Happy Birthday Zach

I have a lot of really good stuff to share and I'm tempted to jam it all together into one post but I will resist. I am going to put off all training updates for the week until later, it's nothing too exciting anyway. Also stay tuned for the race report for Sunday's 10k race. All this and more, right here on Running Stories! (said as Rod Roddy)

But today I have only one topic: Zach is turning 30 tomorrow. Let me just quickly summarize my favorite things about this 3-decades-old gentleman and then I'll post some pictures. My goal here is to totally gush and embarrass him. :)

Zach is a textbook example of someone that improves with age. He is better looking and in the best shape of his life. He is smarter, wittier, and more interested in learning about the world than ever before. He is also more sensitive, more empathetic, and kinder than he was when he was younger. And I can say all these things because I have known him since he was a teenager and have been in love with him since he was 18 years old. He was always cute and clever but let's just say I'm very happy with my investment. I have no doubt he is just going to continue to improve for decades to come. Meanwhile I will ruin my body by bearing his children and get duller with age. (kidding!!)

Some amazing things Zach has accomplished in his three decades:

- Backpacked, kayaked, hiked, caved, and generally explored much of the Western US with his parents.

- After dropping out of high school, he earned his GED and went on to get a degree in Business from the University of Montana.

- Has excelled in every job he's held and generally has a very successful career in finance/accounting. Everyone at all of his jobs has always loved him (aka he is a brown-noser) and he is incredible at financial and other quantitative analysis (aka he is a numbers geek). He is a prodigy in Excel. He's not exactly working in finance now (he works in pricing analysis for the power company) but is kicking more career ass than ever.

- Speaking of finances, he has handled our financial situation like a pro and kept us out of debt and has us saving saving saving. He's got a whole strategy for the recession and even with my unemployment didn't miss a beat. I have no doubt we will be financially sound for all our lives. He has helped a lot of our friends and family with their own personal finance questions. Seriously, if you need help setting up a budget or picking investments, shoot him an email.

- He ran track in high school and held (however briefly) a state record for pole vault. After the common "freshman fifteen" years he whipped himself into ridiculous shape in the blink of an eye. It pissed me off to no end. He has ran a marathon, won his AG in triathlons, and is just getting started. I don't doubt that he'll be in Boston and Kona at some point in his life.

- He has been a great friend to his friends from Missoula and has made many new wonderful friends since we left Montana. I always have greatly appreciated the fact that he is pretty much as close to all my girlfriends as I am and would do anything for all of these people. He lost one of his very good friends a few years ago and I know he thinks about him every day, we both do. It makes us both want to be there for all the great friends in our lives and do what we can to make sure they are happy, healthy, and safe.

I'll wrap it up here with a few pictures of my amazing man. Please wish him a happy 30th birthday either here or on his blog. Thank you very much for reading!!

College Graduation, Missoula MT (May 2002):

Canyon Lake, Bitterroot Mountains, MT (Summer 2002):

Wedding Party, Helena MT (August 2003):

Snowshoeing in Tahoe (January 2005)

New York City (December 2007):

Santa Cruz Triathlon (Summer 2008):

He's going to kill me for this (taken last month):

Happy Birthday Zach!!!!!