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!!!