Tuesday in one week...

...that is when JR and I are getting married!!! Crazy. The wedding with the family is in September but on Tuesday we are getting married in the Court house. Too bad my parents can't come, why is Germany so far away from here? The nice thing is that we are getting married on the same day as my parents so they can celebrate with us...kind of...just half way around the world.

Schade Mama, dass wir nicht zusammen bummeln gehen koennen:-( Ich habe aber eine Idee: vielleicht kann ich ja ein paar Hochzeitskleider fuer September aussuchen und wenn Ihr dann kommt koennen wir zusammen eins kaufen:-) Und bis dahin schicke ich einfach Bilder!!!

On top of not having my family here, JR is at a bike race for the weekend... So the next time I see him it is one day before the wedding!!! The life of athletes:-)

My immigration medical turned out being fun. Nothing scary at all. And the person drawing my blood was very happy because I filled up those tubes in no time. I was really surprised of how fast my blood was shooting into those things. While she was taking it, she told me that 90 percent of her patients are slow-blood-givers :-) Thursday I have to go back to get all the results for the different tests.

Training is in full swing as I am planning on racing at the Columbia Triathlon in May. I have never been at the race but I read that there is VERY good competition with VERY fast people. If anyone is going please let me know as I have never been to that part of the US (but I am really excited because it looks a lot like Germany).

Flagstaff has been really windy. My roommate and I were thinking about when the windy season is and we came to the following conclusion: Spring, Summer and Fall...and then Blizzards in the Winter:-) Oh well, it will just make us stronger...but grrrrrrrrr...I wish it would just stop every once in a while...

The pool was super empty today, I loved it. My own lane, noone else around me. So I could focuse on stroke and glide for a set of 1*3000m, then drills and cooldown. NICE:-) Open water swims will probably start in a week or two.

The rest of the week will be a lot of training while JR and my Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus Team are in Silver City, NM, racing at the Tour of the Gila. The race has TONS of climbing and descents in it. I know that they will all do great. Good luck to everyone out there!!! And teh AVIA Wildflower race is coming up. Good luck also to my AVIA teammates out there. I will be at home cheering and following everything online:-)

I love wind:-)

That is what I had to tell myself during the weekly Saturday group ride...the wind was incredible. Coming from the front on the way out, coming from the front/slightly from the side on the way back. NICE. And the FEELS-LIKE-100-MILE-PER-HOUR-WIND-GUSTS were so scary. There were dustdevils flying around, dirt, some tree branches,...I am glad everyone stayed on their bike even though unclipping to do that was necessary every once in a while. I realized that getting angry when it is windy makes your ride so much more miserable, so I was just trying to think of how much stronger this ride will make me. IT WORKS.

The group was so small, some smart people stayed at home or changed their long ride to sunday I guess.

Yesterday I went for the most beautiful long run with my friend Katie on the bottom of the San Francisco Peaks. I have never been on the trails before because I am scared of getting eaten by a Mountain Lion or Bear when I run alone:-) It was so fun. And trail runs also make you so strong. It is like running, plyos and strength training in one. How convenient. The new AVIA Trail shoes I got are awesome. Now that I have tested them on real trails I am sure that they are the best trail running shoes ever.

So the weekend was great, but I didn't get to race:-( I really wanted to race the Atomic Man Duathlon in New Mexico, but I did not want to drive the 6.5 hrs each way by myself...So no 8 weeks, 8 races...my next race will be the Irongirl Las Vegas in May.

I am in the process of figuring out my entire training schedule for 2009. A lot got changed. I am not going back to Germany, instead I am getting married on May 5th and I will/have to stay in the US afterwards:-) What an interesting process that immigration process is!!! Today I have an appointment with an immigration doctor to get an immigration medical (I think they take tons of blood to see if the German blood is different than the American blood ;-)...I am excited to see what else they will do and test on me...

