2 Nephi 22:2
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehova is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.

We are going to go down to Socorro tomorrow to spend thanksgiving with all of our wonderful family! We are so excited! I was reading some articles online this morning to get me ready for Thanksgiving. I found this one which is way too long to put on the blog but I'll put this link to it..

Here is a movie of our trip to Florida and Matt's Ironman.

Wow! This hits right on the mark! Someone mentioned this yesterday in church and I went online this morning to find it. It is very powerful! Especially in lew of all that is going on in California and in our government... Where did this country start to go wrong? You know, most schools do not even let you talk about Christmas anymore out of fear of offending someone. But yet, we are allowed to discuss every other religious holiday.... It really saddens me.. Read on.. It makes perfect sense! I am especially intrigued by Anne Graham's response to Hurricane Katrina. Definately worth thinking about.....

"The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a church, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?' In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards.
Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein"

We stayed on the beach as long as we could before heading back to Orlando. We even saw Dolphins! It was so cool! We have decided these are some of the best beaches ever! The white sand is everywhere and absolutely breathtaking! We even got in a little beach volleyball...

Friends and family,

Thanks for all the support on race day I could feel your fast vibes out on the course! It was great having Erin and kids, my parents, my brother and his family and Edie Guess (Brent was with me all day long) out on the course to cheer me on, they helped bring me home!

The race went really well and I finished exactly where I had hoped if everything went perfectly. 9hrs, 12min, 3rd in my age group, 38th overall (including the pros, 12th amateur). I got my Kona slot (the top six in my age group got to go, 9:19 was the slowest qualifying time out of my age group, very competitive field, (at IMAZ07 I qualified with a 9:59....) so it's back to Hawaii in October of 09!

Below is a quick recap if you are interested (Yes I know I have the grammatical skills of a 2nd grader)

The swim was good, my slowest leg, it was a rough start and my goggles fogged and the early morning glare made it impossible to see anything. I figured I swam well over the 2.4 with all the zig zagging I was doing to try and stay on course, it never really allowed me to get into my rhythm but all the early morning master swims payed off because I felt strong the whole time and came out of the water ready to attack the bike.... 1:04....

The swim to bike transition was a long run up the beach and with the cooler temps I took some time to put on dry cloths... 5min

The bike... The first 20miles of the bike was a parking lot, with so many people coming out of the water so close together the course is just packed, I was passing people the entire time then at mile 20 we headed East on a long 30mile stretch straight into a10MPH wind it wasn't that bad and things spread out so I was able to drop into my rhythm (HR of 145... approx 260W average, per my data from back home, I wasn't riding with power). All you do is eat and drink and peddle. OK.. I was warned about the drafting and how bad it can be at Ironman Florida, the rule is 4 bike lengths between you and the next rider... the course is really flat and one big 112 mile loop so it's hard for the 12 referees to marshal it all... but they did their best. Well they weren't wrong, I would be riding along and then from behind I would be swallowed up by a group of 30+ riders all grouped together in a peleton, it was crazy seeing them peddle and coast, they would pass me by but I just stuck to my plan and personal ethics. At one point a guy got mad at me as I was dropping back through the group to let them go by, he said I was blocking him and messing up his draft, I told him I was very sorry... and that I would see him on the run...;o) At about half way the course turned South and West and the wind was largely at our back, this is when I started pushing it a little and pull in all those groups that had passed me earlier. Here's the best part, on one section of the course I was in such a zone, with no one in front of me for half a mile, that I missed a turn on the course, luckly the crowd stopped me w/o to much time lost, but when I turned around there were several other guys right behind me who had followed me because they were drafting on me, I appologized to them... HA... Mile 80 is typically where the race really begins and in the past has been were I start to struggle, but all my rides with Todd and Bruce payed off big time, I just felt stronger and stronger, and was blowing by groups, at one point I looked back over my shoulder and had what looked like half a mile train of bikes behind me all single file, I was the engine of a long train.. Choo Choo.... but even by the end they could'nt hang and I "road them off my wheel"..... 4:57... my training said I could do 5hrs... very satisfying because I did it fair and square.

Now you always worry what run legs will be waiting for you in T2, did I go too hard on the bike, did I eat and drink enough, how is my body going to react after 5hours in the aero position... but I knew I would have to have a solid run in order to have a shot at Kona...

I started the run out hard... but my run legs had made the trip and I knew I just needed to dial the pace back a bit and just grind it out and it would be ok... Our house in Panama City was right at mile one of the marathon which consisted of two 13.1 mile out and back loops, so I would get to see my family 4 times, what a huge boost! My brother and dad were tracking me on line so as I went by they would give me my position... 23rd in my age group off the bike (that surprised me a bit but with all the drafting I knew some pretenders were in front of me and you can't hide in a peleton during the run).. At the first time check (6.5miles) 18th, at the 2nd check (13miles) I was 12th,I knew I needed to be top 6, and I was making up a lot of ground but at the start of 2nd loop you get mixed in with all the people coming off the bike starting their 1st loop so you have a hard time telling who's the competition. Mile 13-20 are always tough miles in any marathon and for one that has 2.4miles of swimming and 112 miles of biking they become down right unpleasant, aerobically I was fine, all that air at sea level is great but my body was starting to break down. People say a flat marathon is easy because you don't have any hills but what they don't realize is you are using the exact same muscles every step of the way.. my quads and hamstrings were starting to complain. I just found my zone and worked through hoping I wouldn't cramp up.. I made it to mile 20 and I knew I was home.. I just pushed it home and when my dad and brother told me I was in 6th back at the last check (20.. miles) I knew I had probably made it but I still pushed in because I didn't want to leave it up to chance... 3:02 - 6:58 pace... I had a delusional goal of sub 3hrs but that will have to wait until Kona. ;o)

The finish: Came in strong knowing there is still more to give... Kona...

MY FAMILY, having my family there at the finish line to hug me is what makes it all worth it, because let me tell you I don't smell like roses, and supporting me all day (and all year) just so I can go out and play is something I will always be grateful for.

11 months until Kona...

Well, we have a new president... We will support him and pray for him to make the right decisions for our country that we all love so dearly... We are very proud of McCain and how he handled this election with class and dignity and we look forward to seeing more of Sarah Palin in the future..