The beginning of Fall

Vegas with JR, Elliot and Jack was so much fun. Both of them were so funny and relaxed going into the race and very pleasant to be around (you know how athletes can be before a big race...sometimes they can be a giant pain in the behind). Not those two. Transition closes at 6? OK, so we have to be there at 5:55. That is how easy they were :-) Here are some pics from before and during the race.

Jack and I were spectating all day. Both JR and Elliot disappeared for about 1.5 hrs after the race, turns out pretty much every racer ended up in medical for dehydration and stomach issues...I checked out what the water source of Lake Las Vegas is and I have to say that a mix of run off and reclaimed water might not be the stomach friendliest lake to swim in :-) 

Since Las Vegas I have been going full power: studying, working and running. Yep, swimming is wayyyyy on the back burner right now...cycling in form of group rides still exists, but mostly running is my sport of the fall. I am taking classes in preparation for grad school and instead of taking one at a time I decided to take all of them together, get them out of the way and be completely done by December 14th. I know it means sacrificing my fall season, but when you try to combine work, school and training, nothing will work 100%, so I decided to focus on school until December. Running is easy to include because I can always squeeze in 30 min -1:30 hrs in the day.

I am excited to do a lot of running races this fall and started of with a local 5 k a month ago. A 6 mile warm up, a 5k and a 2 mile cool down made a great workout. Unfortunately it was still 105 degrees that night, so I ended up with a 18:11. SUCCESS :-)

Yesterday I competed in another local 5k and ended up running slower. Why? Not sure: mile 1@6:00, mile 2@ 6:02 and mile 3 @ snail pace? It didn't feel like I slowed down but somehow we must have ALL slowed down like crazy on that last mile. Oh well, it was still a lot of fun!!!

Next week will be the Xterra 20 k in Phoenix, which includes rocks and elevation gain/loss = Angi completely out of her comfort zone. JR and I went on a 1:40 trail run today including some serious hills with switchbacks and it kicked my butt. Thankfully the combination of Zoot trail shoes and Zoot compression socks helped me get a good grip and safed me from scratches :-)

The week after the 20 k is "race for the cure" a 5 k in downtown Phoenix, where I hope the 18 min barrier will be broken. After that the Phoenix 10 k which always draws a lot of fast people, so hopefully a sub 37 min 10 k is possible, but we will see how things go.

I had a little setback with my back that has been bothering me ever since the lady hit me with her car in January. Unfortunately sometimes it gets to the point were I just can't run. Thankfully I work at Endurance Rehab and they never let me down. After an hour of working on me and three days off of running (last week), they got me back to zero pain!!! 

Summer in Phoenix is coming to an end, unfortunately slower then I would like :-) At least the mornings are nice now and it is possible to run until 9 am - YAY!!! Anything after that is still impossible, but that will change soon too!!! I cannot wait.

Trifest for MS

After graduating college I tried to find the easiest way to make money and do triathlon. Coaching, personal training, all the things where I can make my own hours and work from home - GENIUS. But I noticed that I wasn't good at selling those things, which is a problem :-)

I started working at the Flagstaff Medical Center to see how the healthcare field is in 2009 and it has changed my thinking completely.

I came to the realization that a bad race, a twisted ankle or a flat tire are not actually problems. I realized that there are many many people who have real injuries that might change the rest of their lives and there are many people who from one day to the next, cannot do what they used to anymore.

Well moving forward, ever since I started working there I knew that I wanted to stay in healthcare and help people. Help them smile, help them forget about their injuries or illnesses and help them get better.
Trifest for MS was the first time that I got be involved in a race where the main focus was not the race itself (at least to me), but to raise awareness for MS.

TRIFEST FOR MS

...was the most moving experience. I flew to Arkansas on Friday and spent a weekend with wonderful people. My SKINSTRONG family not only took me and Brad (Seng) in, but they spoiled us A LOT. SKINSTRONG is such a great company. The people behind it are the nicest people, they are not only involved in big races (official Ironman partner) but they also make sure that small races get supported. The entire family is so giving and even their smallest girl does triathlon (she took first place - age 6)!!!

Trifest was not only about racing, but most importantly it was about celebrating life. Meeting the Rampy's (Rampy MS research foundation) was incredible. Their enthusiasm is incredible, they are fighting hard to battle MS and to help find a cure. MS can change your life from one day to the next, but being around the Rampy's I get a feeling that they are going to kick MS in the behind with their positive energy!!!

Saturday was the Sprint race and we got to cheer on everyone competing. I realized that I should really learn the national anthem. The national anthem was sung by a girl with an incredible voice. She had recently lost a friend in the war so she got very sad during singing, to the point where she just couldn't keep singing...so the people of Bentonville, Arkansas started singing for her. 400 people singing the national anthem...and I didn't know the text :-(

Now that gave me goosebumps (not that I didn't know the text, but the fact that the community didn't even hesitate to finish the anthem :-)

This community is so supportive, no matter if it is for filling in during the anthem or fighting MS...they hold together like glue.

