My Family

Christopher Babb

Celisse Babb

Father-Jack Babb

Mother-Judy Babb

Son-Christopher Babb

Son-Justin Babb

Daughter- Melissa Babb

Son- Matthew Babb

Father-Christopher Babb

Mother-Celisse Babb

Daughter-Alcie Jane Babb

My Life- By Me

Personal History

Christopher Michael Babb

           

I’ll never be the first man to set foot on the Moon, and I’ll likely never be the President of the United States or the President of the Church. I plan to do some awesome things in my day but I’ll probably never break an athletic World Record, receive a medal of honor or change the course of society, as we know it. My name will probably never be used in the same sentence with names like Einstein, Armstrong, or Washington. These men and these things all have one thing in common, they will always be remembered for one thing they did, their lives are summed up in a short title. When anyone asks about these men people reply, “oh he was the President, he was the first man on the moon, he was the smartest scientist that ever lived.” Their lives are easy to define because they are famous, and always will be, but I am not famous. I am not famous, not really famous; the world does not know me for one thing. Some know me for cycling, others for running, others for the Marines, and others for untold amounts of incidents. I myself define myself differently practically every week and the older I get the more difficult it is to really define my past. It’s all relative to how I see it now. Here’s the point, I apologize if anyone feels that significant things have been left out and though I try to be as accurate as possible I understand if some see certain incidences differently than I do. I’m not famous and I love my life, I feel quite blessed that it can’t be summed up in three words but some readers may not…oh well.

            I have always been interested in writing a sort of auto- biography or more accurately an extended yet summarized journal. The only problem has been where to stop, at what point do I say, “Ok that was officially a major chapter in my life and now it’s over,” you don’t have that kind of moment very often. Life goes on and putting extensive time into a piece of writing which immediately after completion seems somewhat meaningless or premature so it never happens. The book never gets written. Until now this has been an ongoing problem for me, but now I have my stopping point and it’s as obvious and clear as a bright summers day. My wife Celisse is pregnant, with seven months to go by the time I finish this book the first major chapter of my life, my childhood, will be over forever. Life will go on certainly but I will never again be the young single independent young spirit I once was. I’ll be crossing into a whole new chapter in my existence, so before I forget I would like to introduce you to my growing up, the first 20 years at least. Next time I decide to write something like this I’ll be mainly referring to children. I’m writing this in the hope that my kids can have a look at their dad when he was their age and hopefully come to an understanding of where he’s coming from and hopefully see that they are not really that much different from me. As of this writing I am just barely leaving this stage of my life and I still feel many of the same things I did throughout it. I don’t quite yet have that fathers perspective, so hopefully anyone reading, including myself can really connect with this naïve version of myself because of that. I hope that the mistakes and triumphs contained throughout my life can serve as another set of Do’s and Don’ts for my children to pull from.

            I was born on August 26^th 1990, at Tucson Medical Center, Tucson, Pima County, Arizona to Judith Annette Babb. My grandma Bixler, and my Mom’s best friend Anna Knight were in attendance. My donor as I call him was not in attendance, and has never been in the picture. My mom had a relationship with a man for a short time, she got pregnant, and when he nearly got abusive, she got out. I can only hope that I don’t exhibit any of his traits, but there are times when I wonder. I had a single mom, yes, but times were good, she loved me and raised me the best way she could. We lived next to her best friend Anna across from the LDS church building that we attended near the corner of Alvernon and Ft. Lowell. I was then and always have been to varying degrees a member of the LDS Church, the Church of Jesus Chris of Latter Day Saints.  Since there was no worthy priesthood holder in our family I was blessed by the bishop, I don’t know what he said but I’m told he did a fine job.

            I was able to walk before I turned a year old, and running wasn’t far behind. My cousins Jason and Tasha were determined that I wasn’t going to leave their house that day until I had learned to walk. They succeeded, and my mom came back to pick me up finding I had mastered a completely new and useful skill. My first birthday party was a great turn out; I was presented with an entire cake to myself while an admittedly larger cake was served to the guests.

            I never had a dad. From the day I came into the world I was being raised by women and so far nothing had gone wrong, but nonetheless I know I would have missed out on a lot had Jack Babb not come into the picture in 1992. After an adequate courtship my mom married Jack Babb in the Mesa Arizona Temple. They were sealed for time and all eternity. Jack became my Dad and regardless of our ups and downs, I am very grateful to that. He is my dad just as much as any biological father ever could have been perhaps even more so. My mom had me when she was 32 years old so even though I was only two and my parents were the same age; he managed to have a daughter that was 14 years old! Yes, Christi, came along two, our family went from two to four instantaneously. Our whole family was sealed in the temple some time later but it took some time and my dad legally adopted me, and my mom legally adopted Christi. Christi was a handful, she was a teenager with a new family, a new home, and a new bed believe it or not. I was in the same boat but as I was young and teachable I was excited, Christi on the other hand was impossible to get out of bed in the morning, I know because I woke her up everyday.

