christmas China and better than any restaurant I have ever been to. The conversation was light and tolerable and the kids had a blast. We had a Christmas program and even opened some gifts.

Christmas Eve dinner in style at the Waltons

Christmas eve program a Walton tradition

We ended the night by reading our own Christmas stories at home by the tree and fireplace. The kids went to bed just after hearing Santa do a "fly by" and for the 5Th year in a row was the fastest bedtime of the year.

The next morning I was blown away by the excitement I was able to see in my kids. Jackson was most excited to give Mom her present and was glowing after she opened it. Our family was able to enjoy the season of giving this year and not getting. This is a huge switch from years past and I wish it continues for years to come. It is hard to put into words what I felt this year seeing my son put so much thought into a give, pull out his own earned money and buy it. On Christmas morning seeing how eager he was to see Mom open the gift, he was so excited to give and the joy on his face seeing her open it. I was in tears most of the morning but I bet you all guessed that well before and it is kind of expected in my home. I love my family and was excited to just be involved this year. For me it is the best Christmas I have had in many years. I hope that my kids continue to grow into the people I see them able to become. They have so much potential and I try so hard to keep pointing them in that direction. I know that it is up to them to become who they want to be but wow do they have a lot of potential and I am excited to see them grow up.

I love you Anne,

T

A weekend away and watching IMAZ

2010-11-24T08:30:00.000-08:00

From the deck of our room at the Biltmore

"You should come and watch the race, it would totally be fun and cool." This is was stayed in my mind for the next 2 miles on a regular run with Sonja and Michelle in CC res. We had a good time talking and running slow and were about 30 days away from Ironman Arizona. We moved through several topics and as usual the run was over really fast and we all took off to finish the rest of the day.
I called Anne and asked if we could change our Arizona trip that was planned in February to November. She did not see a problem with it so I made all the arrangements and we were booked. We were going to give the kids to my brother Rob whom we kid exchange with and our dog to my other brother John who we dog exchange with.
The month rolled by fast and after a fast day we were headed to the airport. We did not end up flying together because we used miles and only had enough for 1 ticket with each of the airlines I fly. So I was on Frontier and Anne was on United. We stayed at the Arizona Biltmore for two nights and then moved down to the race site with the rest of the gang.
ARIZONA BILTMORE is one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in. It is a hi stoical hotel dating back to the early 1930's. It had 8 pools, restaurants, shopping and 2 golf courses. The rooms were great and we just sunk into the bed after getting checked in after 1am. We slept in and started to count the things that we were not able to do at home. Sleep in is high on the list. Second was a calm and relaxed breakfast.

We took a long run along the canal and ended up running for 2.25 hours, which was the longest run Anne had done by over 45 minutes. We talked and ran and laughed and had fun looking at the Arizona desert and making plans for the rest of our lives. I love running with my best friend and wow will this stage of life be fun.
We went to fancy dinners, lunch at the pool, hiked up Camelback mountain and went dancing.

Anne and I on the top of Camelback Mountain AZ

.
Me overlooking where the IMAZ race is the following day

We slept in again for the second day and as we left we felt that we made the most out of our time at the Biltmore
The best part of the Biltmore was sitting at night by the fire pits relaxing to the sounds of a fountain nearby and looking at a full moon. This was a place to remember and I did it with my best friend!
IMAZ
Travel to triathlon races are always fun for me and it was interesting being a spectator and not a racer this time. This was also much longer of a race than I normally do and so the preparation time was a bit longer than normal. After getting plans made and a group dinner by the pool we said our good nights to Sonja and Michelle as they made final arrangements and headed to bed. Anne and I headed to the hottub and was joined by Michael.
The rock start support crew

Calm before the start

The first 30 seconds of the swim start, can you see Michelle in the front?

The Swim:
Finding a spot on the bridge was tougher than I thought. I am not use to being the spectator and was off my game. We ended up taking a spot on the far end of the bridge and was able to see everything really well. The amount of families that were present to watch loved ones at this race was huge. Of the 2700 racers just under 1100 were first timers. The gun went off and the mostly calm water turned white and you could only see limbs and caps for the next 2 minutes. The talk about the brutal swim start is more true 5 stories above than ever and I was amazed to see the crazy efforts that were going on. We did not have much time and so we headed back to transition to were we could watch them come out of T1. We stood and waited on the fence line close to where Michelle and Sonja racked there bikes and after about 20 minutes they laid down the mount line right in front of us. We watched the pro's come by and shortly after the age groupers were next.

We almost wanted to give her a push to start but in the end she did not need it as she smashed the all time record

Watching the pro's and then finally seeing Michelle out of the water was awesome. She was in the top 20 of all age group swimmers (out of 2700) and was looking really good. We yelled as loud as we possible could as she grabbed her bike and headed for the bike exit.

Michelle kept this smile all day long!!!

Sonja getting out of T1

We had enough time to get Michelle of and then came Sonja. She looked good and it was again awesome to see a her exit the water faster than expected. We cheered her on loudly, maybe a little too loudly but we wanted to make sure she remembered it until the next time we saw her.
The bike course was fun since it was 3 loops, we settled on the course about a mile out and so we would be able to see the riders 6 times on the bike.
The run course was the same where the racers did 3 loops and we the spectators sat where we could see them 6 times. We spent most of the day with Michael and Charlot. Once we settled on the bike course we found Chris, Troy and Anne with Helen. Eric was out on the course most of the day.

The finish was spectacular and I was inspired to see the racers as they came through the finish line. We were impressed with Sonja taking a 1 place AG finish and Michelle taking a 3rd place finish. They both took their Kona slots and will be racing on the big island next year.
The whole weekend was great and as I had a few days to reflect, I am even more impressed with the commitment it takes to make it to the start line let alone the finish. If you hear the words coming down the finish line "you are an Ironman" it is something pretty spectacular not only for the racer but the ones that supported you all the way.

Great job girls,

Love the weekend with you Anne,

T

This is a picture of Anne looking at a finisher run in. Or could it possible be a sign of another finisher in the future running down the shoot?????

USAT Age Group Nationals

2010-10-04T17:25:00.001-07:00

For the last 3 years I have been able to participate in the USAT Age Group Nationals Championships in the Olympic distance. The last two years it has been down in Tuscaloosa Alabama. The race venue is on the campus of the University of Alabama Roll Tide who this year is ranked #1 in college football. The campus is rich with history and is quite a place to see.
I was able to travel with some of the best athlete in their respective age groups and each year I am proud to support them as they rise to the victor’s stage and place in the top 10 of the country. 1300 racers this year were fighting for the right to be crowned the best and have a chance to represent the USA in age group worlds which in 2011 will be held in China on the very course that the Olympics were raced on just a short while ago. In all I was able to toe the line with 13 of my training partners and I was even able to start right next to Anthony that placed in the top 20 of our 35-39 age group.
The days leading up to the race were good and I was feeling wonderful and ready to give it my all. I woke up wide eyed 10 minutes before the alarm was to go off and was able to just relax and get my game face on amongst the other 3 snoring friends in our hotel room. Racking the bike was done the night before and so setting up transition was simple and only took a few minutes. I was able to eat well and get warmed up. The national anthem was awesome and brought goose bumps and a few tears that to me signaled I was ready to give it my all on the course.
The swim was a deep water start with around 150 others and as the horn sounded I placed myself 3 layers back. I took the first of 3 turns easy and by the 2nd turn I ramping up my pace and really having fun. For me the swim is all about setting the day up right and not taking it too easy but not too hard as to take away from my effort on the bike or run. I was smooth in the water and felt good as I was passing those that pushed too hard early in the swim and slowed down. The river was warm enough that we were not able to use our wetsuits and I was keeping a great rhythm on the longest leg of the swim. As always it went fast and I was making my way to my first transition. I decided to wear my Garmin to help keep me smart on the bike and run for the best outcome possible and took the time to put it on. Other than that small addition I was in normal fast form and was out on the bike in 1:47.
The bike course had 2 loops that had some good ups and downs in it. At the bike mount I jumped on and started the timer on my Garmin and saw that I was at 189BPM (I like to race in the 170-185 range). With that I slowed way down and was able to get it back down and kept it for the first climb right at 180. The first decent I was feeling good and realized that my legs were going to help me today and were like game on. I kept my effort steady regardless how many totally killer racers passed and kept telling myself that it was my day and I was racing myself not anyone else. The next part of the day took me for a loop. I had grabbed some extra gels from friends that I had not used before but felt ok with gel. I took a small amount and realized that I was more like paste, very sticky paste and by the time it took to get a breath I was up chucking chunks, I leaned to the right and let it go. It took me by surprise to I kept peddling and riding up the slight incline I was on. Seconds after the first spew I the second was up and coming and then the third and forth. Seven times in all and by the end I had nothing left in my stomach and was feeling a bit wobbly. I slowed down on my bike and took a small swig of water and it stayed down. I worked hard to lean way to the left and was able to keep the left half of my clothes and bike clean while the right half had some battle scares. I did not know what to do and felt that the best way to avenge was to toss the gel that was still in my hand away and swear A LOT…. The small drink stayed down and I poured some over my clothes to wash me down a bit and then jumped back on the peddles and kept going. (After all is was Nationals) The first loop was kind of different and I settled back in and started to fight like I normally do a few minutes later. The second loop was all about getting my speed on and I felt really good with the increase in effort. I has battle stains on my clothes but I felt good and was going to make the best of the day. I pulled into T2 at 1:07.22 faster than last year.
I had a bag of ice ready at T2 and put all that I could in my hat and my back and in my hands to try to cool me down as the day was getting really, really hot. I had not retained much and so as I cleared out I was going to have a battle and wanted to do my best. I looked at my Garmin to see what the day was going to give me and I was shocked to I was running in the 180’s a really good start. I slowed down and allowed to check my breathing and pace. I took a swig at the first aid station and mile 1 was feeling good. Mile 2-3 had some good climbing and by the time I finished the second I was cooked and looked to see 194BPM. I wanted to finish the day as strong as I could and tried to fight knowing that I was overheating and had limited time. For the next 25 minutes I put my head down and did not stop running except to take on aid at the stations. I had to tell myself “keep running, don’t stop several hundred times and was fighting a battle that I would lose badly. The last ½ mile was the hardest as I looked again to see a 196 and felt it all over. I did not stop and as I crossed the line I was a peace with the results. I did the best that I could and had nothing left to give. I left it all (I really mean IT ALL) out on the course that day.
I was able to get my feet under me and get back to see some of the best finishing shoot battles I have seen. Beth was shoulder to shoulder in an all out sprint and gave more than she had to give to win and I was able to see that fight. I was able to see many with ages over 70 come running in with smiles for the day and all I could think about is what will I be doing in 45 years!
I love this sport and appreciate what it has done for my life. I am only able to give it a small part of my life but when I get it race that does not matter because it really is a joy. I look forward to next season and what it will bring. Nationals are up in Vermont where my wife spent her high school days. I hope to make it and have her come to the event with me. Until next year, train hard, love lots and smile for sure.

Alaska

2010-09-22T17:04:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to show (a picture says a thousand words) and at some point I will tell.

Just wanted to show and at some point I will tell.

Eat Pray Xterra

2010-08-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

As I am writing this race report I am looking back and seeing a huge void in my blogging life. I did not do it on purpose but it makes me feel bad that I have not captured what I would say has been one of the greatest summers. I am most excited about the future and what we are working towards and will work hard to capture the story and spend time sharing it. Every year Anne captures my Blog and puts it into print and I will admit looking back on my journal is a huge joy in my life. As it is said “ I will be back”.

