Rex Lee Run 2010

in 2009, i skipped the Rex Lee 5k for the first time since 2002. this year i was back on the track. i wouldn't say i'm a big fan of running or racing, but the Rex Lee Run is for a good cause (cancer research), it's close to home(right here on BYU's campus), and i can use it as an excuse to be more motivated with my weekly exercise.

today was my 8th time running the Rex Lee Run, my 9th 5k race and my 10th race ever. (somehow in 2003 i managed to do a sprint distance triathlon -- i just didn't know any better. i competed in the clydesdale category - i.e. fat guy category)

i started the race as usual - way too nervous and wondering how i was going to push myself through to the end. the crowd was typical - old, young, strollers, and at least one obviously pregnant lady. i saw the typical mix of former roommates, classmates past and present, neighbors new and old, and former students of mine. the course was slightly different, but followed the general path around the outside of campus. the race started a little late, and i walked around the outdoor track with my parents a couple of time before heading to the starting line out on the street just to keep warm. the rain didn't come until they were handing out the prizes to the winners.

i ran about as fast as i could, but didn't set any personal records. i wasn't sure if i could have pushed myself more while running, but after crossing the finish line, i felt spent. by my watch, i ran the race in 28'42". i'm content enough with that time. we'll see what the official time is next week. my best time was in 2005: 24'47". my slowest time is just over 30min, if we don't count the year that i ran with my nieces who were in the 12-and-under category (40min).

Items of note for today's race:
- my parents joined me for the race. Mom even ran in honour of one of her co-workers who's fighting breast cancer.
- Dad finished around 39 minutes (official time to come)
- Mom finished around 45 minutes (official time to come)
- Dad won THIRD PLACE in his age group: 65+
- Mom won FIRST PLACE in her age group: 65+. Now she has run the race 3 times and has a gold, a silver, and a bronze medal.
- Mom was the ONLY woman in her age bracket to run the race. The gold still counts! don't forget that she got out and did the race.
- The first place winner in my dad's age class was 80 years old.
- that same 80-year-old beat me, even though i did average a 9min mile. (¿how did i get beat by an 80-year-old?)

now i just have to cross the next hurdle. usually at this point in the year, school/work get busy and i take a slight break from my exercise regimen. by slight, i generally mean anywhere from one month to six, seven, eight, etc. months of sporadic exercise. most years it takes a long time to recover mentally from the 5k because i don't have an immediate goal and i'm not sure what to do next. i find excuses to not train as regularly. i'm hoping that i can keep going with my training, and keep my fitness levels up. maybe the idea of the 80-year-old beating me will keep me motivated to not have a break.

it was good to run the race again. it was good to run with my parents. i was a little sad the the weather was too cold for Laura and the girls to come and at least be a part of the crowd. overall, it was worth the time and effort, and i enjoyed at least some of the running and ALL of the finishing.

Chances

the pay period started out on the Sawtooth Wilderness, working around Stanley, Idaho. Stacey (my crew leader) and i had to change plans a little because of time constraints and some missing information on one of the plots. not being able to do that plot north of Stanley sent us down south to do a couple of plots around Ketchum. We were quite a ways away from our homebase in Salmon.

so, there i was. we were just getting off a plot on the Ketchum Ranger District. we hit the trailhead parking lot east of the Greenhorn Guard Station about 3:30. Stacey and i were putting our gear away, and making sure that i had everything to start up our next pay period. we were on our last day together for the current pay period and headed in different directions for our days off.

standing at the back of the work truck, unloading my work pack, i looked over at a few mountain bikers getting ready to ride the trail. i was wondering if i would like to ride the trail Stacey and i had just hiked. as i watched the bikers unload, one of them finally came in to focus. i started to take a couple steps towards the bikers...

"Dave?"

Jeremy Jarnecke, my last supervisor on the Uinta National Forest (that place that i worked for for the last 4+ years), his wife and a couple of their friends were getting ready to head out on the trial.

i finished making my way over and Jeremy and i had a short chat. we confirmed that i was on the clock and that he was on vacation. and then Jeremy said, "Wow. What are the chances that we'd both be here at the same time?"

i wasn't sure how to respond to that one.

