Getting out of the Country

I've started a half dozen posts and the majority of them I must say are pretty funny. I get laughing just thinking about the posts. Then I sit down and all the humor drains from my fingers and the posts go nowhere fast. Here's what has been going on recently (in no particular order):

• Ran a 10k on Memorial Day. It was free if I didn't want a t-shirt. The first 3 1/2 miles were uphill which sucked. It was raining in the morning and I was unmotivated to go, but a friend was running and he guilted me into it. I finished in 36:54 46:54which is a decent time. I didn't stick around for the prizes or giveaways, but my friend won a beanie and gloves.

• Deferred my Utah Valley Marathon entry to 2012. One week later, I got signed up to pace the 1:50 group for the half marathon. I'm liking the pacing gig...all the benefits of running without the stress of competition, looking to beat a PR, etc. and I get a medal for it and a lot of people telling me thanks. Can't go wrong there.

• Watched a late night episode of Dinner: Impossible where the guy had to cook three different complete meals that revolved around the Ironman theme. His meals revolved around water, running (legs) and bicycling (I can't remember what this one was...maybe road kill?) Anyway, I got thinking about triathlons and wondered if I could do one. All of a sudden I got that little thrill that I used to get when thinking about half marathons and full marathons. Only two road blocks. I don't swim well and the only bike I own is a mountain bike I bought from WalMart 6 years ago. My daughter who is 10 has taken it upon herself to join me in a quest to do a sprint tri and has offered to teach me to swim better. Who can pass up an offer like that?

• Really tired of the rain. We've had the wettest Spring EVER. There is still snow in the mountains. Some of the higher elevation ski resorts will be open on the 4th of July. We had 2 inches of rain just over the weekend. I generally don't mind the rain, but even I was starting to feel a little soggy. This week is clear and sunny. We're taking a quick trip to Vegas to celebrate my wife's grandfather's 85th birthday.

• The kids school 5k that I race directed turned out well. We made over $800 for the school library.

• The Lehi Roundup 5k/10k that I am race directing is burning a pretty good hole in my stomach. Directing a race with only 100 participants is one thing where the biggest prize is a pair of running shoes. Directing a race of over 400 with cash prizes and both a 5 and 10k is a totally different beast. I've been working to coordinate police, volunteer, sponsors, etc. I did manage to get out last week and run both courses. The course is much better than the one I ran on Memorial Day.