Not Just A Hat Rack

29 hours of running to go, 29 hours to go...

How to summarize 29 hours, 5 minutes of running with my wife and 10 (mostly new) friends in a pair of vehicles?  Hmmm, here goes.

The race was the Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay... 181 miles from Logan, UT to Park City, UT.  We gathered at our house in SLC at 5am... Louie, Corey, Mary Ann, Binh, Mrs. 'Hat Rack and me.  Louie provided the company SUV, which we promptly filled with sleeping bags, running clothes, water, gatorade, snacks, books and Teri's knitting (don't leave home without it!).  Louie also raided the company pantry for some goodies - apparently that's acceptable there.  Louie is best described as a 5-hour marathoner who wears tie-dye shirts, buys pallets full of furniture on line for $100 (and donates it refugee organizations) and has developed a powerful concoction of pre-race nutrition that includes double espresso GU, ibuprofen, albuterol and beer.  It helps him run (and makes the desert colors more vivid I imagine).  Corey, a very cool dude, Teri and I talked about life in Czech - he went there as a missionary, I went there to teach English and Teri, well, she just knows more about it than you'd think.  Mary Ann said "I'm sorry" a lot.  She had no reason to!  She has great spirit and wasn't afraid to put me in my place on more than one occasion.  Binh rocks.  I am sure he was the only person out of 600 teams of 12 runners to run legs of this race in a floppy hat - he defied runner's convention to post some of our most blazing splits.  Anyways...

We set off from Logan at 8am ... our team name was "Better DFL than DNF." Some people got it. Many did not. Corey, Louis, Mary Ann and Binh helped us race through the flatlands south of Logan (pretty farm country) before they handed me the baton for a 7.5 mile climb to the top of Avon Pass (an ascent of 1,200 feet).  I trudged up a dirt road, choked by dust kicked up by passing SUV's, up, up, up.  (You'll notice a pattern here.)  Around Noon, I passed the baton to the lovely Mrs. 'Hat Rack who barrelled down the other side of the pass into Eden like a runaway gazelle - bounding over rocks, boulders, narrow passages and switchbacks.  Rock on.  In Eden, she passed the baton to Van #2.  One of the curiosities of this race is you have two vans with 6 people that comprise a team - except you basically never even see the other half of the team other than a handful of five-minute exchanges.  And since they were all sickly - we kept our contact with them to an absolute minimum (Just kidding, Dave & co. - we were sympathizing with you).

We presume they ran their guts out until the passed the baton back to us at Snow Basin Ski Resort south of Huntsville, UT late in the afternoon.  Corey took the lead leg again on a knee-crunching 8+ miles descent to Mountain Green - no doubt putting some distance between us and teams like the Moms n' Mission, the Moms with 57 & 1/9 kids, Wasatch My Back I'll Watch Yours, Human Test Subjects and The Incredible Holts.  (In the interest of full disclosure, we did get whooped by two hours by a team called "In Memory of Our Friend Ed Casmer, Who Couldn't Give Up Ding Dongs, And Was Too Lazy To Run This Year.")  So we cruised through Morgan County chewing up miles in 5-ish-mile increments until it got dark and Binh handed me the baton and, guess what, it was time to climb another mountain pass!  This time it was up East Canyon. As always, our van was extremely supportive and made the hour-long trek go by quickly as I chalked up four more road kills (passing another team on a leg).

So we get to East Canyon, it's 10:08pm and we dispatch Van #2 into the night to run to Kamas.  We ate some pasta (you don't want to see a hungry Louie devour pasta, trust me) then headed to a high school (I slept through a lot of this) although I have no idea which one - only that I woke up, stumbled to a shower, put on clean dry clothes, threw my sleeping bag on a mat in a darkened gym (surrounded by hundreds of other runners) before being awakened at 2:30am to get back in the SUV and get Corey to the start of our third portion of the run.  (Some other stuff might have happened in here, but I was seriously tired.)

