48 Hours of fun 2011 Lake Powell

Summerplace 2 Bullfrog bay Lake Powell


Tomcat on his first trip to the Lake Powell


The past several years we have been going together as a family to Lake Powell on a trip called 48 hours. We called it 48 hours to get the parents on board. Anyone can last for 2 days in tight quarters, hot surroundings and no place to get down time. Add to that the fact that we had 32 .5 attend this year and you can start to see the event called 48 hours take shape. 48 Hours of Fun was created to see if the kids could out last the parents on playing or if the parents would be able to outlast the kids in a non-stop play fest at Lake Powell. This was our 3rd year and we had the largest group attend and so we decided to go over the 4th of July and really make it a 72 hour trip. For Anne and me it was the first trip as a family that we were able to take Tomcat our new boat. Tomcat is from the MB Sport family and is a fun, kind 21 foot tow boat that I lived in for the most of the entire trip. Tomcat loves to play music and even tow tubes, surf, kneeboard and wakeboard. Tomcat did great we had a really fun trip with him and I think he will have many more fun years at the lake.
Tomcat had a friend called X-15 and they came out of the gate with such excitement. They had tubes, kids and sun a plenty and they did not stop for 48 hours. The Seadoo’s were also getting a fair amount of attention and by noon we had Summer Place 2 on a beach, in a cove protected and ready for the little ones to play on the shore. Old blue, my dad’s ski boat was taking a break for the first time in 10 years as he was not needed to take a leading role this year.

Pictures of the Wakeboarders, Surfers, and Kneeboarders






I still enjoy getting upside down







Joy to me is filling the boat up with kids, a lot of kids and to take them for non-stop fun. We had 8 jump in the boat and off we went. The first activity was to go surfing and for those that are not sure how we surf it is as close to the real thing as you can get. Using a shaped wake that curls like an actual wave and a small surf board one can toss the rope back into the boat and ride the wake for as long as they can stay in the sweet spot.
Kneeboading was the second activity as well as wakeboarding. We spend the entire afternoon playing and ended up coming back only for water and food and to change out those that wanted try something else. The end of the first day at Lake Powell always comes too quickly. But for us this was a pretty great night since Lexi was able to sleep on top of the boat with the entire family. Jackson and Josh also looked for satellites and did their best to stay awake but soon the entire boat was out cold. Rob has a great competitor in Bill for who snores the loudest and with a pair of ear plugs I was out.
Waking up to the sunrise at Lake Powell has to be one of the best experiences that one can have. No alarms, street noise or anything that we usually live with at home just the sound of the water. The sun heats us up quickly and not more than 10 minutes later the first Jet Ski was off and Tomcat was eager to get going for another fun filled day.
Tubes were the requested start to the day and something very special happed. We filled up the tubes and yellow banana up with air and took them to the end of the houseboat for the little kids ride. I made a promise to Ella that I would not go fast and I had to keep that promise. So as we were loading up the little ones my mom grabbed her life jacket and jumped on the tube and would not get off. It has been too many years to count since the last time I saw my mom playing behind the boat but as I said it was a special day and she was going tubing with her grandkids.

Time on the beach






Tubes, Tubes and more Tubes













The rest of the morning was filled with beach playing, more time on the boats. The afternoon was filled with Ice cream, wonderful food and playing on the rocks at the back of the boat. Lexi, Jackson and Josh all had a blast with cousins. Lexi was able to play with Ella and Bella and they seemed to never run out of ideas of things to do. This year catching the grass hoppers was the IN thing and they all had pets for the entire trip. Josh found it very easy to hang out with his BFF Libby. Jackson went between a few groups and seemed to enjoy several different cousins.
Later that day the wind came up and we ended up spending the early evening watching a storm roll over us. We had the boats tied up and the anchors were placed well for SummerPlace 2 so we just watched and waited for the storm pass over us. That did not stop the fun as the games went to the indoors with card games and movies with much needed AC cooling everyone down.

Taking the houseboat back to the slips is always bitter sweet as it tells us that the trip is almost over. Rather than heading back to Denver in the morning we decided to delay and go in the afternoon to avoid the traffic going to Denver and it ended up being a great choice. We played hard with surfing, cliff jumping and just playing around until nearly 2pm. We packed up Tomcat tell he was full and then made our way to the boat ramp.

Cliffjumping


A little time on the Seadoo with the kids!







Hanging out

Ella

Even the boats need a break in the day

Pictures of BFF's
Josh and Libby


Bill on Tomcat



Nanna and Pappa



The drive home was filled with talking to the kids about their favorite parts of the trip and letting them know that we love them. If they can survive a trip like 48 Hours of fun they can handle most anything. As if you were wondering, the parents won again for the 3rd year running. The kids called quits and left very tired and ready for some recovery!!!
Lake Powell will always be a part of my life. I love that place, I love seeing my family play together, work together and get along with no distractions found at home. We had no computers, phones and just movies that we all wanted to watch. We worked out the little fights and put lotion on all the sunburns and all left with huge smiles. I love you Lake Powell and the fact that we can have our crazy 48 Hours of Lake Powell each year with you is great. The drive home went fast this year since I was full of joy and memories that will last forever.

