Alaska Training

Training has brought us to Alaska this past weekend. It was life training at it's finest. Bijou did a fantastic job on the 5 hour flight. It is always handy to have grandpa, grandma and Auntie along. We made the 2 hour car ride from Anchorage to Soldotna in about 3 hours, lots of stopping. Alaska is amaizing. It is seemingly never ending beauty. I hope to get some pictures up but no time tonight.
Our tour of the school was great. So many great things are happening up there. The ministry that they are doing up there is very creative and needed. Janet and I are prayerfully considering jumping into it someday. God is doing amaizing things in the lives of the native people there.
Training has become a vital part of life for me. It has given me a positive place to process all thing in life that need thought. Naturally training up there was a necessity. There is such a connection made when you get up early to spend time in out in the raw elements. The Alaskan terrain was just that much more amaizing. We arrived Thursday and I was able to swim early Friday in the Keni High School pool. What friendly people and a great pool I might add. It was a misty rainy morning but it let up just enough after the swim for me to get a 30 min run in when I got back to the Hill's house, where we were staying. I wanted to run at an easy pace but the surrounding were so exciting I found it hard to keep it slow. A long hill was at the half way point and I couldn't resist pushing to the top. I found out first hand just how important nutrition is. I did not bring any of my protein, vitamin / recovery stuff. Much sustained soreness followed after my workouts, not typical. So important! Saturday morning we packed up our rental van and headed to Seward, a little harbor town on Resurrection Bay. We had been there in 01 and had to visit it again. What a treat. Sunday morning Bijou woke up at 5 am and Janet decided to stay up and give her a bath before breakfast so I took off for a hour run up the bay to the end of the road. Imagine starting the run on the docks with fishing boats, a big cruise ship and tour boats galore. Past the boat docks you jump on a walking path that takes you along the water past the town to a dirt road that follows right on the water. Water directly in the left and sheer mountain's climbing to 8-10,000 foot peaks to the right. As you run along waterfalls stream off the mountains and the sun reflects off the snow high on the tops. As I got further from the town I see a small object cruising along the shoreline. It's not every day you run along side a sea lion. I'm sure it wasn't every day he swam along side a runner. He followed me for about 20 yards or so and kept to the area he was in. Later down the road I happened upon a pair of sea otters. More curious than the sea lion, they really cruised along the shore line to check me out. Just beautiful, graceful creatures. What a treat! Down to the end of the road at Lowell Point where some beautiful ocean cabins were built on stilts along the shoreline. Turning around into the sunrise was a treat. Along the road back the pair of otters were gone but my sea lion was still cruising the shoreline. He was less interested in me this time but it was still a treat to run by. My legs were pretty tired buy the time I got near the hotel. I have never run that early before and without breakfast first, I was past empty. A one hour run for the history books! A quick breakfast and on the road back to Anchorage. Another 2 hr car ride of breath taking views.
A quick 5 hr flight back to Minnesota and that wrapped up a quick Alaska trip.

What a treat!