Corey and Louie ran, I think, before I veered our SUV into a 7-Eleven at 4:50am and bought a fresh cup of coffee and suddenly woke up!  Whoa, what a difference being awake makes.  Mary Ann ran a killer leg and then handed me the baton as it was ... time to climb another hill.  (I'm such a martyr!)  This time it was up above Jordanelle Reservoir, where the road summited - and I got to run DOWN to the outskirts of Heber.  I was flying... wheeeeeee!  I passed the baton to Binh who continued a sub-8:00 min/mile pace all the way to town, where Mrs. 'Hat Rack grabbed the baton and triumphantly carried it to some middle school.  We celebrated the end of our run, handed the baton to the game, gallant, aggressive and completely ill Van #2 and wished them well.  We followed them for hours cheering their sickly souls forward - wait, no we didn't.  We abandoned the course as quickly as possible and went out for $78 worth of pancakes, chicken-fired steak, omelets, french toast, more coffee, and tons of potatoes (good carbs, good carbs!).  We were so stuffed when we were done at Chick's Diner that we almost forgot the other van was still slogging its way through the brutal sun - wait, I mean, nobly carrying our cause forward...

We raced to Park City to meet them at the finish... where we waited... and waited... and Corey ate more food... and so did Louie ... and we hid from the blazing sun... and we watched other teams finish... and we called Van #2... and we waited... and we debated leaving... and we talked about signing up for next year... until finally, word came they were only minutes away.  Then, 45 minutes later, Liz camed barrelling around a turn in the desert and raced down a steep tricky hill across an artificial turf field where a dozen of us joined in the final, triumphant 50 yards and we FINISHED!  29 hours and five minutes after we started.  We averaged 9:38/mile for 181 miles - not bad for a bunch of amateurs.

You can see photos of the amazing Better DFL Than DNF here at Snapfish.  

Ogden Marathon Recap

I'm happy to report that Teri and I completed Saturday's Ogden Marathon - one of the prettiest courses on one of the nicest days one could ever ask for. In fact, about 10 Utah Team in Training alumni competed and finished, once again raising important $$ for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and raising awareness with our purple jerseys, signs and cheering section.

In a nutshell, Steve had a great day. I set out with a plan to stick close to 8-minute miles and maintain it for 26.2 miles, and it worked. I felt very strong, ran my fastest miles AFTER mile 20 and finished with a huge smile and a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

Teri was halfway to the same great success - until a bout of exercise-induced asthma sent her to the paramedics, Eden Fire Station and the post-race medical tent. True to her nature, she said "I don't quit" and finished with a pretty respectable time despite the detours. For the first time in our recollection, we crossed a finish line together, as I headed back onto the course to bring her in.

The weekend was a little bittersweet. Steve's friend, whose father passed away of lymphoma earlier this year and inspired his run, lost her mother-in-law on Thursday. Our chapter president, Meg, lost her honored patient just hours before the race began on Friday night. We all remain steadfast in our determination to beat these insidious cancers.

That's probably what most of you want to know. Oh, and that we celebrated with burgers at Hire's after the race.

For the few of you on this list who are serial marathoners, or gluttons for detail, a couple of other notes:

- We rank Ogden as the second-prettiest course we’ve ever run – trailing only Anchorage.
- For those of you who might want to run a race here (like you want to run all 50 states or something ridiculous like that), Ogden is a great choice. Great support, well-organized, incredible course...
- Jeff Galloway spoke at the expo and was trying to run-walk his wife to a 4:30 finish and a Boston Marathon berth... And while his training methods were the talk of the weekend and many people (including Steve) tried it to some extent, it worked - the Galloways finished in 4:29.
- Steve’s highlight was before the race even started – we gathered in a cow pasture 5 miles up a canyon from Huntsville, where they had two dozen barrels filled with firewood for us to huddle around during the 75 minute wait until the start... Very unique, very warm.
- We both appreciated the selection of food on the course including licorice, cinnamon bears, gummy bears, jolly ranchers, oranges, gu, power bars and more. You had to make a conscious decision not to eat too much – it all looked so good!
- Descending into Ogden Canyon after Pine View Reservoir, race organizers lined the road with helium balloons anchored by old running shoes. It was quite a sight.
- Crowd support was fairly small in numbers but great in enthusiasm – great small town race feel. We passed many sheep, cows and llamas too – and Teri’s convinced she inspired a whole herd of horses and their colts (yearlings? Foals?) to race around their pasture
- Snowberry Inn was a great host to our team until our 4:15am departure (we awoke at 3:15am!)