Anne getting use to driving the boat!





See you in 2012 for the 4th 48 Hours of Lake Powell, maybe the kids can come with their A game and have a possible chance.

Lexi taking a break on Tomcat

Jackson down for the count




Love you Anne,

T

Lake to Lake Triathlon 2011

The lead up to this race is something that I wanted to make certain was better than last year. Last year I was traveling and was in the whole before I started the day and ended up walking the last several miles of the run. I vowed that I would be smarter with how I spent the time before the race and worked hard to know how I felt and what I could give on race day.
The other big change that I have been having this year is how I view racing all together. In years past I was training between 10-20 hours a week, racing hard and having my focus be all about improving time. I wanted to get faster and that was it. Now that training time has come down to 10 hours on a good week. I am just in a period of life where that is all I can give as they say "it is what it is" and I happy for what I can do. That being said I had a few goals coming into the race.
1. Race to what I have to give that day. No Walking on the run!
2. Enjoy the day, I have been way to serious in past races and that needed to stop and today was the day I would make it so.
3. Be smart with what I have and use it wisely. Swim hard, ride hard and run hard and do it so I can run hard to the end.

Anne was racing as well today in a relay and she was the bike portion and she rocked the house. She was with her marathon training partner Nancy and her brother and the three of them put a good race together.
Keith was our knight in shinning armor and watched the kids during the event so we could race and I have to say what an act of kindness that was. This is the second time this year that our friends have pitched in to help with the kids so Anne and I could race and we appreciate it beyond words.

Swim (26:03)
I was able to get a few arm swings in before the start of the race this year and no real warm up which usually is around 20 minutes. My timing for the day was such that I just did not have the time. I saw my trusted friend Anthony and we talked for a quick minute before the first wave (my wave) started. I took it out very slow as to try to give my body some time to get warm. It did now work and by the first buoy I was pushing race pace effort and was working my way past the gents that took the first 200 yards too quickly. The swim this year was steady and I felt really good about getting relaxed and moving forward.
I could hear the cheering from the water exit while still swimming in for the first time ever. It was AWESOME and it was fun to exit the water and hear my name being yelled as I made my way up to T1 which is a long 1/4 mile jog. I did have time to do a dance move for Coach Beth, the first act to having fun during the race!


Thanks to the Wieck's for the pics

Bike (1:28:42) 30 mile bike
T1 went smooth and I was on my TT bike racing again and it was a good feeling. Coach Beth and I discussed breaking the bike and run into segments and racing them so I could finish strong on the day. The first segment was slow out of town and easy on the climbs with a hard effort on the rollers back to town. Also for the first time had TT bar hydration and did not have to grab for my bottles. IT ROCKED and I was able to consume 75 oz of liquid on the 30 mile ride in even small sips. Loved it!
The slow swimmers and fast bikers had all passed me by the time we started climbing so I was proud that I was able to keep a really good effort and as I made it to the rollers I was able to push as the plan called for. I did not jump as other passed me and really focused on making the day my day. I kept my HR in the area that we had talked about and realized in past races that I was pushing way too hard and payed for it on the run.

Run(46:43) Not bad!
T2 was smooth and I was on my way. I stopped and reset my watch which forced me to take a few deep breaths before I jumped into the 10K run. In 2009 I ran the fastest 10K I have run 44:58 and in 2010 I ran a pretty slow one 54:50 so my goal this year was to run to what I could sustain and not push over the top. I was going to use my HR as a guide and let the time be what it was going to be. I was relaxed on the run through the neighborhood, calm around the lake and kind of happy cause I was running well. I saw Anthony around the same place I do each year and that told me he was having a good day (2nd AG) and so was I. I was even able to give some high fives as I made my way around the run course. The second half was a blast. I was able to see so many friends and familiar racers that it was a constant opportuinity to yell, smile and forget about running hard. I made my way past where I was walking last year and was running at a 7:30 pace which for me was AWESOME. I passed where I had my head down in shame last year feeling strong. I ended up coming into the finish full of joy. I did not win, I was not even close but......I took victory in my own way and that my friends is the best feeling.




Thanks for the pics Wiecks!

Here are some pics of the event and after party.....Yep we took the boat and went and had some fun at Horsetooth Res.

To all that helped, cheered and made the day fun....THANK YOU.


Lexi Walton, Charlotte Ford, Annie Wieck
Race day friend having a good time

Love you Anne