Brothers' Camping Trip

It is interesting growing up in a big family because sometimes you don't get to know all of your brothers and sisters as well as you would like. Even though you see each other at Sunday dinners, having a conversation more than 10 minutes is difficult becuase of grandkids and the chaos that accompany them. To make up for lost time, Paul decided to instigate a brothers' (and dad) camping trip to Canyonlands National Park. I can't remember the last time that I went camping with my older brothers. They were married before I graduted from high school. It was really great to get to know them again in a situation where they didn't have to worry about their kids.

Dad, Dave, Doug, Paul, Spencer and I headed down to Canyonlands in a motor home that Dave had arranged from his toy share. It was my first time being in a motorhome (except for Junior Prom which is another story) and I felt like we were driving in a mini motel room. It was great to have a table while we were driving because we could study for our finals (that were the next day) and play cards while driving. We got down to Canyonlands and ended up sleeping in the parking lot. The next morning we tried to drive to the trailhead for druid arch but realized that we couldn't take the motor home down the dirt road because there was no place to turn around. Dave tried to back up and a ranger lady yelled at him for driving over (or almost driving over) the cryptobiotic soil. We went back to the campground and parked which added an extra 4 miles to the already 11 mile hike. It was a pretty cool hike and an awesome arch. Even though I had been on the hike before (I was camping with 2 girls in Canyonlands which is also another story) I got us lost from missing a switch back. It was a nice hike except for I think that it might have been hard on Dad's knees and back.

We got back to the campground and played Phase 10. Because sometimes I have a hard time censoring what I say, said I was SOL and told Spencer F. U. (which we had been mouthing like we were going to fight through out the trip as a joke and it just continued.) Never the less I shocked Doug and Dave, which like I said have not been desensitized to me as Dad, Paul and Spencer have. It shocked them more than it had Dad. Paul ended up winning the game. It was a fun trip and I was happy and surprised when Dave asked what we were going to do the next year.

Treadmill Marathons

I want everyone to know that it is possible to train for a marathon on a treadmill. That is right, on a treadmill. Although my roommates, collegues and even members of my family doubted the possibility and thought that I was going to kill myself. I did it. Ironically my fear about hurting my knees and finding routes, and my pride to prove those people wrong kept me from running on the road. I sympathize with all of you that try this though. Three hours of looking at a blank wall is not my idea of fun. My training schedule was pretty simple: 6 miles Monday, 8 Miles Wednesday, long run on (increasing by two miles each week) on Friday and cross training the other days.

I wasn't planning on running a marathon when I started. I just wanted to work off the 15 pounds that I had gained over the holidays and win the biggest loser competition with my family for my little brother's wedding. When I got to 8 miles though, I contemplated training for a half marathon, and my friends Pete and Anna convinced me to train for a whole one in late February. The long runs were pretty exciting because they were the longest distance that I had ever run each time. They were still on a treadmill though. I kept myself occupied by singing Red Hot Chilli Pepper songs and would run to the beat. I took off two weeks to go to India in the middle and to the end of March and was worried after not training.

I signed up for the marathon the monday before still skeptical of whether or not I was going to do it or survive it. I learned the most about running that week. Like my shoes were what was giving me shin splints and that energy gels (which are pretty disgusting) and water are so important for running long distances.

I came in 135th or something and finished with 3hrs 36 min and high on a level of caffeine from my first experience with these gels. I felt great at the end. It was a huge rush to sprint the last 0.2 miles and have everyone cheering. The news interviewed me and when they showed the coverage, said that I was Russian guy who finished 6th overall. I can understand because I was out of breath and English was hard for me during the interview and I was sweating enough to be in 6th overall. Awesome experience and I am sure that I will recommend it to everyone as soon as my muscles allow me to forget the pain that I put them through.

Creating the blog

Because I am terrible at writing in a journal, I am starting this blog to hopefully be able to capture some of my experiences. There is no point in going through hell of my mistakes if I am not going to learn and remember. Also, half of the beauty of good times is the memories of the feelings and joy of those moments. The purpose of this blog is to be able to help me write my experiences for me and share with all of my friends and family and the rest of you in the electronic world what is happening in my life