            My mom was a city girl/a lot of other things but being a cowboy wasn’t one of them. My Dad was a cowboy and when my parents got married, our culture changed drastically. Boots came into style practically overnight and we started going to rodeos. We didn’t go to many rodeos, but we went when there was going to be sheep riding. My Dad had me ride the sheep and though I remember having a blast, my parents claim differently. We didn’t go for long but we got some great photographs from the experience. My dad had me sitting on horses, helping him garden and do a slew of other things I had never done before.

            Justine Babb was born on December 7^th 1993, our dad’s birthday. At six pounds 3 ounces, he would be an ounce heavier than I was and the heaviest baby my mom would ever have. Now days he would be seen as a tiny baby and to some people it would have been the same back then but for us he was a chunk and he grew fast. Justin is an interesting character, the most interesting thing about him is that no matter how young he was when a picture was take of him he has always looked like Justin, he has the most unique face I have ever seen.

            By 1994, my parents had purchased a modest home in northwest Tucson. As of this writing, I have lived in no single house longer and breaking that record is one of my goals. I probably won’t be able to even get started for sometime but I’ll beat it eventually. I will always have fond memories of that house, but it was also the place of much heartache. I prefer to think of that house, the first house my parents ever bought as the place of the most beautiful Christmas’s and where I was introduced to some of the most amazing scientific and artistic concepts I have ever learned. I learned how to ride bike in the back yard and perfected it in the cul da sac out front. I found my love of foot races there and learned so many every day skills. I had a dog named Buck; he looked like a lab but if he was it was mixed with something else. He was far too short to be a lab. I also had my first rabbit, but the Arizona heat got to it while we were on vacation.

            1994 was also the year of the family reunion. My Mom’s family only holds a reunion ever 10 years; yes, only once a decade does that side of the family get together. I have only been to two in my life time and the first one was particularly note worthy. 18 years on I don’t remember the exact route but it practically doubled my state count. The Family reunion was in La Center Washington at the Devine’s property, a beautiful place but we also got to see many other places. Northern California where my great grandparents lived, Oregon where my sister Christi was left at a cousins, she never returned home. Wyoming and Montana, particularly Yellowstone National Park where the next set of children would be conceived.

           

            1995 would see a ton of changes for my young life. Early in the year the twins Matthew and Melissa were born. They were born on March 18, Melissa being born first. I had a little sister and another little brother. Plain and Peanut they were referred to and earned the moniker M&M. It was I who predicted the dual pregnancy. I told my mom one day that she was having two babies, she took it as prophecy, I thought for sure someone had already told me that. This strange pattern of accurate baby fact guessing has continued throughout my life. I also started school for the first time, I attended kindergarten at Richardson Elementary. I was taught by dual teachers. There was a Red class and a Yellow class, one teacher would teach the red class an academic subject while the other teacher would teach the yellow class a more fun and practical subject, after some time the classes would switch. We would also other classes on certain days that were at other places in the school. Music, PE, computer and other fun classes were mixed in. I was forced to repeat kindergarten the next year despite my clear mastery of the material. They said I wasn’t mature enough for 1^st grade. I had entered kindergarten before I was 5 and I wasn’t technically old enough to be in the first grade, which is more closely monitored by the state than kindergarten. It took me a long time to forgive my teachers, I only forgave them fully when I realized all the things I would have missed out on, all the people I wouldn’t have met had I been just one year further ahead in school. During my first couple weeks of kindergarten I landed myself a girl friend Loren Leon, a Hispanic girl who was apparently my match. I wasn’t particularly popular growing up, partly because I was held back in kindergarten, partly because I was a nice kid, partly because I wasn’t chunky or played foot ball, and partly because I was more athletic and smarter than most. I got picked on until I gained more muscle, more social savvy, and the people around appreciated who I was. The first couple weeks in kindergarten were probably the only times I was popular for a long time though but that made me perfect for the popular and pretty Loren Leon. We went out for two weeks, we kind of hung out more or less and it felt more like a diplomatic agreement than a relationship but it wasn’t long before she claimed I was spending too much time with her and broke up with me. This will remain the only time it has been the girl who has broken up with me and not the other way around.