(these kinds of things just seem to happen to me.)

Timing

last night i was talking with a friend about about timing and it reminded me of something.

i have a friend who has an extreme fear of sharks, even though she grew up in Idaho and hasn't seen much of the ocean. she's only stepped a into the surf a little ways and that was more than she wanted.

so there i was. i have a pile of cartoons about sharks and stuff. ¿why wouldn't i have a pile of cartoons about sharks? i picked out one that i thought needed to give to my friend. then i forgot to take the cartoon. so, i set out the little piece of paper where i'd see it so i'd remember in the morning and i forgot again. i probably forgot at least one more time after that. finally one night, i remembered that i had the cartoon and walked over to my friend's apartment and taped my selection to her door.

¿what's this i hear? ¿it was her birthday? i had no idea. and here i thought i was dropping things off on a random day. mmmmmm... timing.

(all together now: fists in the air...)

Strings and things

so, i was home for Christmas one year, and decided to go with my friend roger to his singles ward rather than go to my parents' ward for church. i was hoping to expand my social circle. unfortunately roger is a social retard. (sorry, roger. you have to admit that we make a horrible tag-team when it comes to fraternizing with the opposite sex.)

roger and i did talk to a girl who used to live across the street from me. i asked her out once, but that's as far as that went. we talked to her because i had to tell her that her cousin worked in my office, and roger kind of knew her because his roommate was her home teacher.

on our way through the building to where roger went to sign up for tithing settlement we ran into a guy from my freshman ward. i'm sure the conversation seemed a little awkward because the whole time i was trying to remember if this freshman ward acquaintance was married before he left UT to go to TX for grad school, or if he was only engaged. either way, he was back in a singles ward.

then i looked into a room off of that hallway and there was one of my old roommates. Chris and i were roommates for 3 years and even did a road trip to CA together.

while roger and i were talking to Chris, along came another girl who also used to live across the street. this girl liked a roommate of mine for a short while. meeting her was also awkward because she left our singles ward because she got married. well, maybe it wasn't awkward for Chris because he just started asking about the divorce, followed by "weren't you engaged to someone else before you got married?" i felt so bad for this former neighbor and for my roommate. Chris did ask for her fone number and ended up going on a date with her. go figure.

the end result: i went to someone else's ward trying to meet new people and all we did was talk to people i know. thanks a lot roger.

we did end up going to ward prayer at the Chris's new house. then we met some new people, including some folks who play guitar and such. there were a couple of girls who host a guitar night at their place. roger and i went to that a couple of times, but then i started working long days and the late night trips back from SLC just weren't working out with my mornings. but still i must say that guitars do open up a certain social scene.

i've made a few more friends along the way and these types of stories seem to continue. last night i was with someone i met this last year. Marissa had said that her roommate plays guitar, and so i was curious to see if it was anyone i've met or heard before and curious enough to go to a movie last night and back to Marissa's place afterwards. of course my curiosity was at least somewhat rewarded by the fact that Marissa also brought a friend along to the movie who just happens to be a girl who spent 6 months in Taiwan with my brother Matt and his wife. i can't be too surprised that Katie and Marissa are good friends. Marissa is even the TA for a class that Katie is teaching at BYU. i met Katie when i went to dinner with Matt and Greta and their Taiwan friends.

(as a side note i was also pleased that i'm not the only one these strange meetings happen to, because Marissa's friend also knew the sibling of some of the other folks who ended up at Marissa's. to further extend this side note, one of the guys in Taiwan at the same time with Katie and my brother and his wife was a roommate of the guy that was now divorced from that girl who i talked to at church over Christmas break.)

back to the story... a guitar finally came out at Marissa's and i played a couple songs because they asked nicely. then Marissa's roommate played song or two. then Marissa says, "and one of the cool things about when davebetts used to visit was the fact that he would ride over on his long board." Marissa's roommate responds with, "you should meet my friend Loralee. she plays guitar and longboards too." then i ask, "¿Loralee Jesson?"

Marissa's roommate is friends with the girl who hosts guitar nights in SLC. yep, that same girl who i met at my roommate's ward prayer during Christmas break. my curiosity was satisfied.

i'm sleepy, good night.