Anyways, thanks again everyone – so, who’s running a marathon next?

Eight Miles Towards a Cure

Or... 97 days to a marathon run, 97 days to run...

As I alluded to a couple of days ago, I went off and did something drastic last week. I signed up for the Ogden Marathon on Saturday, May 17. I ran eight miles last weekend and will do 10 this coming one.

I'm on a mission. My friend Deb lost her dad to lymphoma last week. He was diagnosed less than six months ago. While I've been in semi-retirement from marathoning (my back hurts and assorted other whiny complaints), I couldn't sit on the sidelines any longer.

'Hat Rack readers may know that my wife and I met while training with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program for the 1999 Anchorage Midnight Sun Marathon. We've since participated in at least 18 marathons, triathlons and century rides with the program, raising approximately $100,000 in the process. Considering her first patient-hero Emily walked down the aisle of our wedding as a flower girl, you could say it's become personal for us!

Emily is a precocious teen now, a testament to the strength and will of children to fight off and defeat a blood-related cancer. LLS funds have increased the survivor rate of some forms of childhood leukemia from less than 50% to nearly 90%. The $850 million that Team in Training has raised is partially responsible.

Click here to see our fundraising page. We have two pledges in the neighborhood of $1,000 that aren't reflected yet, and we're thrilled to have raised approximately $2,500 in our first week. Won't you join our cause?

And if you're tempted to run marathon this year, email me and we'll point you in the right direction.

Why We Run...

Some days I run because the weather is simply too nice to pass up... Some days I run because I have the itch; the legs want to run and I want to feel the air against my skin... Some days, I have run for Leukemia survivors, figthers and victims. Some days, the schedule tells you to run. Today, I ran because I hadn't in so long - it was barely 3 1/2 miles, but well worth it.

Tomorrow, or one day this week, I will run because Ryan Shay can't. He died 5 1/2 miles into the U.S. Olympic Marathon trials today. His friend and sometime training partner, Ryan Hall, won and will represent the USA along with Datahn Ritzenhein and Brian Sell. All three knew Shay and will run in Beijing with Shay in their hearts. Read more here from

ESPN.com's Bonnie Ford.

Great Races, My Writing & The Zion Curtain

Congrats to Mrs. 'Hat Rack who successfully completed her umpteenth marathon last Sunday. Along with a dozen "Crazy Marathon Maidens" from Salt Lake City, she finished the Nike Women's Marathon from downtown San Francisco to the Great Highway on the Pacific Ocean. The 'Hat Rack road trip included a stop at Sugarpine Point State Park in Lake Tahoe where the 'Hat Racks were wedded almost seven years ago. The entire race is a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and 12,000+ runners raised nearly $20 million for the cause. It was profoundly moving to see so many purple running shirts in one place - the cause has grown so much since Teri and I met while running and fundraising for the Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage in 1999.

Back in SLC, I am submitting my 40,000-word manuscript to Fodor's today - the basis for a 2008 book tentatively titled "Pocket Guide to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks." It's been a huge project for me and I'm eager to get some editing feedback and put the final touches on it in the weeks to come. To say it's kept me busy is an understatement.

The October edition of Connect hit newstands (libraries, at least!) and features my 2,000-word story on Utah's $1 billion winter sports scene entitled "Turning Powder to Profits."

Finally, in luscious local politics, one member of the ultra-progressive Utah Liquor Commission wants to sequester inanimate bottles of liquor at state restaurants and bars because the sight of alcohol might offend members of the predominate religion here. Bottles would have to be placed behind partitions being referred to as "Zion Curtains." I hear they might put all computers in dark closets too, because Utah has one of the worst records in the nation for googling pornography related terms. And did you know this is the #1 consumer in the nation for candy? Maybe they need a gate on that aisle in the grocery store?

Reflection

I think that Tuesday is the cruelest day to Ironman participants. Mrs. 'Hat Rack will walk around with a bounce in her step today, medal around her neck, a true feeling of invicibility. The long journey home begins with 3,000 others on the roads and at the airport.

