Finally...Fall has arrived

It has happened...temps are down. Life is back to normal (almost...the alarm still goes off at 5 am).

Saturday and Sunday where the last hot days with temperatures of 106 - which made the Tour de Scottsdale a little harder then usual. I decided last minute to race the Crit on Saturday. I was sick for a week, but I could not pass on this-a crit in my town? I AM IN. Well, two laps into the race I realized it might not have been the smartest idea:-) I took one hard pull to help out my teammate and I was in no man's land...Megan was in front, the rest almost one lap behind me, so I just stayed where I was. I felt more sick on Saturday night again, so no racing for me on Sunday. Instead I was in the feed zone supporting everyone :-)

Eric (JR's teammate) flatted with about 10 miles to go. Since it was a charity race (haha) there was no wheel support...JR gave Eric his front wheel and off he went to win the race!!!

Made me wonder if that would ever happen on a female team :-)

Today (Thursday), I finally felt better and was able to go out to the Thursday group ride. It was fun!!! And a beautiful 65 degrees!!! Aftrewards I was off to get scraped at Endurance Rehab-it is amazing what they have done for me, they have been scraping me for about 6 weeks now!!!

I might even attempt to race at the Prospector Triathlon this weekend!!!

Have you ever noticed...

...in the cycling world...

• That guys on a group ride do pretty much ANYTHING to not get outsprinted or dropped by a female? It is pretty funny actually.


• When there is a car coming from the front guys always yell "car up" in a military tone...more like a "carrupp" where as women always sing "cahr uhup"...I wonder why...


• That riding with a "triathlete group" is equally as good as riding with a "cyclist group"? The cyclist group allows you to go FAST the entire ride and learn new ways of attacking, but it is more of a constant all-out-or-get-dropped ride...the tri group is good because the groups slow down a lot after an attack/all out effort. It is more like intervals...stop and go and stop and go...there is also more slamming on the breaks going on which teaches you to react quickly which is really important at all times on the bike...

...just some observations...

Last weekend were the state TT championships. I got my bike out, ready to race. Not sure what to expect after some time without intervals/hard efforts on the bike or on the legs...but this is all part of becoming a better athlete:

And I am off...20 k out 20 k back. There was barely any wind, the pavement was ok, perfect for racing...

Unfortunately my strength only took me 20 k and then I settled into this pace where my HR was low, but my legs couldn't push any harder...still it was a great day for practicing (even though my time was not what I had hoped for)!!! My adductors were sore like crazy and it was a good feeling.

Next weekend I am competing in an open water swim on Saturday and a climbing TT on Sunday (11 miles of climbing). Practice practice practice. Racing always helps me get in great shape!!!

After we came back from the group ride our puppy was sooooo happy to see us:

Even though we were only gone for 2 hrs :-)

AZ is finally cooling off-just in time for me to start running again!!! Perfect. I am excited to be able to train through the "winter". And I am excited to harvest some Grapefruit, Oranges and Tangerines out of the yeard soon!!! Yummmmmmm...

Cross Vegas...MAYBE?!

After taking all this time off of running I sat down and looked at what is coming up in the fall...I would have loved to compete at the USA Elite Nationals, but with 5 weeks off of running and the race coming up on September 25th, there is no way that competing would be smart.

Being smart about injuries is really important. Instead of cranking up the pace, I will ease into it and hope that I can race in October, November and then take a smaller break and maybe try some January/February 70.3 races :-) (The beauty of living in Phoenix...)

I love cyclocross. Not sure if I mentioned that before :-) I got introduced to it in 2007...I went and watched a race and without ever trying it I bought a bike. What a great sport. It is like an all out 800 meter run (which is what I ran in college) combined with hurdle jumping (I am the 2005 National Champion in the Steeplechase in NAIA) combined with a ton of fun (which is what I like )...The only difference is that the bloody taste and the muscle fatigue last for about 40-50 min instead of only 800 meters :-)

In 08 I raced in Europe at 2 races, but the course was so muddy that, with one bike, there was no way of competing well. So I just had fun. (The pro's have 2-3 bikes which they rotate every lap, so they don't get mud stuck everywhere).

In 09 my bike was in Germany and I was in the US :-(

In 2010-I am back on my cross machine :-) I am trying to race cross vegas this year (September 22nd!!!). I hope I can pull it off with the help of USA Cycling (need a special license for Cross Vegas). Cross fingers :-)

JR and I tried out the nearby City Park which is perfect for cross practice:
Sand with barrier
Grass
Mud
Water (sometimes)
Short steep hills
Benches (to jump over)
Lots of trees

Then in October I am hoping to be back in Tri racing (Dallas, Miami?, Amica) full power.
And, not to forget, the local AZCROSS races :-)

Time to get crossing.