On to Lory my FIRST Xterra triathlon

Way back in the early part of the year when a group of us started talking about Mt biking and trying an Xterra I did not realized how much joy I would get from the different style of biking. I have been working on my road biking skills for several years now and the first time I tried to go off road I was humbled quickly and realized I have entered a whole new environment of riding. This environment requires a different set of skills, effort and focus. Relaxing and getting into the best arrow position does not even exist on an Xterra course. The second you relax you will find yourself off your bike and off the trail. Focus, Plan and Execute are the reoccurring events on the bike to stay upright and it is game on.
Not only was it light when we pulled up to the race site but the vibe was much different than any other triathlon that I have attended. We were parking on a dirt road, athletes were cruising to transition in flip flops and no helmet and everyone was talking and chatty. For sure this was going to be a different style of race. Body marking was normal, transition was an open to place where you wanted and so Beth and I racked next to one another and an old friend Tim Stegner was on the opposite side. This was the first Xterra for us all.

Swim

The swim was down 4 red buoys and back and so when gun went off for my wave I took the left line and swam right into the sun. I had no contact until the 3rd buoy and it was just a bit of rubbing. My plan was to take the swim out fast and keep a hard effort the whole race. Around the 4th buoy and we were headed back on a short ½ mile swim. I was alone at this point which is normal. The really fast swimmers are gone up front and so I am in the middle of that group and the second big group that trails behind. I did not stand up until my hand hit the muddy bottom and I was just a few feet from the shoreline. The run up to T1 was only a few hundred feet but I was able to pull off my cap, goggles and top half of my wet suite. I was running up T1 and felt my HR in the high zone. Into transition I needed to take off the bottom of my wetsuit, put on socks, shoes, gloves, glasses and helmet before I was able to grab my bike. I usually am able to drop my suite and grab my helmet and take off but this was a whole different animal and so I decided to take my time, SIT DOWN and change to my riding attire. I had to laugh when I sat down cause this was not a typical action that I was use to.

Bike

We took a hard left out of Transition and were right onto single track going slightly up hill. I was able to catch and execute my first pass a short distance later. We popped out onto a road and had small downhill section that allowed for easy passing and a lot of that was going on. I had guys that were flying by me like I was standing still. I made the right turn and up we started to go. We hit single track again for a 2 mile climb that would take us up some pretty challenging terrain. I set a pace that worked for me and the whole time I was passing or getting passed. I was able to stay on my bike as others were stopping to climb up more technical efforts and I felt good about my pace. Having a racer behind me asking to pass and working a section of single track for two riders to be on was kind of fun. I was riding in weeds on the side of the mountain working switchbacks while another would take the other side and try to pass in as fast as they could effort. The second girl that wanted to pass hit a rock weird just as she finished passing me so I was able to go ahead of her again and giggle a bit. Unfortunately she repassed me a just a bit up the climb again and took off. I guess being about 105 pounds and fearless makes climbing a bit easier that my hot looking 184 lb frame. Or maybe it was the fact that she was on a killer bike and I was rocking the Mongoose! I am going to chalk it up to the bike difference and nothing else.
The top came pretty quick and now it was time to descend on very similar terrain. I was feeling good and ready to rock the downhill. Rather than yelling pass I chose to yell REPASS to all those that passed me on the climb and were taking the downhill slower than I wanted. I was able to repass about 7 racers and felt really good about it 7 times. We were flying down the mountain and I was seeing carnage all over the course with flats and broken bikes. I begged the Mongoose to hang in there and help me make it to the end of the bike. After we hit the flats we had several miles of rollers up and down. I was pushing a really good clip and felt good the rest of the bike.

Run

Into T2 I was able to rack quickly, change shoes, grab my race belt and water bottle and take off. I was able to cut my T2 time in half from my T1 time, I guess not sitting down helps with the speed. Out of T2 we were directed to run the same single track all the way up the mountain that we just finished riding our bikes up. It was hot by this point and I had lost a huge amount of fluids on the bike and was only able to take 30oz of water while riding. On the slight uphill climb to where the real climb started I told myself I was going to set a pace that I was able to run the whole time and not walk one part of the run course. I grabbed 2 waters at the aid station that marked the start of the climb and off I went. I had a few runners pass again and they were able to do this much easier than on bikes. I kept my focus and effort consistent and just kept one foot in front of the other. I watch a runner ahead of me role his ankle and had to stop. That made me realizes that I really had to watch my footing. The Mile 1 marker came really fast for me and so I had one more to go to get to the top. I kept a good focus on foot placement and after one million switchbacks I was able to see the Mile 2 marker. I was thrilled that I did not stop and was still feeling good. The next .8 miles were around the rim and overlooking the entire Reservoir that we swam in. The view was great but short lived since the downhill was quickly approaching. I had saved enough energy to really push the downhill again and repassed several runners that passed me on the uphill. It was really fun and as such ended way to fast. I grabbed what I could at the bottom of the climb aid station and kept going. I was alone for the rest of the single track. When I popped out of the single track and headed for the final ¼ mile the spectators were cheering loud. I heard one yell to a guy that was trying to get past me to push it so I started a finishing kick that I did not think that I had. I was really moving the final turn to the finishers shoot and as I passed the finish line there was a huge slip-n-slide that I did a superman dive down to my back and slid all the way to the end where a pool of cold water was waiting. I struggled to get up and out of the water but was able to hold my place and not get passed.
I finished and felt great that I was able to execute so well on my first Xterra. I did not care about time or place and to this point still don’t. I had a great time and could not have given anymore anywhere on that course. I gave it my all and felt the joy of a great race. I watched as Beth, Jewles, Ryan and Melissa and Sandy finish. Keith broke his chain and finished early.
I loved the Lory Xterra and feel that I am made to race this style of racing. I love the low key vibe that Mt bikers seem to have and felt great at this race. I was proud of the group that I was with and look forward to Nationals a few short weeks away.

Love you Anne,

T

Lake Powell over the 4th

2010-07-09T15:13:00.001-07:00

This is a picture overlooking Bullfrog bay

Hiking up a slot canyon. Jackson, Josh and Pappa

I always get excited when we get the opportunity to go down to Lake Powell. I have spent over a year of my life on this lake and now I get to share it with my kids. The red rocks, blue sky, warm water and hot days make this place a paradise for me. I have pictures of my as a baby at this lake, my first kiss was at this lake, and I fell in love with my best friend turned wife at this lake so with 35 years of adventures you can see why I am get excited about LP.
This trip was going to be just my family and my parents. We left Denver after a very busy week of work and made the 7 hour drive from Denver. I am always impressed with how my kids travel, they do so well and it is not such a struggle to make a long drive. It was the 4th of July weekend so I was able to have one extra day on the lake and not have to take time away from work.
Mom and Dad were still awake when we arrived and they helped us put the food away and the kids to bed. When we stay in the slips we get water and power and do not have to use any engines or generators. The trade off is that we are not able to park the boat on the beach and sleep on top of the houseboat or have a beach to play on.
The next day and the 2 days after that we spent our time swimming, playing on the boat and playing games. This trip was very special for me because Jackson was able to get up water skiing for his first time. He tried last year and was not able to get up and so when we wanted to try again this year I was really hoping that he would get up. I help him with getting ready and my dad drove the boat and as Jackson yelled “hit it” seconds later he was up like he had done it 100 times before. He fell shortly after and after 3 more attempts he was able to stay up and have a good long ride. The rest of the trip he spent talking about water skiing and what tricks he could learn. I remember when I first learned and how big of a deal it was to me and now to see those same feelings was a pretty big deal for me. Josh tried and was not able so maybe next trip he would get up. One thing that Josh is getting good at is the knee board. He was able to even stand up and ride the board like a surf board by himself. We have two knee boards so Jackson and Josh would ride together and would do tricks and try to splash each other. It was fun to see them enjoying themselves so much. This trip was also the first time that Lexi wanted to ride the kneeboard by herself. I rode double with her and after a few minutes of getting use to it she was up on her knees going side to side and having a great time. She would jump from her board to mine and she even rode on my shoulders.

Jackson, Lexi and Josh having fun on the tubes

Lexi up on the Kneeboard for the first time

Jackson, Josh and Lexi also had a blast on the tubes and the yellow banana. We would tow the tube and the banana together and they would jump from one to the other as the boat was making turns and going over bumps. They had a blast and the days seemed to last only hours. We went touring and went hiking in slot canyons. We soaked in as much of LP as we possibly could in such a short trip and as the last day arrived I was very sad to leave. I was wondering if my best friend turned wife would love the lake as much as I did and over time she did and to now see my kids love it as much as they do brings great joy to me. LP has special powers and for some reason time stands still. The feelings I had as a little sunburned boy have never gone away. I am so very thankful to my parents for give us this place. This magical wonderland that never gets old or boring. I realized this trip that I need to figure out how to keep going to this place with my family. At the end of the month we have our 2nd annual 48 hours of LP fun. My entire family gets together and for 2 straight days we do nothing but play. We let the kids play as long as they want and they get to play with family.

Lexi with Dad on the Kneeboard

Love you Anne,

T

The American Vacation

2010-06-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

The adventure started the second we pulled into long term parking at the airport. The kids we excited, helpful and kind. Lexi looked up at me and said “so we do bus first, then train and then airplane and I get to sit by the window”. “Yep” is all I could come up with since I was trying to get 5 big bags of luggage to the bus so we could start our first Disney World experience.
The West’s, Spittle’s and Walton’s (Ohio group missing 2 families) planned a party in Florida for 8 days. We were going to hit Disney World for the week and also add in a few days on the Florida beaches. The kids were excited since we told them that we rented a home for everyone that had a pool and for the next week their bedtimes were going to be super late.
Magic Kingdom- We spent the first day at Disney Magic Kingdom with the Spittle’s while the West’s were still traveling in and as we arrived that morning the heat index was over 105 and would stay that way all week. The blanket of heat hit me so hard that I could almost eat it. I started to soak my clothes and for the next 9 days this process never changed. The first ride we did as a family was in Frontier land on the Pirates ride. The park was clean and fun and we had only planned on spending a half a day. We hit several other popular rides, had a good time and headed to our rental to get settled and cooled down in the pool.
Beach- The whole group made the first official day a beach day and we headed to St Petersburg for a great day in the ocean. All three kids had a funny face the first time they tasted the salt water. The sand was white, the sky was blue and we for the next 6 hours had a blast building in the sand, and playing in the water.

