Where's Doris?

My detailed report to follow soon....I promise!

Disneyland Half and Cupcakes

The Disneyland Half Marathon held September 5, 2010. This morning started off by realizing I had set my alarm for 4:30 p.m. It's a wonder I didn't miss the whole darn thing! We stayed at the Annabella on Katella located just a short distance to the start line...good thing... My quest for my Coast to Coast medal was close to being underway.



Mickey and Minnie were there to wish all 14,000 of us well. They said all states were
represented plus 60 countries. It was quite a crew. I was corraled with group C. The weather couldn't have been better. Mid 60's.


Me and Mike...one of my favorite characters! I had a little drama on Katella prior to entering the park. That's why my number is hanging like it is. Those dumb little bumps they put on the lines in the road in California got me. I turfed it, hard... I'm sure it was a perfect volleyball dive...That's why my number is hanging like it is. I have a skinned elbow and knees to prove it. Hurt my pride the most...



My Star Wars buddies. They are a little intimidating!

I like Mary Poppins. Makes me want to sing supercalifragilisticexpaliosuous...sp?? Anyway, you get the idea...

I had this picture taken for the kids. Pretty cool, hu?

This shows the big light show they now have going on.

Toward the end we ran around field of the A's stadium. I even made the jumbotron! This was pretty dang fun.

Now for the postrace celebration we went and found Sprinkles. These are the tastiest cupcakes I've had. And had again the next day. In fact, we might just make another stop today. And you can bet we've discussed how we could potentially get them home on the plane, or shipped, or something.... although probably not likely. So far my favorite is the chocolate filled marshmellow. Yum. Pictured top left.
I just realized I don't have a photo of my medals. I'll have to save that for another post....

Just turn the car off!

This week I had the pleasure of driving one of these cars to Logan and back for work. It wasn't my first experience in driving a Prius. No, it was my second...I was experienced, or so I thought. The Prius belongs to the motor pool. Now the first time I took this car, I got a little driving lesson from the car pool man on how to turn it on and off, how not to expect any noise at a stop light unless the air conditioner is on because the car is silent, how to put the car in gear and how to take it out of gear. How the break needs to be pressed in order for the car to start when you push the "power" button. How there is no key, just a thing you keep in your pocket or bag. These were all very useful instructions.


Now fast forward to this week. I had experience, right? No lesson necessary for me because I'd driven this thing before. Starting the car and getting it in gear were no problem. Off I went. The problem arose when I needed to turn it off. That's when the difference between the "power" button and the "park" button become very dim. You see, both start with "P", and both are relatively close together. Do you see where I'm headed? I just figured when I saw the "P" for Park, it meant power., it wouldn't turn the dumb thing off... Bottom line is, it wasn't anything the owners manual couldn't explain... duh!

Randomness that made me smile...

The girl who stopped in front of the house when driving by to ask if we'd seen a white dog with orange spots. How many white dogs with orange spots have you seen?

The man I pulled up next to at a stop light in a big white suburban. He was playing a harmonica. Who does that?

Going on a tin foil dinner outing and realizing once there we forgot the plates... Guess what, we begged some off our fellow campground neighbors. Worked quite nicely. In fact, it was much better than last time when I forgot the charcoal and had to drive back to Dan's to buy another bag. Can't wait to see what we forget next time. It's always an adventure.

Just get in there....I mean it!

So I feel pretty strongly about this. If you are due for your mammo, it's time to get in there and get it done. Since running Wasatch Back not too many weeks ago, one of the women on our team was diagnosed with breast cancer. So hard to believe and yet, thankfully, she has been diligent about getting an annual mammo. They think everything was caught in time. She's strong, fit, and will beat it. Just like so many other brave women.... My Mom, for instance, is a survivor of 30 plus years. Now, call and make your appointment. Just mentally prepare and you'll do just fine.

Time for the Big Lake

It's time to go to Lake Powell. The annual voyage is about to take place. I have my stuff in a pile on the floor getting ready to go. This is one of my most favorite places on earth. Why you ask? Oh, there's lot of reasons...

1. It's hot and sunny, it's beautiful

2. Green water, blue sky, red rocks

3. Away from phones

4. Away from computers

5. Bras are optional

6. "Tight like unto a dish"

7. Eating vacation food

8. I'm the Diet Coke bartender

9. No make-up

10. You can ski if you want, nap if you want to

11. You're on Lake Powell time

12. Family and friends

I'm not sure how many times I've been to Lake Powell. We used to name the different places we camped. Thankfully now we can name where the houseboat pulls up to the beach. We had some doozy camps. To mention one...Poop Mountain. That was also the trip there wasn't any Diet Coke. Don't worry, we still had great time. I'm glad to be included in this adventure again this year.