The pro race was Sunday and the weather could not have been more perfect. 800 m swim, 40 k bike, 700 m swim, 10 k run. In the ladies field it was Morgan and me. Morgan and I raced bikes together when I was a student in South Dakota. I got dropped in every race :-) We completely disconnected, most likely because she was a cyclist and I was a runner. It was so good to reconnect with her over the weekend and getting to hear what she has been up to. She is also a wonderful person to be around!!!

I came out of the water only a little behind her, I did a time check within the first few miles on the bike and it was 15 seconds. On lap two out of 7 I noticed that my rear tire was feeling low, I stopped, checked and psssssssssssssss, the valve was loose and came completely out. I tightened it back up but by then I had lost too much air to keep riding. Well, that was my race. I came back to transition and checked if I could compete in the supersprint later in the morning and without hesitation Scott Rampy said yes. There was prize money in the race and since we were only 2 people it would have been a nice pay day, but now the leftover money will go towards the foundation and that is a good thing!!!

I had a ton of fun during the supersprint. All out for 30 min. What a great format. I think if Supersprint was more popular I would only race supersprints.

The weekend was a wonderful eye-opener to what truly is important in life!!!

I will definitely be back for the Trifest for MS in 2013!!! Check out what the Rampy MS research foundation is all about and learn more about MS at  http://www.researchms.org/ .

Belgium

70.3 Belgium was only a short 3 hr drive from JR and my temporary home, so why not. The nice thing about European 70.3's is that most of them don't have pre race meetings and most of them don't start until later in the day. We drove up north on Saturday, went to our hotel (which took us an extra 2 hrs since downtown Antwerp can be really confusing). Without a GPS, a cellphone and without a map this city can be a mess :-)

 Heet u welkom to you too!!!

 Fake street workers... genius way to safe the country money. This muppet just moved its arm up and down and up and down. And as a driver you automatically slowed down because you thought there were people on the interstate.

Once we dropped off bike and equipment we attempted to try to find the race office. Well well well...Antwerp is separated by a large river, which has three tunnels leading to the other side, where the race office was. After many wrong turns, we finally made it. Here is what every racer received:

A bottle of wine, a backpack and a Tshirt. Absolutely no coupons that usually end up in the trash :-)  I think everyone liked the wine idea.

Then it was time to explore the city (yes, I came here for the race, but I still wanted to see the city. How often do I get to go to Belgium)...JR and I went on an about 4 hr exploration tour and here is what we saw:

 Rent - a - bike!!! Genius idea in the city. You give them your credit card info and they charge 3 $/day or 5 $ per week!!!

 Small house, big house, new house, old house.

 One of the many chocolate factories (the building also used to be Napoleon's house).

Chocolate poodle.

 Chocolate fish.

 Chocolate frog - prince!!!

 Downtown Antwerp.

 Poor pig :-( 

 The finish for the race.

 JR can enjoy a Belgium beer while I run around in circles.

 Blue carpet on cobble stone.

 But most of the 13.1 miles looked like this and let me tell you between cobble stone and train tracks there is not a lot of "easy" running ground.

 We made it to bed at around 10 and my favorite movie of all times was playing: Indiana Jones!!! This time they were searching for the holy grail. But I was too tired to finish watching it (which means I must have been really tired) and I fell asleep right when the German's were taking his dad. Oh, the movie was in German, even better!!!

Race day:
Breakfast at 7 am, walk/ride the 6 km to the start. 11 am start is perfect, the sun was out, it was a beautiful 22 degrees, perfect for racing.

 Skinstrong sunscreen application before the race. No sunburn for me!!!

 The swim:

The swim was interesting. They only said: you have three minutes, then they said: move back, move back and then the gun went off. WHAT? I just swam. I found some feet, then passed those feet just to realize it is a lot easier to swim behind the feet. I passed some more feet going around the last buoy, and exited just in front of the second pack. We had to run 200 meters before we hit the timing mat and I managed a 27:09. So I am thinking - 40 sec for the 200 meters: 26:30. Definitely a surprise after spending maybe 2 times/week in the pool for the past month. Interestingly when I swim more miles I don't usually improve, but when I swim less and just focus on form I do well...

I was in 7th getting out of transition of the 21 females.

 The bike:

I felt great. I had an amazing 70 km of passing people and feeling strong. All those Gainey Village rides helped. After lap 2 I was in 4th place. I was on pace to finish the bike in 2:25, when all of the sudden at km 70 my gels decided to come back up. I am not sure why, but here is some speculating:

- super sweet Powerade they were giving us?

-the lake we swam in?

-lowered stem (lowered it about 2 cm 2 weeks ago)

-exhaustion?
I am thinking it was the lowered stem, but not sure. I lost about 5 min on the last 20 k, which cost me 3 places. I started to feel a little weak and lost a lot of time, getting int T2 in 7th again :-( I had to sit up and just soft pedal after throwing up the second time, because I started to feel dizzy. BUUUUHHHH. BUT: very very happy about how the day went until then. 