Magic Kingdom,Epcot,Universal and Animal Kingdom - Each of these parks rocked, We did every popular ride that Disney had to offer. We saw all the shows that we were told would be fun and by the end of each day we had very tired kids. In Epcot we watched the fireworks show, in Magic Kingdom we watched the light parade and Lexi even was able to take all the girls for a birthday dinner with all the Princesses within a 2 mile radius. The favorite ride for us was the Rock and Roll in Universal. Anne and I are not park people, in fact we never have been together on a ride in our 12 years of marriage. Thanks to Dawn she did her first without me. Then at the end of the trip we rode together and it was a blast.
Daytona Beach- We did this beach two times as well having so much fun on the boogie boards and the waves the first time we went back again. We had dinner at Bubba Gump’s and the older kids went to see the new Karate Kid. After getting lost just a bit we made it home just before midnight.
The Ohio group worked to squeeze every ounce of fun that we possible could out of this trip. It is a magical place where kids get along, friendships were renewed and future plans for the next one were started. I loved this trip and was pleased that we went with friends. Trips with friends are for sure the best way to go and I forever will try to rock our family trips this way. I have added the best pictures from this trip. Lexi falling asleep on me after the light show is one of my favorites. She struggled to stay awake for the show and then had no chance after, she was just too tired. Thanks to Jessica for planning the trip. Thanks to everyone for putting up with me and for making us realize how awesome friends really are. Love you all

M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E

2010-06-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

Ah the iconic American trip (vacation is when you are without kids) has finally made it to the Walton home. In anticipation of making the trip the best we could we purchased the "how to" Disney books, we watched the DVD's and as the departure day is finally here we feel good. Jackson and Josh do not need the "make me taller" shoes since they are the required height for all the rides. This was a real concern in our house. Lexi has packed more dresses than shorts and shirts and well Anne and I are just along for the ride. OK, that last statement is not true, I am totally excited to be a kid for the next week. The Waltons are indeed ready to rock Florida.
Jessica Spittle has slaved away for many, many hours as our trip planner and we are on the beach as much as we are in the parks, which is a good call. We are staying in a rented house between all that we want to do. We have the Wests joining us as well and the three families are going to have a ball.
Coach Beth that has written workouts that I will be able to get done and invite others to join in and will allow for them to get done on the beach or at the house or hotel. That is awesome and I am glad that I have her helping me this season.
It has been several years since we took the time to have a family trip to some place other than Lake Powell or Salt Lake City. Our kids have grown and I think that they are at the perfect age to really enjoy this adventure. Work can do without me for a few days and I will be glad to put my Blackberry away for a few days.
Disney here we come!

Bolder Boulder 2010 a spectators view

2010-06-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

Anne and Nicole decided to run the Bolder Boulder which is the nations best 10K and draws between 50-55K participants a year. I am the one that usually races so I spent some time helping plan the event so it would be fun for all.
We decided to us the RTD as the transportation choice up to the race and I would come later with the kids. I took them to the station and they were able to get on the 5:10am bus. I received a call from Anne an hour later telling me that they had checked in and they were in the 8:10 wave start.
The kids were dressed and we were in the car by 6:30am and had smooth sailing until the last 3 miles on Hwy36. With the crowds expected to be over 100,000 strong I was concerned with parking and getting my 3 kids around in time to see Anne and Nicole on the course. To my surprise I was able to find a parking spot close to mile marker 1 and mile 5. We were able to get a great spot just after the mile 1 banner and started to cheer. The kids know how to cheer and they had the cowbells rocking and were giving high 5's to the runners as they came by.

They were having so much fun that 3 different film crews came and took video of the kids. Lexi was interviewed and decided to be shy for the first time in her life!!!

A few minutes later Anne and Nicole came running by and almost missed us. We cheered as they passed by and then made our way to mile number 5. We took our time and had fun watching the never ending wave of people doing this event. Some were running, walking, wearing crazy costumes and all seemed to be having a great time.

Mile 5 was again very easy to get to and find a perfect cheering spot. The enthusiasm at mile 5 versus mile 1 was way different and so we tried to cheer even louder. Jackson and Josh had a photo make it on the Daily Camera and I was able to capture a great shot of the kids giving high 5's.
Anne and Nicole looked awesome as they came by and I was able to capture a pretty good shot myself.

After they passed we made our way up to the stadium and found the girls just a few minutes later. We walked through the expo and had some good eats and snacks.
Making our way back the the car all seemed to be in great spirits. Jackson and Josh were taking the scout motto of doing a good turn daily serious and picked up trash on the way back to the car. We all had a great time and will try to make this a family event next year. I am pleased with how well this event was done and if asked would recommend the Bolder Boulder 10k to anyone that inquires. It will not be your PR race but you will not find a more fun run race either.

Great job girls,

Pelican Fest 2010

2010-05-30T07:41:00.001-07:00

It has been a few years since I race in a sprint triathlon. I have been working on my pace and speed and wanted to have a trial run on a short course to test this effort. My goal for the race was to push a max effort and be able to sustain it for the entire race in each discipline.
The race was in a small town called Windsor in northern Colorado. It was a small local race but in years past has had good attendance from some of the better racers in the state. I liked the look of the race with a point to point on the swim, a fast bike and a seemingly flat run.
I was in the first wave start and lined up on the beach with my heart racing. I was very excited to toe the line today and felt really good at the start. The siren sounded and off we went running through the water. I hit the water and started swimming at a very fast pace. I was able to jump on some feet and was working to keep up with them past the first turn. The feet could not keep a straight line and so when they drifted to the left I held the line and was able to pass just swimming straight. I was alone for the moment and worked on a smooth hard stroke. I was feeling the results of a hard swim from the start. I passed another few guys and then found a second pair of feet to follow. He was a kicker and it was easy to follow him and he kept a straight line so I relaxed just a bit and let him pull me to the finish.
Out of the water and a fast run to my bike rack. I took my goggles and swim cap off with one hand and was able to pull the top of my wetsuit off with ease. I found my rack, dropped my wetsuit top and worked to get the bottom off. Seconds later I was ready to put my sun glasses and helmet on and was running through T-1 holding my bike seat in hand passing swimmers as they finished. The first 4 miles of the bike was up hill and usually I would take it pretty easy but not today. Last week I did hill repeats up Deer Creek and in the 3rd hour on my 3 repeat I was instructed to ride as hard as possible. I kept my HR between 175-190 for over 45 minutes after doing 3 hours or riding already. So to say that I was going to take the bike easy today was not possible. I was to build on the hard swim and take the bike even harder. I slowed down on the bike after a few minutes only to put my shoes on and then I was off again hammering up the hills like I did last week. Usually this time in all my races I am the pretty fast swimmer that gets passed by many faster bikers. So when the first pass came I was OK with it but I was also reminded that I am not that guy anymore. I picked up my tempo and cadence even a bit more and tried to relax my upper body. The first 4 miles went really fast and I was only passed by one. I felt OK about that since in the climb I was able to pass two riders myself. The next 4 miles was down hill and fast. I took a drink and dropped my gears until I had no more to give. I kept a very aggressive pace and what seemed like just a few minutes I was on my last few miles before T-2. Just as we were in our last half mile left on the bike I was passed by a guy that would win my age group. I wanted to stay with him to the end so we hit the dismount line within 3 seconds of each other. I ran faster then normal to my rack and had my helmet off in seconds. I slammed on my shoes, no socks and grabbed my race belt and hat and was off. I made eye contact with the guy that just passed me and he was still working on his transition. Out of T-2 and on the flat run course. The game plan here was to take the first mile pretty fast and then drop it like it hot but today I was racing and I did not have time to take it easy. I was in max run effort out of T-2 and wanted to make the guy work to get past me again. It was just at about a half mile in that he blew by me running what seemed like a low 6 minute mile. I know that I am not that fast and so I watched as he ran away from me. I still had to finish and so I relaxed my upper body and rolled my shoulder forward and put my head visor down and went to work on the last few miles of the race. This course was an out and back so I was able to count how many runners were in front of me in my wave. I could see 5 ahead of me and they were not that far in front of me. I counted one, then two and three were pretty close and then a break. I was approaching the turn around and was passed by the guy that I raced out of T-2 and then one other. I also at the turn checked to see who was trying to chase me down and I had a fairly big gap between me and the next guy. I was pretty tired at this point and had to focus really hard to stay relaxed and in good form. I passed T-2 and was on the last mile of the race. I picked up my effort for the last bit and was definitely at my max effort. I held that all the way to the finish line and as I was approaching the finish shoot I saw the race clock and it had just turned to 1:04. I smiled crossing the line and was very pleased with myself. I wanted to come in somewhere between 1:09-1:11 and I killed that goal.
I cheered in Holly, Julie and John as they came across the finish line. Everyone seemed to have a good day and raced well. After some pancakes and a cookie I went to see the results. I knew that I had a good day and was even more pleased to see that I had taken 2ND in my age group and 14Th overall. It was my fist time ever ranking this high in a race and for the next hour I soaked it up. The awards were really fun for me and for some reason it was a bit easier waiting around for the awards ceremony to start.
I enjoyed this race and would recommend it. I felt safe on the roads, the volunteers were in mass and were good at their jobs. The event was a success and was really fun. Good job Pelican Fest I will return again.
RACE RESULTS:
800 yard swim - 13:12
T-1: 1:32
10 Mile bike: 26:28 22.7MPH
T-2: 1:06
5K Run: 21:52 7:04/Pace
Total: 1:04:08

Rev3 Knoxville TN

2010-05-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

After being on the plane for 45 minutes I was finally able to start relaxing and calm down. The effort that I went through the last 24 hours to get ready for this trip was one of the most difficult challenges work wise that I have ever had. Like many other’s right now work these days are tough to navigate and for me trying to get done what needed to should have taken 2 days and I was able to compress it down to 24 hours and then get most everything packed and ready to go for the trip. Anne took me to the airport and was very eager to make sure that I took this time away from the stresses of work and life and to really work on me. No family to take care of and a very relaxing schedule for my first race weekend.
The 2.5 hour drive from Nashville to Knoxville on I-40 was spectacular and very enjoyable. The colors of green I saw are very uncommon in Denver and it was fun to be spending some time in a state that I have spent very little time in before. The race site was right down town next to the University of Tennessee.
Beth, Michelle, the Wieck’s including Eric, the Beeson’s and Randy and Ross were the familiar faces and friends that I was able to travel with. We spent Friday and Saturday getting ready for the race on Sunday, previewing the course and working out race day logistics. The swim was in a local river with riverboats, bridges and snakes to keep our minds busy. The ride took us through campus and then out into the hills and country of Knoxville. The road was rough in areas and I spent the few days before hoping for a safe ride because I felt it could be a challenge for many. The run was open, fairly flat with lots of shade for my new shaved head. After the preview I was a very excited athlete and ready to toe the line for the first triathlon of the season.
Swim recon the day before the race. Thanks for the Photo's E. Wieck

The race was put on by a company called Rev3 and they came to town as a class act and made us athletes feel like this race was a big deal. I would recommend going to this company’s races, they put on a really great event.
The races early season start later in the morning and so sleeping until 6am was great. We had our transition bags packed and had checked our bikes in the day before. After setting up and taking a quick warm-up run I was left to get my wetsuit on and head to the start.
Getting transition ready for the day

The water was warmer than the air and it was fun to jump into it. I was in the 5th wave and started with all men between 30-39 years old. I took the swim a little faster than I would normally race and was feeling good. The first section went into the rising sun. The river boats, restaurants and fans were fun to swim by and look at every time I took a breath. The first buoy came quick and I started to relax and really focus on swimming smooth and pulling hard. I was able to get into a grove and navigate through traffic without too much effort. My sighting was on and I was able to see the swim exit faster then I felt I usually would in this race distance. I felt fast in the water. Jumping out onto the dock the crowd was cheering loud and I was able to fully get into the race focus on my approach to T1. Over the timing mat and into transition I grabbed my glasses, helmet and bike and then was off. I hit the line out of transition and was able to get on my bike and start working on getting my shoes on. The next few miles were pretty calm and I was feeling good. The first half of the bike is always funny to me since the slow swimmers who are great riders and runners have to get past me. By the first hill I was hitting the effort that I wanted to for the first half of the course. I was getting pasted by the really fast riders and it was fun to have Anthony pass with a word of encouragement. He was rocking and looked to have a good day. I was right since he took 2nd in our 35-39 age group.
Coming back on the bike after 24 miles of riding

The bike course once out of town had 3 good climbs and as I approached the first one I decided to take it very easy and was pleased with how smooth I was able to climb. Climb 2 and 3 were similar. I was fast and unafraid on the downhill’s and were able to pass guys that climbed better than I did, then they had to pass me again. I liked having to make them work to get past me the 2nd time. I saw 3 crashes on the bike course and was glad that I was able to stay safe. Coming into T2 I was able to bring my heart rate down and had a very clean T2.
Start of the run