Until after the exam:-)

LOTS OF STUFF FOR SALE

JR and I have done some Spring cleaning and found A LOT of stuff that has to go. I am going to post a list of things that HAVE to go. Some are small things, some are bigger things. If you are interested in anything feel free to email me at Angela_Axmann@yahoo.de about pictures, more info, prices or feel free to make an offer. We will also have all the things on Craigslist Arizona soon, including prices and better description plus we will most likely have a stand at the Flagstaff Bike Swap on May 10th, 9 am until 3 pm at Heritage Square in Flagstaff, AZ.

2008 Orbea Ora TT bike size 49 cm, 700 ccc wheels, everything included except for headset (but with shifters and breaks) (used)

TRP RL 950 Carbon Cyclocross break levers

Nalini Injection Roadshoes (custom) Size: Eur 44/45, US 10-10.5 (new)

Ritchey Pro Double Butted 7075 , 40 cm (used)

X LAB Triathlon 2 Bottle Wing system, with Sonic Nut, mounting hardware and X Lab strap (2004)

Rudy Project Syton Supercomp TT Aero Helmet - with visor – Size:S-M, 54-58 cm (used)

Oakley Flak Sunglasses in sparkling dark red frame with brown lenses (used)

Lance Armstrong 10//2 Nike Cycling Shoe in black, yellow and silver, Size: US 10, Eur 44 (used)

HUDZ for Shimano ULTEGRA 6600 compatible also compatible with Ultegra SL and 105 10-speed in royal blue (new)

Profile Design aero bottle (no holder)

XPeedo Roadpedals, Look compatible (used)

Easton EC 70 fork (used)

Jamis Comet Roadframe Size 51, color white, black and silver 2005 (used)
Aluminum frame
Carbon seat stay

SMP Storm Pro Seat (used)

Dura Ace Front Derailleur

Ultegra Front Derailleur

Ultegra Rear Derailleur, 10 Speed

2009 SRAM RIVAL Crankset with Bottom Bracket, 172.5 mm crank arm length (used)

VISION by FSA Stem
110 mm
80 degrees

CATEYE HR monitor

SIGMA HR monitor

Junior gears cassette (used once)

T-Worx Air gun (new)

Wrench Force CO2 inflator (new)

TOPEAK Mini Master Blaster with mount onto bottle cages

Sprint H2O 1.5 L Backpack (new)

SIGMA BC 1106 Speedometer (used)

CATEYE Micro Wireless Speedometer (used)

SIGMA DTS 1606 L Speedometer (used)

Xpeedo Mountainbike pedals (used)

Tubular Wheelset (used)

MAVIC open pro clincher Wheelset with Ultegra hub (used)

Continental Ultra Sport tires (new)

PARKPRE Roadframe (used)
Used by Successful living presented by PARKPRE professional cycling team

Brooks Adrenaline Size: men US 7 / Eur 40 (used to walk for about 5 min. only)

TYR Fins Size: US 9-11, Eur 42-44

9 speed cassette 11/23

UVEX glasses with 3 lenses (clear, orange, black) (barely used)

AXLEY Raptor glasses, light blue with 2 lenses (clear, light blue) (barely used)

AXLEY Mod. Zest casual glasses, silver

AXLEY women’s glasses – milk color frame with brown lenses (used)

OAKLEY minute black frame, orange lenses (used)

SMITH District II black frame, clear lenses (used)

PLEASE CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS, IF YOU NEED PICTURES OR IF YOU NEED MORE INFO. DESCRIPTIONS AND PRICES ONCE IT GOES UP ON CRAIGSLIST.

NICE SHOES!!!

WOW, I just received some shoes from AVIA in the mail and they are the best shoes EVER!!! They are awesome. One pair is a trail running shoe in great colors: yellowish green and turqois with silver:-) NICE.
I have ran in Trail shoes before, and they always felt heavy and big. I put on the shoes: light weight, super soft and comfortable...I start running: the "grip" on the bottom feels like it is propelling me forward:-) SO NICE. I will post pictures of the shoe tomorrow, but this shoe just made my trail running life feel like a vacation:-)

On another note: the bruised ribs JR got a few weeks ago in Long Beach turned out to be broken. 2 of them. Today he sneezed and: he broke another one. It was most likely already cracked. Poor guy. And there is nothing you can do about broken ribs...

