Ankle Red Alert

Not sure this is what the doctor ordered!  This is what my ankle looks like this morning after a little bit of a roll on a long run.  Honestly, it didn't feel like it was this bad, but I guess being on mild blood thinners for my heart really adds to what normally would be some mild swelling with a rolled ankle.  Everything still feels tight with the joint, which is a great sign, given that this is the ankle I had surgery on a year or so ago!  I guess I will try to stay off of it for a bit and let it heal before running some more...

High School Soccer - #8

Gavin made the Legacy High School soccer team!  He was pumped to make the "C" team and also somehow pulled off getting his old number, "8", over some other guys on the team that wanted it.  We are so proud of him!  I think it's a great start going into high school to be a part of a sports team and to have a known set of people that you see around school and recognize you.  This is particularly important at a school as big as Legacy.  I am excited to watch how Gavin continues to develop as a player and person and cheering on the Bolts!

Top Cops

Everyone watch out!  We have a new driver on the road.  Gavin has completed his Top Cops training, which qualifies him to go take the permit driver's test after his birthday.  It was a three-day class and roughly eight hours a day.  Our sessions were taught by a retired police officer that was just a mountain of a man.  He was experienced, spoke really well, and was high energy and engaging...which is a perfect fit to sit in front of a bunch of too cool teenagers for three straight days.  I think Gavin really got a fair amount out of the class, though I am not sure how much he would admit it.  The next steps are to continue on with the Top Cops driving sessions with a teacher getting real driving experience out on the roads.  This guy is quite excited as I think he sees driving as a pathway to freedom.  I guess, when I was young, I saw the same so I can't blame him.

Arsenal Cup Recovery Time

The Arsenal Cup is a big soccer tournament that is held by the Arsenal Club in Fort Collins.  There is really great competition, but it means you have to drive four days in a row up to Fort Collins which is about an hour each way from Broomfield.  On this particular day we actually had a morning and then an afternoon game, so it didn't make sense to drive back in between.  We opted to pack some lunches and head up to the canyons west of Fort Collins for some rest and relaxation between games.  The guys had a lot of fun just digging out rocks by the banks of the river.

Here is Gage and Tara enjoying the cool weather up in the canyon with some food.

Gavin saw some people jumping into the river from these rocks over here and certainly wasn't going to pass up the opportunity!  The water was quite cold, though, so we had to get him warmed up after a bit in the deep water.  There is always stiff competition at the Arsenal Cup and this year was no exception.  The guys had a mix of wins & losses, but Gage played fairly well throughout the weekend.

 

Landscaping Work

While we finished up all of the landscaping on the sides of the house, coinciding with the back deck remodel, this back corner has always kind of been an overgrown and out of control problem.  I decided to cut everything way back and just confine everything to this little corner area.  The hope is that if we can keep it under control, there will be fewer wet areas for bugs and mosquitos to thrive.  With all the tall trees lining our back yard, we it actually stays quite cool and shady throughout the summer months.  Hopefully, a few of our flowers (tulips & poppies) survived the culling and will come back in this small area.  We also have our fine birdbath standing strong that Terry & Sandra gave us many years ago.

Legacy High School Soccer Tryouts

This was Gavin's first year at Legacy High School and thus the first year trying out for high school soccer.  We were really nervous about how this would turn out, as he just came off of year where he sat out the first half of the club soccer season and then came back to play the second half.  He was probably stronger, faster, and excited to play but the break didn't do much for his technical skills.  Further, Legacy has one of the best programs in the state for soccer and every year quite a few people try out and never make a team.  Here is Gavin working getting warmed up with the other freshmen.

Their typical approach to tryouts (that follows a summer of practices and two-a-days) is to do a timed all-out mile run and then go into some scrimmaging as they make their final selections for placement on the different teams.  We were hopeful that he would make the "C" team which is mostly Freshman/Sophomores.  I also told him that if he didn't make the soccer team, he would be joining the Cross Country team.  This apparently added some extra motivation to make the soccer team...

Ironman Boulder 70.3 - Tara's Relay

While Gage and I were in Utah for the soccer, Tara was actually taking part in her first Ironman 70.3 experience!  She teamed up with Mike and Audra Guthrie to do a relay for the Ironman Boulder 70.3 race.  I am really proud of her for doing this, as it can be quite intimidating and has been such a passion of mine for so many years.

