A Run in the Park

On October 22nd I (Aaron here) ran my 2nd half marathon. Unlike my 1st one back in Wichita in 2008 this one was anything but flat . It was along a road in South Mountain Park in south Phoenix.

This is the last 100 yds. of the race. Notice the wild race fans!




Afterwards I accepted requests to pose with my fan club


Lessons Learned

1. When going for a training run in a park with "Mountain" in the name, know what roads you should be taking.  
• One week before the race I went to South Mountain Park to do a 10 mile training run, missed a key turn, and ran the 3 hardest miles of my life doing switchbacks and curves up the face of a mountain. By the time I realized I was on the wrong road I had talked myself out of coming back for the real race one week later.
2. What goes down must come up
• The 2nd half of the race was mostly up hill. The grade and length of which I've never run. After running my fastest mile on record during the downhill portion it was all I could do to catch people that were walking up the hills on the 2nd half of the race.

San Diego trip

Early in September, we took a weekend trip to San Diego to beat the heat. We had a pretty relaxed agenda that included the zoo, the ocean, cooler weather, and we hoped to meet up with former Wichitans Kyle and Carly Walters and their children. The night before, I hurt my back which delayed our departure and made Friday difficult. However, I got to see the chiropractor and survived the drive (lots of pillows), we have a better appreciation of what real dessert looks like, had real Hawaiian food for the first time, and stopped by Mission Beach before settling into our hotel for the night. Saturday the San Diego Zoo was excellent and I was able to walk around well. Toward the end of the day we met up with the Walters at the zoo for a ride in the air tram followed by dinner at a local taco shop. Sunday we visited their church and visited Coronado Beach before heading home. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Photo op with Mary and Josiah

There is such a thing as a free ride for this monkey!

Baby Giraffe.

Mary and Zoe on the air tram.

My sweet family!

When I downloaded this photos I was surprised to see....my cousin Megan! I thought she was out of the country then, which she confirmed.  She said has been told she has a look alike that runs on Mission Beach!

Becca the Beautiful

Last weekend we had the opportunity to see many friends and family members in Kansas. It went too fast, but I'm thankful for every minute we had! The highlight of our trip was witnessing the marriage of Joshua Ruby and Becca Butler. I don't member when I first met Becca, but we got to know her in the summer of 2008 and grew to love her when she moved in with us for a season. She didn't know it, but when she moved in she enrolled in a marriage mythbusters course as well as baby boot camp!

When I met Becca, she had a brilliant smile and sparkling eyes framed by a cascade of beautiful brown curls. However, it was the inner beauty of her heart that compelled me to call her Becca the Beautiful. Now that she is married, I'll call her Becca (the Beautiful) Ruby and I can't think of a better name! Just like a precious gem, Becca was sought after and is treasured, first by Christ Jesus and now also by Joshua. It has been a joy to see God use her life to bring glory to Himself by investing in women in Wichita as well as impacting college students across the world. May their marriage be marked by daily faithfullness in following Christ and loving people along the way.