Grandpa Richards

Grandpa Richards was born February 6, 1886

My mom emailed us today to remind us that my great-grandpa LeGrand Richards had a birthday today.  He passed away in 1983 at the age of 96!  I was only 8 at the time, but I still remember going to his funeral.

My mom reminded our family that we need to remember him and they example that he set for our family.

My mom's email reminded me of this picture that my cousin texted me last month.  My cousin LeGrand (guess who he was named after??) found this picture while cleaning out the family barn in Mesa.  What's cool about the picture is that LeGrand picked up the picture while still wearing his work gloves and took a pic on his phone and then texted it to me hundreds of miles away in California!  Isn't technology amazing!!

I love him for sending this to me because it has me, my sister (wearing the hat), and my "little brother" (in red) visiting Grandpa Richards' office in Salt Lake along with our Shill cousins (from L --> R: Emily, Sally, LeGrand, and Jon).

As a kid, I idolized the Shill cousins who were all older than I was.  Maybe they knew how much I looked up to them, but probably not.  The truth is that I still look up to them and admire and love them today!

Who would have guessed that this photograph, taken over 30 years ago, would have a future Air Force fighter pilot, two future doctors, three amazing mothers, and me sitting at the desk of an apostle?  I'm grateful to be part of such an wonderful family!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Our family celebrated Thanksgiving Day this morning by participating in the 34th Annual Dana Point Turkey Trot.  Thanksgiving morning runs have become a tradition in our country.  It seems like most communities have at least one.  We had a lot of fun today, so I thought I'd give you five tips for ensuring a fun, traditional Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot.

I know, most of us are still in a tryptophan-induced haze following dinner at this point.  But don't worry, this is not the type of blog that actually gives real advice or tries to tell you what to do.  Nor will I give you any boring, "tried and true" tips like: "warm up and cool down properly"; "eat a good breakfast"; "run at a good comfortable pace without overdoing it"; "make sure to stretch out"; or "get a good training schedule."  The truth is, I don't do any of that, so why would I advocate that anyone else do so.

And all of that is really just common sense anyway.  So don't worry about taking any notes or remembering anything from this post.  This post is mostly just an excuse to throw up some cute pics of the kids.  :)

#1 - Early Bird Registration is Key

Team Dyer

Usually you can save a few bucks if you pre-register.  Plus it will save you some time on race day when you don't have to track down your timing chip, race bib, and cheap t-shirt that you'll probably promptly donate to Goodwill.

I saw the line this morning of people trying to do same day registration and I wouldn't want to wait in that.  If you miss the online registration like I did, it's much better to go sign up about a minute or two before the race officials shut down the packet pick-up.  If they give you a hard time like they did to me, look at your watch and let them know that it's still not closing time and tell them that you had a long drive to make it there.  I only had to wait for about 5 minutes, rather than 45 if I'd had to come back this morning to do it.

#2 - Nupe It!



Years ago, there used to be all sorts of commercials for this little yellow pill called Nuprin.  I have no idea what happened to Nuprin.  While Nuprin may be gone, we still have ibuprofen which is the generic version of Nuprin.

I woke up Tuesday morning and couldn't get out of bed because I was having some intense back spasms.  I was pretty sure that I was not going to be able to run in the race.  That was before i started on ibuprofen.  Thanks to what was probably illegal amounts of ibuprofen and a very therapeutic session at Massage Heights, I showed dramatic improvement and was able to run this morning.

In my opinion, ibuprofen is a wonder drug.  Every home should have it as a staple of its medicine cabinet.

#3 - Don't try to Break In a New Pair of Shoes on Race Day

As you may know, I did the St. George Marathon about two months ago.  I decided to get some new shoes before the race.  Then I was smart enough not to wear them.

My last race before today was the Pumpkinman Triathlon about six weeks ago.  I've been running exactly once since then.  I thought that since I had had my "new" shoes for two months, they'd be broken in enough to wear today.  Bad move.

