Outdoors Addiction

What can I say, now that spring is finally here I can't seem to get enough outdoors. Spending time inside, I am looking for opportunities to get back outside and enjoy the awesome weather. Shanda and I took the kids on a nice little hike outside last night, the Birdsong trail at the mouth of Ogden Canyon. I can't believe that I've lived in Ogden almost my entire life and in this home for 10 years and not once had I gone on that trail. This is a great trail for the novice hiker, green grass this early in the spring, great views of El Monte Golf Course and the city below.

Every Sunday after church we are itching to go for a walk at the Ogden Parkway. Most mornings I am looking to go ride my mountain bike on the local trails, and thank goodness I can finally run outdoors instead of that treadmill at the gym.

This morning I took a ride that clocked in at just over 5 miles. From my home I ride over to the Bonneville Shoreline trail, and then down over to the parkway, and then up Birdsong trail, then back home again. Good stuff, I can't wait to get up and do it again tomorrow!

Major League Baseball 2009!

I can't believe how excited I am to have the 2009 Season under way. The winter break was too long this year, which is strange because the older I get the fast time seems to pass. Regardless, it is here now and I am happy to see the Reds in action. Even though they lost a hard fought game tonight, I was just excited to see they had a chance despite going up against one of the tougher pitchers in the league.

It was nice to buy a month of mlbtv.com and have some streaming baseball live on the computer throughout the day as I worked from my office.

Also, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a homer today and tied the record for most Opening Day homers. I'm glad for him, though I'm equally glad he's no longer a Cincinnati Red. The Reds now put a much younger lineup on the field, and with some solid pitching, my hope is that they will put together a respectable season, and maybe even contend for a playoff spot.

Go Reds! Maybe I can get down to Franklin Covey field and watch the Bees in action on Monday the 13th? Sounds like a good family home evening?

ALA Fun Run

My first 5k of the year.

The ALA Fun Run was put together by a few of the parents of the Accelerated Learning Academy students. In an effort to raise funds to allow for more activities such as field trips, etc.

Anyway, my wife got involved in some of the solicitation of local businesses to sponsor the event. I was really impressed by the amount of items they were able to get donated.

Joseph and I participated in the 5k, while Matthew got to participate in the 1 mile walk/run. The weather cooperated as it was expected to be very cold and snowy. Although we weren't snowed on, we did get a nice helping of cold weather.

I began the race at a very slow pace, much slower than I'm used to running for probably the first 1/4 to 1/2 mile. I kept pace with Joseph and let the crowd stretch out in front of me. After my legs started to loosen up and the crowd not so dense, I decided to break loose. My average pace for the entire race was 8:15 mile pace, and while I'm not quite sure what the pace was the first half mile, I got to think it was around 10 minute pace. Even though I pushed my pace for the remainder of the race, my legs felt very good and I never really tired. I'm excited for future races this year and very sure that I'll be able to improve upon my 25:35 time.

After completing the race, I turned around and ran back on the course to meet up with Joseph. I passed Matthew a couple of times, and was glad to see that he was doing well. When I caught up with Joseph, it was fun to run with him and finish out his race.

Joseph won a scented candle and I won a $5 gift certificate to Old Grist Mill.