31 Hours 40 Minutes and 53 Seconds

Coach Watson's flawless recap of the Wasatch Back of 2008

"I have prepared much

I had the half marathon, the Salt Lake half ran in April

Full marathon in Ogden, we’ll be going past Ogden that I ran just about a month ago

Brutal though, but now I have just been doing a lot of speed work, track work,

talking to my coaches, talking to ex-Olympians, things like that.

I am ready to go..."

After this race in 2007, I promised myself I would not do it again. Naturally a year later I found myself as a team captain. The course was five miles longer and took team FANtastic five hours longer. Two months later, I look back at this whole experience with wonder and amazment. The Wasatch Back will be one of the greatest blessing of 2008. It goes to show how narrow one's perspective can be and how much we can miss if we don't pay attention.

Starting Over

When I picture progress I generally think of a steady upward slope. As we experience life, we are supposed to learn and get better as time goes on. As I look at my life, this doesn't seem to ring true. As I review my many issues, I realize I am not any better off today than I was yesterday. To be honest, I'm likely less capable of handling issues than ever before.

I have become a slave to many habits that are holding me back from what will truly make me happy. It's a very sobering experience to realize the very things I seek to for comfort are in fact the very things that are keeping me from the growth I need to become who I need to be. The truth is the fact that I ran a few marathons yesterday is not going to do me a bit of good today if I don't continue running. The accomplishments of yesterday are only valuable if we choose to continue to learn from them.

As I start over this fall, I hope I have the strength to get out of my comfort zone and embrace the changes I need.

"Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and more skilled, more self-confident and more successful." - Mark Victor Hansen

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw