
I am going to be honest with all of you... I have not been training super hard lately for triathlon season. I don't know what it is. I just don't have the motivation just yet. Maybe it's the annual depression I get at this time of year when I can no longer really ski three times a week; maybe it's the mix between rain, snow, and sunshine we are getting; maybe it's the poor air quality we have in the valley as of late... Disregarding the real reason for my lack of training, it remains the truth. This proves to be a problem when I want to do a race of some sort that is happening within a few days and I am not technically ready for

it. I faced this problem this week when I was confronted by my dear wife to run a race up in Eden, UT. We were both under the understanding that this was a half marathon and even though I had not been training, I figured I could run 13.1 miles. The problem got even bigger when we went to sign up and the race was actually a 30K (18.64 miles) instead. We had already decided we were going to do it and now we had to decide whether to back out or not. Those of you who know me, know that I am no quitter. We signed up on Tuesday. We went for a short run on Wednesday morning to "train," but only 4.5 miles to get the legs going. Then we took Thursday and Friday off to rest for the race. Stac

y has been training. She was considerably more ready for this than I was, but I still think we were both a little out of our league. We awoke this morning early so as to get to Eden in time for the race. Neither of us had ever been to this beautiful town so we did have a little trouble getting to our destination (it turns out that the infallible Google Maps is, indeed, fallible). We did, finally, arrive at the race site with little time to spare. We quickly prepared and stretched a bit for the race. Going into this race, both Stacy and I saw it as a test of our mental toughness and ability. We were there to finish; not to win or even really compete, but just to do it and allow ourselves the knowledge that we can, in fact, run that far when it comes time for

the Half Ironman in August. We went slow. We kept a steady pace. We did not once take a break or even walk. We simply kept going at our comfortable pace. My legs began to feel heavy at mile six. At mile twelve my back and knees began to give me a hard time. And at mile seventeen my ankle chimed in a bit. But we made it. We had a Gu and a Gatorade at every aid station which were spaced every three miles (let me take this opportunity to say that while Gu is disgusting, I do have to say that the Vanilla Bean flavor is one of the most palletable ones I have tried). It took us a long time, but we finished. We ran strong the entire 18.64 miles. We did it. I have done a few races

in my life, but let me just say that I have never been more sore immediately after a race before today. I am sure this has everything to do with my lack of training, so I plan to do a little more next time so as to avoid this fate. Now, allow me to explain the title of this post as I sure, by now, you are saying to yourselves, "what does that have to do with the race?" Well, I'll tell you. Eden, Utah is now my favorite place in the world. If I could find a way to move there right now I would do it. It sits well beyond Ogden in its own valley with mountain ranges surrounding you. During our time searching for the race site in the car and the entire 18.64 miles of the run, we saw two places of business..

. the hotel where we started the race, and a gas station outside the hotel. The rest of the entire valley is filled with farming homes. One way I feel I was able to finish the race was simply by looking around at the beauty of Eden and picking out possible ski lines for my future in Eden. I am serious. Some of you may think I am joking. I could not be more serious. If my wife was into it (she's not as in love with Eden as I am), I would move there right now. I would just have to find a job within some reasonable distance. I have taken the liberty to add a little bonus to many of the photos on this post. You will notice black arrows on the pictures. These arrows are pointing to some of the ski lines I spotted, and these are

n't the half of them! The entire valley is surrounded by ski lines, and it all feeds right back into the valley - a dawn patrollers dream! For those of you reading this, I would be delighted to hear of any possible employment opportunities you may know of in or around Eden. Until then I will simply look forward to the occasional weekend jaunt or just a spur of the moment visit to the area I now believe could very well have been the site God himself gave the same name some years ago.