Biking vs. Running

I love them both. There's just never enough time to fit everything in. This weekend we (Mel, Marianne and me) took the bikes to Morgan to do a 50 miler or so. It was great. We started at the high school, road up and around East Canyon Reservoir, and back to Morgan for a loop around the valley. It was such a fun day. I love summer and riding my bike. I've often said when I'm on my bike and pass a runner I wish I was running. And, when I'm running and see someone on a bike, I wish I was riding. This was one of my favorite riding days...definitely will need to do it again.

Wasatch Back Relay 2010 - Part 2

A few more random pictures from the Wasatch Back experience.


I'm not sure how many more fitness activities the little town of Kamus could support. Biking and Ragnar all in one day!!

This is Doris headed up Avon Pass. It was a good climb. There was lots of dust from the big cars passing. My favorite new accessory is a wet red bandana tied around my neck. It totally saved me from the heat!

Sleeping at the park in Oakley. Might be better called a "power nap." I climbed in my bag at 4:20 a.m. and woke at 7:30. From where I slept I could see runners taking off from the transition. I saw a guy carrying skis and poles. Just didn't get that one. Kind of like the guy who carried a surf board. Things that make you say hmmmm.

The car decorations were better than the 4th of July parade. I mean it. I was completed entertained by the large cars such as the one above.

For those Biggest Looser Fans: Me and Sione at the start line. He introduced the teams at the start line and did the count down. Editorial comment: He is solid as a rock!

Wasatch Back Relay 2010 - Part 1

Earlier this week I got an email asking for a favor. The favor was to to fill in for a friend who was unexpectly not able to run the relay. I was glad to be asked, and glad to help out this friend who I've known and run with since my first marathon. I've wanted to do Wasatch Back for a while now. Those that have done it talk about how much fun it is and how little sleep you get. Both are true statements.

I was in Van 1 with Bob, Shawnie, Teresa, Alyson and Chris. "Bob, he's the Man" was our driver for the majority of the 188.8 miles that starts in Logan and finishes in Park City. I was with these friends for 36 hours with about 3.5 hours sleep. As you can tell by what's written on the suburban, it was important for each of us to disclose our alliance to either Red or Blue. My alligence goes with Red. One side of the surbaban was dedicated to the Utes, the other to BYU. Having anything blue with the Y symbol on Bob's subruban was difficult for him...


Some highlights:

• The front seat will eat anything (Bob and Chris)
• I like homemade wheat bread (Thanks Teresa!)
• I ran past my high school coach's house at about 1:30 am in Morgan. She wasn't out cheering for me. Not even a friendship light.
• Saw my cousins (Marty, Sheri and Jason) at Snow Basin and Mountain Green. They said, "I can't believe you are doing this". Later figured out they meant on such short notice...
• People are creative with team names and their decorating abilities on cars.
• I would do this again.
• I wouldn't be a good homeless person living out of public bathrooms and sleeping in parks.
• I have great running buddies.
• Lasagna is a great mid-relay dinner.
• Next time, I'd like a little notice to be able to train. Especially if I have Avon Pass to climb again.
• Sione from Biggest Looser a couple seasons back is "solid as a rock". He was at the start line.
• I just love diet coke and chocolate milk after a run.
• Granny's in Heber City makes a great grasshopper milkshake.

Below are a few pictures of our Team. Thanks everyone for a great time. I loved having the opportunity to be a part of the group.

Lake Tahoe

Yip, I was there this weekend. My first trip to Tahoe and, trust me, there will be others. What a beautiful place. I was invited by some friends from work to join them in doing the Tahoe Relay. This relay has been done the longest of any other relays in the US. 72 miles plus some change around the lake. The lake is so blue, and so was the sky! It was such a beautiful day. Much better than at home where it was cold and rainey. Anyway, I hope you enjoy some of the landscape pictures I took while riding in the "party bus" around the lake supporting our relay team. More details on the relay later.

Little Red 2010

Ready or not, here we come! The Flat Tireds are making another appearance. I am so looking forward to a fun bike ride in beautiful Cache County. It is beautiful there right now. How do I know, you ask? I've been there twice this week already. It's going to be a perfect day for a ride. I seriously can't wait. Departure time: 12:30 p.m. tomorrow. Then to Shivers for iced beverages. After that, there just isn't anyway to stop us.

It's one of those days when...