Come Tuesday, the harsh realization sets in that the rest of the world has not been quite as focused on your singularly lofty and personal achievement. Everyone else went to work on Monday morning, deposited children at school, resumed their household chores and, if they are lucky, fit in 45 minutes of exercise somewhere along the way.

- Ironman Canada start (from Triathlete.com)

Before we descend there, however, a few more reflections on the magnificence that is Ironman. The year-long training (mental and physical) almost always pays off. If you have survived training relatively unscathed physically, you have almost no doubt once you step to the start line that you will finish - barring unforeseen circumstances (mechanical failure, freak swim accident, serious injury). If you swim off-course, have three flats, strain a muscle running - most Ironman participants will find a way to finish. Crawling, hobbling, often crying - if that's what it takes.

Culminating with your approach to the start line, you've chosen a race strategy. "I'm going to race hard - no matter how much it hurts," or "I'm going to enjoy every step of the way, the journey is the reward," etc. In my case, Ironman Coeur d'Alene was a journey of self-discovery. If so many other "normal" (a relative term) people can conquer this race, might I have it inside me? Do I want to know if I have what it takes? Will I persevere? Might I quit? How do I motivate myself?

I have mostly run marathons for the cause - the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I like to run. I like knowing I can run faster than a lot of people. But the training, the sacrifice, the cost - they have to be really worth something in my mind. To bring awareness and raise funds for the Leukemia Society has been a more than worthy training mission for eight years.

But I did Ironman for selfish reasons. It was all about me. What am I made of? The culmination was a self-realization that has given me confidence in every aspect of my life. Ironman made me a better husband, father and employee. I chafe when limits are placed on me - because Ironman demonstrated to me that when I am in control of my surroundings, I can and will accomplish anything I set my mind to. That's a powerful feeling.

- Cyclists tackle Ironman Canada (from Triathlete.com)

Mrs. 'Hat Rack loves to cycle - the foundation of many triathletes. Swimmers and cyclists think they have found the ideal sport with myriad benefits - but they're outnumbered by legions of runners and joggers who think a 3-hour marathon is a supreme accomplishment in life. So, as Ironman lore goes, a swimmer, cyclist and runner got together in Hawaii about 30 years ago to test one another. I'm certain they never envisioned the lifestyle they created. So since Mrs. 'Hat Rack loves to cycle (100 miles on a Saturday is fun for people like her), and has been immersed in marathons with the same motivation as me - triathlons were a natural fit. (I still remember her in a copper-colored running top at Mrs. T's Triathlon in Chicago - maybe the first Olympic distance race she ever did. She is still irked I left before the end.) When you do more than one or to tri's, it's only a matter of time before you encounter people who go longer... Half-Ironmans. Full Ironmans. Off she went to Penticton in 2000 to register, and again in 2001 to compete.

Some naysayers suggest it's an unhealthy event - just too much wear and tear on the human body. That doesn't explain 77-year-old Sister Madonna from Spokane competing yet again yesterday. It doesn't explain 20-time finishers or the 2,000+ people who signed up this morning - filling up next year's Ironman Canada already. (My wife BETTER NOT BE one of them!) Is it hard? Many good things in life are. Is it taxing on your loved ones? Yes, but you can either fight it or embrace it.

Why does someone do it twice, though? That's a question she'll have to answer!

Any way you look at it, the Ironman Summer is over. From Moab to Burley, East Canyon to Emigration Canyon, Mrs. 'Hat Rack has traversed the intermountain west in search of her goal. It was my greatest summer also - full-time, stay-at-home Dad, chef, bike mechanic, driver and motivator. Although Mom missed a few family activities, we incorporated the race into our lives and thrived.

Lucca is off for his first day of kindergarten. Dec starts preschool Tuesday. Sophie's going to love the individual attention. And the 'Lil 'Hat Racks know Mom ran a BIG race yesterday. They know she "won" and will bring home a medal. They know to say, "Have a good run" when she puts on her running shoes. They echo me, "Be safe!" when she goes out on the bike. They love it when Mom's lap swimming coincides with their swim lessons. And they don't mind weekends in Burley, Idaho - watching Mom jump into the Snake River, waving at Mom as she crosses it on her bicycle - as long as there's some park time and/or a construction site to watch, too.

