A word of encouragement during (or right after) a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success.
- Anonymous

I couple of years ago I decided to run an Olympic triathlon, and so in preparation I signed up to run a few sprint triathlons. My training early on consisted of thinking about how unprepared I was for 6 days out of the week and actually running or swimming one or two days each week. I didn’t tell anybody that I would be running the TELOS Tri (sprint) and when I arrived by myself with my brother’s bike, I didn’t know what to expect. It was such a cold day that they decided to reverse the normal order (Swim, Bike, Run) to be Run, Bike, Swim. It changed from going from my weakest to strongest events to be the opposite (my strongest to weakest). If I was wiser, I would have given up. I ran 3.1 miles, I biked 12, and then the (300 or 400 M ) swim and pain began. After the first lap, I quickly realized why the swim is supposed to be first- there are fewer deaths of people drowning because of exhaustion. I thought I was going to die. My energy was all spent on the less hazardous events of biking and running and I couldn’t get it out of my mind that “if you get tired running or biking, you can stop or pass out and still live, not so easy to do when you are in the middle of a long square pool with people splashing water on you as they painlessly pass your patheticness. I don’t remember most of the thoughts that went through my mind, but I remember finally reaching the edge of the pool after my last lap and it taking me an extra minute or two to muster the strength to climb out of the pool and as I hobbled toward my towel, I couldn’t contain my stomach and the little food and a lot of pool water that was in there came spewing out. After the second time, I was so embarrassed and discouraged, I grabbed my towel and went straight to my car, head hanging low, body beaten, stomach still struggling, and so so sad. It was at that time that I realized how important it was to me to have received the steady and frequent support supplied by my parents throughout my life (seriously, they never missed an event/race/performance/concert). I called my mom after that to tell her that I could barely finish the sprint tri- and I tried to convince her that if I did an Olympic tri, I would surely die. She then gave me some words of encouragement and told me that I could do it and that I would not die. I believed her and it was her words of encouragement that stopped me from giving up on accomplishing my first (and maybe last) Olympic Triathlon.

Mike Linton- testing out wet suit in preparation for first open water swim.

Click here to view these pictures larger

It has been exactly one week since we were all running the Wasatch Back Relay. I decided to create this video to try to convey the fun that we had. For anybody that is wondering what the Ragnar Relay is I will tell you. It is a 188 mile race that starts in Logan and ends in Park City. 12 runners divide up the miles and each runner runs 3 legs. There are 2 vans with 6 people in each van. It is quite the experience. For more information please go to http://www.ragnarrelay.com/

If you are interested in making your own videos like this, click on this link and buy a year pass to make as many videos as you want.

For the second time church basketball has sent me to the hospital to mend my face with needle and thread. This time it was only four stitches and a black eye.

More details and picture to come

Ultimate Frisbee

GMAT studying

Michelle’s Birthday

Bought Food Storage

Dinner at Francks

FHE Latin Dancing

Play Basketball at the Energy Solutions Arena

Fireside about Joseph Smith

Ward Amazing Race (stopped to try and Win wicked tickets)

Strawberry Burnt Down Trees

Played Compatibility

Went up to Strawberry

First Golf of the Season

Ward Temple Night

FHE Ultimate Frisbee

Sang at a Fireside

Went on a spontaneous trip to Zion National Park

Hiked Angels Landing

Went Skiing for the last time this season

Dinner with old friends (Andy and Heidi)

D &C Institute Class

Ward Ministry Night

Taxes

Sang at General Conference

Calderwood/Horn Wedding Reception

About 6 months ago my brother told me how you can ski for free at Alta ski resort. He told me that the sunnyside lift is free everyday after 3pm. Michelle had a goal to learn how to ski this season and so I was excited to take advantage of the free 1.5 hours of skiing which is the perfect amount of time for a beginner to learn without getting discouraged, cold and/or hurt and more importantly the teacher doesn't have time to express intense frustration or impatience. We ended up going about 5 times this season (for free) and Michelle has become a good skiier. To illustrate, yesterday we went up and in blizzard conditions Michelle decided to tackle a blue (medium) run. All I have to say right now (until I get her permission to publicly describe what really happened) is she did really well even when she couldn't see due to the fog and snow. Great ending to a good season

Well it is that time of the month again. I go through my calendar and expenses and ask myself what I did or didn’t accomplish in the last month and then I try to figure out how to make the next month better. This usually consists of a commitment to spend less, train for the upcoming race (this time the ragnar relay), work smarter at my job, be kinder to my best friends, go to bed earlier and get up earlier, home teach every single person (even those that don’t return my phone calls), read more, and eat healthier.

So where did March go? I’ll sum it up in a few words. Choir Practice, Volunteering at Draper Temple, skiing, new business ideas, church basketball, U of U gymnastics tournament, National Dancesport Championship, blogging, starting to study for the GMAT , painting, planting peas, and of course a lot of Valcom work both day and night.

