They called it puppy love...fall dog sitting.

Back at the Taylor's for more adventures.  We sure love these pups. These pictures are two days of photos taken while walking the dogs in Matheson Reserve in the foothills of Salt Lake City.

Arrow

Beau

Gracie

Close to Halloween, this is the statue in the roundabout by This is the Place State Park

Tuckered out

Triathamom 2011

On September 24th I completed my first triathlon.  It's an all women, non-competitive race format, hilariously named TRIATHAMOM. This is a sprint tri, which means that the lengths are: 300 meter swim, 12 mile bike, and a 5K run.  I was a bit nervous for this, never having done one before, but I was also completely excited.  Here's a recap:

The night before, Becca and I drove out to Herriman, UT (ie: nowhere's ville) to pick up my race packet and get stamped.  The number on my arm is my race number.

The number on my leg is my age.  I was 27 when this race went down...so I don't know why it says 28.  Probably because I can never remember how old I am and always have to ask Becca.  I won't lie to you though, I felt totally legit with this timing anklet on. 

The next morning, I packed my breakfast of a protein smoothie, banana, and water, and headed out to the Herriman Recreation Center.  A sad turning point, Becca was extremely sick this weekend.  In fact, the night before the race after we picked up the race packet, we had to stop at the WalMart in Sandy for fluids, tissues, etc. because she was really losing it.  Sadly, Becca wasn't able to attend my triathlon, but I'm glad she was able to stay home and get well.  Sure missed her, though!

Step one upon arrival was to get my transition area set up.  In this race we used the same transition area for each leg.  The race order goes swim, bike, run, die. :)  This means that I had to set up the transition area in a way that would help me go back-to-back for each leg.  My area was right by the entrance from the pool, but that meant it was far from the T2 exit for the bike route.  Next time I'll snag a spot closer to bike exit/ entrance. 

I have the best mom and sisters in the world!  They came out to Herriman at 0700 to watch me tri.  I love these women!  And check out my outfit.  Hubba hubba.

Condom cap on and getting serious with the sisters!

Love you momma.

The still of the pool before start time.  This was an indoor pool race.  Me swim in open water? Yeah right.  sharks.  For 300 yards, you started on the right side of the pool, then you swim down and back in the same lane.  It was WAY crowded.  (Next year they are moving to the Kearns oval...lots more room!)

The swim was the thing I was most nervous about. I've run foot races and bike races before, no problem.  But I've never swam laps before.  I trained for months for this and it totally paid off.  In fact, I got through the 300 meter in about 8 minutes.  Boo yeah!  Here I am exiting the pool, getting ready to head out the door to take off on the bike.

Krys, Tay, and Mom watching me swim in the stand.  It meant so much to have them there...I probably would have bailed if they weren't, honestly!

On the bike and leaving T2...

Heading out to complete 12 miles on the bike.  It worked really well to just wear my bike shorts as a swim outfit.  What didn't work so well is that my left shoe wouldn't clip into my pedal.  I've never had this problem before, but I think that the culprit was walking across the wet grass/ mud in the transition area.  I tried to clean the clip, but it never took.  Not at all.  Not for 12 miles.  This route was rough on me, probably the toughest part of the race.  Lots of hills, which is tough when you aren't clipped in!  The first 7 miles were uphill, including the last mother effer which I ended up walking up because I couldn't get out of my saddle.  The first 7 miles took me about an hour to ride, which is out of control slow for me.  The last 5 miles I finished in 20 minutes.  Boo yeah, down hill speed racer.  Still a 5K, 3.1 miles, to go.

Finishing the 5K through the suburbs. 

Did I mention I adore these ladies?

Mom ran in with me the last little bit of the way.  So fun!

They made these adorable signs at the park rest area.  This is a great race for participants and supporters because they program events for loved ones to do while people are out on the route. 

Through the finish line with my fam.  Such a great feeling to be done, such a great feeling to complete a tri! I've got to say that this was much easier than my half marathon...I'm a big fan of the triathlon because it allows you to switch up the workout you're in.

After the tri we went to breakfast in Sandy to celebrate. 

Why-oming?

In September I traveled to Wyoming for the Fall 2011 Alternative Spring Break retreat.  This three day retreat was held at a cabin / ranch in rural Wyoming that is partly owned by the University of Utah.  It was a gorgeous area, which made it easier to justify the fact that I worked the whole weekend.