Spring time racing

Spring is great. The temperatures here in Phoenix are perfect, racing is starting and there is so much excitement for 2012 in the air.

Since I was not able to do Panama I changed my plans for 2012 slightly. No Panama means no points towards worlds. Which means that I would need at least 5 70.3 races between now and July. Which is pretty much impossible for me, since I also have other racing plans. Instead I will be focusing on Olympic Distance racing for the first half of the year and then go longer towards the end. I will compete at 70.3 Hawaii for sure since everything is already booked...and it is Hawaii...and there are beaches...and boogieboards. And I love boogieboards.

I will be racing in part of the Lifetime Fitness series, which will include Texas, Minneapolis, Chicago, LA and Dallas for me. I will also jump into the Xterra Las Vegas next month. It is within driving distance and I always wanted to try it out.

Last weekend was a crazy weekend of racing which left me pooped (and it is Friday now). On Saturday I got up at 5:30 am to drive to the DESERT DUATHLON. I felt great and had a fantastic day. The competition was great, the weather was perfect. I ran the first run at a comfortably hard (hahahaha) pace, which ment getting to T1 20 sec behind Linsey Corbin. I jumped on my bike and rode the legal distance behind her. I thought that since she has been in the sport for a while, I could learn from her by staying behind her. It was fun to compare RPM, position,... ABout 8 miles into the race my front tire felt a little flat, so I had to take it easy on the downhills (because I did not want to kiss the pavement). By the time I got to mile 17 my front tire was completely flat and I got to cheer from the sidelines. Still I got a good effort in and am happy with what I did in the 1/2 race.

After the race I went to the Grand opening of IRON GEAR SPORTS. The store is about 4 times as big as before, which means 4 times the fun and equipment in there :-)

Then I was off to South Mountain to watch bike races until about 6 pm (yep, still unshowered...but I did change clothing!!!) JR did great in his 3 races, looking strong and powerful despite minimal training. Unfortunately our good friend Eric crashed. Poor guy is in a sling. We hope he recovers fast!!!

Sunday was even more crazy. Endurance Rehab had an entry to do the Mountain to Fountain 15 k. ME ME ME!!! 5:30 am wake up call. 7 am start. McDowell Mountain park again :-) This time I got to run the Duathlon Bike part, which means I couldn't get a flat :-) The first 5 k were mostly downhill, bad for my short legs, but good practice. I went through the 10 k in 36:40 which was surprising to me, after being on my feet all day the day before. The last 5 k are hilly. VERY HILLY. I am talking half a mile uphill steep followed by half a mile downhill steep. I finished in 56 min, which gave me 11th place and 1st amateur female (there were some crazy fast elite racers. Really cool!!!). After the race we drove home to get our bikes and then we were off to the FOCUS CRITERIUM.

JR and I both had great races with really hard efforts. I ended up 2nd in the Cat 1/2. So fun.

This weekend I am off to my favorite race: SUPERSEAL SAN DIEGO. I love the race and the organization...and the beach off course :-) Californiaaaaaaaaa here we come!!!