ROADIE AGAIN!!!

I am back on a Roadbike!!! Yeah!!!

I have not ridden a roadbike since my crash back in February!!! Then last week Tribe provided me with a new one:-) And it is amazing to be back on it. THANKS TRIBE!!!

I had a chance to push the peddals really hard today at the 2* a week Gainey ride around Paradise Valley. It was fun to shift WHILE standing up on the climbs. What a different feeling. It is hard to go uphill in a group on the TT bike (attacking doesn't work that well if your shifters are out there in the front:-)

Also I got to try out my legs on a straight part to see how much they have in them-not 100 % but it is a beginning :-)

Now I am back at building distance and then I am ready to race Roadraces again!!! Just in time for the Fall-Phoenix season to start!!!

Eigugemoldo

Picture time- before leaving for Germany I got "scraped" for the first time...Let me tell you, getting scraped is really fun. I cannot describe the pain ..but if it helps me get back to training and racing: sign me up!!! This is what the leg looks immediately after scraping...by the time I was in Germany for the wedding it was dark black and blue :-)


Day 2 in Germany: THE WEDDING!!! Here is the beautiful bride Anke and Jens working on chopping up a tree in front of the church.

And they did it!!! Good work Mr. and Mrs Axmann!!!

After the church they hopped into their wedding-transportation: A VW bus with a sunroof. SWEET!!! We drove straight through the city and honked like crazy!!! Whohoooo-just married!!!

The location for the reception was perfect. Nicely decorated, great food and tons of cool peeps.

Lil'man can now already crawl!!! Next time I see him he will be able to walk!!!

Since I only stayed for one week, time just flew by. Back in Phoenix JR and I escaped the heat and went up to Flag. It was raining as the Monsoon season has started and Pam and I decided that it is time to get muddy on the cross bikes!!! And yes, we had to walk with our bikes over the shoulders for up to 1 mile inbetween :-) It was so muddy that cars and 4 wheelers turned around...but not us...have...to...keep...going.

And every once in a while we ended up in this:

I think it is time for a blog post!!!

After taking over a month off from updating...lots of things happened in the last month...here is the quick version (pics will follow off course :-)

- moved to Phoenix in May, put an offer on a house

-June, July nothing special, temperatures went up, we were still waiting to hear back from the house

-Plantar Fascia starts to hurt and gets ignored (off course I don't want to take time off)

-Plantar Fascia hurts really bad...I guess I am taking time off

-time to start treatment at Endurance Rehab (scraping :-)

-trip to Germany for my brother's wedding, which was beautiful!!!

-JR closes on the house while I am in Germany-yeah, we are homeowners!!!

- coming back to the US just in time to help pack and move

-floating the Salt River-really fun thing to do while in Phoenix!!!

-catch a cold from the Salt River :-( Out for 3 days...

-2 more weeks of now running, then I am hopefully "healed"

That is about all that happened in the last month. I have a ton of pics to download and post!!!
It is super frustrating not to be able to run...hopefully soon. I am trying to stay optimistic!!!

4th of July weekend

I love the 4th of July...mostly because everyone has a day off and we get to do fun stuff :-) Like going on a river/hike/camping trip with the puppies.

On the way to our destination we were packed into a truck...puppies very excited. I am glad they decided to stay on Pam's side!!!


Once we got to the trailhead we hiked downhill for about one mile:

And then the trail turns into...a river. I am so thankful that Pam let me wear som water-hiking boots. They were great!!!

The water was super clear and freezing cold but at the same time very refreshing when hiking in 90 degree weather.

Yeah, we made it. Out of the water after about 1 mile and onto...another water trail. This are of AZ is just beautiful. It feels like you are in the middle of nowhere (the bearpoop everywhere was a little scary...) but yet...you are only 2 hrs away from Flagstaff.

Once we made it to our campside we went exploring without backpacks. We found...more bear poop. And two bear homes aka nests. SCARY.

Dinner was...as usually when JR, Shannon, Pam and I hike...just like in a top restaurant: Orzo with Shrim, grilled Bellpepper, Asparagus and goat cheese.

We spend the next morning exploring and playing in the water before we had to head back the trail, back into civilization. Jack was a swim-wimp before this trip, but for some reason he turned into a water dog now...Come on...throw that stick one more time!!!

The puppies were very sleepy after their adventure... (before/after pics :-)

I have to admit. I was a little pooped too :-) It was so much fun hiking out there.
We are now back to our normal life in Phoenix. Temps are still rising, which makes it really hard for me to train. I even struggel in the mornings. I guess I am just not a warm weather person...or maybe I will get used to it. The weather has also left me sleepy at any time of the day. Let's hope summer goes by fast (never thought I would say that)...and hopefully I will get some good training adn racing in in the second half of the season!!!