On balance, I think, that's not a bad thing.

Safe travels, Mrs. 'Hat Rack. We'll be at the airport when you get home Tuesday night.

- Women's Champ Lisa Bentley (from Ironman.com)

RACE DAY!

11:45pm: Go watch the last hour of finishers! These are the people who really, really, really need the support and prayers. I, however, am calling it a night. I'll have some final reflections tomorrow. Teri called and sounds as exuberant as you would expect.

First day of kindergarten for Lucca tomorrow - life rolls on!

9:20pm: 13:17:48 - beats her 2001 race by 1 hour, 14 minutes and 23 seconds - and beats my 2003 race by 14 minutes. I guess she followed the mantra I suggested last night, "Must Beat Steve!"

9:17pm: Teri Pastorino, from Utah, You are an Ironman!

8:48pm: The words "You are an Ironman" still give me chills. I had the special privilege of carrying one-year-old Lucca over the finish line with me at Coeur d'Alene. Teri says I have to do another one so I can do the same with the other kids. For the record... no chance. Once is enough.

Anyways, it's great watching all these people finish! Teri should be done in the next 30 minutes...

8:23pm: Just sat down to watch the finish line - and I got to see Lauren finish at 12:22:40. She didn't set a PR, but all things considered, I think she'll be happy with that time. Six years ago, Teri and Lauren finished the run together... discussing in the final feet of the race who would cross the finish line first, so they could each get their own finisher's picture. Lauren - We're proud of you, too!

If you don't get tears in your eyes watching these people finish, you are one cold person. Everyone should watch - it's inspiring!!

7:30pm: Teri's time is finally posted. 2hours 20 minutes for the first 13.1 miles. She tends to be very consistent on her runs. If she can match her first half with another 2:20, she would finish at 8:55pm mountain time... set a PR (personal record) by 1 and 1/2 hours, earn family bragging rights AND, it might even be about her fastest marathon ever. But there's a lot of pavement to cover still. The prayer to the bike-mechanic gods worked earlier today. Let's pray to the patron saint of ankle ligaments and assorted joints for this final stretch. Thanks everyone for following along and sending emails, calls and comments. I've got to try to get the kids to bed so I can watch the finish. What a day it's shaping up to be. Let's bring Teri home!!!

7:00pm: Teri is past the halfway mark in the run. Matt left a message that she looks great but misses her family. As soon as I see her official time, I will give another estimate of finish time.

6:40pm: Lauren has rounded the race midpoint and is heading home. Her 2:15 half-marathon is awesome. She could break 12 hours if she keeps this up - I'm impressed!

5:28pm: Teri is probably 5-6 miles into the course. It heads out for 13.1 miles along Skaha Lake, then retraces its route to the start. Matt will call me with an update at the halfway mark. If all goes according to form, Teri's marathon will be just about 5 hours... a few minutes under if it's a particularly good night of running. That would put her at the finish line between 9pm and 9:30p mountain time... (8-8:30pm if you're in Pacific time - parents ;)... I will try to revise that time after I hear from Matt.

By the way, he saw her just before the bike finish and she was doing fantastic!

4:21pm - TERI IS OFF THE BIKE! She biked 112 miles in 6:30:53, shaving 45 minutes off her time from 2001! I'm so proud (can you tell?!) She also has shaved about 2 1/2 minutes off in her transitions... so, cross your fingers, if she has any kind of a decent run, she will substantially improve on her previous Ironman.

She passed about 475 people on the bike (nothing beats that feeling!) and sits in 1476th place - almost exactly in the middle of the pack. She will be psyched! GOOOO TERRRRRRIIIII!

4:20pm - Kiernan Doe of New Zealand has won the race in 8:32:45... He is a first-time Ironman winner, headed to the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii later this year. Cool.