            In 1996 my mom would get pregnant for the last time, but the pregnancy would not be a success. Daniel Isaac Babb would only live until 4 weeks gestation before he would be wrapped up in his cord. It is unclear whether it was his delivery or the subsequent depression but something sent my mother into an early menopause and she would never be able to get pregnant again. This was a hard time for all of us, and my mom had a really hard time. By and by though we all lived and though we lost Daniel we were able to find happiness and peace. Some prefer not to mention lost children, especially when they were never apart of their lives but we choose to honor him as a member of our family.

            I did plenty of cool things that year though, I gave my first talk in primary on September 11, 1996. It was a proud day for my parents. My Dad helped me prepare the talk.

            Many people know me for my running, and in truth it started with my great success in short foot races against the kids in my neighborhood but there is only a small group of people who know me for my sprinting. That is because my distance running is much better and I enjoy it so much more. It’s hard to really pinpoint where that love really took hold of me but the first time it caught my attention was at an event for a young friend of mine who had cancer. The event was called Jogging for Joey, it included a small entry fee and a run of as many laps as you wanted (the more you ran the more money sponsors donated) around the elementary school field. It was raining and cold that day, many of the other activities that were set up where a complete disaster but the run was a total success. I was amazed at how many laps I could run and I didn’t get tired. My friend Joey beat his cancer, and the last I heard was doing just fine.

            This was also the year of another terrible incident. Matthew had just turned a year old the day prior when he managed to climb the two foot aluminum side of our stock tank slash swimming pool and fall head first into the icy water. Tucson is known for being hot but in March the night time temperatures drop considerably putting the water in the pool at near freezing. Matthew was under water for just about a minute when my parents noticed his absence and began to search for him. My mom found him with just his heal sticking out of the water. I remember the day very vividly. He was a bluish purple color, much the same color of a baby right after it has been born. My dad acted quickly, I was very scared but I had complete confidence and faith in my dad and in God. As one gets older it becomes much harder to believe so adamantly. My dad was a firefighter and EMT; he began CPR and continued until the firefighter showed up. My parents had changed their telephone number so when my mom called 911 the operators couldn’t figure out where they were despite the fact that my mom told them exactly where we lived 13 times. Finally, my dad picked up his radio and called for help directly to the firemen and ambulances themselves. My dad’s quick actions and the loyalty of his coworkers in rushing to our house as soon as they heard his call saved my brothers life. Most people who drown end up with brain damage and other life long issues, Matthews heart had stopped for a time, he had died, but because of a blessing and a miracle from God his quality of life was preserved.

            Every car I have ever personally owned,( all two of them at this point) has been a 1997, often I have sat in those automobiles and wondered about what I was doing when these vehicles were manufactured and what has gone on since then. This was the year I began playing little league baseball. I wanted to play hockey but my parents couldn’t afford it so I got to play baseball instead. I didn’t know this was their motive for signing me up until later and though I liked playing ball I often found myself quite confused as to why I was there. I had a great time though, and I wasn’t too bad at it either. My best friend at the time, a kid named Ryan Rhetz was the son of a former professional baseball player. Ryan was therefore a serious MVP and his Dad gave us great coaching tips. My Dad even helped coach, I have come to appreciate this because my dad doesn’t himself really care for organized sports especially team sports but he cared so much about being involved with his kids that he helped coach my team.

            My first grade teacher had been teaching for a long time when she informed us that we were the worst class she had ever had. She was an angry old women but she wouldn’t own up to her degradation of little kids when my mom asked her about it so she homeschooled me. She pulled me out and taught me herself. I don’t really believe it’s right to just pull out when you don’t agree with someone but my mom did a great job of teaching me. She got me excited about school and we could learn about things that I normally never would have. She also taught me how to read properly, something schools today completely neglect to do. It took me awhile to get reading down but when it finally clicked I could read anything.

            In 1998 plenty was happening, we were preparing to move to Payson, a long drive north of Tucson and I was turning 8 years old. I was still homeschooled and would remain so until the fourth grade, my only friends were at church and I was about to be baptized. There was virtually only kid that was in my exact age group during that time and that was Carin Angle, we had an interesting friendship. We were friends sure but at the same time we argued constantly and really didn’t get a long, anytime either of us did anything (went to a movie, hiked up a mountain, saw and animal at the zoo) we would have to validate our claim to the other. When I saw the Prince of Egypt in theaters Carin was not convinced I had seen it because I interpreted what the river had been turned into (wine or blood) differently that she did and because we both saw it in different theaters she was not convinced by my description of the building that I had been there. I knew I was moving and I was excited for the escape. We couldn’t escape each other though before being baptized together in the same service. Carin was upset of course, but I thought it was quite hilarious. Being baptized was very important to me, my dad told me before that it was my decision and I should make the decision I felt to be right. I chose to be baptized and I have never regretted it.

