Triathlon Course

Race starts 9 am Pflugerville Lake
Click above link for directions
Swimming Course ~ 500 meters

Biking Duathlon/Athlon starts 9:15 am ~11.2 Miles
Be Careful to watch for those transitioning from swimming!
Wear a Bike Helmet!
Click the mile link for turn by turn directions.

Running Athlon ~3 Miles
Starts 10:10am

Be Responsible for your safety!! If swimming and you get a cramp tread water, float on your back. There will be a Kayak Man :) with a life jacket.

When biking be sure to have a helmet. The roads have lots of cyclists on them often in the area, but they are still traveled by cars and there are no shoulders. Be aware of what is surrounding you.

Remember this is an amateur event that is not sponsored. It is purely for a friendly fun get together with friends/family.

Most of all Have Fun!! Be proud of yourself for what you are accomplishing!

Thanks to all those who are volunteering to keep time, take pictures, hand out water, and kayak.

If you have any questions respond in the comments or send me an e-mail.

What is LOVE?

Can love be defined in a picture?

Is it the color RED?

Can you Google love?

Wikipedia seems to know what love is.

Apparently all you need is a LOVE Calculator to tell you if your relationship will work out.

My whole life I have probably been thinking about the idea of love. Hoping, wishing wanting it to happen to me. It is the love we all dream of having. Some people get it confused with lust/sex* or some Twilight version of love, a selfish need to have someone without whom we are nothing. The only person we are nothing without is Christ. Anyone else, it doesn't matter how amazing they are, if we are not good enough on our own then we will not be good enough with someone else. Same as if we are not happy on our own then someone else won't make us happy. It comes from within! So many times we think I want to be loved, but do we forget that we ourselves need to learn how to love? A Love calculator isn't going to determine if your relationship will work out. President Gordon B. Hinckley agreed with Pearl Buck, who said: "Love cannot be forced, love cannot be coaxed and teased. It comes out of heaven, unasked and unsought."

Often we try to force ourselves into love or force ourselves into thinking that we are in love. But love takes time, it grows. Love isn't "love at first sight" - that is attraction at first sight. Love comes as we take time to get to know someone, their interests, habits, perspective on life and the beliefs that we share. It comes as we share ambitions and dreams, hopes and fears. It is knowing someone well enough to learn their heart and character firsthand. President Hinckley has said, "Love--the companionship of one dearer than any friend; someone to be deliriously excited over and to be happy with; someone to stir within you the very best that is there; someone to grow more appreciative of, more tender toward, more grateful for, more a part of as one year becomes another and life move towards eternity." Love is a lifetime adventure to be embarked upon! Just like going on an adventure you get excited about it. President Hinckley quoted a columnist who said, "One of the grand errors we tend to make when we are young is supposing that a person is a bundle of qualities, and we add up the individual's good and bad qualities, like a bookkeeper working on debits and credits. If the balance is favorable, we may decide to take the jump [into marriage]... The world is full of unhappy men and women who married their mates because... it seemed to be a good investment. Love, however, is not an investment; it is an adventure." I remember a year+ or so ago thinking to myself and mentioning to Heavenly Father I want to find someone that I can have fun with. For me that meant that we would go out on backpacking, camping, traveling...adventures, that we would get lost together and laugh, that we could tease each other in a good way... For others it is something else. It is living, laughing, crying, forgiving, compassion, patience, happiness. Love is a gift bestowed and then to be acted upon. Like any gift from God if we do not act upon it, it can be taken away.

How do we act on this love that we find fills our hearts with hopes and dreams of how beautiful life could be?

This has been an unvocalized question in my heart for the last several months. I can't speak for how we get someone to fall in love with us, because this to me is a great mystery I wish to have unfolded in my life some day. But I can speak to how I have learned to ACT in Love.

