Pikes Peak Ascent

This last weekend, George completed another half-marathon. This half-marathon is not for the feint of heart or physically weak. A few facts about the event:

• Elevation gain (start to summit) is 7,815' (2,382 meters)
• The start is at 6,300' (1,920m) and the summit is 14,115' (4,302m).
  
• The Ascent has very few stretches which are not going uphill with the average percent grade being 11%.
• The elevation thins the oxygen levels and the quantity of O2 drops.
• At the summit, air density is 43% less than at sea level.
• The weather is unpredictable. Chilling rain, snow and sleet showers, high winds and dramatic temperature changes frequently occur in August.
• The possibility of lightning poses the single greatest threat to runners, especially above treeline. Race officials have turned people back due to lightning.

With that being said, George did great! He ran up a mountain and survived to tell the tale!

Near the starting line. You can see Pikes Peak in the background, about 13 miles to the summit.

Before the race and nervously anticipating the most physically challenging run he's ever encountered.

Victory! Man vs. Mountain, George won!

Check out the salt collection he's got going there!

A map of the course.

Another Marathon Weekend

Wow! What a crazy weekend! We had a Super weekend, with events such as going to the Rexburg Temple, visiting with family, a half-marathon, a resort stay in West Yellowstone, a trip to Yellowstone National Park, and Father's Day. It really was crazy but lots of fun! I don't know if I recommend this type of weekend to anyone with small children though! Even though the kids were troopers, there were still moments of nonstop whining and crying. I can't blame them. We did drive 5.5 hours each way on Friday and Sunday, and because George and I are a bit stubborn, we barely stopped to stretch our legs.

So we pulled into town for the Teton Dam Half-Marathon Friday night around 6 pm. George and I went to the temple at 7 pm while my sister watched the kids (thanks again Cait). After the temple, we picked up some food and supplies and headed over to her place to eat. We barely left her place before 11 pm, barely fell asleep before midnight, and woke up bright and early the next morning around 6-ish. George ran a great race finishing 2nd in his age division and 12th overall out of an enormous pool of 346 runners with a time of 1:33.23. He even grabbed himself two medals!

Shortly after the race and awards ceremony, we were off to West Yellowstone. We stayed at a cushy resort, but only for one night. We went swimming for the first time with both boys. Dallin seems to take better to the water than Jaren did at the same age. Then we went to eat pizza out on the town. A little advice: do not order pizza in a tourist town (you're thinking "duh"). We paid $28 for a tiny pizza that was supposed to be medium sized!

The next morning, I cooked George some breakfast for Father's Day, we packed up our stuff back in the car and we took off to see Yellowstone National Park. We really just wanted to see Old Faithful, but we ended up stopping with all the other tourists to take pictures of bald eagles, buffalo, elk, and all the other wildlife. We also stopped at a few geysers and pools before we made it to see Old Faithful. When we finally saw the old gal blow it was pretty cool, but she taught us a lesson on patience. We waited forever and received some nice sunburns to prove it! After all of that fun and adventure, we took the scenic route home and enjoyed all the parts of Montana that we've been missing out on all these years.

Oh and if you didn't catch on to our other news, reread all the bold! It's a shock to us too!

Half-Marathon

Well, we did it! George and I ran a half-marathon together, and despite a few injuries or nagging pains, we finished our half-marathon in an unofficial time of 1:49. Our official time is about a minute slower because we went through the wrong finish chute and the timing chip accepted the latter finish time [insert "sigh" here]. The scenery was beautiful, the weather warm and sunny in the right spots, and until mile 10, we were running two minutes faster than my goal time. George ran along beside me for support. The last 1.5 to 2 miles were difficult for me and we ended up slowing down and finished four minutes slower than my goal time. Oh well, maybe next time. All in all, I am proud of myself and proud of George for sticking by my side and encouraging me to catch the "teeny boppers" who eluded me to the very end.

At the end of the race, we were interviewed by a Helena newspaper. You can check out our interview here. It's kind of cool to be quoted, if even for a sentence or two.

Check that one off the list

George completed his first marathon yesterday in 3 hours 41 minutes. It took a lot out of him, but he finished and now we can say that he has completed a marathon. He has lived a full life; now he can die. Just kidding. He practically did die after that race. After seeing him cross the finish line with lactic acid face (which closely resembles bitter beer face) and limp arms and wobbly legs, I don't know if I want to run a marathon. Afterall, running a marathon is highly overrated, right Steve?