4:00pm - They are interviewing a Seattle woman cheering on 17 teammates from Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training who are competing today. Most people know that Teri and I met when we were both training for the Anchorage Marathon in 1999 - and the cause remains dear to our heart 8+ years later. We've raised more than $50,000 for LLS in that time, and both of us swell with emotion everytime the Team in Training story is told. We remind you that the swimming, biking and running is NOTHING compared to the suffering and battling that children and adults endure when fighting blood-related cancers. I am sure that Teri will summon courage and strength from people like her training partner in Bountiful (you know who you are!), whose mother is fighting leukemia as we speak.

3:50pm: Lauren is off the bike... 6:05:35 total bike time, or 18.4mph. I think this bodes well for Teri, who is likely not far behind. In 2001, Teri's bike was 7:15:06 - so if she finishes in the next hour, it will be an improvement. Fingers crossed!

3:45pm: Just waiting for word (online or from Matt) that Teri has finished the bike. Also, I am stunned to learn that Teri did the 2001 race, not 2002. How quickly we lose track of time! She swam in 1:25:32 in 2001 - so one minute slower this year.

2:00pm: Matt left a message around 1pm that he saw Teri at the 56-mile mark of the bike and she was smiling, waving and calling it a great day so far. She was climbing up hill at the same time! Sounds good. It's amazing to me that the pros are off the bike (4 hours, 38 minutes for one of the top males on the bike) and well into their marathons already. Once Teri is in off the bike, we'll be able to begin to project approximate finish times... but you never know...

12:00pm: Wow. First 40 miles at nearly 18 mph. She's ready to climb!

11:00am: Talked to Lauren's boyfriend Matt, who is on the course. Both Teri and Lauren headed out of transition on bikes in good shape. (Teri made up about a minute on Lauren in transition... and is about five minutes behind her).) Matt is headed to legendary Richter Pass to watch them climb the race's most famous hill. With all of Teri's training in Utah's canyons, we have no doubt she'll eat it up. Pray to the bike-mechanic-gods that she has no technical difficulties. (Back here in Utah, I'm taking the kids out for a little while... next update about 2pm probably.)

9:30am: 1:26:54 for the swim. Lauren is in at 1:20 or so. Off to bike for 7 hours or so!... I think Teri will be very satisfied with the swim.

9:00am: One of the first amateurs out of the water was from Utah... small world... See the first comment below for a quick link to the Ironman athlete tracker.

8:05am: Race is underway. You don't always start an Ironman with a time goal - just finishing safely and healthy. But Teri did this race in 14 hours, 30 minutes in 2002 and we are hoping she will better that. If shes finishes before nightfall (8:30pm?) - that would be phenomenal.

7:45am (MT): Teri just called. She and Lauren were donning their wetsuits and headed to the beach to start today's odyssey. The 25th Anniversary Ironman Canada Triathlon. A year in the making.

It's overcast - shouldn't be hotter than 70-75 degrees today. Perfect weather. Follow all day here or at www.ironman.com. The pros are starting. Go Teri!

All Over But the Shouting

Exactly one year ago, Mrs. 'Hat Rack was camped out on the sidewalk in Penticton, BC. She had flown from SLC to Spokane, Wash., rented a car, driven 300 miles and rolled out her sleeping bag. All this just for the privilege of paying $500 the next morning for one of about 3,000 coveted slots in tomorrow's Ironman Canada triathlon. (These things aren't cheap, or easy.)

Last night, the Lil 'Hat Racks and I trekked into the SLC wilderness, pitched our tent, rolled out our sleeping bags and camped - in our backyard. Shhhh! - two out of three are still asleep here at 8am.

We talked to Mom last night and are really missing her - and the fact that we can't watch her leap into Okanagan Lake at 7am tomorrow... cruise the city streets, most of the way back to the USA and legendary Richter Pass on her bicycle... and finally agonize with here every step of the way through her marathon. She's missing us too - consuming her final 48 hours of preparation with easy swims, a quick jaunt on her Cervelo bike to make sure its ready to go, and countless other check and double-check processes. One year of training, planning, early mornings, prep races, protein shakes, energy bars and 3,000-calorie-consuming training sessions are done. It's all over but the shouting. Check in regularly on Sunday for updates. (Photo courtesy: www.rice.edu/ ~jenky/photo.html)

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Meantime, as September dawns, I invite you to flip to page 162 in United Airlines' Hemispheres magazine if you're traveling... a very short article about the NBA D-League Showcase in Boise in January is the first piece of published writing that I've ever been paid for. I'm a professional writer! (I find it interesting that mega-blogger, Dooce.com, wrote recently with similar enthusiasm for getting her first article in Real Simple magazine... it's a rush!)

