Bear Lake Brawl 2012 (or the price I pay for ice cream)

btw Tammy wrote all of this. :)
This weekend was the Bear Lake Brawl, Gene's first open-water triathlon.  Friday afternoon we went to the beach where it would start.  Gene was pointing out how far away from the shore the ski boat was beached last weekend at youth conference - a good 50 yards from the shore, the water was only waist deep with a muddy bottom.  (I guess that means no one drowns in the first or last 50 yards of the swim.

It is so honkin' freezing cold out here!  I can't even generate any warmth by my shivering.  I must be having a nightmare.  It's bad enough we set up the bike in the transition area by flashlight, and now I get to wait about about half an hour in the freezing cold.  In case you are wondering, the little blanket didn't seem to make much difference in the cold.  One could even feel the cold from the metal picnic table bench through a wetsuit or jeans and a jacket.

Perhaps if I stare long enough at the sun, it will generate some heat.  I know it is up there somewhere.  Please, I'm begging for some warmth.

Well, that didn't work.  Can anyone find a 2x4 and hit me over the head with it?  How do I get myself in these situations?  Even the sand is freezing Tammy's feet through her socks and her crocs,  and here I am sitting in barefeet and sandals.

I've gotten up the courage to get closer to the water's edge.  (Really, the cold from the metal picnic
table has gone clear through me.)  I need to bring something warmer than a fleece blanket to the starting line even though I can't figure out how to swim wrapped up in a blanket.  I'm working on that!  It is freezing even though it kind of looks like the sun is out now.  In the distance one can see the first wave of swimmers in the water.


The red dot in the water is the 6 foot large red inflated buoy that represents the swimming start and finish  line.  Notice how far from the shore it is.  Those 50 yards between the shore and the buoy are just increased exercise time, not a reduction in the swimming yards.  One gets to run across the sand & mud to get into and out of the water, and up to the bike transition area.  About halfway through the 750 yard swim, I realized I wasn't really tired,  I could go faster, and I was going to make it.  The first reassuring thought all day.  Really, the water at the starting line was warm, much like swimming in a heated pool, but the air sure was not. ( I am the front guy running out of the Lake, not the smart guy in his jacket.)

I am hoofing it up the beach to the bikes.  Notice my anticipation!  Can't wait to get out of the wetsuit and into my shoes and socks.

Best seat in the house! The Tidy Cats bucket by the green sports flag on Tammy's flag pole.  Other athletes commented how much easier it was to find their bikes because of the flag.  I have removed the wetsuit, have on my bike shorts and running shorts, washed the sand and mud off my feet, and am putting on my socks.  It would be easier if my arms were longer and I could reach my toes.  I notice that every day when I put on my socks.

It really is a feat to tie one's shoes today.    I finally did it!       Pause for pictures.  

I spent 22 minutes swimming and  4.39 min swim to bike transition, which included running up the beach.

I just spent 40 min biking 12 miles, and look fresh as a daisy, ready to run the 5K portion of the race.  Right?  Well, now my legs kind of work like daises in a breeze, not always standing straight, but swaying a little.  I took a little longer in this transition getting my legs to go forward stretching out my hamstrings.

    

My finish line photo.  I ran the 5K in 30 min!  Now I look (and feel) like I have been through the wringer.  I even found a place to sit after cooling down.  The only thing left to do today, is get home and take a shower and nap.  I know I can do those things without any problems.

It took Tammy a couple of minutes to remember to start the timer, so the time is 2 min short.  It took me about 1hour 38 minutes to sell my soul for ice cream one more time.  :)

The Last Summer Swim Party

When we saw the weather forecast for today was a high of 82 degrees, we sent out emails to the family inviting everyone to the Last Summer Swim Party. Katrina and her kids were the first to respond. When it hit 86 degrees, we knew the swim party was a success. Jane has started swimming without her water wings for a short time/distance, when someone is next to her in the shallow end of the pool. I think just about everyone is on pins and needles when swims without them, especially her private lifeguard right next to her! Grandpa likes being the lifeguard, but he says "It scares me to death!" Thank heavens, she willingly puts the water wings on after her short times without them so she can play in the deep end. She is such a fish and will swim in the pool for quite a long time, even if everyone else has left. She doesn't mind swimming by herself.

Tom is not about to be left out of the swimming accomplishments. He can "swim underwater" with his water wings on. It takes some maneuvering for him to get his face all the way in the water and get his feet up where they can kick the water's surface, but he can do it. In fact, he can do just about anything in the water if he has on his goggles. Mind you, these goggles have about the same success in keeping the water out of his eyes as they do in keeping the water in the goggles. His goggles are frequently half full of water - or half empty of air - depending on the perspective. He doesn't seem to mind, he just giggles and keeps swimming or jumping off the diving board by himself. He loves to go down the slide, but needs someone to go with him. Grandpa was the favorite one today. Listen closely to learn who Tom wanted to watch as he went down the slide (again). He definitely has confidence!