Here she is all geared up and ready for her bike leg!  The 56 miles of the course are no joke with a sneaky amount of climbing and the day can really get hot for you out there.  That, coupled with the thousands of other riders that you are passing, or they are passing you and navigating aid stations with bottle hand ups, can all make for a very challenging day.

However, she conquered all of those things and here is the celebratory picture of the team with their medals after the finish line.  Audra completed the swim, Tara was on the bike, and Mike brought it home for a very hot half marathon run.  Tara also said to me that the race gave her some appreciation for what I have experienced with my racing and the draw or pull of these events that keep me training and going back after all these years.  So awesome!

Utah Soccer Trip w/ Gage - Part 4 of 4

On the final morning before driving back, we had a final training session with the coach we had from earlier training.  This practice was actually on the field at Weber State University, but another amazing field and view to train from.

These guys had some tired legs after three straight days of work, but pushed through and got some small-sided work and then some back and forth goal scoring games.  With the morning workshop complete, we said goodbye to Ogden and Salt Lake City.  A quick trip to Chipotle was on order and then Gage and I headed out for the drive across Utah and Wyoming and finally back to Colorado.  What a great trip!

Utah Soccer Trip w/ Gage - Part 3 of 4

This was the third day in Ogden and we took another team picture at the hotel before heading out to the same fields as the day before for game number two.  I have really enjoyed the trip with these guys, but also thankful that most of the parents made the trip along with their kids.  This keeps the cat herding a bit more under control.  However, the kids are still rooming with their teammates and not their parents which is good experience building for them as they will start to do more trips like this in the future.

After a quick jersey switch because the other team showed up in all blacks, we were ready to start prepping for game number two.  Here is Liam giving out some final instructions and position guidance before we take the field.

Another good game and another victory for the Broomfield boys.  We took a joint picture of the two teams together after the game.  The competition wasn't quite as good for what we had hoped for, but the experience was amazing.

Utah Soccer Trip w/ Gage - Part 2 of 4

The next morning started with a meandering walk around the area near the hotel, which included a walking mall a few blocks away.  The kids were already suited up for their game.  Here is a picture of Gage and Alexander near one of these funny painted horses that they had all around this mall area.

All of the games for the weekend were played at this complex (Spence Eccles - Ogden Community Sports Complex) which had two really nice turf fields with some stands alongside each field.

These guys were ready to play and dominated the competition in their first game, winning 4-1.  Thought it was a friendly competition, these guys were treating it like they would any other game and brough some physicality and speed to the field.  As you can see, the backdrop that these guys got to play in front of was just spectacular.  After a hard-fought game, we headed back to the hotel to have some down time and then eventually grab some dinner.  Gage and I actually went up into the canyon above the town and did a bit of swimming in the Pineview Reservoir.  This turned out to be an awesome break from the heat, though I was still getting over my fear of swimming given recent heart issues.

Utah Soccer Trip w/ Gage - Part 1 of 4

This was a friendly soccer trip to get some training and games in versus some Salt Lake teams that the Broomfield Soccer Club has established a relationship with.  As a first trip for these boys, we sat them down for some instructions on how to represent the team away from home and how to ensure that they are putting themselves in a good position to be able to perform at their best for the week.

The first event for the week was a special training session on Real Salt Lake's practice pitch.  The field was probably one of the nicest that I have ever played on, so the boys were definitely in for a treat.  This also comes at a time that most of the neighborhood fields in the area are on water restrictions and there are only a few places that are maintained this nicely.

This is the coach that led the team through drills and practice for the day.  He was an old friend that Coach Liam knew from back in England and now he leads a big youth club in Salt Lake.  Here he started talking mostly about space and shape and creating opportunities to open up the passing lanes.

He was really impressive with his instruction and control of the group, getting them to talk through how they think through what the activity is that they are about to take on.  I have to say this was as focused as I have ever seen these guys in a training session.  They were all locked in, which was great to see with such a special opportunity.

After about 90 minutes of warm up, instruction, and training, the group was happy to get a team picture with the coaches that help out.  The heat of the day was also starting to creep up on us, but what a great day and a beautiful area to be able to train.  Amazing!