The first 3 miles of the run I was working to take easier than the last 3 and worked hard at getting calm and finding a good grove. I was able to see Anthony, Sonja, Michelle and Beth on the run course and everyone looked great. I draw energy from seeing friends and teammates during the event and it was especially great to see them working so hard.
The first 2 miles in the run I had been passed by 2 others in my age group. One of them took it out way too fast and I caught him by mile 3. The other came into view at mile 3.5 and by mile 5 I was on his heels. Literally!! I kept it calm and followed him stride for stride for the next mile. I was able to hear his breathing change and as we made the climb to the finish I took my effort way up and passed him. He did not come with me and I was able to keep the effort up.
My very first chase!!!
As I was making the final turn into the finish shoot I heard Sonja, Troy and Michelle yelling my name and encouragements. I passed them with a strong kick and then hit the tunnel where Anthony was. He realized that the volume was strong and the echo was impressive so I went through with a very loud push from him. As I left the echo of the tunnel I head him laughing at how loud he really was. I kept the effort all the way in and finished my first race of the season feeling awesome. The first race of the year went really well for me and I am very pleased. I did not find out any of my times until later in the day and when they came in I was again very pleased and happy. I have several areas that I will be working on the next few months. I will not be taking the bike so casual anymore and will keep the hard swim effort in my races going forward that I had for the first time this race. I look forward to the 2010 race season and I am pleased to be leaving Knoxville the way I am.
Michelle Ford and Sonja killed it in the Elite age group finishing close to one another. They were able to use each other to push themselves and were pleased with the results. Only if the timing would show their results!!!!
Anthony took 2nd in our age group and as I said before looked strong and impressive. Beth took first place in her age group and really killed it. She is so casual about it so it is my opinion that she is a real rock star.
Eric took several hundred pictures and Troy, Annie and Michelle Beeson were the best cheerers.
Traveling home to my family I am tired, happy and in love with racing triathlon all over again. Racing keeps me training and that keeps me healthy, happy and headed in the right direction.
I want to tell my family that allowed my to travel this weekend many hundred thanks. I love you and know when I travel it is not easy but worth it.

Picture with Tara from the Biggest Looser, She Rocks!!

All my love Anne,

T

35 and counting

2010-04-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

35 years old started out with an early AM ride trying to beat the storm that was headed to Denver and would eventually drop a small blanket of spring snow later in the day. I was able to ride with my training partners and friends and we really had a blast. I enjoyed the warm weather at the start and as we started to climb it was fun to be in the mountains seeing snow all around and working to get to the top. The ride for the day was a loop on Wadsworth; a small 4 mile out and back warm-up and then we would head up to climb up to City View road. This is a road that is 3500 feet from the valley floor and has a very spectacular view of the Denver city. Before you get to this view and this road you need to make the climb up Deer Creek road and then up to the School house. The speed up to the switchbacks slow was slow and we were all visiting and when we arrived at the turn off to get to school house Beth decided it was time to get our workout in. We were able to keep a good enough pace for the next 3 miles to catch some of the riders that passed us while we were in our chillaxen pace. One rider (Wearing pink gloves) did not like the fact that we made this move and by the time we hit the switch backs he passed us back again and so I decided since I was leading that I would hold onto his wheel. I dropped it a gear and we were climbing and increasing the speed at the same time and I was approaching my top end. It is early in the season and I really have only started to do high end training over the last two weeks and was not really prepared to push to this level on this day but remember I am now 35 and have to show that I am not getting old often and in what Anne would say "a very stupid manner". I held on to his wheel and heard that this chap in pink gloves was maxing out by his breathing and so I wanted to push past him hard and fast enough that the statement would read "THOU SHALT NOT FOLLOW OR YOU WILL DIE". As I made the move and hit the next turn I was on my own and was alone taking personal inventory. In that inventory I realized I grabbed a box of "stupid" from the shelf and not "smart" and allowed myself to blow up. Not that blowing up is bad except I was only half the way up and only a third of the way done with the ride to the timing and location was not ideal. I slowed down so my HR could come back from the boiling red point where smart people do not go in the middle of a training ride and went into the "try to recover mode". I kept things rolling and within half a mile Sonja, Beth and John came rolling by without pulling the "your an idiot and if it was not your birthday we would leave you" banner out for all to see. Sonja kept a great pace and soon she was gone, soon Beth was gone and yes soon was John. I made it to the top of School house, not in the best shape but I did make it. The few climbs up to City View Road were harder than I have ever, possibly because I had cement for legs and they were done. I rest of the ride was fun, it was mostly down hill and I love to bomb the downhill.
I learned today that I do have a max and this will always win over my ego!!!! I am sure that I will try to prove this theory wrong again sometime when the memory of today has warn off. This is a bit of who I am, I am not proud of this but I has helped me in times past as well.

A quick lunch with the gang and then off to meet the family.

In the pool at 24 Hr is where the kids were swimming. The water felt great and it was fun to see Lexi swim on her own. She is getting better, almost to the point where we will feel good about her able to re-act somewhat if a problem were ever to occur. Again, I should have kept that one in my mind, but really I think we all look at the risk of life and we are glad when our kids make it to the next stage of whatever (Swimming in this story) and can lower the risk for a problem to occur. Josh and Jackson's swimming is greatly improving since the stroke classes and they should become pretty good after their first season of swim team this year.

The rain started shortly after this and we spent the remainder of the day indoors. We had Rusty and Holly over for dinner and the kids as usual had a blast. Anne made German Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate ice cream for desert. This is the only time I like to eat this desert and I love it greatly each year.

Happy birthday to me, I am now 35 and feeling just a little old. I am not sure why of these feeling but I do feel just a pinch old. I will try to beat it out of me with this weeks training, I only have a few weeks until Rev3 in Knoxville, my first Olymipic Triathlon of the year.

Love you Anne,

T

What is in your Workout?

2010-04-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I was able to spend a lot of time outside with ride/run workouts. We even had breakfast on the patio at TNT in Morrison to rub it in a little. I was able to get my first burn on the top of my head and shoulders and it felt great. The sun beating down on us was a welcomed event and I was able to pause and remember why I put up with the winters here in Colorado.
We were able to run from the Morrison Conoco gas station to Alameda and over to Red Rocks. We ran the stairs along with several hundred other runners. We were going up and and over and then down the other side, we ran them in a 2x2 fashion and by the 3rd one I was ready to head towards town. We found a fun single track to run on to get us out of the park and after a few really fun minutes we were in Morrison.
I have been working on my Heart Rate and most of my published workouts give me a detailed goal within the workout. This is new for me and I have enjoyed the change and the challenge that each workout gives. I am able to focus on what I need to get done within the workout and focus on that goal as well as getting the event done. This type of training has allowed me to really enjoy the workouts over the last 2 months which is a mental bonus beyond the joy of exercising. In fact, I believe for me that having several goals that I can accomplish/or get close to, within a workout allows me to have several successes and not just a pass/fail feeling.
I had a tempo run last week that was very specific. I has a 30 min warm-up not to exceed 155BPM. I then had 7x3:00 efforts holding a 175BPM then a 2:00 recovery after each effort. We wanted to see how quick I could recover and if I was able to know and hold the 175BPM. I have to say that it took me 4 efforts to get to know what the felt effort was to match up what the HR monitor was telling me. I ended the workout with a 20 minute slow cool down and at the end I felt better than I remember feeling on a 7 mile run for the fact that I felt good for 9 different reasons. I also was able to learn more about my body in a hard effort and what I can do to get the most out of it. For me the goal of this year is getting stronger, better looking and faster at Olympic distance triathlons. I have also added that I want to experience a more broad range of endurance sports like Xterra, Road Bike Racing and Ultra running. I am starting later this year on my build but my first "A" race is not until June. I am pretty sure that I am putting in the effort in the gym to get stronger and I am signed up for a Road race this weekend and an Xterra in August. However I am very concerned about the getting better looking part. Swimming with my kids last week they were on the edge and I was in the water and they looked down and said "Dad, Your bald spot looks like a heart, a big one". So I am balding, but it is with heart. So much for the looking better part!!! Sorry Anne.
Keep training. Find a reason to workout and when you do make sure that you have a goal beyond just finishing the workout it will be a lot more fun!
See you all at the starting line.

Love you Anne,

T

Hello again, it's been some time

2010-04-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

Hello again,

It has been awhile since we last spoke, I am worried that you may feel that I don't love you anymore. That is as far from the truth as it possibly can be. I have been very busy over the last few weeks and I have so much to tell you. I want to give you the full details but it would require a fire, glass of sweet red wine and some time. We can get to that later but for now how about a snappy summary.

-First left past Kansas:
We moved away from the rental into a home. Yep it really worked out, I love it, the kids love it and Anne really loves it so we are very excited. The new home is kind of cool because I can streatch my arms all the way out and not touch walls, kids or other items that would make me feel confined. We closed on a super snowy Friday a week earlier than planned and needed to get everything moved in by Sunday night since I was traveling on Monday for the next 8 days. I called on freinds and family and you all came. You did not comment about how the rental looked, you just grabbed boxes and stuff and did not stop for 2 days. I LOVE YOU ALL.

-Can I get a bungy cord please
I had my RMSS training camp in Moab, Utah 2 weekends ago and was very excited for this adventure. I have never trained with Cat riders and was excited for the challenge. I can sum up the weekend this way....I went all out on the warm-up ride and lasted just a bit. The snow and rain caused me to have a few conversations with the man upstairs as I was about to fall over frozen. I watched from the Sag car as they rocked a ride that has snow, rain and 80 miles all in the title. I had a fun riding up a mountain until my tire slipped on the snow and I had to turn around to be safe. I really just needed a bungy cord and I could have kept up with the group the entire weekend. Maybe next year I will bring one.
I watched Beth rock a 12 hour Adventure race, Cried watching Sonja run, run, run, run, run, run, run and then run some more. Yep this girl did 100 miles running race in 22 hours. Check out the post
-Training
I am training hard now and the season is about to start and I am really feeling good about my year. I hired a new coach, (Coach Beth) and have loved the last 6 weeks of training that she has given me. I am going to try to do more this year on less, better training and I think it's going to work.
-The Love of my Life
Anne is the rock in our family and keeps me grounded in all the really matters. Her desire for the Kids, me and our family to have good balance is amazing. I find more each day how I really found my perfect mate. Cheers perfect mate, raise you glass high to celebrate the success of our 3 year goal. You amaze me and keep me wanting to be a better man.
-Kids
Lexi is really the boss of the house. She is smart, pretty and 3
Josh just turned 7 and is really getting good at being a 7 year old so early in the year. I love his spirit and drive, I love to watch him because he has a lot of me in him. His smile if captured correctly is the best I have ever seen.
Jackson is keeping us busy trying to stay ahead of us as the smart, kind boy in the family. He loves to tend, workout with Dad and play with his new friends in the new neighborhood. He loves his own clean room and that he is able to keep his half of the bathroom clean. (Josh just cant quite get being clean yet, maybe when he is 8)
-Work
Work is really at a great place right now. I think that I will be working in the new Supply Chain Division this year and will continue to take care of my current wonderful accounts.

Love you Anne,

T

Booo Yaaaa

Sticking my head in the snow

2010-03-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

With all that is going on with national politics I thought I would take a moment to reflect. I was emailed a this photo from my brother John a few weeks ago and finally took a few seconds to take a look at it.