(I included Marla's dive so we could hear Tom's opinion about going down the slide.)

5k Foam Fest

I tried a different kind of 5k. It was a "foam fest" in Ogden. I think the following videos speak for themselves. The first two miles were up a big hill in 85 degree heat. Then we went down the hill and through a dozen or so "obstacles".

This first video is going through a "car wash". They told us not to breathe the bubbles. Tammy and I talked earlier about how the bubbles stick, she called it surfactant. Well, if you breathe them in, they definitely stick to your lungs. You were supposed to slide through this thing. I got half way through it and stopped sliding. So I am huffing and puffing bubbles, with no oxygen in sight. I climbed through this thing for maybe 30 seconds without being able to breathe any air in. I was not amused. I think my body language speaks for itself.

(New author) I tried to wash off the bubbles in the sprinkler, they were stinging my eyes and I couldn't breathe because my lungs were full of them. The sprinklers didn't help much! The next plastic thing I couldn't figure out what to do with it, so I just walked over it - the "Slip-N-Slide".

Another obstacle was the "tire bridge". I had to wait in line about 5 mins before I could start on this one. That was not enough time to get re-energized or to rest. It also was not enough time to figure out the best way to cross the Ogden River! By the end of the tires, I think I figured out the best way.

(I can't get the end to post here, so read it in the next post.)

Ogden 5k Foam Fest Ending

By now, I figure the end must be close. Yes, in fact it was! It was just like the song says, "Over the river and through the woods." Thankfully, there was a bridge I could just 'run' over and I didn't have to go all the way to Grandma's house for the race to end.

It had been about one hour since I started this 5k race. All I had left to do was hike about a quarter of a mile uphill, back to the car, change out of the wet clothes, and then we could head home. Yes, I was thrilled to do that because it meant I was DONE!

(Sorry about taking 2 posts for this. I couldn't get these pictures and text to load on the first post, so I just made the ending post separately. )

Nothing beats a good Utah fan!

Nothing beats a good Utah fan!

Since last summer, I've been trying to get a ceiling fan installed on the deck. Part of the problem was finding one I liked, at the price I liked, with the lights that I liked and that was rated for outdoor use. We finally found this one, and bought it earlier this month. I ran into some problems with the wiring, but finally have it all connected and it works.
I haven't convinced Gene that a fan will make a difference to the heat of the deck, but then he doesn't like fans, and I like them. Of course, it has been breezy today, so I could not demonstrate how nice it is with the fan moving the air - Mother Nature kept doing that today. I also finally got the electrical outlet wired and connected. On the ceiling, in the far northwest corner of the deck, one can see my new outlet. It even has a GFI outlet complete with the waterproof metal door in brown that matches the aluminum of the deck.

Finally, I got one of those bees in my bonnet finished!

Summer part II

These don't really have any theme. I just thought they were good pictures.

This is one of my favorite pictures. I'm not quite sure why this young man got so many pictures this summer, but with that smile, who can resist taking his picture so many times.

Grandma has to tell the "rest of the story" about this photo. Grandpa was just resting on the front lawn and visiting others who were sitting on the steps. Along came Smiley, eyed Grandpa up and down, and then sat down on the grass and turned onto his belly, just like Grandpa. He had to scoot forward on his belly so he could see how Grandpa had his arms, then he crossed his arms and kept falling forward onto his chin a couple of times before he figured out how to lean on crossed arms and keep his face off the grass, and with a little bit of dramatic flair, crossed his arms, leaned on his elbows, and turned to give Grandpa a great big smile. Grandma was so busy laughing and smiling at the whole effort that she almost missed taking the photo.

One of our favorite trips this summer was to go to a baptism.

We had a great day at the beach. I didn't know there were such good beaches that far north. There were some serious rip currents which was actually kind of fun. This is such a good picture of Ben with his hat and his book. If you were ask "Dash", I think he would tell you the water is cold.

We had a great get together in July with family in Little Cottonwood canyon. It had been a long time since we had gotten together. We had such a good time, we had another get together in August.

End of the summer

We started the summer going to Missouri. I am not sure what is going one here. Either Scott got hit with a pie or ...........................

I am not sure when this was taken, it must of been cold because they all have on coats..... it could of been in June when we had winter here. It is pretty indicative of what we did a lot of, eat, look at pictures, and enjoy family.

It was fun when people come to visit.

We spent way too much time at Leatherby's, but with kids like this, who could turn them down.

We had lots of fun in the new pool. We had some pretty cute kiddies in it.

Sometimes the place got rather busy. I think we had 26 in the pool this day before it started to rain. Tammy's family got together to celebrate her parents' 65th wedding anniversary.

The summer ended with a get together for a swim / BBQ. It was the first time all my siblings had been together for 10 years. My Dad came from Georgia to visit and it became a grand occasion. It was nice of David to fly back for the weekend.