            1999 was about cycling for me as much of not more than it was for the rest of the world but I didn’t really realize it at the time. I was still homeschooled and Payson Arizona was great place for a kid with plenty of free time. I had known who Lance Armstrong was for years, you say his name and I say “the cyclist”? I didn’t know he had had cancer and from what I’d heard he had retired so I was quite surprised in 1999 to see him winning the Tour de France and the news cast playing that famous scene as he won atop Sestriere. He has no hands on the handlebars and he is out running the cars behind him, in reality the cars were following him but at the time I didn’t know cycling and was thoroughly impressed. I don’t want to say this was a direct result of seeing that because I am not sure but I began taking longer and longer bike rides through town. I started out riding to one stop light, the next day I would get brave and go one stoplight further. Before long I was riding all over town on my black mountain bike and learning a lot about the town. I had always liked bike riding but this is where my love of long distance bike riding really took hold.

            I was still rollerblading some that year but it wouldn’t last long. I was already losing interest (and places to ride) when I broke my arm for the first time at the skate park one day. It was a serious break but it was my first experience of many with broken bones.

            In 2000, I finally returned to public school. It was time, I made a lot of friends though because I wasn’t good at math and was put in a special tutor group once a day some thought I was kind of retarded. Kids are harsh but it was fourth grade and everything went just fine. I got my ham radio license that year with an invitation from my teacher. It was an awesome accomplishment. This was the year that I really started to get into running; if it weren’t for other sports I would have started running track and cross country just a year and a half after this. My dad would take my on his morning distance runs to stay fit. I had a hard time keeping up in those days but I just worked hard and I really enjoyed it. I also went on a few runs with the Cluff family who was in our ward, I have since surpassed them in accomplishment but they were the ones to introduce me to the sport, Isaac especially. Lana, an adoptive child of the family would be the one in 2010 to invite me and my best friend Wes to come run the Ragnar Relay with her on a team of 12 in a 204 mile relay race.

            When I finished 5^th grade in 2001 I had a different perspective on the world. 9/11 had opened my eyes to the incredible evil and danger that lies in this place. It would change the way I looked at life for a time, that view would later be changed again but it took that most serious and awful event to really open my eyes to world issues and decisions. I got the presidential award when I left Payson Elementary for averaging an A grade for both 4^th and 5^th grade.

            When I went to middle school I was daunted by running a full mile all at once. The mile seemed so big to me. I had probably run plenty of miles, perhaps even 2 and 3 at a time before but had never known it. It took me some time to convince myself but eventually I would run that mile completely with out stopping and I would only seek improvement from there. In 2002 my school seriously suffered, I had a hard time with the other teachers knowing just how good I was at school and I gave up.

            In 2003 I started riding bulls which meant my Dad wouldn’t let me run track. I was proud of my bull riding at the time. It was exciting and I liked the people I got to hang out with. I stayed on my first bull ever for the whole time and after a year I finished 13^th in state, not bad. I learned though that bull riding is no different from any other hard drug, it is extremely addicting, when I finally was clear of its affects I decided it was never worth it to go back. I’m just glad I was never injured too badly and that I had fun. I learned a lot but now I just see it as pointless.

            We moved to Show Low Arizona in 2004. In Payson I had started to gain popularity and friends and I worried I would lose that when we moved. In Show Low though I had even more friends and they were a much better influence. Jacob Hofeling was the first but he was followed by a solid group. Daniel Williams, Jeremy Webb, and later on Kyle Cluff and Wesley Dike. Hali Merrel was also a great influence. These friends would change over time, not that any were lost but the structure just shifted over time. Wes would become my best friend but Justin Butler would also grow close as we ran track. I have to thank my life to these people. There are many many more people I could name, the Clay Springs girls, the Linden kids, so many people set a great example for me. Bull riding and Payson had left me less in love with God than I should have been and the good people in Show Low gave that love back to me and proved to be true friends.

            When I got there the Junior High had 6 minute 9 minute and 12 minute run records. I promptly broke the 6 and 9 minute records. Not bad considering the school had been keeping records since 1972.

            In 2005 I ran in Junior high track, I finally ran track. I was a sprinter, a distance runner, and a jumper most of the time.  During the first semester of my freshmen year in high school I decided I wanted to do something cool so I entered a 109 mile bike race in Arizona. I hand never even raced a bike before but I believed I could do it. I trained and I finished El Tour de Tucson 2005 in 7hrs 15 minutes. I would do the race two more times and break my time record on each occasion.