Jackson, Josh and his forever BFF Liv skied this day with John while I was with Anne and Lexi. This year we have gone skiing as a family 14 times. Lexi is practically skiing on her own, stopping on her own and really understanding how to turn and navigate down the hill. The first full run of the year took us just under two hours with 3 "stop and take off your skis and play around" breaks. The last time up we cruised the very same run in under 30 minutes. She was OK with this new sport but not until she was able to show her cousins and aunts and uncles that she is a big 3 year old skier did she really show signs of enjoyment.
One of the last times up I was able to go with Johh and 7 nieces and nephews and have them try to follow me in and out of the trees and jumps. We even found a man made wooden drop off used for mountain bikes in the summer and jumped off ourselves. Parker did it with me and we had a blast.
I love family activities where we get to be together, at such a very cool location. We are just a few hours a way each week to some would say the world best skiing and we have truly loved it this year.
I am not sure if we will get up again as the weather is changing and so are the interest but if not I will cherish this year and remember how much fun it has been. I love that we can go skiing and some days we have all 20 of Walton's together.
Keep the good times rolling.

Love you Anne,

T

134BPM Average for workout

2010-03-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

The month of March has for me has been all about weights and low heart rate training. Last week I had a LSD run for 2 hours where I kept my HR average below 150. This week was a 3 hour brick with 2 hours riding and 1 hours swimming. The goal for the day was to keep all things in check to allow myself to maintain a low HR. I have not been on the bike with a max HR goal for a very long time so it made the day fun for me. I set my alarm to beep and get mad at me past 140BPM. I left home "second left past Kansas" and started my fun epic day. By the time I was 10 minutes into the ride I was freezing and turned around to go and get more clothes.
Shoe covers, Full hooded hat, bigger gloves and my Practical Coaching Riding Jacket was the addition that I put on. Leaving the neighborhood I felt better and more prepared for the bad weather I was riding into. I headed west on Iliff going all the way to the Cherry Creek bike path. The traffic between my home and this point is full of very rude, crappy drivers and really surprises me how bad they treat cyclist. When I hit the bike path the snow started to fall and I was toasty warm and feeling good. My HR stayed in the right zone and I would only have the alarm go off when I was climbing. I took a loop in the Cherry Creek Res. and then jumped out of the park on Parker road. I headed south to the 24 hour fitness at Parker road and Arapahoe road. Walking into the pool I saw the kids getting ready for family swim with mom. I switched from cycling clothes into my swimming gear. I took the next hour chillaxin in the pool to finish my 3 hour brick. It felt great training at such a low HR. I took a look at the results on my Garmin and averaged 134BPM for the 2:12 hour ride. I had a max HR at 170 and burned 1608 calories.
The swim felt really good and I am pleased with the key workout for the week. I look forward to the season this year.
Some interesting points for this workout are as follows:
-25 oz of water for the ride
-1 bar at 170 calories consumed during the whole 3 hour event and I felt strong in the end!
-Started eating in the 3rd hour
-sweat rate was the lowest I have every had. I did not take off a wet base layer at the transition.
-Swim felt very, very smooth and was able to focus on form

This month is a build month and I look forward to my RMSS Cycling training camp in 2 weeks in Moab, Utah.

Tell next time BOOOO YAAAAAAA

Love you Anne,

T

March Madness 2010

2010-03-04T07:19:00.000-08:00

This time of the year we all gear up for Collage basketball and the official theme called March Madness. However while I was at school with Jackson and Josh on "basketball with Dad" night on Monday I had the opportunity to show the boys my awesome basketball skills. First was the free-throw contest (Air ball 3 feet right) the Dad and boys behind me let out a loud laugh. Second was the 3 pointer (I was closer but still air ball). Third, the backwards free-throw and as you can guess I was not much closer than my forwards free-throw. Last and final was the half court throw and I really was pleased that I came close to hitting something. In the end 4 shots with 4 air balls, I believe that I will be traded in for a better version of Dad next time the boys have to take me to school. So, March Madness does not get a lot of play at my home we seem to fill the void with our normal activities except this year. The Walton's are having their own battle to the top and I feel it is kind of fun.

We started out with a low seed and our first round game was against a home in Aurora called "Walden". We were very nervous about this first round of competition and Wednesday we went head to head. Our team of inspectors, Mortgage brokers and real state agents battled for 4 hours and in the end we came home with a first round victory. We are past inspections and heading for an EOM closing!!!!

The Second round started before the first round (Not very good with this story line, it looks to be coming off the tracks already) where I started a diet to bring myself back from the dark side. During the 3 day prep faze I ate Protein and green veggies and 15 hours into it I started to get the pains from sugar withdrawal. I had headaches by the second day and as my co-workers can attest I became a jerk. However, I did make it, I am out of the prep faze and onto weight loss to get me back grounded and eating healthy. It is interesting to see how I have slowly moved away from what I know to be a balanced diet and allowed myself too many special treats. In fact I believe that if you have special treats 2-3 times a day you can't call them special anymore and they become a apart of my HIPS AND BELLY....ERRRRR I mean diet! So I am winning after the first quarter and will let you know how the battle goes for the month. I do not need to loose a large amount of weight this time but I do need to get what I eat and how much of it I eat back in line.

And to butcher this analogy just a little more I will tell you my "final 4" game. I have started to get serious about training again. Anne agrees that I have a very simple path to success on exercise. If I have a race to work towards I train better. If I train better I eat-sleep-act-think better. I am a better person when I a working out and so I have hired a coach again. I have planned a race schedule that has road racing, triathlons, Xterra's and Running races. I started my official schedule towards these events on the first of the month. I look forward to this season with my triathlon friend, my new cycling team RMSS and the assistance of coach BETH TENNANT. I have several friends that have ths same races with different coaches and teams but we are all still hanging together, racing together and training together.
In fact one of the highlights of round one is that we are moving close to Michael and Michelle and I will have a world class triathlete close to our home and a fun training partner with both Michael and Michelle. BOOO YAAAA.

So a pretty good start to March, I am very excited about all that is progressing. I look forward to the ups and downs this month and hope that I will get to the "big dance" I am not sure what that dance will be or what the finals will look like so throw me a firkin bone..

Peace,

Love you Anne,

T

Watching some of 62

2010-02-28T06:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was able to have too cool things happen that I would have never assumed a few years ago I would have the opportunity to be apart of. First was that my long time friend Boone Terry and I were able to run together for the first time ever. He is looking to move his family and life to Denver after being a military dentist for the last 6 years. He currently lives in Georgia and is so blown away every time he visits by the amount of fit, cool people he sees and meets. He has the greatest family and a Very, Very funny wife who blogs like the best of them. Take a look and watch their journey to Denver unfold over the next 90 days. He will need to buy a business, find a home, pack his life, leave the Army for good and move to Denver all within 90 days. Good look!
Second was that we were able to run with Sonja who had her last long run before her 100 mile RUNNING race next month in Moab, Utah. Yesterday in Cherry Creek Sonja and a huge group of friends did 62 miles from early morning to after dark. Boone and I were apart of the first lap and our requested mission was to keep it slow and allow her to get the day set-up and rolling the right way. She did wonderful and as we left I gave her as much BOOOO YAAAAAA as I had for the day and went home to change and go skiing with my family. We had planned on going earlier that day but with the day switch that Sonja made Anne and the kids allowed me to run the first loop and then head up into the Mountains.
We skied at Keystone with Rob, John and Kids and Lexi and Anne Shredded. They are both getting really good and I am pleased to see the progress that they are making each day.

Good job Anne,

Love you all,

Tyler

1:12.5

2010-02-23T06:24:00.001-08:00

Swimming has always been comfortable for me since I was a little boy trying to keep up with my brothers and sisters at Lake Powell. We would swim all day long and I can recall many times that we kept swimming into the night. As a little boy, this was awesome and it still has not changed. I enjoy the fact that I get to swim a few times a week and right now I am rotating between a few masters programs and workouts I create. I have not done much speed work or hard efforts over the last several months. I can recall the painfull workout Sonja said would be FUN. I can think of several words for that workout but not fun. One of the masters I go to is at my Local 24 Hour fitness and I have to say it was a very cool workout. She writes as we go so you really never get to know the total distance or what the next set will look like and I enjoy that challenge. Last night the second set wast 12x100 cut into 3 groups of 4. The last group ended up being 10 seconds faster then the first set and I was able to make each interval. I was really pleased with how tired I felt at the end and was also pleased that I was able to lead the lane to success. We had a cool down and then a 100 for time at the end of the workout. We had just finished swimming 3600 yards and now an all out 100. I took it out slow and really pushed the last 50 and came into the wall feeling totally maxed and proud. I smiled and took a moment to enjoy others pushing hard and we all ended with a 100 cool down.
I like swimming and sometimes leave in to focus on running and riding. It was fun to bring it back and focus on it for a few weeks this past month. I am starting to ramp up the training effort and hopefully will have another good season this year.

To all that read this that are ramping it up yourselves I wish you great success. If you are doing your first 5K or Sprint tri or rocking endurance like an IM or 100 mile running race I wish you great success. We need more of you and I hope to see you on the trails or in the water.

Love you Anne,

T

Mammoth and Keystone

2010-02-07T15:12:00.000-08:00

The boys in the Family wanted to go watch a Mammoth game to see what Lacrosse is all about on a professional level. We took off after dinner on Friday night and headed downtown to the Pepsi Center. We found that not all professional sports require a bank loan to enjoy and after $10 parking we were feeling pretty good. We went to the tickets office and asked for nose bleed and was set back $15.00 for 3 tickets, can you say booo yaaaaa. The center was pretty packed and we sat and watch the small little ant look guys run around throwing a ball. At half time we saw John and Parker Walton chillaxen in a BOX and so we headed down. The Mammoth were getting killed by the 3rd quarter so we took off. Denver has bike taxis and after the game the boys took a quick ride around the block. We finished the night by climbing some rocks until we were kicked off and headed home. I would recommend this to any family on a budget that would like to go to an event at the Pepsi Center and wants to drop less than $50.00 on the night.
GO MAMMOTH

The next day we went skiing at Keystone and I will let the video tell the story. All kids are getting really good and it's really fun to ski with friends and family. Love the Colorado mountains.

Love you Anne

Fun in the Colorado Mountains

2010-01-19T18:16:00.000-08:00

After a really crazy travel schedule Anne and I wanted to have a break and we thought that a quick escape to the Mountains of Colorado was just the ticket. We packed up the family and off we went in the Van (I write in the description of the car so I can continue to work on feeling ok with purchasing a van).
We made it to Frisco, Colorado just as the snow started to fall. I was really excited since our mountains really needs snow. This only lasted a half hour and then it was back to blue skies. We made it to one of my favorite sledding hills a few minutes later. Last year I had to bring up the sleds for Josh and carry Lexi and her sled back up the hill each time they went down. They loved this and wanted to go way more times that I wanted to and by the end I was the most tired. This year all kids were on their own and managed just fine. Even Lexi loved to sled by herself and had a great time.

We spent the night at Christie"s Lodge in Avon and had a great night swimming, getting warm by a real fire in our room and playing board games. Jackson killed us at the games and Josh won the award for having the most fun rolling dice.

The next day Anne and the kids wanted to stay and swim while I spent the morning skiing with John M, Joe W and some friends of his. We started at 8:30am and hit it hard until noon when Anne and kids came and picked me up. We wanted to beat the holiday traffic on I-70 so we came down to the valley early and went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks new movie.

I was glad for the break from work and was thrilled to hang with my family. Here are some of the photos that I liked the best from my new Camera.