JR and I spend have of the day today cleaning our extra stuff. We could open a bikestore, that is for sure. So there is a lot of stuff from bikes to hoods, everything. I will post a list soon:-)

Adios!!!

7 weeks 7 races...AZ Crit Championships

This week was supposed to be my weekend off...that's what I thought:-) I guess I am addicted to racing because it is the best training you can get. So here is week number 7 of racing:



This week was very uneventful except for the 100 km ride on Saturday. I did the weekly Flagstaff group ride, which normally includes 1 KOM and 2 Sprints and lots of hard riding. The ride is always great and a ton of fun. Yesterday there were too many attacks to count:-) That is what it felt like. I told JR at the turnaround: I think I will ride back easy. He goes: There won't be any attacks anymore until way at the end...Yeah right. About 20 min later JR attacks. And he didn't even give me a secret hint that he is going to attack. WHAAAT?




So the way back was harder then ususal and I was really tired from the ride. I definately needed some good recovery food that evening so JR and I had Katie and Pam over for Gniocci, Salad, Fruitsalad and Wine (AND WE LEFT THE ICECREAM IN THE FREEZER!!!) It was so fun. Pam is training for her first 70.3 and even did a 7 mile run after her first ever group ride and her longest ever ride. NICE WORK!!! Plus Katie went all the way around the Lake with the group and I took her on a T Run where she was so tired that she didn't even talk anymore:-) Now that is a good workout!!! We definately deserved a LOT of food and a recovery evening:



Me, Pam and Katie


The next morning:
The nice thing about cycling is that I don't get sore...unlike running and swimming. It just makes me tired and therefore I was feeling OK for the AZ State Championship Crit in Phoenix.



I got there and had to find out that my friend and teammate Carrie crashed and was brought to the hospital:-( She returned about 4 hours later drugged up feeling good with a 1st or 2nd degree AC seperation and roadrash. The drugs didn't last too long and poor Carrie was in a lot of pain...I hope she gets better really soon!!!

GET BETTER CARRIE!!!

Our race was fast and I tried to get onto my teammate Marilyn's wheel attacking as we planned but I had NO power. WOW, I was tired from the groupride the day before. So I just attempted to attack a few times, and realized that my max would probably only last for 30 sec:-)

My teammate Kathryn crashed going around a 180 degree corner. She got a free lap, came back in and asked me: Is my rear wheel OK? I go: A little wobbely, but OK. I am not an expert but I think it is ridable...half a lap later her tire blew up...SORRY ABOUT THAT, I am just glad I added "I am not an expert" to it:-)

I attacked with 2 corners to go and me and another girl got away. As we crossed the finish line I realized that a girl behind me had crashed...lost part of her tooth and had a swollen face and a bad ass looking black and blue eye. I hope she is feeling better soon as well. So I ended up second in the State Crit Championships behind Sabrina Savage. She led out the sprint and I was unable to pass her. Last year we were Cat 3 and it was the same spot where I lead her out and I won:-) It looked like we copied last year and turned positions:-) So she won the title on her birthday!!!

JR raced after us AND HE KICKED ASS!!! He got in a break, drilled it, then crashed on the same spot as Kathryn...got back up and won the Crit by a lot!!! He looked so good out there!!!

Despite all the crashes and sad news it was fun to race the PARKPRE in a crit for the first time. It handles very well, I love this bike!!! So now I tested it on uphills, downhills, corners, fast speed, anything...AND I LOVE IT!!!

And I got super excited before the race because I got this great goodie bag from my team specialized d4W/bicyle Haus including a new kit, gloves, glasses, anything a racer needs-oh and PINK armwarmers. I am so glad that it is still a little colder in Flag and I get to use my armwarmers:-)

Check out my team's homepage at:

http://www.womensbiketalk.com/

Ryno 5k in Vegas

Whoho- Vegas Baby!!!