The following is specific account of how my cycling career played out up until 2009

“When I was fourteen years old in 2005 I was delivering news papers at two in the morning when it was announced Lance Armstrong had one his seventh Tour de France, (a result I of course already knew). Shortly after my fifteenth birthday in late August I heard about a local bike race going on the next day, it was too late to enter that one but that day I made one of the strangest decisions of my life. I decided to start racing bicycles. Growing up in Tucson I knew about the annual El Tour de Tucson held every November and even though I had never ridden my bike twenty miles I entered the 109 mile main event. I trained every day for two months my legs grew drastically and I completed the 109 miles in the silver medal time group. I was riding a wal mart road bike. In 2006 I entered a couple of local bike races winning my age group in both one of which was the famed Bucket of Blood in Holbrook AZ. I came back to El Tour in 2006 and bettered my time. I still finished in the silver medal time bracket as before but I won a state of Arizona award for being the fastest one from my town. In 2007 I worked at the local dairy queen to buy a proper road bike and just a couple of weeks before El Tour I did. Sadly however tragedy struck November 9, 2007 when I was ran over by a box truck destroying my bike and sustaining serious injuries. It took me awhile to recover but in August 2008 I got new bikes so I finally decided to start racing for real. I entered the Arizona State Championship Time Trial just to check it out and got third. The next week I entered my first criterium and got third right behind the current state champion and a rider who was about to become one of the most formidable young riders in the country. We actually lapped the other racers. Both the guys that beat me were from Strada racing, that was the last race where I wasn't with Strada. My first race in Strada colors was the State Championship Hill Climb up Mt. Graham. I beat that formidable cyclist I told you about and got the silver medal. I went to El Tour and finally finished in the Gold medal time bracket. I raced a bit in 2009 but then joined the Marines. I didn't finish my training until late December but now I'm back and what I do this year is what this blog is all about. Thanks for reading.”

            In 2006 I rode El tour again. I was the fastest person on the Show Low High School Track distance team, though injuries and sickness would prevent me from ever being that successful in high school track again. I also helped to restart the Show Low Cross Country team, which hadn’t existed in 10 years.

            2007 was another year of running. I qualified individually to go to state in cross country and both the guys and girls qualified as a team. We won the first men’s team award ever for a show low cross country team and I unknowingly ran on the same Cross country team as my future wife.

I was also run over by a truck while riding my bike just a week after cross country state my junior year. I would never run in high school again, as healing took time, and I focused my comeback on cycling rather than running. The 2007 cross country season prompted me to write the following essay. It’s in second person and it gives a a really good picture and feeling of what it was like to run on that team.

“The first Award, second place

You train all season, you train for years, and you’ve been training for something special. Running 3-10 miles a day at variable efforts you build your body and your stamina into a force to be reckoned with. You can’t do it alone so you go out and recruit others to join the cause. Some of the runners you recruit are faster than you but it doesn’t matter. You don’t want to win you want the team to win. You understand the added challenge of getting one group of seven to beat another group of seven. You see the extra glory in forming a team that will take the first boys team award ever for your school. You have your team the season starts. You look closely at the results of the first race; you have done well as has your team. There is a long season left however, you understand that.  It becomes clear who your rivals are. You start forming personal rivals with runners from rival teams and run to beat them and them only. You keep in the back of your mind though what your true goal is. Team success. You and your team start up a new tradition. Prayer. You all gather around, religious or not, Christian or Buddhist. You need all the help you can get. You keep improving throughout the entire season. You now know who needs to race whom on an individual basis. You know if you beat this guy and your teammate beats this other guy and so on you’ll have them nicked. Regional’s comes and one team just takes off, they’ve been holding back all season. They will take regional’s but there is a plaque for the runners up and its between you and your biggest rival. They beat you last meet and are feeling confident. They had been worried in the beginning but are confident you will pose no threat to them today. You know different. The gun starts the race and you’re off. You run your race, you make sure you don’t lose track of the guy you are supposed to beat but you run your race. It’s desperately cold this day but you don’t mind, you know that as soon as you are done you can get back into your warm gear. You have hydrated properly and trained to peak precisely on this day. Your teammates have done the same. Your team is rolling strong. The rival team is looking surprised; they didn’t expect this from you. You cross the finish line thoroughly spent. No one can tell how the team has done; it is too close to call. Your friend from another school has won it but the rest of his team has done poorly. They will be no threat. You receive your individual awards and then stand waiting to hear the team results.  That one team has won it but what about 2nd and 3rd? They tell you it has come down to the very last runner. Cross Country races are only scored by the top 5 but this one was so close they have scored all the way to the last runner, number 7. They announce the results; you and your team have won out, receiving second place and a beautiful Plaque. If any one had run any slower you would have lost. If anyone had finished one place lower it would have been your biggest rival. You couldn’t have done it with anyone else.”