For some reason, I signed up for both the 10k Race and the 5k Race.  Then I ran the Kids 1 Mile Fun Run with R. and S.  Total mileage on the day: 10.3 miles.

The 10k "Team" From the SC 6th Ward!

The 10k Race was first.  By the time I hit the finish line, I had developed a hot spot on my foot.  It was a full on blister by the time I started the 5k Race 45 minutes later.  Let's just say that every step of the 5k was...unpleasant.

The boys were excited for the Fun Run!

Then the Fun Run may have been the worst, even though it was only 1 mile.  I could hardly keep up with the boys!

Let's just say that the boys were way more excited to start the fun run
than I was.  Check out S.'s "high knees" on the right!

Anyway, I learned my lesson and will have my shoes well broken in before my next race!


#4 - Avoid the Crowds When the Gun Goes Off


Last year when the gun went off, I was still walking to the finish line.  I spent the first mile dodging strollers and walkers en route to a pretty miserable time.  (No, I won't share it...I do have a small amount of pride remaining!)

This year, I tried to make my way much closer to the start line.  Overall, I was better off, but I was still shocked with the amount of people that will go to these races, push their way up to the start line, and proceed to run slowly while pushing a jog stroller or actually walk in the first half mile of the race!

People, please!  If you are going to be walking at the start of the race, please do us all a favor and let the runners go in front of you and then try to stay out of the middle of the course!

#5 - Find Something to Keep the Kids Occupied

This is crucial!  Last year we staked out a spot by Mile 6 that allows clear views of three parts of the course.  it also has lots of grass for the kids to run on:

Trees for the kids to climb in:

Hours of entertainment...

It's also great to bring some friends or buddies along.  In this case, we brought their cousin J. from Tucson.  He literally is a miracle baby.  His mom ran in the race and my brother did a great job of cheering her on.  They also have a really cool blog:

The "Real" Team Jacob

It was so cute to see E. playing with her cousin Jacob.

Team Jacob?

I know I'm biased, but I think that this Jacob...

...is way cuter than this Jacob:

Odds 'N Ends:


Anyway, it was a really fun morning.  I was pretty happy with my run times, especially considering that I really had not prepared like I should have for the race.  The official results aren't in, but my watch unofficially had me in the following times:

• 10k - 49:11 (7:56 pace)
• 5k - 24:37 (also a 7:56 pace--a big improvement over last year, but I definitely was feeling the effects of the 10k earlier that morning)

R. and S. did great too.  Last year, S. did the Fun Run and I forgot to set my watch, but it was probably about 10 minutes for him.  This year, S. (who is 2 years younger) did the 1 mile in 9:11 and R. did it in 9:13.  What was amazing was that their mile pace was only about a minute slower than mine!

They both had a good time and I think they'll do it again next year.  R. stopped for water at the half mile mark and couldn't bring himself to throw his cup on the ground because he didn't want to litter!  It was fun to run with him and show him how to chuck his cup on the ground and that it was okay to do that just during the race!

Also, the race had a couple of celebrities.  We passed female athlete and amputee Sarah Reinertsen during the Fun Run.  She was on the Amazing Race and is an accomplished triathlete and marathoner.  She was the first female amputee to complete the Kona Ironman.  (Someday, I hope to do that!)  Sarah was very gracious during the run and I told her that I loved her on the Amazing Race!

Sarah Reinertsen

I also saw one of the cast members from the Real Housewives of Orange County.  I'm actually ashamed to admit that I recognized her, because I never watch that show.  But she did happen to be on the one episode that I guess I watched.  Anyway, I refuse to name who she is.   I want to preserve what little shreds of dignity that I may have remaining to me!  ;)



We'll be back next year!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

"Don't Look Back..."

"...someone might be gaining on you."

That's my paraphrase of one of Satchel Paige's "Rules for Staying Young." I thought about that quote a lot a couple of weeks ago as I did the Spanish Fork Half Marathon.

