Grace is Here :)

Here are some stats on the little girl:

8 lbs 12 ounces, 21 inches long

Top XC slogans for the T shirt so far:

we got the runs

why are all of you chasing me?

the faster you run, the faster you're done

XC - a lot of fun if it wasn't for all the running

anyone can run 100m, it's the next 4900 that matter

if you train hard, you'll not only be hard, you'll be hard to beat

kick asphalt

(picture of an odometer)

XC diet: run your mass off

There are 2 types of people: those who run and those who should

catch the person in front of you, stay in front of the person behind you, and race the shadow next to you

running fast won't kill you... you'll pass out first

truth is you can always run faster but sometimes the truth hurts

XC isn't for everyone... just weirdos who like running through the desert in little shorts

some people ask why I run so fast? Well what do you do when you hear a gun!?

Let me know which is your favorite and if you think you have a better one.

The Heat is Getting To Me

We were fortunate to have Lindsey's sister and her family come for a visit recently. Here are some pictures from an afternoon water fight. The kids had balloons and buckets and I had a super soaker. They could never get me wet because the balloons would just bounce off or they would miss and centrifugal force kept the water in the bucket when they would swing it. They really wanted to get me so I surprised everyone with an impromptu speedo show. It was pretty funny and everyone had a good laugh.. even the neighbors and probably some passers by.

Because people liked the last video, I present another from the same guys. They are called the running super fans and they are pretty funny. I love it when the kid stops and looks like he's about to hurl. Funny stuff for sure. On other news, no baby yet, still waiting.

XC practice is in full swing as we started on July 1st. We have been building up our milage each week and will accumulate more than 30 miles of running this week. We have a XC camp in Red River, NM, on August 6, 7, and 8th with two other high school teams. The official start of the season is in August and our first meet will be the first weekend in September. Our team has grown and is getting better and better. Hopefully this is the year that we can take both the boys and girls teams to state. We're definitely going to look good as we received our new Nike uniforms last week. No more bad news bears!

I have been running with the kids and it has greatly helped my running. Since using my Garmin GPS watch, I have been able to monitor my workouts and have seen the trend of faster runs with lower heart rates. Back in June most of my training runs were near 8 minute per mile pace and they have decreased down to as fast as 7 minute mile pace. For the month of June I have the most runs in any month of the year with 21 and the most run milage with 85 and I still have a week left.

We just had Direct TV installed in our house this past weekend just in time for the drama of the last week of the Tour de France. I haven't cared much about the Tour since Armstrong walked away after winning the thing 7 times in a row. But he's back and looking stronger and stronger as the tour continues. If he is not an inspiration then what is.

More Pool Time

What else are you going to do when it's over 100 degrees outside and your pregnant? We visit the pool daily and Emma hasn't complained about it at all. She has gotten really good at diving down to the bottom of the pool and picking up rings. She has been more into this than even the diving board lately. Watching her is amazing because she is just so confident and mature for a little 4 year old. Grace is almost here, any day now. We would be blessed to have another little girl just like the one we already have.

Gracie Bell's Room

Yes, we are going with Grace Isabella or Gracie Bell for short:) Thanks for voting!

Cool Pool Pics

Kelly Mine Run

Always the bridesmaid and never the bride... or something like that. I have been second overall at this race on five occasions and this year was no different. I was able to get six kids to run the race so that in itself I consider a success. The race is part of the Old Timers festival in Magdalena, NM, and is a 7 km course that climbs about 1000 feet from start to finish. I started out fast, I think a little too fast and I ended up having to slow down. I was in first place through mile 1.5 but faded to second and eventually all the way to fourth. Fortunately I was able to pick it up near the end and move back into second place. I finished in 31:33 and ahead of all of my XC kids. I am still undefeated against them but the margin is shrinking every time there's a race. Below is the graph of the elevation from my Garmin watch and a picture that Lindsey was able to get.

Lake Trip!

Deuces Wild Xterra Finish

BSLT 70.3

It has been a while since I made the trip to Lubbock, TX, for the Buffalo Springs Lake 1/2 Ironman. In fact, looking through online results, you would have to go all the way back to the year 2000 to find my name in there. Yes, it has been a while. Too long for such a high quality and challenging race within driving distance of me.

The race took place last Sunday under windy and rainy conditions. We left the hotel around 5 in the morning and the trees were already blowing and lightning was visible off in the distance. I traveled with 2 of best (and only) friends, Danny and Robert. Danny is the Ironman veteran with lots of experience and Robert was making this his half ironman debut. I suppose I was somewhere in the middle, answering questions from Robert and still asking some to Danny.

Back to the race... we made it to the lake and it was difficult not to be nervous. You could feel the wind from inside the suburban as we waited in the long line of cars and you could see the chop in the lake building. It was like they were partnering up and having a good laugh at all of us. We arrived a little later than we wanted and were in a hurry to get down the hill to transition, get our stuff ready, use the bathroom, get our wetsuits on and make it to the beach before our waves went off. Being in such a hurry did make things easier as I didn't really have time to be nervous.

The swim was pretty uneventful and I came out in an ok time of 34:38 for the 1.2 miles. I started the bike and made 3 dumb mistakes: 1. I forgot which direction shifts to my small chain ring and I was cursing my bike shop for it not "working". 2. I tried using a little box to store all of my nutrition but was more just flopping around and hitting my knees as I pedaled. I ended up putting everything in my jersey pocket and tossing the box. 3. I forgot to change my brake pads to the ones specific to my wheels so I had limited use of my brakes all day. Otherwise I just rode comfortably hard and tried to take advantage of the tailwinds. Final bike time for the 56 miles was 2:45.

Onto the run and things started very promising. I was using my new GPS watch and I was able to see what my distance and current pace were throughout the race. I tried starting out as easy as possible but I kept seeing 7:3X - 7:4X on my watch. I felt good and just sort of went with it. Like the bike, the run climbs out of and back into the lake canyon 3 times. At the turnaround I was averaging 8 minute miles. Not bad at all since I only had one more climb left and 2 long downhills. Unfortunately, things didn't really keep rolling. I felt like I was running just the same but the pace slowed and I started to fade. I finally walked a little during the last mile and had to gather myself for the finish. I could hear the announcer calling out the finishers names and I looked forward to sit and have a beer. Final run time was 1:52 for 13.1 miles.

Final race time was 5:16, good enough for 167th overall and 29th in my age group out of over 800 total finishers. All in all I was happy with my race. I know that I have lots of room for improvement and I look forward to getting there. I feel like I just sort of go comfortably hard and I want to get where I feel like I'm racing it. Also, I think my nutrition is what cost me my sub 8 minute pace on the run. I had a plan for the bike but not so much for the run. More than anything I just had a really good time with my friends. I learned a few lessons and I came home with a desire to keep working at it. My next major triathlon is in September and I have another half ironman in October. The month of July is going to be spent waiting for baby Grace to get here and yard work. I started cross country practice this last week and I also finished my professional dossier finally. That stupid thing has been a 3 year process and will mean a 33.3% raise next year (not so stupid). Danny joked that I have been working on that thing since he met me! In three years I'm going to have to do it all over again!

Thanks for reading and have a great 4th of July!

Steven