Pioneer Day

Here's actual proof that I ran the race. Not pretty - but I did it.
We started Pioneer Day with Stephanie's first ever (and maybe last) 10k race. The race started off with a massive hill named "Goliath". Everything said about this hill was true - "challenging", "huge", "nasty", and "intense." It was a very short but steep hill, and thankfully, nearly every runner ended up walking up the last part of the hill. I made it 3/4 of the way, just couldn't take it anymore, and had to succomb to peer pressure and walk, which was something I didn't want to do in my first 10k. The rest of the race was a series of small hills and a lot of downhill. My legs were like rubber the first 3 miles, but once I got over the trauma of "Goliath", it wasn't so bad. My goal was to finish the 6.2 miles in under 60 minutes, which I wasn't sure I would do after "Goliath" slowed me down. But, I managed to finish in 59:07, a 9:30 minute/mile average. It wasn't a pretty race, but I did it. The best part was winning a $15 gift certificate to Ruby River Steakhouse in the raffle afterward.

Our neighborhood had a small children's parade with decorated bikes and pioneer cotumes. We did the best we could with what we had around the house and the kids had a good time. Well, except for Landon. At the end of the parade he fell off his scooter and came crying back to me with this nice bump on the side of his forehead and said, "I'm not 'bery' good at this race." I guess he thought he was supposed to go as fast as he could and beat all the other kids. Not quite the right concept, but cotton candy and a balloon made it all better.

We ended the day with our own, less intense, version of the Knowlton's 4th of July "Cul-de-sac of Fire." We invited a few neighbors and let Leon do all the work.

Only watch the following video if you are willing to endure 2+ minutes of random kids in the neighborhood children's parade. Halfway through you can hear Landon being brought to us crying. Good times.