Tastes Like Wallaby

Congratulations to Juan!

Posted by Kristy:  The end of every school year brings a new season of ceremonious occasions that we celebrate.  Obviously, high school commencement is one of the most special of these milestones for parents, students and faculty.  This spring marks the end of my 6th year as a teacher, which means that the class of 2009 includes students from the second year of my career!

Today, Andy and I were honored to attend the graduation of  Juan Salas, one of my former 8th graders, from Summit High School in Breckenridge, Colorado.  After the ceremony, Andy and I took Juan out to lunch at “Downstairs at Eric’s” (home of Breckenridge’s best pizza).  As we ate, we chatted with Juan about his experiences, future plans, and some of the people we knew when he was in 8th grade. 

Juan’s stories, thoughts, and goals made it clear to us exactly what a momentous accomplishment his graduation was.  He told us that many of his friends (my former students) have dropped out of school and have children.  We learned that he is the first of his family of seven to attain a high school diploma.  He explained that a high school diploma was important to him because of the doors of opportunities that it opens.  Juan even told us how he helped another friend, who had taken a year off, go back to high school.  (That friend earned a diploma today as well!) 

As we followed I-70 down the mountains and back home, Andy and I had a chance to discuss how impressed we were by Juan and his incredible decisions.  He has consistently made the harder right choices and beat all the statistics that were stacked against him.  During my discussion with Andy, I slowly realized that seeing Juan achieve this amazing success was one of the coolest moments of my career.   So, congratulations to you, Juan!  Thanks for letting us share in your day.

Return to racing

Posted by Andy: Yesterday I competed in my first triathlon in several years. My good friend Norman encouraged me years ago to give it a try, and I loved how a race focused me on training, and eating and living more healthy – as well as the competition. At Spring Canyon I didn’t have access to a pool (only 34 degree pond water), and stayed active with the Outdoor Program, so racing kind of faded away. A couple years ago after my back injury my ortho doc told me I’d probably never be able to run consistently for exercise again, and that I’d just have to ‘take it easy.’ In the dark days of my back injury – as recently as November when I ate Thanksgiving dinner laying on the floor – I wondered if I’d ever be active again and be able to enjoy the good things in life again: running and playing outdoors with my family and friends and dogs. Fortunately my friend Tom encouraged me to try chiropractic, and that combined with massage has returned me to full activity. I mentioned one time to my chiropractor that I used to do triathlons, and then he started pestering me to sign up for a race (every time I saw him!). So I signed up for a sprint triathlon (800 yd swim, 14 mi bike, 3.1 mi run) in March for a race May 2nd, and once again felt that same focus on training and living well. The race was yesterday at the Air Force Academy in Co Springs, and the weather was lousy – about 35-40 degrees and light rain. All week Micah peppered me with encouraging phone calls, and Kristy made t-shirts with ‘Team A-Train’ on them for anyone brave enough to wear them. As I was about to finish the swim in the cadet pool, I saw out of my goggles Micah, Keri, Thomas (Keri’s brother), and Margaret (Thomas’ wife) – cheering for me at poolside! I ran out to the transition area where athletes change gear for the bike, and Kristy and my friends Tom and Danielle chased me down and shouted more encouragement. Out on the bike, it was totally miserable – my legs were freezing and an unnatural red and purple. Most of the bike route was a nasty uphill. About halfway through, Tom – an Air Force officer and very familiar with the Air Force Academy – pulled up with Micah hanging out the passenger side window – cheering for me like I was returning from 20 years in a prisoner of war camp. Tom gave me great intel about the hills, and I felt much better. All along the bike route, the whole cheering section would stop at regular intervals and cheer me on – my favorite was Micah running along side me like I was leading a mountain phase of the Tour de France. Even little Skylar was there in her down onesy!! At the finish line there was a whole gang to take my picture and present me with my finisher’s medal. What a way to get back into racing :) It should be said that as far as I know, no other racer had their own personal cheering section with customized shirts. This is usually reserved for big races, professional athletes, and/or warm weather!! I am truly blessed with the most amazing wife, family, and friends a man could ever hope for. The icing on the cake was that I finished better than I thought: 20th place of 70 men, and 2nd place out of 7 in my age group. Can’t wait for the next race…