So this morning I promised one of my running buddies I would meet her outside my house at 5:30 a.m. Nothing too unusual about that only that at 5:30 on the nose I realized what I could hear was my alarm. Ahhhhhh! The night before I piled my running clothes in a heap on the floor where I step out of bed. So I jump out of bed and hurriedly got dressed, grabbed my shoes, and got out the door. She was ready to start banging on windows to wake the dead. I got my shoes on and we headed up the street when something felt weird, just not quite right. It was my shorts. I thought while talking out loud, "I think my shorts are on backwards." I pulled out the wasteband and sure enough the tags proved it...on backwards. It was a good laugh. I got things switched around standing in the garage. This whole little scenario reminded me of a dream I had years ago. Somehow I ran with my bra on backwards. Now that would really be a problem.

And the winner is...

Michael. Way to go. Quite the transformation... I have to say I didn't like him much at the first of the season, but he did win me over. And I'm happy for Ashley also. For a while I didn't think she would make it. The Red Team was still full of it when Melissa said it was never about the money. What a bunch of bunk! I don't think Bob and Jillian believed her either; and what an attitude. I find the show entertaining and inspiring to see people tranform and find themselves. Okay, enough of this. The season is over.

The Finale

Our house has been faithfully watching this season of the Biggest Looser every Tuesday night. Now it's down to the finale and I sure hope the right person wins.... Logically, it should be pink or white since they have the most pounds left to loose. I hope it's not gray. He is way to into it for the money and won't keep his weight off long term. Daris, of the orange team, would be alright. One comment about him. He ran his first marathon faster than any of the ones I've run so I can't slam him too hard. And it's not his fault he has a stupid name. So really, anyone but gray. That's my vote and I'm sticking to it.

Goldilocks Ride and Lesson Learned

On May 8th I rode the Goldilocks 60 miler. It's taken me a couple of weeks to write about this. Not because the ride wasn't great, it was. It started in Herriman, wound it's way to Day Break via Backus Highway, Riverton, Camp Williams, Thanksgiving Point, Point of the Mountain, back to Riverton, Day Break, into West Jordan and back to Herriman. There were a fair amount of hills, but none that couldn't be overcome. All-in-all it was a great day for a ride.

We left home at 7:30am with our riding groupies to be ready for an 8:30 start. The weather even cooperated. We met my sister and her girls there and off we went. Some doing 30, others ended up doing 40 something and we did 60 something. Everything was going along just fine until I got a flat at about mile 50. I'd picked up a staple somewhere along the road. Needless to say, it wasn't too compatible with my rear tire. So, we fixed it, filled it up, and off we went. (Did I make that sound like it was no big deal?)

Anyhow, we finished the ride and all was well. Made plans to do it again next year and I went to get the car to load up the bikes. Sigh. When I went to pull out my car keys and clicker they weren't in my jersey pocket. Now this is a problem... When I got back over to where Mel and the bikes were waiting and explained what was going I decided to phone up AAA.

They were more than happy to send someone upon renewing my expired membership of 3/31/2010. In order to do that they just needed a credit card. Guess what? It was locked inside my car. This is where my breakdown began. Sister bailed me out with her credit card and amongst ordering bigger t-shirts for the event told me she would take me wherever I needed to go. At that moment, I didn't really care if I got a bigger t-shirt and I'm pretty sure everyone at the rodeo grounds heard me say it...sorry sister. Anyway, AAA was on their way to get us into my car to get the house keys so Sister could then drive us to Holladay to then get the the spare car key and return to Herriman to finally unlock the car and drive home.

In the meantime, family drove to look for the lost keys at Thanksgiving Point with no luck in finding them. The short of this long story is, from now on Mel will be the keeper of the car keys or I will zip them in my trunk on my bike. Lesson learned. We got home about 7:30 p.m. still wearing our spandex... On Monday I made a trip to Larry Miller Honda and purchased a new clicker for $74.

The Fat Game

Ever played the Fat Game? Well, it's being played pretty darn well at our house this Sunday afternoon. I've eaten everything in sight (this is no exaggeration) and just had a craving for Parmesan popcorn. It's being popped this second. I don't want to go for a walk. It's raining. I don't want to play Wii Fit. It would take too much energy. All I want to do is keep my arss planted on the couch and eat some more. If my theory works, by tomorrow morning I'll feel so fat, I'll want to get out and run. Time will tell...

Been in a Funk...

Okay, the last little while I've kind of been in a funk. Not really sure what's up, or why... But I'm out of it now and here's why.