Anyways, it's the first of 8 stories I've written for four different publications this summer. There is MUCH MUCH more to come in the coming weeks and I'll humbly point them out if 'Hat Rack visitors want to track them down.

Along these lines, I have accepted a contract with Fodor's Travel Guides to write the 2008 Pocket Guide to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks. My responsibilities are for Yellowstone NP and West Yellowstone, Mont. I will spend at least two weeks of September researching in the park. I can't wait! More on this in the days to come. (If you have Yellowstone experiences - good or bad - I want to hear about them!)

And on the last writing notes, I'm in conversations with www.snowlion.com to potentially do some work for them. They are a SLC-based adventure trip planner that takes the most incredible trips to 15 Asian countries annually. Anyone gone on a trip with them?

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Check back all weekend... GO TERI GO!

Canadian Doctors, Dead Wrestlers, Deer Valley... Once

Wow, busy week - and I'm not even the one drving half the night to a small town in British Columbia.

Mrs. Hat Rack departed this morning - sent away with bg "good luck!" signs on the door, porch and car courtesy of some of her training friends. She flew to Vancouver via San Francisco... before a 250+ mile drive tonight to Penticton for Sunday's Ironman Canada race. Not to sound alarm bells, but she slipped on her suitcase at SLC Airport at 7am today and sprained an ankle ligament. Worried, and slightly distraught, she soldiered on. While she was on the ground in San Francisco, we found her a walk-in clinic to go visit in Penticton tomorrow - and then, even better, a walk-in clinic in Vancouver Airport, where she had 4 hours to kill waiting for LL, her traveling and racing companion. That's where we got the "only one ligament sprained" disagnosis... and she's flush with prescriptions, bandages, referrals and a glint of optimism. Unlike in the movie Sicko, however, the great treatment by Canadian doctors is hardly free. Anyways, one ligament can't stop my wife after a year of training and planning. Onward!

So I took the 'Lil Hat Racks up to Deer Valley tonight to hear a friend of mine from college, Mary Beth Maziarz, and her band Wild Honey. They performed at the Deer Valley bandshell - and I really liked her stuff. She sounds a lot like Mary Chapin Carpenter... I met her husband (another NU grad) and saw their little baby... MB and I chatted briefly afterwards and made plans to catch up in the near future. Very cool.

Two nights ago, we FINALLY saw a movie, ONCE, that has been on our list for two months. Sundance's Managing Director, Jill Miller, calls it her "favorite movie EVER" - and it didn't disappoint. It's a modern-day musical romance, featuring an Irish busker named Glen Hansard and a Czech flower vendor, Marketa Irglova, meeting and finding harmony in music on the streets of Dublin. It earns four stars in my book - but doesn't edge Cinema Paradiso as my "favorite movie EVER."

Ok, finally, the dead wrestlers story. Frank Deford had an eye-opening story about deaths in pro wrestling on NPR this morning... Take a listen.

She's Got Torque!

She broke the bike! Seriously.

Kudos to Mrs. 'Hat Rack who logged about 87 miles on her bike on Sunday morning. She's going to compete at Ironman Canada next month on this snazzy white and RED Cervelo, after she broke her BLUE one on Friday. She didn't crash, wreck the chain or suffer any pedestrian bicycle problem.

No, no, no. Rather, going 20+ mph near East Canyon, the carbon-titanium-whatever-it-is sick frame literally failed her. The "hanger" that supports the rear derailleur snapped in two. Fell off. Bye, bye derailleur. She fish-tailed, but didn't lose control (thanks, guardian angel!). No accident, just her powerful torque (yeah, that's it - her torque) broke the bike. Who ever heard of that?!

Her friends at Canyon Bikes (she visits them weekly, I think!) had no choice but to rebuild her bike on a brand-new frame (which they did in one afternoon)... and she's back out on the road... just in red instead of blue.

Five weeks to race day! Go T, Go!