I have learned that I feel a lot more productive in the car when I listen to a book on CD. This month I listened to “Presidential Courage” which went through all the presidents of the United States from the beginning and described situations where they had to go against the popular opinion to do what was right for the nation. I recommend it but just know that although the content was interesting, the reader was a little dry and hard to listen to.

Some random things I learned; people react very differently to abstract art, when I am stressed I clean my room and car, it is possible to study for one month and get over a 700 on the GMAT, I like V8 fusion, Kyoto’s is still the best Japanese restaurant in town, www.condron.us is an interesting way to blog surf (but beware lest ye waste time), how to prune a pear tree, how to sell your art, that I can throw the cup, that you use to pour laundry detergent, into the washer with the clothes and it comes out perfectly leaving no residue around to worry about, I have a lot to be thankful for, memorizing gets easier the more you do it.

That’s all for March

January was a busy month. I wished I had more time to write about each day and post it, but I figure that if I just write down the highlights, then I will actually post it. Each of these events probably deserves an entry of its own, but here is the summary.
Here we go!
Every year Valcom does a sales retreat. This year we went up to the homestead and stayed overnight. We got up in the morning and went snowmobiling all day. Michelle came and it was really fun for both of us. I love that Valcom is good to their employees. I can’t thank my bosses (Rich and Shaun) enough.
After snowmobiling we jumped in the car and came down to the BYU vs. Wake Forest basketball game. Brad and Jessica came with us. And my parents brought James. It was fun.
Each of my Sundays is similar. I get up at 6am, make the agenda for Bishopric meeting. Go to meetings at 7am and go until around 4pm (fight to stay awake in each meeting). Eat dinner and then I go to choir. I have been blessed with the opportunity to sing during one of the dedicatory sessions of the Draper Temple and I love the choir and the songs we are singing. The choir director is the best! I come home or go to game night and then come to bed.
FHE’s on Mondays. This month we did Human Foosball, Pie eating contest, and some Karaoke.
I had my 27th Birthday, and it landed on Temple night, so our ward went to the temple and then afterwards we went to the Bishop’s for refreshments. They gave me a birthday cake and it made my birthday special. My ward is the greatest. Michelle gave me a pair of Snowshoes. We will use them in February. My brother Josh got me some maps, and I really appreciate the gifts.
Wednesday nights the Bishop has interviews and he likes me to be there, so I sometimes do work and chat with people in the ward. We have such a great ward and I am blessed by the people that are in it.
I learned that it is free to ski at Alta, everyday from 3pm until 4:30 pm, so Michelle and I went 2 times this month. We took James this past Saturday and had a great time; you’ll see the pictures below. Michelle has learned quickly and soon will be tearing up the black diamonds. It was fun to have James with us too.
I took a customer snowboarding and I learned that I like to Ski a lot more than I like to snowboard. When I was brave enough, I would get going fast and then I would catch an edge and my head would hit the ground hard. I went on my first black diamond (snowboarding) and after a few lift rides I convinced my customer to go too, it was really steep and so after he fell once, he couldn’t get back up and so he slid down on his butt the whole way. It was hilarious, but I couldn’t laugh that much out loud because he is a great customer and it was my fault that I pressured him to go on it.
We had the opportunity to hear the Temple presidency speak and then we toured the new Draper Temple- it was a great experience. I think I will try and be a worker this year.
One of my customers goes to this chiropractor that claims he can cure my allergies. I started treatments this month. It is pretty crazy, but maybe it will work. It is worth trying.
Our stake had the opportunity to volunteer at the Draper Temple Open house. I was in charge of pushing some elderly people around the temple and coordinating elevator logistics (very challenging) and then at night I got to direct people back to the correct busses. It was seriously one of the best experiences ever. I had a blast.
I love to play games and so a couple nights this month, Michelle and I went over to play Ticket to Ride and Canasta with my parents. It was fun. Michelle won ticket to ride and my parents wasted us at Canasta.
Church basketball has started up again. We are 2 wins and 2 losses. We are struggling whether to play our best players and win or play all of us and lose. Personally, I’d prefer to have me sit out and have the team win, rather than being in the game and making us lose. Not everybody feels that way, so we had a team meeting to discuss if our purpose was to win or to play everybody equally. We’ll see how the next game goes. They just called Whitney to be our coach, and she has done a great job.
I decided to keep my eyes open for a new house, but I haven’t found any I am absolutely in love with or that I am sure I want to live in. We’ll see how the house search continues this month.
The last two times I have spoken in this ward, somebody from the Bishopric has called me up on Friday night and asked me to speak on Sunday. That happened this month. I spoke about the law of the harvest. It turned out ok. Michelle had to speak with the same little prep time and she did a great job.

Jousting Josh @ Valcom Work Party- All I have to say is that my mom knows how to through a good party. Thanks Mom!!