I wasn't even sure I would run a half marathon that weekend as I was trying to decide between doing the half or a 5k up until a day or two before the race. I ultimately picked the half marathon because I am signed up to run a marathon this coming weekend and I thought that doing a half marathon three weeks before the full marathon would be good practice. (I won't tell you which marathon, since I'm not being paid to endorse it on this blog. But let's just say I'll be in a certain town in Southern Utah this weekend....)

I jokingly told a friend before the race that I would start the Spanish Fork Half Marathon by sprinting at the start so that I might be in the lead for at least the first few moments of the race. Then, the morning of the race, reality set in and I realized it was better to finish the race than to pull a hammy in the first 100 yards!

I got off to a decent start, but I learned not to look back because a lot of people were gaining on me and then did pass me during the race. Fortunately the last half mile or so, I discovered a decent finishing kick and managed to pass a few people as I neared the finish...

I ended up surprising myself with a somewhat decent time and completely surprised myself by not having to walk at all the entire race. I felt like that was quite an accomplishment considering that less than a year ago, I was proud to be able to finish a 5k without walking. (Yes, I realize that that was pathetic, but I mean to make substantial improvement in this year's Dana Point Turkey Trot!)

(is this good running form as I near the finish line? I have no idea!! Frankly, I was just glad to be ambulatory at this point....)

Some of the things I loved about the race: friendly race volunteers, the smell of freshly mown alfalfa during the run, and beautiful views of Utah Valley's mountains!

Some of the things I didn't love about the race: getting passed by a guy wearing Mickey Mouse ears (yes, shamefully that is true), the fresh aroma of the local dairy farms (you know what I mean) during the run, and basically not having any aid stations between miles 2.5 and 7!

The truth is that I really have no idea about how to train for a marathon. I'm sure there are a lot of good books out there about how to prepare for a marathon, I just haven't read any. Nor will I. I had a friend that asked me what I had done for my "long run" to get ready for the S_. G_____ Marathon (I still refuse to name it unless I manage to get some race swag!). My reply: "What's a long run?"

My family has a long, proud tradition of doing marathons. We also have a long, proud tradition of not really training for them ahead of time. One member of my family (who will remain nameless) decided to do the Deseret News Marathon one year. He bought his shoes the night before. He did the race practically from a dead hang. He got beat up running down hill but he did it anyway. I thought it was so cool the way that he just went for it that that's probably the moment that I added "Run a Marathon" to my bucket list. (To be checked off on Saturday...)

Another family member was going to do the Deseret News 10k another year. The line to register for the 10k was too long, so she did the marathon instead. Family lore holds that she finished anyway. (At least that's how I choose to remember it.)

I have tried to train a little bit, but no way am I "prepared." I have way too much going on trying to be a good dad, husband, fulfill my church calling, provide for my family, etc. to even come close to putting in the mileage that I should be doing in preparation for this race. Training for a [not-to-be-named] marathon in Southern Utah is at least fifth on my priority list. And I like it that way.

I think that I probably should be more worried or nervous about this race than I am. I got an email tonight from the race organizers tonight warning us not to cross the finish line with our kids because as soon as we cross the finish line, we have to go to the "recovery tent." I have no idea what that is, but it sounds serious.

When I finished the Spanish Fork Half, I just walked over and collapsed on the grass until my sweet cousin Michelle came over to congratulate me. (She was the only one that came to watch me finish the race and took some of these great pics! Michelle, you're the best!)

At the end of the day, running this race will be a very personal thing for me. I've never run more than 13.1 miles (and that only on 3 occasions--all since April 2011). I probably had no business even entering, much less winning, the race lottery to even get into this [popular Southern Utah] marathon. I have probably trained less than 99% of the other runners. I will probably hurt by the end of the race.

BUT:

I set a goal and I intend to achieve it. I will have to push myself, but I look forward to the challenge. And I won't be looking back. There will be plenty of people gaining on me and passing me throughout the course of the race. I expect that and if I can, I will encourage them and wish them luck as they pass me.

But I will finish the race a stronger person than I was when I started. And I'll have one more item crossed off my bucket list. That's only going to make my next challenge that much easier.