Amber and Seany at Tinley's 2012

Multi-Sport Introduction - Scott Tinley

Eden, Amber, and Seany Boy with the sport legend Scott Tinley aka ST!

Tinley's Triathlon 2012

Tinley's Triathlon 2012, a set on Flickr.

So proud of the kiddos and our friend Eden Theule!

A few weeks ago, after nearly a year of talking about it, the kids jumped into their first triathlon. Eden, the resident dark horse, did not train in the slightest and only jumped in the day before completely unplanned and did excellent. Both Sean and Amber did very well too!

I was very grateful that the kids faced the fear of this thing called triathlon. Seany was pretty convinced he would not do it right up to the gun blast. He kind of said "he did not really have a choice since the others kind of forced him into the water..."

Amber was smiling and doing what she likes to do - compete!

I jumped in on the mountain bike version and revisited the former sport I loved many moons ago. It was a bit of a train wreck for me, but nonetheless very fun...

A few other notes: big kudos to Tyler O'Brien who smoked the field and got second place in my event. Sean Cheney and Mark Ernstrom also did very well on Saturdays race with Seany taking 7th overall in his first ever event.

Thankful for the time and fellowship with our Theule friends and their kids. I hope we continue with these life adventures!

2012 L3S ADVENTURE

2012 L3S ADVENTURE, a set on Flickr.

This post shares Lukes 9th birthday and the fun all of us men and our sons had. We had the great fortune of having 4 cousins and their fathers camp together and Lopez Lake. Mike Easter and had a special experience for the boys in store and our pre-planning did not dissapoint.

We designed an adventure race course for the boys complete with compass navigation, map reading, mountain biking, trail running, swimming, special tests, weapon shooting (sling shot) and generally working as a cohesive team.  They had a surprise challenge at the end to "leave no injured men behind."  The course had 7 check points (CP's) and covered much ground that took these young men nearly 2-1/2 hours to complete the course.  They were rewarded honorably by Mike Easter in a ceremony and were each given a personal "dog tag" complete with their name, date of birth, and instead of blood type, their favorite scripture on the tag.  Mike gave them a knowledge of the history surrounding the dog tags.

We had a fine time as men that weekend.  It was sad to see it come to an end.  We ate together, told stories, laughed, shared life, and simply enjoyed being the men God designed us to be.  We truly hope we are giving our boys experience and skill to be adventurous with basic skills in working in community with other men, especially in the outdoors.  It reaches them much, and provides a desire for fitness and athleticism outside conventional sport formats.  We hope they got a glimpse and a building passion for the outdoors.

Big thanks to Mike Easter for bringing the idea together and giving the boys a very special weekend.  It had a profound affect on my son Sean who loved the time of adventure and spending time with the men and boys.

The Men and Their Sons (from left to right: James and Levi, Mike and Luke, Greg and Liam, Jeff and Sean)

Praise God for these men and boys.  By His grace, we will finish the job he gave us in raising these young men.

Queens, not Kings of the run!

The girls kicked butt.  For years of chasing the boys around, it's a delight to give the real credit due for accomplishments - the girls (Donna, Jenn, Cheryl, and Debbie) did awesome and we really appreciate watching their efforts this past weekend.  All the girls surpassed their expectations, and ours for that matter, and Donna pulled off a third place in the women's division.  While not quite as impressive as the ladies, the men did not do bad themselves.  Sean was blasting the early hills and great competitive pace only to pay the price for the recent injury.  John much of the same but he finished.  Bart was dealing with no training and sleep depravation and finished admirably.  Rudy was flying but seemed to constrain himself to the fellowship.  And me, I was simply having a blast with not much care but recording the experience - albeit fun to blast and compete the early climbs...

Good on Sean for getting the group in this very meaningful time together.  It was a charity race in a very unique setting - Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands chain off Santa Barbara.  We got to run 14 miles on some of the best terrain in California for a trail run and the group seemed to raise $15000 towards charity.  Not bad.

The video says it all - c'mon, you can always spare 10 minutes for something fun and interesting.  Watch it to the end!

