Junior Olympics

Wade participated in Junior Olympics on Saturday.  Man, it was a blast.  Half of Ridgecrest was up at the track at Cerro Coso College, watching their kids and schools compete.  The weather was warm and perfect, at least for us spectators.  I felt bad for the kids who would get checked in for their events and then have to stand in line for an hour in the sun.  Otherwise, it was a great morning!

Wade ran a 400M relay with 3 fifth graders, based on his time at his school.  The boys had never practiced this together, so it was a little nerve-wracking for Wade.  He was signed up to run a 400m relay but had never done it before!  He was the 3rd runner and said he was the slowest on the team, but he laughed and was grateful a fourth team didn't show so that his team could at least get medals for coming in third place, haha!

Here's a video of Wade running the 100M race.  Again, he laughed because he was near the end, but I thought it was cool to see him run his fastest!  (Please excuse my noise--I was a little excited!)

WAY TO GO, WADE!

A HUGE accomplishment

Back in October Jason did something really, really big.

He completed his first 1/2 marathon!!!!!!    He did 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 16 minutes!!!

We made a family trip out of it and traveled to Lake Powell in Page, Arizona to see him do that.  It was inspiring to watch him cross the finish line, especially knowing that he'd gotten injured early in the race.  What a trooper!  His friends Rob and Crystal Tomlinson, Ridgecrest friends and Ragnar buddies, also finished the race.  We had a great time with their family.

Early start--they're ready to go!!!

Here's a fun little video of the start line!

Greeted by Rhiannon just after Mile 7

A few feet from the finish line!

THEY DID IT!!!!!  WAY TO GO, GUYS!

Inspired and impressed?  Why, yes, yes we are!  So happy for Jason!

 

Here was Jason's report on the experience:

 

"I really did it! My official time was 2:16:00. I was as close to the middle of the pack as possible, #107 out of 212 finishers, 7th out of 13 in the male 35 to 39 group. Not bad for having to run for 8 miles on what probably is a mildly sprained left ankle and only getting in 5 weeks of quality training. I learned a lot doing this, one thing is that there is a reason you don't see many 220 lb runners, this was tough for a big guy. Mainly I learned that I can set goals and do hard things. I don't think a full marathon is in my future, but I think I'll run a half again sometime! Kudos to the Lake Powell Half Marathon organizers for putting on a great race."

What an experience, and what a great example for his family!  Love you, babe!



A great Columbus Day weekend!

On Saturday morning we got out the door early and worked in the front yard together.  The plants around the front pond were so overgrown!!  It was great to get that done together--it made for a much faster job.

We got inside and turned on General Conference.  Well, the downside of that little family project was missing the "big announcement" firsthand about the missionary age change!  Thank goodness for traffic on Facebook that filled us in on that.  We also had satellite issues and only heard the end of President Uchtdorf's talk.  Thankfully we didn't have too much more of that the rest of the weekend and enjoyed all the wonderful messages and counsel shared. 

That night some young men and their dads came over for ice cream after the priesthood session of General Conference.  A smaller crowd than usual (plus me going a little overboard on toppings) meant one thing--lots of leftovers for another time!  :)

We enjoyed more Conference on Sunday, and then on Columbus Day we got up early and celebrated Oscar the Dog's 1st birthday with exercise!  Jason ran over 5 miles up and down this huge hill to the community college, and Rhiannon, Wade and I did close to 2 miles with Wade on his bike, Rhiannon jogging, and me being dragged by Oscar.  Fun times...no, really, it was fun! :)

That evening we hosted a "Polar Bear Challenge" swim and bbq party.  It was a blast--we had some old friends over and some new ones, too, to celebrate the end of summer and the glorious return of Ridgecrest's best season of the year--fall.  LOTS of good food, plenty of kids running around trying to brave the cold pool, and, you guessed it, ice cream and toppings for dessert.  It was a fantastic way to end the long weekend!

Last night we attended Rhiannon's fall concert for Concert Band.  They played "Band Avenue March," and music from Jurassic Park and Pirates of the Caribbean.  Rhiannon came across loud and crystal clear on the mallets, chimes, and bass drum.  She did a great job!

Tomorrow we will say goodbye to a family member--Toby the Tortoise is moving on to bigger pastures with the Green family a few streets away.  We've been thinking about him/her/it all summer and were concerned how to care for him long-term.  Toby has outgrown his box on the kitchen counter and is the right size to move outdoors now, but our swimming pool and big, active dog aren't the best combination, with the in-ground pool being our biggest concern.  Tortoises + pool = no more tortoise.  Realistically, if Toby really wanted to get to that water, the chain-link fence wouldn't stop him.  I feel bad about it, bad that we didn't think things through too well when we got him, but I'm grateful for the lessons we've learned from Toby about taking care of a pet and taking responsibility for it, even if that means finding him a better place to live.  We're grateful to our friends for being willing to give him a new, bigger home!

Ragnar Party--GOOD times!