Actually the story goes more like this: My friend Katie and I were sitting at home thinking about doing the RYNO 5 K in Las Vegas, which has a cash purse:-) But then our thoughts turned into this:

"I haven't done anything fast this week..."

"I am kind of sore all over from doing lunges..."

"It is a 4 hour drive...for a 5k..."

In the end we packed our stuff (sooo easy to pack for running races, shoes, shirt, shorts) at 4:30 pm. WE ARE GOING!!! I think I could do this drive with my eyes closed by now...no worries, I won't:-) Traffic jam at the Hoover Dam (lost about 1 hour), but with Katie and me in the car there is constant laughing, talking and gossiping going on.

We got to the host house and went right to bed.

Since there is money in the race we expected it to be competitive. It was around a golf course, rolling downhill one way, rolling uphill the other way.

I went out in second place with first in sight, but the first girl's pace was just too fast to hold on for me:-) I held second all the way to the finish line, running about 15 seconds faster than the last Vegas 5k, which was on a flatter course. I take 2nd and a little cash any time:-)

It was a fun race. We went back to Flag right after the race, cause both of us are more nature fans than Vegas party girls:-)

But it was a good day to escape Flag. It snowed and JR actually had to spend the day riding on the trainer...

Today it is nice again and we are going riding with Marilyn (super cyclist) and Chris McDonald (super triathlete).

Oceanside 70.3, Encinitas...and back in Flag

I can't believe that the Oceanside 70.3 race is over.
It went by way too fast. The days leading up to the race I didn't feel too great, for some reason I had really tight glutes and lower back muscles. I didn't do anything different, so I have no idea where that came from but it wasn't a good feeling going into the race with tight muscles:-( I iced the night before the race in the ocean trying to wake up my legs.

Unfortunatelt it didn't work the way I would have liked. .My glutes and back were still really tight.

On race morning I went to transition, got my bike parking spot, was waiting in a 30 min potty line, and then had about 10 min to spare to put on my wetsuit. Those 10 min felt like 2 and I ended up not pulling my wetsuit up all the way...which resulted in wrinkels in the back of my knee and not 100 percent range of motion in my arms...grrr...therefore the swim ended up only being average. Into transition and onto the bike. I didn't plan on using arm warmers or any kind of warmers, but like a lot of other triathletes, I probably would change my mind now. It was freezing on the bike and I couldn't feel my toes for some time. But everyone had that problem:-)
After the average swim I had another round of bad luck: First bump on the bike. My rupper band holding the aero bottle broke, I had a bar and blocks under there...300 calories fell to the ground...LOST...oh man. So I only had one gel and blocks left. (since it was an out and back I got to see my bar and blocks on the ground on the way back!!! kinda funny). I had no legs on the bike, my glutes and my lower back were sooo tight and for some reason I could not make myself hurt and it felt a little bit like snail pace. I was hoping to bike in the low 2:30ies, since I know what I am capable of doing...that didn't work out.

The run was good-yippie- I felt strong. I ran the first 6 miles conservative and then tried to go harder on the next half. It worked out great and I think I could have gone even faster, considering that I didn't have to sit down after the race:-)

I think that Oceanside was a good experience including the obstacles. This was only my second ever race at that long of a distance and only my 3rd ever half marathon. I am glad I did it. Better to start off bad and then get faster as the other way around:-)

After the race we packed our stuff and went to the Long Beach Criterium where JR raced. He did a ton of pulling. Towards the end of the race he got into a crash, but got back up, the mechanic fixed his bike and got back into the race.



The crash left him with a bruised rib and back pain, so instead of doing a TT the next day we decided to go for a recovery ride and relax at the beach. By the way, cyclists have no color on their feet :-) compared to triathletes:

I went boogie boarding and JR watched since he had trouble moving. The water was freezing (56) but I just had to go. I realized after a while that I was the only person without a wetsuit:-)

On our way home we got to see a truck on fire in the middle of nowhere: poor trucker!!! The truck was in huge flames...

And when we arrived in Flag we took Chris and went to Pay'n'Take and had a good time. California was nice, but it is good to be back!!!