Tyler

Home

2010-01-10T09:13:00.000-08:00

After being gone from Denver, my home, my bed since the 22ND of December I am headed home. Tonight I will get to sleep to familiar sounds and of course the familiar comfort of my bed and maybe I will be able to get the temperature where I like it.
Anne and I decided to combine two long trips into one and we left Denver on the 22ND headed for Salt Lake City to spend some time with her family. The second half of that trip included a quick overnight er to LA and then the Miche Bag 2ND annual Conference.
Anne and the kids left me and headed home a week ago and since then I have been working long hours, eating like crap and exercising in majestic hotel fitness rooms. My life in 2009 work wise changed and I am one of those that now travel often. 2010 will continue that way and I am getting better at finding ways to make travel work for me. The thing that I can't seem to figure out yet is how to stay connected with the ones I love most. I call and text often but my schedule does not over lap well with the home schedule. The kids love to tell me about the day but I feel not as connected as I would like and I have a tough time getting quality time with my wife while I am on the road. I will continue to work on this aspect but did not bring it up to complain but to explain why I get so excited on the travel day home. I packed my bags, left my hotel, returned my car and now I have only the flight before I am united with the ones that I love.
Today I am going home and today home is so much more than a place where I live. Home is where I breath the best, where I feel the happiest, where I function most normal (as normal as I CAN be). Home is where my girlfriend, coach, sweetheart and lover is. Home is where my Lexi, Jackson and Josh run and keep the heart beating to a rhythm that is most powerful to me. I get to go home where my soul gets charged and I am able to gain the confidence to do it again; stronger, better, giving it my all cause I can. Home to me is everything and today I arrive.
I love what I do and hope that I can connect with the heartbeat of the real traveler but until then I can operate knowing that I can plug in at home and charge for the next road trip.
I look forward to 2010. I hope that I can become a better person and have the decisions that I make become good ones. I hope I can reach my goals and connect to great people as I work to that end. I see where I want my journey finish and work every day to get there.

I love you Anne,

See you in hours,

T

Solitude Ski Resort....Need I say More!

2010-01-03T18:57:00.000-08:00

I kissed Anne and the kids and watched them drive away from her parents home this morning after an Epic Christmas just as Joe and Christine drove up. I am staying here in Utah for another week for work and so I wanted to ski and Joe and Christine said they would take me to Solitude. We were introduced to each other in Moab, Utah and proudly are part of the FOB's. We had a great day, The weather rocked with blue skies and warm temps.

It was our first time skiing as a group and by the end of the first run I was all smiles because I knew it was going to be a great day. Joe is an awesome skier and host to the mountain. I have not been to Solitude in 15 years so the mountain look very different. We skied almost the entire mountain and made the best of what the conditions would offer. We even made it around to Honeycomb Canyon and worked our way into the back bowls.

I was most impressed with Christine for being such a great sport on terrain that she does not normally ski. Thanks for such a good time and being such great host's.

Tyler

9:21pm MST NYE in Salt Lake City

2009-12-31T20:20:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-07T18:17:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-30T08:29:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-29T09:36:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-19T15:54:00.001-08:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

XC running race in Moab Utah

2009-11-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-18T13:01:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-11T15:16:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

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,

Living a Lake Powell summer

2009-08-18T07:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-07-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

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,

Fun news and the Kids Tri in Highlands Ranch

2009-06-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

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,

A weekend of good training

2009-05-31T16:14:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-05-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2009-04-28T14:33:00.001-07:00

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,

Rage in the Sage 70.3 race report

2009-04-20T16:33:00.000-07:00

This last weekend in Las Vegas kicked of the 2009 triathlon season with a great opener. This is the start of my 3rd season in triathlon and I wanted to get is started with a 1/2 Ironman. Las Vegas was the stage and we had 14 Practical Coaching friends toe the line. The weather once we hit Nevada on Thursday tell we left on Sunday was sunny, hot and enjoyable. A few of us rented a home and we brought our family's. We piled into 4 cars and headed down in a caravan that stayed together.

On Friday we spent some time looking at the course, going to the Hoover Damn, Pasta and Chicken and oh yes the pool and hot tub for the kids were Fridays highlights.

Saturday morning I awoke after a really good sleep and loaded up on 2 eggs and some turkey sausage. I packed shot blocks, hammer gel, perpetuem in 2 bottles, salt tabs and put on my Garmin for the first time in a race.

I was able to get racked in a good spot and settled into race mode for the 20 minutes before I had to start. I was able to see Eric B for the first time in over a year and was pleased to see him racing along with his friends and family. This was also a first for Anne and I since she was racing this day as well.

Everyone that was doing the 70.3 started the same wave (this is not common when you have more than one event running in the same day). I positioned myself in the middle and took a deep breath as the first line took a dive into the 59 degree water. 1.2 miles of swimming was ahead of me and I was pretty jazzed and ready for the day. I did not realize that the water was going to be so cold and it took me more time then I anticipated for my face to get numb and allow my body to relax and get into a smooth flow. The swim was good, I keep a really calm pace and was proud of the effort that I was giving knowing that I had a very long day ahead of me on a very, very hard course. I approached the finish feeling really good and made my way to T1 to get ready for the bike. There was a good steady climb out of T1 to the road and by the time that I made it to the top I was excited to be on my bike and ready to push a good steady pace. I had my watch on and wanted to maintain a HR under 165 for the first half of the bike. The climbs were good and I was able to get into a really steady groove. The bike course was an out and back so 22 miles into the ride I was able to see the leaders starting to head back. As I approached the turn-a-round I saw Steve, Anthony, Nicole H, Keith and Sonja and was able to give smiles and cheers to each of them. The lift that I got from that seems to help me and I love to see friends on the course. On the return of the bike around mile 45 I stared to get sore in my back, knees and arms. I had some things done to my bike last week and did not get much time dialing the fit in and paid the price on the last 25% of the bike course. The last few miles to the end felt good and I was able to get focused on the run.
T2 was quick and I was out and ready to attach 13.1 mile of running on a very, very hard course. Miles 1.3-3.6 were all up hill and it was not easy. I picked a pace after settling down and was cheered on by Andrea finishing up her race. Just past mile 1 I started to climb and slowed down to keep my HR below 175. I kept checking it every 500 yards and was doing good. The last bit was hard and I decided to walk the last 200 yards of the climb. Once on top we had a smooth run through tunnels overlooking Lake Mead and it was very pretty. I believe that we went through 5 tunnels and with the weather so hot it was a great rest from the sun. At mile 6 I started to feel burned out and spent some time walking to give my body a rest, I may have pushed too hard on the day and was now paying a price for that error. The good thing about mile 9-11 was it was all down hill, the bad thing was I was pretty spent and it did not seem to make me feel any better or allow me to go faster. I wanted to finish the day strong and be able to stay out of the med tent so I continued to take things slow, (that means walking again) for mile 12. PC friend Michelle and Beth jumped in the Tahoe and found me at this point and received a very sad I am fine and leave me alone I need to get into the finish and be done with the day.
That time came and the last bit of the race I ran in feeling good. I had friends, family and spectators cheering me in. Jackson and Josh ran through the shoot along with Preston and Logan West with me and the race came to an end. 6:10+ for the day and I have to say I was pretty pleased with what I was able to get done. The human body can get so worn down on race day but my soul seems to get a charge. I was not first, closer to last in my age group but feel motivated to keep exercising, pushing and getting ready for the next race. I look back a few days later and I already miss the thrill of racing and can't wait for the rush to come again.

Anne did very well in her race. She did not put her face in the water during the swim and decided to take a slow swim but be very aggressive on the bike and run. I have been told that she looked great and did a super job. She liked the race and is excited to work on getting over the fear of open water this summer. I love the fact that she is joining me on the journey side by side. Jackson and Josh both told me how excited they are for their races this summer and so I have to end saying that I am a pretty lucky, and a very happy man.

Big BOOOO YAAAAA

Love you Anne,

T

Josh's first Blog post

2009-04-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

Josh knows how to ride his bike. He even crashes sometimes. He likes to ride his bike. He likes his bike. Josh likes Dad and his family so much. My teddy bears are hugging me. I like my huggy bears. They like me. I hope we get a new house with a golf course and it will feel fun to be in our new house. I have fun with Lexi even sometimes she gets hurt and sometimes I get in trouble because I hurt Lexi. But I like my Dad so much. Mom helps me be a good person. I try to be a good person and Mom is a nice Mom because she helps me when I feel sad and I need help. Jackson is a good person, he keeps his room clean and he is nice to me becuase he sometimes plays with me. And he's really nice. And Daddy goes to work sometimes and he stays with us sometimes. I like Jackson, I like Dad, I like Mom, I like Me, I like Lexi, I like Grandma and Grandpa. They are the best people ever. I like Molly the dog, she is black. I will come to your house some time, it will feel fun to be with you Grandma, Grandpa, Molly, David. Andrew and Parker are coming here to night. I like them. They will have fun with me so much fun, fun, fun, fun Andrew and Parker. I like them.

By,

Josh

MY JOSH

2009-03-31T14:43:00.001-07:00

This morning as I was sitting with you at IHOP and most of the day today I have had you on my mind. You are 6 years old today and seeing you enjoying your smile face pancake and your birthday sundae reminded my of many great times that we have had together and as a family. (Don't tell Mom we had Ice Cream for breakfast)

You came into our lives in Cleveland Ohio and from day one we realized that you were going to be a great part of our family. Mom walked around the hospital floor to help get you here before the 1st of April. We were really worried about you having that as a birthday and so as hard as it was Mom and Dad did laps dragging her IV around. You came a few hours later and we were so happy that you had a March 31st birthday. You looked great as a baby and have continued to where you look very handsome today.

I see you growing up, challenging life every day and living life to the fullest and I know that you are going to be a great Man. You are strong, kind and have a great nature about you. You never seem to miss anything, including hitting all walls, doors and anything else that is between you and where your going. You are great at sports, riding bikes, (even if you crash every time) swimming, sliding down the water slides, knee boarding and snow skiing. You are kind to your brother Jackson and as hard as it is to be the middle child you are great with Lexi as well.

Your smile is infectious and can make my day better the second I see it. You make me laugh and life is NEVER DULL when you are around. I miss you when I am gone and feel a void when you are not around. I love the fact that you love to keep going until it is time to stop and then you crash (two gears full speed and stopped). I love that you will try almost anything (food included) even though sometimes is it not fun. I love that you enjoy school and you are doing so well at it. Seeing you read and write and draw is awesome and you are getting so good at it.

Today you are a very big 6 years old. You have many great friends and family that love you. I think that it is neat the you love your family, cousins and aunts and uncles. Libby is a great BFF and it's neat that you like her so much.

I look forward to seeing you grow up, each day making it through life. Keep working hard and know that the best things in life do not come easy. You have to lean to work and then even more important you have to learn to have FUN when you work.

Keep dancing and singing, if you do, when you grow up you will make the boys jealous and the girls want to be your friend. Keep dreaming and know that a lot of dreams come true to those that match effort with desire. Keep being kind to people, you will always be around bullies. That does not mean that you need to become a bullie yourself. The kind people in the world will never be lonely.

And last and most important know that as your Dad I love you. I love you so much that it hurts when I am away. You are one of my best friends and I want to do everything to have it stay that way. I will always be around. I might get old, slow and kind of funny (that is what happened to my Dad) but I love him just the same and hope you will as well in years to come.

Love,

DAD

Flights, 2nd attempts and Pinewood Derby update

2009-03-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

This last week on Thursday the city of Denver was hit with a severe storm warning and by noon most of the city went home to get a head of the storm. My office called and wished me good luck getting home on my afternoon flight to Denver from Los Angles. By noon Southwest canceled my flight and so the travel agent called and moved me to United at 4pm. I finished my lunch with Miche and headed to the airport to find out I was too late and they gave my seat up. I called the travel agent and they then advised me to look at a hotel and wait out the storm until Friday afternoon. I was at the ticket counter of United and it took a few minutes to get my travel agent on the phone.