On Saturday night we hosted a swim/bbq party for the families of all of Jason's Ragnar teammates.  Man, everyone was so great!   Basically all we had to do was supply the pool and the hot dogs and hamburgers--everything else was taken care of!  The food was amazing, the drinks were plentiful, there were lots of camping chairs, and the kids, all 20 of them, were great!

You'll notice I didn't take any pictures of us in the pool, and that's probably a good thing because we were MAXED out, ha-ha!  Jason thinks we set a record for pool occupancy, since there were 35 of us and most of the kids and adults swam!    We all had a good time watching the video of pictures that Jason Allen put together, too (no, not Jason Allen Cushing, the other Jason Allen! :))

The funniest part of the evening was when Rob Tomlinson, the team leader, was presented with the slap bracelet that the entire team shared during the Ragnar race.  It was an inside joke--that thing was COVERED in everyone's sweat for 35 hours! 


Many, many thanks to the Tomlinsons, Kimblers, Trimbles, Hills, Winders, Allens, and Nick--let's do it again next year!

Run. Drive. Sleep? Repeat.

I'm not the right person to do this blog post, but I thought I'd put something up temporarily and then Jason can add the details at his leisure!

This weekend Jason and 11 friends worked together as a team to complete the 203-mile, non-stop Southern California Ragnar Relay race.  They ran through the night--someone was always running.  Each person ran 3 legs.  They started at 7am on Friday and finished at 4pm on Saturday.

It was hard.

It was hot.

It was exhausting.

It was painful.

There was little to no sleep.

And, yet, I think every single person on the team would do it again!

Here's what Jason had to say about it in a Facebook post:

"Yeah...I finished.  That was the hardest thing I've EVER done.  I'm really sore today, but it's the kind of soreness that says I've accomplished something.  Team Kickin' Asphalt was a fantastic group all around, I couldn't have done this without such an awesome team!"

CONGRATS to the 2012 Kickin' Asphalt Team!  I got the feeling that this group started out as aquaintances but feel more like family now!  I feel like they're part of my family, too, for being there for Jason and supporting him during his stretches of the race!

Jason Cushing, Nick Mills, Nate Kimbler, Carol Astle, Crystal and Rob Tomlinson,
Brandon and Marie Fitt, Kate Winder, Ashley Hill, Becky Trimble, and Jason Allen!

Jason starting up a hill

Cool metal medal and the team's logo!

Has Jason convinced me to prepare for my own Ragnar?  Uh, no.  I don't think my 16-17min/mile is what they're looking for. :)  But his will power, good example, and determination have definitely rubbed off on me.  We're eating healthier around here, and I'm jumping back on the treadmill!

Congrats, babe, on a HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT!  We are so proud of you!

Good luck, Daddy!

This weekend is Jason's first Ragnar race.  He and his team will head down to Huntington Beach tonight and start running on Friday.  Jason has 3 sets to race--one Friday morning, one at midnight, and one Saturday morning.  The 200-mile race will end at Coronado Island.  Good luck to Daddy and the rest of his Kickin' Asphalt team!!!  We think this is pretty amazing stuff!!!

1:06.37

We are so proud of Daddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  One of his goals this year was to run a 5K.  Well, he can check that off--on Saturday he ran a 10K in Death Valley!  He was hoping to get the 6 miles done in under an hour and came pretty close to that.  And he did it even with a bad cold, too!!!

On Friday night we dropped the kids off with our good friends the Samuels family for a sleepover, and then Jason and I drove to Death Valley in the date night car.  The sunset was spectacular!!! 



It took us a while to find our friends Lee and Julie--they were running in the race, too, and offered to let us stay with them in their mansion of an RV.  We had a great time visiting with them and having dinner together.  Everyone was up bright and early around 6am the next day, and then we walked up to the registration area before the races were going to start at 8.  We were able to meet really interesting people who'd come to Death Valley from far away, like Seattle and Canada, and everywhere in between... just to run the race.   You could tell who the hardcore runners were, with their outfits and belts full of gels or water that they could eat/drink to get through a marathon!  It was a whole new world to me--I admired all those runners but was quite content being Race Support. :)  Here's Jason, with his #1 fan!

These friends are all in our ward:  Kurt, (Jason), Julie, Lee, and McLain.  Jason and Lee ran their first 10K, and Julie, Kurt, and McLain all ran their first half marathon.

If I were ever to do something like this, I think the Death Valley race would be my choice.  It was SO LAID BACK.  The weather was awesome.  There were no speakers or megaphones set up--the guy announcing the race just stood up on something and yelled instructions and encouragement, and he was FUNNY!  The prizes for top finishers were pretty cool--rubber chickens and a rubber chicken purse! :)  There weren't any gadgets marking your time, either.  

One shocker was that there was this big group of people at the start, but after the marathoners left, only half the group was left.  I had no idea that many people were running the marathon!!!

THEY DID IT!!!!  I was so happy to tag along with these fun people.  The only thing I regret is that I missed cheering for Julie when she crossed the finish line.  I'd gone back to the trailer to get her some cold Gatorades, and just missed her.  :(  I'll be a better race support next time!

WAY TO GO, GUYS!!!!!!!!!!