I think one of the saddest things that I hear is when a wife or girlfriend treats their significant other with shrill voices, and live as if they are in control. I hear about it from co-workers, from friends, and I think there has got to be a better way. I remember listening to a talk given by Elder Holland called the Tongue of Angels. In this talk he gave some important chastisement to women. I remember at the time feeling grateful, because so often I feel like men are given the chastisement and women are looked over because they are sweet and sensitive. He said, "Wives, what of the unbridled tongue in your mouth, of the power for good or ill in your words? How is it that such a lovely voice which by divine nature is so angelic, so close to the veil, so instinctively gentle and inherently kind could ever in a turn be so shrill, so biting, so acrid and untamed? A woman's words can be more piercing than any dagger ever forged, and they can drive the people they love to retreat beyond a barrier more distant than anyone in the beginning of that exchange could ever have imagined. Sisters, there is no place in that magnificent spirit of yours for acerbic or abrasive expression of any kind, including gossip to backbiting or catty remarks." Would we treat our closest girlfriends in that kind of way? Why would we treat the closest men in our lives in such a way?

I listened to a talk the other day which well described many of the feelings that I have in regards to acting in love. It was called Ten Keys to Successful Dating and Marriage Relationships. It was given by Hugh W. Pinnock. The Ten things he lists are:

1.) Belief in Eternal Marriage

2.) Spirituality

3.)Communication

Any person you create a relationship with is going to have differences from you. There will be times that disagreements occur. We need to communicate our feelings and each person needs to not take offence but have understanding and compassion for feelings expressed.

4.)Kindness

5.)Trust

What I really appreciate about this one is that he said, "Be interested in one another, and yet set each other free to grow and mature--never free to flirt, but free to take on new challenges and to pursue new interests." I feel that dating or marriage is not meant to stifle your individuality but to encourage it, to support it, to embrace it. Something Sister Hinckley said about President Hinckley has long resonated with me, she said "He gave me wings to fly."

6.)Paying Compliments

7.)Talking Openly

Recently I have realized how important it is that we talk about the things that are hard to talk about. We should be able to have an open enough relationship to share our feelings of unhappiness without fear of backlash. We should be able to share our inner most fears without fear of being laughed at or chided.

8.)Apologizing and Forgetting

9.)Confiding Only in the Bishop (or Branch President)

10.)Having Fun

These 10 things I feel exemplify acting in love. And of course telling those that you love that you love them.

My hope is that we can learn to act in love. As Paul said, without charity we are nothing. To me that seems to speak that with charity we are everything. If we act in love even when there is none in return we become everything. Love is everything!

And the Greatest of These is Love President Gordon B. Hinckley

The Tongue of Angels Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

* Sex is not love, but it is an aspect of love in the appropriate setting. It is a beautiful, fun, pleasurable way to enhance a marriage relationship, but is not the only thing that will keep it going. Unfortunately you can't stay in bed all day every day, sometimes you have to come out and see the sun. =)

When I grow up!

When I was younger I liked to write poems and make up children's stories. One of which I illustrated and put on paper for a college course. Another I illustrated and began making copies for my brothers and sisters. Yet I never quite finished it. It takes time to draw. I recently found some of the poems I wrote and the story I began to make for my brother and sisters. I think I want to try and pick that one up again and complete it. Anyway one of my poems was called When I grow up. It illustrated the beauty of being a mom.

When I grow up I want to be a nurse!

Taking care of my children, cleaning their scrapes and kissing their boo boos.

When I grow up I want to be a singer!

Sing to my children as they nod off to sleep.

When I grow up I want to be an actor!

Play cowboys and Indians with my boys or dress up with my girls.

When I grow up I want to be a teacher!

Teach my children what is right and wrong and help them with their homework.

When I grow up I want to be a journalist!

I write my family newsletter to give to our Aunt's, Uncle's, and Grandparents.

When I grow up I want to be a business woman!

I keep track of all our bills, and budget our money.

When I grow up I want to be a caterer!

I plan and get ready meals daily.

When I grow up I want to manage a hotel!

My children's friends come over and have sleepovers.

When I grow up I want to write stories!

I make up stories for my children.

When I grow up I want to design clothes!

I make some of my children's clothes.

When I grow up I want to be an artist!

I draw pictures with my children and display them on the fridge.

When I grow up I want to be a coach!

I play all sorts of different sports with my children.

When I grow up I want to be a cheerleader!

I cheer my kids on in life.

When I grow up I want to be a photographer!

I take pictures at all sorts of events with my children.

When I grow up I want to be a film director!

I make home videos.

When I grow up I want to be a baker!

I cook all sorts of great treats for my kids' snacks.