 Scooter police making sure we are safe.

 The run:

I started the run feeling kind of like in lala land. I ran the first few miles at just under 7 min pace, ate a gel, but that decided it didn't like it in my body at mile 2. At that point I started fading BAD, actually I wasn't even sure if I could make it 13.1 miles. The cooble stone run didn't help with being dizzy cause that just makes you more dizzy. I carried another gel with me but finally threw it away at mile 9. There was no way anything sweet would stay in my stomach. So I went from 4th to 10th place and just shuffled to the finish.

Hey, I don't come to Belgium to DNF. Out of the 21 females only 10 finished. Lot's of DNF's in the male race as well.

So much can happen in a long race like this, I just have to learn how to tackle this distance. I still had a ton of fun. Running the three loops through the crowds with people drinking, smoking, eating on every corner made it very interesting. I definitely love the European way of life, socializing, drinking wine outside at 11 am, having a good time and tons of people watching.
My equipment worked 100% on every part of the race which was fantastic!!! Thanks to ZOOT, BH, ENVE, SKINSTRONG and TRIGGER POINT.

JR and I got my bike, packed up and then sat down in Antwerp one final time to grab some food. Belgium apparently is famous for three things: Beer, chocolate and POMMES. I had no idea.

Next up is a lot of running through the forest over the next few weeks, followed by a trip to Timberman 70.3. Let's hope I can put it all together there :-)

Germany

Lucky me. We had an unusual week in Phoenix just before I left for Germany. 90's and 4 days of rain. Perfect for training after a loooong frustrating time of 105 + degrees and no bueno training. Here is what happens when it suddenly rains in the desert:

Things start blooming and life returns to the valley. Even the birds came back and my backyard sounded similar to a jungle.

They predicted a rise in temps from here on without rain, so I packed my bags (just kidding, the flight was booked a long time ago). I spend some quality time with puppy Jack before I left. We watched Springer Spaniels on youtube. He totally enjoyed it.

 Then it was off to Germany and the most unusual 2 1/2 things happened:

1/2 : I almost didn't have to pay for my bike. The guy kept saying that bike count as a mode of transportation in Europe and that is why he believes I only have to pay 75 $. He asked me and I said: I have no idea (crossing fingers behind my back). Unfortunately he called HQ and they said 200 $. BUUUHHH.

1: I had a row to myself. 3 seats for me. That was the start of a great 9 hr nap.

2: They didn't open my bike box, therefore they didn't move anything and they didn't have to close the buckles again (which they seem to have a big problem with). Therefore, my bike got here in 1 piece and all the straps are still on my box (that is a first in my 10 years of traveling!!!)

After I got here I went for a run and then had some DOENER!!! Yummm...it comes like this:

 or like this:

 It is simply delicious. Why don't we have on of those in Phoenix?

Today I went for my first bike ride. I most likely averaged 30 mph (hahaha) and had a HR of 250 (hahaha) due to being scared...we are pretty spoiled in the US. US bike lanes are about as wide as a two lane street here. There is a white line and then the ditch, no bike lanes. I have to admit I was a little scare but then I realized that people handle cars really well here. I went on a few streets, one of them suddenly turned from a two lane street (one out one back) into a one lane street (but still counting as an out and back). Let's just say that the street would not have been wide enough for a Hummer, but here it counts as a "normal" street. I love Germany :-)

 Oh, more food pics. Pastries. Can't go to Europe without going to bakeries. Luckily Germany is full of them and the baked goods are fantastic. I wish I would know how to make these:

Tomorrow we will be traveling to Belgium which is a "loooong" 3 hr drive :-) I have never been there. I always thought Belgium is famous for chocolate and beer but in reality it is POMMES (french fries) and beer. Who knew. The race doesn't start until 11 am and guess what: Ironman Europe allows you to pick up your package the day of the race :-)

I am using the race as a training race only. I have had a strange 2012 so far and since there is no way for me to earn points anymore I am just focusing on the fall season. I am really excited for this race as it goes downtown Antwerp and it is a very spectator friendly race.

Flagstaff

Oh Flagstaff, what a pretty town and what a great place to train. I was so excited to escape the heat and spend 3 days in Flagstaff with Jack and my friends Elliot and Ken. Here are some pics from the trip:

 Romantic sunset with my man Jack.

 Jack got to sniff around in grass (which is pretty much non existent in the desert).

 Happy puppy.

 Coach Jack giving a motivating speech to Elliot.

 Coach Jack telling Elliot to go FASTER :-)

 Recovery hike at Snowbowl with lots of giggling. Elliot and Ken are great company!!!

 We did the outdoor gymnastic trials. This is the balance beam.

 This is the uneven bars.

 Ken and Jack enjoying the evening on the Mountain.

 Elliot on one of many many many trails.

 Sunset.

Jack and Elliot going for a run before the sun goes down.

I am so excited to go back to Flagstaff this weekend for some good racing and some good training. Friday: Hillclimb, run and swim. Saturday: RR and run, Sunday: Crit and run.