 Running has been an ever increasing part of my life, feel free to read my outlook on running and my philosophy on the body on life from 2012. The first couple paragraphs are an account of my experiences with The Ragnar Relay, the race involving Lana Cluff and Wesley Dike.

“Well, my first experience with the Ragnar relay series was certainly a memorable one. 204 miles from Prescott to Tempe is a race requiring a 12 person team split in to two six person vans, and as the tenth runner I was in van 2 (which for us was a Ford Explorer) and I was accompanied by old friends Lana Cluff and Wesley Dike as well as making 3 new friends. It was the longest race I have ever been involved with and it made for the furthest I have ever raced on foot. I had a really good a 7 miler a 10k and a 3 mile with in 24hrs is new territory for me in a racing perspective. I think I can confidently say I'm running faster than ever before. Wes ran amazing of course and I finally got to see how fast Lana really is. Over all our team did great though with this being the first Ragnar for many of us our car decorating skills weren't quite up to par. We like to say we showed our team spirit with our performance on the road as we gobbled up runner after runner. Eventually we passed everyone there was to pass and during our second legs we were all alone on the road with only two teams ahead of us by an hour. I was running a 6.2 mile leg at about 1:30 in the morning when one of the closer teams to us (about half an hour back) was subject to the tragedy of the event. 18 year old Robert Mayasich was hit by a car and remains in critical condition.( He later died) Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family. This meant that 95% of the teams were not able to continue so they were sent to the next major exchange where van 1 would take over, effectively skipping about forty miles of road where the race would be restarted. Lana came into this final check point of leg two as the mayhem of 351 teams began to show up. We went on to check point thirty where Wes the seventh runner would start his final leg and waited for word of whether or not the race would continue. We slept in the gym at foothills high school until we got a call saying that our van 1 team was about an hour from the exchange. Wes ran a hard 3.7 miles and I ran 3 miles as did Lana. I caught the Canadians and almost every other runner I could see and was passed by no one throughout the entire race. I ran 16.2 miles in all it was hard but it was awesome, I can't wait to do it again.

In 2010 I returned to track with the prompting of my good friend Justin Butler. I ran as an individual in three college track meets, the following is an account I wrote immediately after my second race.”

“
My second college race took place in the Aztec Invite at Pima Community College in Tucson AZ on Feb 6. I ran only the 800m this time and came away with a time of 2:15.75 beating last weeks time of 2:18 and finally beating Wesley Dike's official open 800m PR of 2:15.94. Slightly faster splits by him were have been reported and I'm after those next but as far as the official time I got it. The track was a mondo surface and though it was a 400m its geometry was not the traditional 4X100m we've become used to. Instead it had longer turns and slightly shorter straightaways, not sure if thats good or bad but it sure is different. The next monday my Nike D Rival III's came in and this saturday Ill race them in the 800m and then Ill be able to make a proper comparison between the no longer produced III's and the new IV's that I've been racing.”

I also ran a full competitive season at BYUI for indoor track. I was the eventual champion in the Mens B mile and two mile races.

            “It amazes me what the human body is capable of enduring

Last Saturday I ran my first 10 mile run of 2012 and it went splendidly. It was a cold day no doubt, roughly 26 degrees and when the road turned north, or east, or anything other than southwest for that matter we were met with a terrible headwind. Nothing like the winds of Taylor AZ where there are days when running is not impossible but practically pointless, but it wasn’t fun. I was wearing better socks this time and I decided in a difficult decision to wear my 2010 Asics. I have decided to officially retire the Asics from running all together unless their services become absolutely paramount. Thouroughly impregnated with dirt, clay, and time they now refuse to tighten around my feet and I felt that the right shoe was in danger of falling off as I picked up speed. They have served their time well but this is a definite difference between my new Nikes and my old Asics. Other than the inability to run smooth and keep my lose shoes quiet on the road the run went well. I was surprised and how quickly and easily I got through the run. I’ve had this kind of distance fitness before but it has been sometime and it very much surprised me. We managed negative splits the whole way and I was churning out a pretty heavy pace in the last miles approaching the school.

On Monday I took the opportunity to run an easy three miles by myself. It had snowed earlier that day and was picking up again when I started my run. Running in a blizzard may sound cool and with the proper equipment it is but running in a blizzard without a good pair of shades to keep the ice from hitting your eyeballs is about the same as running over a rocky trail in the middle of the night. You can see, but only sort of. Always a good idea to keep a working pair of eye pro in you arsenal of running gear.