When I grow up I want to be a secretary!

I keep everyone organized and remind him or her about their appointments.

When I grow up I want to be a Chauffeur!

I take everyone to the places that they need to be.

When I grow up I want to be a Mom!

Now there are probably a few things I would add to the list, and maybe a few I would take off. Like a Chauffeur, really??? What was I thinking. ha ha.

When I grow up I want to be an Adventurer!

I travel with my family and see all sorts of cool places and do cool things.

When I grow up I want to lead expeditions!

Plan hiking trips and backpack with my family.

When I grow up I want to be a personal trainer!

Help my family stay healthy and incorporate fun physical activity into their lives.

...

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Love, Faith, Hope in Christ

"Your spiritual destiny will have obstacles, delays, and equipment malfunctions. There will be mistakes. You may wonder if you are going to make it. Don’t be discouraged! You will also have moments of hope and faith as doors open and obstacles are overcome. Continue, persist, above all, believe in Christ and learn to follow Him and His prophets; endure, as Nephi said, with a “brightness of hope” (2 Nephi 31:20). As you do, I promise you, one day you will hear your name. You will make it." ~ Elder Neil L. Andersen This Quote can be found in the link below, which contains the talk he gave.

Preparing for your Spiritual Destiny

I have a quote on my door that says, "Things will work out. Keep trying. Be believing, Be happy. Don't get discouraged. Things will work out." President Gordon B. Hinckley said this. It was given to me on my mission but I have found it to apply so much in my life and often a needed reminder. I get tired, I get frustrated, I become overwhelmed. In those moments I rely on my faith from the past, on the past miracles that I have experienced, and on the past memories of truths witnessed to my soul. I remind myself to hope, hope for a brighter future.

Recently a friend was sharing with me her desire to have hope for a bright future. I really liked that idea and wanted to take action on having that hope. I know for myself it is one thing to say it in my head, but my heart doesn't always listen to what my head has to say. SO there are times when it takes an effort on my part to show my heart who is boss. Acting in hope is a beautiful thing. I have learned so much from it. It has also given me a chance to show my love a little bit more to those I appreciate in my life. When I act and choose the right choices, not just the good choices(as another good friend taught me), my heart becomes full and any discouragement, loneliness, frustration... gradually goes away, and it is replaced with love. Love of self, love of others, and love of Christ and our Father in Heaven.

Bored in the Bathroom?

My coworker friends are thinking we should ask to get these for each of the stalls in the bathrooms as a benefit and for employee morale. What do you think? :D

Moments

Life can be quite unexpected at times. Things are going well and then you are thrown a curve and expected to react in some sort of way to the unknown of what the future may bring. It is in those moments where I feel that I have come to know myself best. Where I have come to truly know my hearts desires. In some of those moments I have had the thoughts of what if this possibility of this trial came true in my life? How would my life be affected? What friends would I gain, what friends would I possibly lose? How would those close to me deal with the burden? Am I doing what I want to be doing in my life right now? Am I loving those that are around me enough? Am I saying goodbye to my fears? Am I living the kind of life that I am proud of? Am I serving the Lord to the best of my abilities? Are my prayers with real intent? Is my scripture study engaging? Am I doing all within my power to live a happy life? Am I supporting my friends? Tons and tons of questions enter the mind and you get down to your very deepest desires. Your prayers become even more earnest for those you love and you become a little less selfish in the process. Realizing in those moments what truly matters most. In the end my curve ball did not bring about the worst possibilities, but it did bring about a greater love for life and a greater love for those who I have to share my life with. It brought about a sense of peace that I am doing all I can do within my sphere to bring about my own happiness. Sure there are things that I am without that could add to my happiness but I cannot affect others choices, I can only make my own. And I am doing all that I can to act in hope for a brighter future and am grateful for the present light that I live in now!

Realizations

It is amazing when you come to realize that you love someone. When you truly have love in your heart your selfish desires seem to take a backseat along with jealousy. You realize that what you ultimately care about is their happiness. Your happiness doesn't take a back seat to theirs, it is only enhanced. Even if their happiness does not end up including you, when you truly love them and have an understanding of God's love you realize that "it is ok!" Your happiness can continue on realizing that you can love again with trust that some day that person you love will choose to love you back.