Fathers Day Fun 2011 - Lopez Adventure Challenge

Got to experience the 2011 Lopez ARS with my good friend and boss, Rudy.  The weather and race did not dissapoint and the race directors added a new special treat to the format - a zip line!

We entered the event with no expectations except to work as a team.  For the first time, Rudy and my age totaled 90 years which through us into the Masters Men mix.  Don't let the age bracket fool you, there was another very competitive team who was primed and ready to win the division.  To our surprise, we beat the other team and won the Masters Male division and hit the 2nd place spot overall...  So cool.

Rudy did a fine job and pushed himself on the MTB.  He was even kind enough to talk me through a quad cramp on the run.

It was fathers day that day.  A fitting day to exercise and take on a treat as men!  The kids and our wives had a blast and we are grateful to them all for their support to our madness.

(Yours truly going Tarzan!!!)

(The kiddos in their groove.  What a blast!)

(Rudy and Jeff 2nd Overall and First Place Masters Male)

So grateful for these special times.  Praise God for Rudy and my family for the enjoyment on this years fathers day.  Hope more of these adventures are in the future...

Central Coast Adventure Sprint - Santa Margarita 2011

Our team, "you shoulda seen the other guy," took first overall and mens division on May 15, 2011.  This picture was taken before the race and we looked all serious tough.  Truth be told, we were cold, and simply standing away from the pre-race instruction in the sun to simply get warm.  Our pre-race plan was simply go hard, have fun, use teamwork and make good decisions along the way.  We got the first three right, and suffered mild time loss in the latter - but that is exactly how adventure racing goes.  Everyone has issues along the way, you just continue to do your best.  My team mate Korey was simply on fire.  We paddled hard, rode hard, and ran hard (if you call it a run?).  It was more of a mountain climb up a waterfall canyon.  Simply amazing...  In the end, it was good enough for first overall.

I've been involved in various multi-sport activities since 1992.  Adventure races never dissapoint in the end, but you may go through the post race " I should done this or that."  No matter your placing, they are a blast, and you will be glad you did it.  I hope to do this one day with my children and set an example of a very rewarding activity.  These races are not overly selfish, as many individual sports become.  You complete the task with a person you choose to finish with - good or bad, you must complete it together as a team.  So much to this concept that words cannot explain.  Go find out for yourself.  I am thankful beyond words for this young man in my life and these experiences together.  It was truly a blessing to enjoy this day with him and see his training pay off.  Praise God for these experiences and and this special friendship.  Looking forward to more of these...

Adventures in Marriage

team  It's Bizness Time - the ultimate team - 3rd place

Jenn and I had the pleasure to recently celebrate our 13th year of marriage in participating in this years Central Coast Adventure Challenge sprint course at Lopez Lake. Korey and TT joined in the fun and it did not dissapoint and we planned to complete the course together in unison - it was aweseome the wifey did amazingly well...! 

The course consisted of kayaking, mild orienteering to each check points with map navigation, mountain biking, and a run/mountain climb complete with ropes and some minor team tests... 

A little test of teamwork, balance, thinking - the old(er) guard and the new guard.

Team It's Bizness Time with the Faciliators - along with the kiddos and nanna/papa.

Great time of fellowship, suffering, team work, and pure gutteral fun.  So proud of the wifey in her efforts.  Life and marriage is an adventure and this day was a blessing.  I praise God for our marriage "oneness" and His amazing and mysterious gift.  Looking forward to more marriage and adventure together!

Thank you Korey and TT for your friendship in all of this.  Let these experiences illustrate some of the realities of marriages - challenging, tough, messy, exhilirating, joyful, and utlimately a great gift...  Thanks for the grandparents and kiddos for giving us this moment of fun as well...

Fitness - An Important Life Style

Amber received her second Presidential Fitness Award. Sean also received his first. Do you remember when most grade school children made this a priority? I do!

I am glad to be part of a family that believes in the fitness routine. Not in an idolistic way, but in a way that honors our creator and God. Congats Amber and Sean and looking forward to carrying on this important life tradition.