            It has always amazed me what the human body can endure, but I have also always had a serious respect for the dangers and harshness of our sport. People die while running marathons. Most of them do not die because they were ill prepared or because they went out too fast. When people die in marathons it is because their heart becomes overly fatigued and has to stop. A force quit if you will. There are many medical conditions that can cause a cardiac arrest. Many of these health factors are completely unknown to physicians until it is too late. Numerous people including some pros train years before anything happens. What I am about to say does not include victims of these situations or their families and for the families that have lost loved ones to the causes I am about to describe remember that I am not slighting you in anyway and do not believe that those who lost their lives knew they were doing anything wrong either. Marathons are tough, they are legendary, and they are incredibly famous. The marathon is a mystique in our sport but it has become so common that many people underestimate the distance of the event they are pursuing.

            Those that do not prepare seriously, and patiently and do not understand the distance often find themselves in physical peril. When the body is not properly prepared for such an undertaking it struggles to complete the task. Obviously a marathon is going to be hard but one does not want it to be so hard on race day that the concerns for finishing become less mental and more physical. There comes a point in an untrained marathoner when the distance becomes greater than the physical ability to over come it and when this literal and not phsycological wall is encountered serious physical problems await the unknowing runner. The heart begins to tire, the lungs cannot process oxygen well enough to sustain it. When the heart fatigues in an untrained athlete it can slow and ultimately fail. It is a grim reaper waiting in the miles of a race that is often underestimated.

            One should train diligently for a marathon. A new runner should take several months to slowly build the body up in order to tackle such a distance. Often the body will take on anything that is thrown at it, a testament to why, though deaths exist, they are uncommon. It is impossible to tell who is susceptible and who is not, proper physical check ups leading up to an event and thourough preparation, in this instance, can truly be a lifesaver.”

            2008 would see me date and break up with Carin Angle, yes the girl from my childhood. I’m glad it turned out the way it did, we both ended up much happier. I graduated high school in 2009 but not before an extraordinary turn of events began to unfold.

            This part of my story needs to be expanded daily, for right now keep in mind that I would like to continue to write on this section. If you see this notice here it means I’m not done. Celisse Brewer and I began to be interested in each other before I graduated but it wasn’t till senior trip that I decided I was going to exclusively pursue Celisse. We held hands for the first time on May 25^th 2009 and kissed for the first time on June 13^th. We were going to kiss on the fourth of July but the Marines decided I should go to boot camp early and I left on June 22 2009. I should have never gone, I regret going but the letters we wrote while I was away brought us closer together. As a couple we were very close. We weren’t perfect and I still hate myself anytime I am anything but great to her. I love her so much and she loves me. We were married on December 30^th 2010, and no nothing else really matters to me in 2010. We went to Cultus Lake that summer and the beach but when she said yes to my proposal in September behind the Rexburg Idaho Temple my world completely change. I have to thank God every day, because he blessed me beyond belief.

            On December 24^th 2011 Alcie Jane Babb was born on her mothers birthday, it was the most insane, amazing, scaring, and joyful thing I have ever experienced. I can’t imagine what Celisse went through both of those girls are my heroes.

Life Goals

Life goals are complicated and they certainly change from time to time. Why? Somethimes things don't work out, sometimes things work out so well that if you don't modify your goals (raise your expectations) you will innevitably miss out. When I was younger I wanted to be an olympian, a world record holder, and an important person. As I grew I realized that somethings are not possible and other things are not desirable. I found out that it is very difficult to be an olympian and even though I showed enough talent in some areas of athletics I learned that I would have to give up some much more important things in order to chase that goal. I learned that faulty science can lead to a false positive doping test-thereby shaming my family name, and let's face it I never really was that competitive. Most hops on a pogo stick or the worlds longest movie marathon attempts seemed pretty cool until I found out how much paperwork, logistics, and personell would involved in the verification of something that to be honest is quite trivial.
Throughout my existence I have always maintained a few core goals. Stay true to my heavenly father, get married in the temple, raise a family and keep learning. I am always working on the first and last but I have managed to get married and I am now the proud father of a beautiful daughter. The major goal I have been working on since starting my family was providing for my family, a difficult task as a college student in this economy but one in which failure, my friend, is not an option. Most of my daily goals are tied into that goal and few long term goals are not.
Short Term: In the short term I have a few intrinsic things I would like to check off my bucket list. Graduating from college with a plan for the future. I hope to be in this position in five years. Recieve an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps and go on my merry way. I have three years in and three to go. Run a marathon and get my wife to run one with me, hopefully we can knock this one out this year and next. Establish myself as a professional in my field of choice, and I'm not entirely sure what that is yet and yes finish writing my fictional book. Maybe I will have the chance to do that in the next year or so.
Mid term is pretty simple. Keep my budget balanced, and save up enough money to purchase a home. My wife and I are not sure exactly where we wish to live, work will dictate much of that but I would love to see myself buying a home and retiring (partially) before I'm fifty- if my wife and I want to drive around the US for three months taking pictures I want to be able to do that. I want to save up enough money to take the family on a cruise as the kids are graduating from high school/college (I plan on taking one cruise).
Long Term: See my grandkids have kids and be able to horse around with them as well. However long I am going to live I want to stay healthy. I want to be able to interract with my family for as long as I possibly can and I hope I can convince my family to do the same. Don't get me wrong no matter what shape I am in at 90 I will still never let go of life until God himself picks me up and takes me home but if I can I would like to be standing up proud and alive when he calls.