While I was waiting I noticed that most Denver bound gents were happy to stay in LA for another day. The weather was great, food nice and so I have to say I agree with them. The one thing that I have going for me is "team Walton" I was going to get home, yep I was heading right into the storm. Different than most I know but with what I have at home I had no other place I wanted to be. I was moved to Frontier and we finally landed at 10pm. The roads were not fun in the small Corolla but we got it done. Anne used the snow blower for the first time and made it possible to get up the driveway. I was able to kiss my kids good night and hang with Anne for a few bit before I fell into bed exhausted.

Friday Jackson, Josh and Lexi played out in the snow as I finished the snow blowing. Jackson made the greatest snowman and Josh helped shovel the neighbors driveway and was given a dollar for payment. He was so excited and I think he just enjoyed being outside and being helpful to me and the neighbors.

Today I had the second attempt at running from Deercreek and Wadsworth to the top of Highgrade. It is not that the run is long but you climb a huge amount. The last time I called it a day at 11 miles and felt bad about it. Today I was able to get a second attempt and decided to run at my own pace before the group. I felt great on the first 5 miles and kept things rolling all the way to the top. Sonja, Steve, Keith, Rob and Sara ran all or some of the distance. Stroller man and his side kick Annie were the drivers and helped a lot. I made it to the top and felt great.

This afternoon the boys put another layer of paint on the cars and they are looking awesome. I am very impressed with this experience. Jackson and Josh both have a car and spent time designing the look, choosing the colors and painting them. I am going to let them do most of the work and we will see what happens. I know that having me help is a burden, Jackson and Josh would likely win if Anne and Carolyn helped with the cars. We will see how things end up!!!

All things considered, I have a pretty good life.

Love you Anne,

2009 March Shadow Ride

2009-03-16T10:13:00.001-07:00

Weekend in Denver

2009-03-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

It seems like is has been awhile since I was able to get into a groove and have a normal Denver weekend and now that it happened I am reminded of how fun it really is to live and play here.

This weekend I was able to Run, Ski, Swim and Ride. On Sunday Anne was able to join a group for a ride on the "Shadow Mountain Loop" most of them for the first time. Jackson, Josh, Lexi and I decided to jump on the course and take some pictures of the 50 mile bike ride with 8000+ feet of climbing. I have put of some of my favorite shots and attached the link for all the shots of the day.

Nice job to the first timers and for those that I saw that were not able to speak or look at me or smile the whole ride.

OK so I just published my first slide show with photo bucket so take a look at the next post.

http://s476.photobucket.com/albums/rr130/tylerjwalton/2009%20March%20Shadow%20ride/

Pretty Funny

2009-03-05T18:20:00.000-08:00

So I sometimes think that I am pretty funny and today, this very moment is one of those times. No I am not doing stand up or anything that takes effort, it is this simple.

I am at the airport waiting for my flight to board after being in LA for 9 days straight on a 5 day trip. Yep 2 day old underwear turned inside out to make them fresh again!!!! I received a call today from Steve telling me that the ride that I invited myself on a few days ago with a PC kid was changed and some of my favorite peeps are going to ride. So I am pretty giddy from that fact and that I get to see my wife in 3 hours and my kids in the am.
Next I am sitting on the big Southwest chairs where you can charge and power up items. I have been texting like a mad man with PC friends about tomorrow. I have these huge head phones on (Think princess Leigha ((spelling)) from Star wars hair buns). I am taping my foot to the beat of the music. I decided that I wanted to have my ipod tomorrow and my GPS so I pulled both of them out and have one on each arm rest of this cool chair charging. I know that I needed to hydrate so I went and purchased a huge bottle of water. I am smiling at some of the really funny texts that I am sending out. Funny to me again and that is all that matters Wires everywhere and not a care in the world. I am on the end of the row and I keep smiling at people that pass me by. LAX has a lot of passers Byers.? They do not know what to do when this guy sitting down looks up and gives them a huge grin. Like this :)

I love Airports!!!

Ok now the lady next to me is looking at the screen of my laptop and reading as I am writing this blog which even makes it more funny to me.

Ok that is it.

Pretty funny.

See you in just under 3 hours now Anne,

T

Weekend on the PCH

2009-03-02T09:47:00.001-08:00

This last Monday night I found out that work was crashing down in LA and by Tuesday at noon I was on a plane. I spent the next 4 days working heavy hours to help maintain the level of service my client expected. I missed Anne B-day on Thursday and a very fun plan for a weekend in Downtown Denver. My brother who offered to watch the kids said that he did not care if we were in Denver or LA so Anne jumped on a plane on Friday Evening and headed to LA. I was able to get in a good hard 7 mile run Friday night after a very long week. This was the first real workout all week. Friday night I took Anne to a restaurant called "The Lobster" and we had the greatest meal. Anne tackled a 2lb lobster and I had Tuna. The food was awesome and the restaurant is located right on Santa Monica pier. We had a good time and after dinner crashed because we were both so tired.

Saturday morning we decided to take the convertible that I rented and head down the Pacific Coast Hwy. We spent all of Saturday soaking up the rays in the car, walking on the beach's and strolling on the piers that looked interesting. We were able to watch the surfers at Huntington beach and see Dolphins swim through them. We were able to get in some crazy people watching and both received some bad sunburns. We took a nap in the afternoon and went to a movie at night. The day was very relaxed, just what we both needed. Sunday we went down south to see Julie, Anne's cousin. I was able to pick my first orange off the tree and we headed to Crystal Cove for a beach front brunch. The place that she took us was called the Beach Comber and I had the best omelet that I have had in awhile. The wait was an hour and we just walked up and down the coast and talked. The sound of the ocean was just great.

The party did have to end and I took Anne to the airport after brunch and she headed back home. I decided after feeling sad for an hour to go and get in a long run. I planed a route and was off on a 12 mile run. I took the first half slow and felt really good and so I picked up the second half and had a good time.

I am really missing my kids and family and hope that the time will go by fast and I will be able to get home soon. I really miss the kids and hope that all is well. When Anne went home the kids did not want to leave John and Jen's home which is always a good sign.

Funny or not, I wore my PC visor on Saturday and realized that short hair and a visor without sunblock is a bad idea. I have a red ring on the top of my head and it hurts like crazy. I wish I had a picture because it looks really funny.

Tell next time,

I love you Anne and miss the kids,

T

The good, the bad, the Roadie...

2009-02-21T13:35:00.001-08:00

I love you and then a rush out the door is becoming a way the Walton home operates lately. I am not sure if I like this and on the long drive to the airport I question the value of the trip. Leaving does allow the heart to grow stronger and my heart is very strong right now. I know that I do miss moments that I will never be able to get back. Knowing that I was missing scouts with Jackson and Josh on there first Blue and Gold banquet was very hard for me on this trip. I love that everyone is different in this world and to those that can say “good by” and spend the week on the road week after week is someone that I will never be. I am positive that I would really suck at the “roadie” job and would fail very fast. I love to travel and love to meet new people and doing it under the right circumstances like having my family or friends with me works great. All other options are bad.
I am on a plane right now traveling home and walking down the breeze way to board the plane I listened to a man tell his little girl that he love her and would kiss her good night when he got home. I tell you this because I brook down from missing my family. I am sure the flight attendant thought that I was a pretty silly sight as I found my seat and was wiping tears away. I am sitting alone, sleeping alone and for two nights this week eating alone. The theme ALONE is getting old and I have only been gone for 3 days, what a wimp.
I use to know a friend called training and really miss seeing this friend every day. I only get to see him as much as I get to see my family lately and that’s not much. I expect that I should have stellar days training and last week I stop short of my goal because I was having a very off day. I like it when things go well and I am able to rock rather then survive a workout. I like training with my PC crew and seeing them on a regular basis.
I like the controlled environment of my home. I like it so much that I think that I need to work on getting back to that. I like sleeping in my bed and REALLY like sleeping next to my wife. I like that the house is crazy when I get home and that they need me, I like being that guy and filling that role.
I hope that I can work better, smarter and be more aggressive at protecting my time with the ones that I love. I know that I need to provide and my family needs to have a roof over their heads. I also know that I can do it better and get to where I should be, less travel more at home. I will work hard to travel only when it is necessary and get it done in as little time.
DING…..Ladies and gentlemen please turn your computers off we are getting close to landing and we don’t want to die……
Yea I am close and I get to go home. I am already feeling better and glad that I was able to share just a few more thoughts of Tyler’s Mind.

Miss you Anne, see you in a little while.

Good times in Salt Lake City

2009-02-19T18:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was in the blessed land of SLC, UT seeing the client that has taken most of my time. We have been working with them on a "Live" status for the last few weeks and have had a pretty good time. I have been pulling crazy hours and I am currently in the LAX airport waiting to get home. The cool part is that while I was in SLC they played it cool and told me that my company was doing ok and then they let the cat out of the bag and said that they were very pleased. They are now calling me to get on the plane and I really want to go home so here is the Pic that was taken with the Home Made Dessert that was made for me.

Check them out http://www.michebag.com/

Placing big in the BC snow shoe race

2009-02-09T14:18:00.001-08:00

This past weekend I was able to place 260Th in the Woman's 5K Snow shoe race at Beaver Creek. I am most happy with those results because I was not the last, I was second to last!!!!

How I was placed into that category is for the IT guys to work on but worth a post none the less. Fact of the matter was that I had a blast and was very proud of my results. I did in fact race the MENS 10K and did it in a time of 1:34:45. I was able to improve from the last time that I did this race by over 5 minutes. I was a little under the weather and took a very honest approach to the day and executed the best I possible could have. I was passed by 2 people the whole race and it happened on the top of the mountain with just a few miles left. I was able to get back past one of them and push it to the finish line. I took a break the last 100 feet and did a flip for the cheering PC group. I had a good day and felt that my base building progress is showing. I had a good time in my new Norther Lights Snow shoes and look forward to the next race.

I have been working on getting back on the saddle as far as training goes and felt that the first week of February was a good one. I was able to follow my schedule for the week and did not miss day of training. I hope that the rest of this month stays the course, the activities that I have scheduled look great thanks to Steve and his creative input to my development. PC rocks and I look forward to the big news coming in just over a month. Check out the news on WWW.practicalcoaching.net

Thanks for the day off Anne,

LOL

T

Good by January

2009-02-02T15:06:00.000-08:00

This is my mind and so I feel comfortable saying it as it reads up here(in my head of course). January sucked, it totally sucked and I am really glad that it has gone away. In fact I am comfortable saying that if this January never comes back I would not feel bad or even disappointed. I slept in my bed a total of like 8 days the whole month and most of those were without Anne. Training went to pot!!! I had an account at work suck the entire life out of me and I was turned upside down. My work schedule increased 100% this month and add to it that I was in Las Vegas, Compton CA, Salt Lake City brings the total to 110% crap. Training went away, sickness came, family left, airplane got bumped, food sucked, bed was hard, "3 all nighters" and I am not sure how to get back to the house that I make a mortgage payment on. Does anyone know where Arthur lane is in Denver CO?

I FEEL BETTER.......

February is here and I had a normal nights sleep last night in my own bed. I have had a pretty good day and I have no work travel on the schedule. (not to say that it might come up quick) I am feeling calm today and feeling better. I am going to follow the training schedule that is written for me starting tomorrow and I am proud to say I am glad to be here. I hope that none of you ever meet the January that I did or have him/her (I am not sure of the sex, nor do I care) stay for 31 Long days. Yep, I am glad to be here. Really glad to be here.