I got a phone call at work a couple of days ago just after I'd come out of a meeting. The phone call was to find out if I wanted to go on a trip. Boy, did I ever. The timing couldn't have been better. I asked Mel if she wanted my AMEX# to book it. I also remember saying, "Hurry and book it before I change my mind." And she did. We are going to Scotland. Okay, there's a bit of lead time for this one. Departure isn't until next March so there's all kinds of time to plan and figure out who's going to drive on the wrong side of the road. This adventure does require a car as we'll be staying in various B&Bs and a castle on the last night. Oh goodness... Here's some pictures of what's to come...

This is Annoying...

So, the E was on empty... Time to fill-er-up. Then I saw the price. As far as I'm concerned gas is a necessary evil. You never see it. It costs a lot of money, and it's required to go anywhere of distance to do anything fun. Pretty much those gas station places have you over a barrel. How high do you think it's going to go?

What are those fun things of distance, you ask? Well, here's a non-inclusive list:

• Memorial Day Weekend, featuring the Greenwood Tri
• Little Red
• Spudman Tri
• Other spontaneous activities that are sure to come up

Might I also say something that is as important as gas is keys, but more on that later...

Ogden Marathon

Yesterday was a perfect day for a marathon. Finally, a day where you could run comfortably in shorts and a tank top. The Ogden Marathon celebrated it's 10 year. I ran it the first year with the other 600 inagural runners. What I remember most about that year was the keychain we got for a medal and more importantly my introduction to chocolate milk at at the finish line. COW lowfat Chugs are the best!

Anywho, the marathon was great. I ran with good friends and even got to run with my cousin Shannon for a few minutes. This race is well organized and they take care of the runners. I was happy to see it ranked #9 on the runners world list. It deserves to be there.

Skydiving Adventures - Part II

Harnesses are now on. Checked and doublechecked to make sure everything is connected and hooked as it should be. Everyone is ready to go...almost.








Once we had on all the gear, they took us out to an airplane "shell" to show us how we would jump out. It's not a nice thing to do to drag your tandem buddies shins across the kick plate when exiting the aircraft. This causes pain to someone who is extremely important to you. You want your tandem buddy on your side, or literally on your back. Anyhow, we practiced exiting the aircraft. Again, my stomach knotted up. Then came the time to board the plane.


Now a little description is due here. The plane is not a luxury liner by any means. There were two benches running longways behind where the pilots sit. Both were covered with green artificial turf/carpet. The boarding system is like in accounting. LIFO (Last In First Out). You can back out of this whole thing up to the point where you board the plane. After then, there is no refund. Tyler told me we would be the last ones in. At that point, I didn't realize we would be the first out.



All aboard. In we went on the benches lined up and ready to jump. The plane took off and started its climb to 13,000 feet. It seemed really high. I could see Larry Miller Sports Park down below and it looked like a kids play race track, or spaghetti. I could see over the Oquirrhs, over Salt Lake Valley and Olympus Peak, and all the way to Wyoming. On the back wall of the plane there were two lights. Red and Green. When the light turned green it was time to jump. I kept thinking, aren't we high enough? It looked high enough from looking out. It took a long time to climb high enough, or so it seemed. The high tech plane door was made out of plexiglass and duct tape. On each side of the door were two handles. They told us not to hold on to the handles. At some point on the way up Tyler causally mentioned upon our departure we would do a backflip. I told him "that wasn't in the video." At that point, my life was in his hands...



The light turned green. It was our turn to go. The next thing I knew I was standing with my feet over the kickplate and Tyler was pealing one finger at a time from the handles we were instructed not to hold onto. Out we went. The only thing I have to liken it to is when you wipe out really hard waterskiing. It was noisy. You have no idea which way is up or down. I wondered if we did the backflip? Then I started thinking about the 3 B's and firehose. breathe, banana, and belly button. The free fall lasts just over 1 minute. You fall over 100 mph. I'll admit, it seemed like a long time. I soon started to wonder about the parachute opening. Would it happen? When? And, what was taking so long? Then I heard the "pre"parachute go. This was good. Then the real one deployed. It felt like it jerked us back up in the air a mile! I loved the parachute ride. It was a blast!




Pretty soon we were approaching the landing. Our instructions were to put our legs straight out and that's exactly what I did. I had legs and ankles to protect. Marathons to run, you know. The landing ended up being no big deal. I ended up sitting on Tyler's lap. He unhooked us and that was it. I pretty much was left there laying on my back. What a rush! Then I decided I better see if the others also made the jump. They weren't far behind.







Angelia and her tandem buddy. Sorry Carla and Jeff (not pictured).

Skydiving recap:
Would I do it again? Possibly
Am I glad I did? Yes
Faith promoting experience? Absolutely!

"On Your Left"

This post is affectionately dedicated to my sister, Joyce. It's her birthday today. Happy Birthday, Joyce! Below she's toasting all of us.