Who Am I

Who am I? I believe that is a good question. I know who I am right now. I’m an Arizonan, a husband, a father, a sportsman, and an outdoor enthusiast among other things. I care deeply for other people and I do my best to act on that care, even if it is not always so easy. Part of who I am depends partly on those who came before me, in this way family history work is a way to rediscover who I am. Not that the behavior of those who came before me or those who are around me now necessarily effects my own behavior and optimistic view of the world but it is a story that I am a part of. I am here today because of many generations of lives and stories and I owe it to those who came before me to find out who they were. I have a strong moral standard for myself, and though it is nearly impossible to follow that code perfectly I know it makes a huge difference in my life and those around me when I do my best to follow it. A big part of those standards have to do with treating and caring for others better. It doesn’t matter who they are or where they come from. They have value, their lives and their salvation has value and though it is not easy I need to do my very best to keep them in mind when I am making decisions about my own life. If everyone cared for one another more, or at least thought deeper about how their decisions might affect another, they would make very different decisions. The world would be a much safer, grander place to live. I’m not saying everyone has to follow Jesus Christ or join the Church, the ideas that many people were raised with prevent them from accepting the gospel, but if people could just follow one commandment, love one another we would have a very different world. I believe this is something everyone needs to work on especially members of the Church. It has become far to easy for people of faith to judge people of other faith and people of no faith. I submit that you do not have to agree with someone’s lifestyle or path to care for them and that our judgment of others (not others actions but others) is a far greater sin 99% of the time than what they are doing in the first place. We also need to take care of our own salvation and lives. We can make sacrifices for others but we should never sacrifice our own lives or the joy of our lives for someone who would not do the same for us. We need to remember that each individual spirit, including ours is just as important as the next. I think the world is a great place. There are some who want to look at it as a grim place falling apart at the seams, but this is just not the case. People in general are striving to improve and though there is evil amongst us there is also greatness.

I have always been big on exercise and I have not changed. A healthy life is not only a commandment; it’s a good idea. We can’t help others if we ourselves are not fit to assist. Being a professional athlete is not the idea but a healthy life and even better, continual improvement if possible. Leading healthy lives will help us better feel the spirit and will keep us around longer to better the world. A healthy body is also very influential in keeping our minds sharp.

            We must always continue to learn. We will never learn everything there is to know; existence is so vast, our little world so vast, our family history so vast that there will never be a shortage of things to expand our minds. Sometimes it may seem we have reached the end of what we can learn and improve on but the end of one avenue will always be the beginning of another.

            I am very excited about the prospect of learning forever. Of living with my family forever in heaven but I also am taking as much advantage of my opportunities right now as I can. If I sit down and let life pass me by I will spend the rest of eternity wishing I had that unique period of time back.

Chris

Why I am doing this

Welcome to my family history blog. Over the next few months I will be researching and hopefully discovering a wealth of information about the history of my family. The stories and more importantly the individuals will be my main focus. I have a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and when He died on the cross he did it for everyone who lived. Not only for those who had a chance to accept His gospel in this life but everyone. That’s why family history and temple work are so very important and I believe strongly in these things. The LDS Church, I believe, is the only true church upon the face of the earth. It is either of God and directed by his hand or it and all of Christianity is a complete farce. I believe it is true. The Church was restored to this earth for the benefit of God’s children. He wants them to return to live with him once more and he is gathering them for this purpose. The teachings of Jesus Christ have greatly directed my life and make up much of my personal philosophy on all things, spiritually and worldly. Just as Jesus was concerned of the one sheep out of a hundred that was lost, I believe in caring for and valuing individual people regardless of who they are. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.