I missed the Superbowl and don't care!
Who outs themselves like that, self....stop writing stuff like that.

OK going back to my normal work because I feel normal. Yea!!!!

MUCH BETTER

Anne, how about a date every night in Feb? You in?

T

6K nonstop swim YEP 4 Miles baby!!!!

2009-01-26T18:36:00.000-08:00

This weekend I was able to reach beyond my longest swim with the PC crew and it felt great. Coach Steve and Andrea rented a 50M pool for us and all we had to do was show up, jump in and swim 60 laps nonstop. I was pretty excited to swim 4 miles and started with a running start. Beth and I took a "game on" photo and then we started.

I decided that I would swim in the same lane with Andrea, Sonja, and Keith. I lead the lane and started at a very cautions pace. I decided that I would time myself and record after each 500 Meters so I could keep count. We came in at a 9:06 for the first 500m and the last was 9:35. We held a great pace the whole time and I was able to swap leading with Sonja for most of all the swim. She ended up swimming to the wall with me and we touched the wall at the same time, BOOO YAAAA. We were able to get the swim done in less than 2 hours and had a good time doing it. I was pleased that I was able to swim pretty consistent and did not feel the fatigue until the last 1000. Beth jumped in my lane and made me laugh so hard it took me 200M to stop laughing. I had a good time catching up with everyone since I had been traveling so much the past month. I am having a really good time with this winter season and I like the results.

To those that are really paying attention I am not sick, I have cut my hair short on purpose and like it so stop sending me "get well" emails. NOT FUNNY!!!!!

Boo yaaaa

Miss you Anne, see you in a few days.

Where in the World is Tyler

2009-01-23T11:04:00.001-08:00

Being away is not fun, OK so maybe kind of fun sometimes. The last few weeks I have been sick which made me feel like the kid that was forced to stay inside on a snow day watching the neighbor kids build snowmen.
Followed up by a very cool family trip to Keystone. I broke my phone on that trip and was out of contact, reach and loved every minute of it. I was able to hang with some great friends for 4 days of SUN, FUN and my woMAN. ( I am listening to Itunes as I write and felt I needed to drop a little rhyming. I love making new playlist).
I am now in Compton California for the rest of the week. Next week I get to go to Salt Lake City and really have to say WHERE IN THE WORLD IS TYLER. I was able to get in a very solid run this morning N-LA and had a good time running by a local collage. I love running at low elevation and feel great all day long. I hope to be home in DEN in the next 24 hours and able to play with the PC gang the weekend, I just looked at the hot sheet and it rocks.

Just like WALDO, WHERE IN THE WORLD IS TYLER!!!!!

Last,

How about a big BOOO YAAAAA

Love you Anne, have safe travels and I will see you soon.

T

Pictures to highlight the last few weeks

2009-01-01T17:20:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before Christmas and all I really was trying to do was tell a bed time story so Santa could come. "But No" was the response from the kids we have to lay down like we are in bed.

The Christmas Program was a big success for all the children. We have a Shepard(Jackson) a Joseph(Josh) and one of the Kings bearing gifts (Lexi).

Lexi was given a princess dress up as a gift and loved it all Christmas Day long, and the next day and the next, ect....

Everyone loves to take this time of year to send the best family picture that they can take or have taken. We have felt in years past that we did not need to participate with this tradition but this year we were compelled to try. We took 146 pictures and most if not all ended up like the ones below. Maybe our family will never be able to make it to the ranks of the photofamous. We will carry this burden as best as we can, but for now take a look at the "not so hot shots"

LOOK UP LEXI "PLEASE"

EVERYONE LOOK AT MOM

LETS PLAY "PEEK-A-BOO" LATER LEXI, JUST SMILE PLEASE!!!!!

LEXI STOP PINCHING THE BOYS AND SMILE AND LOOK OVER HERE, I MEAN IT!!!

THE KIDS DON'T LOOK TO BAD BEHIND BARS. MAYBE THIS WILL BE IN THEIR FUTURE, WHO KNOW WITH PARENTS LIKE ANNE AND ME.

JOSH TAKE YOUR HANDS OUT OF YOUR POCKETS, LEXI PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN, JACKSON PLEASE ACT LIKE YOUR HAVING FUN AND SMILE :)

WE ARE NOT DONE YET, WE HAVE ONLY TAKEN 140 PICTURES. LEAVE THE DUCKS ALONE PLEASE!!!!!

COME BACK LEXI!!!!

AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, 146 SHOTS LATER YOU JUST MIGHT GET LUCKY......

I SAY WE GO WITH THIS ONE.

LOVE YOU ANNE,

The Day after Christmas

2008-12-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

All is well in the Walton home the day after Christmas. We are at Keystone for the day and I am in the car with Lexi as she takes her nap. Anne, Jackson, Josh are on the mountain with John and Jens family and Paul's Family. They are having a great time. Anne is doing better on her 2ND day skiing and Josh is as well. Lexi was cold today so we were only able to make 2 runs before we hit the lodge for lunch and then the car for nap time.

Christmas day was one of the better Christmas days that I have had in a few years. The kids were excited about Santa Clause and were really kind to each other the past few week. We had a good time opening presents and Anne totally hooked me up with a new Ipod and clothes. We had the family over for a brunch and just hanging out. Paul, R & H, J & J all came over for some part of the day. We ate well, played games and because the boys were given Nintendo DS's we did not see them for over 4 hours while they played with cousins. The day was very mellow and really fun, I relaxed and found great peace in my home while we had 20+ running and playing. I love the holidays!!!
Christmas night Anne and I have a weird tradition of going out for Chinese food and getting out of the home. We have done it every year since we were married and now we have friends and family join us.

On Christmas Eve we went to J & J home for dinner and program. We had a very special call from my Mom and Dad who woke up at 3am in Lebanon to call us all and wish us a merry Christmas. That call was bitter sweet since it was so nice to talk to them and bitter because I really missed them this year. As a huge family we had so much going on and they would have had a blast being around. They get home in September if you talk to my Mom and November if you talk to my Dad. What ever time it is, they will be home for the holidays next year.

Christmas Eve I had a 10 mile run to get done. I got a crazy idea of having everyone join me and ride bikes or run with me on the 2ND half of the run which was all down hill. We ended up having Paul run, Anne pull Lexi and Josh's BFF Libby in the Burley. Jenn, Hayley, Andrew, Parker, Becca, Jackson, Josh and Max all were on bikes. We had a blast and I was able to get a good workout in. The run was from 85 in Castle Rock to My home in HR. 10.80 miles and I did it with an average HR of 154, it was an LSD run and I did good and felt great. After that we went to the Rec center for swimming, rock climbing, and playing around. The day was busy and really fun.

If you could not tell by the flavor of the post it has been a pretty good few days, take a look as some of the Christmas video I put on my blog under Christmas.

Tell next time,

Love you Anne,

T

Little update on my Journey

2008-12-21T13:05:00.000-08:00

This weekend was one filled with some great stuff, I want to take you for a little ride so sit back and read on:

Friday 7:45- Troy and Sonja, Michelle and Michael, Jordan and Amy and Paul B and I took off for a day of skiing at Vail for the first time as a group. This was one of the best days I have had on the slopes, we had great skiers and great people and the snow was awesome. The day ended way too quick and we were on our way home left to reflect on the sweet turns, great powder and fun, fun company.

Friday 7:00pm Anne decides that her cold is getting worse and decides to cancel on her long training run for tomorrow. We were going to run 43 miles that day as a family, (Anne 15.2 and me 26.6).

Saturday 8:00am I was a little sad with the way the day started being without Anne but put my game face on, kissed the kids and left at 9am to meet the group.

History- August 2007 I started to train for St George Marathon and on my 24 mile long run I was forced to stop at 18 due to IT band problems and spent the next 2 months getting back to being able to run 6 miles. Fast forward 14 months of training and working on form it was time to start thinking about going long again. Part of the Practical Coaching group is going very long and so we are invited to help out. Saturday the 20Th of December they wanted to run from Highlands Ranch to Pearl Street Boulder a total of 46.6 miles. The longest I have done since 2007 was 16 but I said it's time to get that monkey off my back and I was in for 26.6 (Over Marathon distance).

Saturday 10:10 I pick up Steve, Sonja and Tony at Morrison and E470. We have a climb right off the bat and I decided that yesterdays big powder day was going to make today just a little harder. The weather was 21 degrees when I started and so I was dressed warm. We started a pace line and did not talk much for the first 8 miles.

11:30 ish. We pick up 3 more runners Keith, Nicole and Beth and they mix up the group and so conversation came back and so did the smiles. I was at 7.5 miles and starting to hurt a bit in the legs and I new that I was running a high HR so on a huge hill I took to walking to bring my HR down and take a break. Beth notices me break and takes a turn around and at that moment she became my guide for the rest of the day. I hit my first low as I was climbing and started to doubt the distance for the day at this point. I was being dumpy and the pain was getting worse. I tried to get back to center and continue on and did so pretty fast. We finished the hill and had a flat few miles before we started to drop into Boulder.

16 miles- After catching back up to the group and leaving early out of the stop I took off to get a few moments to myself to bring back happy Tyler. It did not take them long to catch me and after running with them for a few miles we hit another big hill and I took to the back again. And you know what, so did Beth. She circled around and started asking for the " how bad is it report". I tried to make it sound really bad but by the time I was finished she started to laugh. She said I am running to well to be that bad so get up. She talked me into relaxing and getting my breathing back to my stomach and we hit mile 18.5 going down hill. That is my longest run that I have every had and kept running.

Last aid station 21 mile ish?- We picked up John, I put on another set of layers and off we went. We were just a few minutes behind the large group and I new that I was going to finish my day. At mile 23 I hit my biggest low and when I told Beth that I was really down she went into this long speech about the fact that I could not be low because of all the things I was. She talked about Anne, family, work, friends and who I am. I broke into tears hearing he talk about me this way, what a great friend she is. We keep on going and I kept lifting my feet and keeping my head up and soon we stopped climbing. We made it to the last hill of the day and then it was all down hill.

26 miles- I did not have time to enjoy the fact that I ran for 26 miles and before long I was past 26.2 the official Marathon Distance. Off in the distance I could see the group and I was filled with emotion as I ran the last 1/2 mile.

500 yards to Pearl Street- We pass the group that had finished just a few minutes before and was cheered to the end. No finish shoot, no medal, not even a bottle of water just a victory for me to enjoy. Normal people on the mall passing us did not understand what I had just done, but I did. I ran 26.58 miles on a day that was 22 degrees. It was just a training run, not for a particular race of anything just for that fact that it was out their to be done. The monkey was taken off my back and place on the next soul to battle with. Today was my day and I did it.

26.58- Hugs, cheers, tears, wonderful comments that I will kept for life, all in a days training run. My journey will go on and I look forward to the next challenge, it is kind of funny that it just happened to be the very next day. I called Anne just as soon as I could warm up and in her "no voice" said how proud of me she was. My day was complete.

Sunday- 5am wake up for long swim workout.

6:13am- The 5000 meter non-stop swim started. That is 3.1 Miles or a 5K swim. I started slow and realized my legs were not going to be much help on this swim. I had Steve and Tony in my lane and we as a lane pulled each other along. 1:38 minutes later I was done with swimming the longest I have ever swam non stop in a pool. I was able to relax and settle in and have a great time. I even shut my mind down a little and just swam.

The weekend was huge. The weekend was what I needed because I can now run long anywhere, anytime. I can swim long if I want to and yes, I do want to more times than not. I am on a Journey and loving it. I am not sure where I will go next, just check back and see.

Love you Anne,

T

Sorry no Pic, but I might have some video later so check back soon.