Two years ago at Little Red Riding Hood I passed Joyce and Chelsey without realizing it was them. I will forever be reminded of this tragic event. I really didn't do it on purpose...really. Those of us who bike know about "On your left!" For those who don't, here's a crash course.

“On your left!” – A rider is going to pass on your left. Call out, “Thank you!” to indicate that you heard their call. Bicyclers should never pass on the right, but if this happens, kindly remind her to pass on the left.

I could make up excuses why this happened, but really none are good enough. For heavens sake, I should have known it was them. Afterall, we do look a fair amount alike.

Anyhow, all that being said, she's a great sister and example. I know she's not only on my left and right, but also has my back. Happy Birthday, Joyce.

Final Four -- Go Duke

Okay, if Duke wins it means I picked the winner in my NCAA March Madness bracket. I get the prize. Actually, it's more than the prize. It's the honor, it's the bragging rights. The kind of bragging rights that can be brought up boastfully at family gatherings. This could be a very big deal. The suspense is killing me... There's 11:21 left in the second half and Duke is up by 3. And to think I could be watching Dancing with the Stars. Nope, not tonight.

Yeah! Duke won.

Easter Bunny

Contrary to what was said in a fast & testimony meeting a couple of years ago, the Easter Bunny does exist... And apparently he shops at Ethan Allen.

Confused City Cowboys

Okay, I took this picture while driving.... Just couldn't help it. See in the country there's lots of places to ride horses. Not that I've done a lot of riding, but I have seen a lot of wide open spaces just perfect for horseback riding. Might I suggest 20th East isn't one of those places. There are speedbumps on each side of where this picture is taken. It's on my way to work and back. It's in the "city."

And, this isn't the only city cowboy I saw this very day. The second was wearing a helmet of all things. Okay, I understand the wearing of helmets for safety purposes.....but aren't cowboys (or girls) in this case supposed to wear cowboy hats? As my mind wanders with this a bit more, is there a market for helmets disguised as cowboy hats? Just wondering....

Skydiving Adventures - Part 1

I'd like to introduce you to Carla. Today's birthday girl to whom I dedicate this post. In honor of Carla's special day, I've decided to post about our skydiving adventure that took place Sept. 2009.

Ever known anyone in their right mind who wanted to do this? Me either. That's what I told Carla and Angelia last fall when they asked me if I was interested. Why would anyone in their right mind jump out of a perfectly good airplane? They were going with a group, so would get a group rate and continued.... "If you're going to do it, now is the time. It won't cost as much." "No thanks," I replied and I thought I meant it. I did pull up the Skydive Utah website and look at it briefly to see just what they were getting into. A day or so later while shopping at Harmons there was a good looking guy with a Skydive Utah Staff shirt on. He was behind me in the checkout line. Hmmmm.

Doris said, "Do you work there?"

He said "Yes."

Doris said, "I need to talk to you. My neices are trying to talk me into going this weekend."

He said, "You should definitely go."

Doris said, "Okay, here's the deal. I'm afraid of breaking my legs or ankles and I have marathons to run."

He said, "If you come, I will personally go with you. I've jumped over 1000 times and never had anyone get hurt. I will personally pay you $1000 if you do."

Doris thought... he's good looking, and looks strong. Not some little scrawney wimp.

Doris said, "Really? What's your name?"

He said, "Tyler"

Doris said, "I'll think about it."

He said, "See you Saturday."

Doris said, "Okay, I'll think about it"

All of the sudden this skydiving thing seemed like an okay thing to do. Was my thought process clouded (hmmm nice choice of word here) because he was strong, good looking and blah blah blah. Likely. I made a reservation the next day with a special condition, that Tyler be my tandem buddy.

Fast forward to Saturday. The day. Thoughts had gone into will and testament preparation by this point. Okay more than that, I had actually written something down. Angelia, Carla, Jeff and I all headed to Erda. When we arrived they had us watch a video. What I remember now was it talked about 3 B's. Breathe, Banana, and Belly Button. Pretty much the bottom line was

1. Breathe. Don't forget to breathe. It can be like sucking on a fire hose if you do it through your mouth so be sure to breathe through your nose.

2. Banana. Your body needs to be in the shape of a banana. Kick your feet toward your bum.

3. Belly Button. Point your belly button toward the ground.

After this instruction we did a lot of watching on the tarmack. It looked like this:

We would watch for a while and then you would see people dropping out of the sky like this.

And then Doris's stomach knotted up.

Next they came and said okay, let's get you set-up with your harness and a little more instruction. Stay tuned...