Buffalo Springs 70.3

Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon is done :-) It is kind of strange that my first 70.3 of the year is at the end of June!!! But with moving and getting married and traveling to Olympic Distance races and Duathlons...it has been a busy year.

2 weeks before Buffalo Springs was forced to stop running thanks to a foot problem...but I went to Texas anyways, to try out where I am with my swimming and my cycling. So my friend Pam and I sat in the car, drove for 12 hours and landed in Lubbock, TX. What a drive. It goes from pretty mountains with trees...to hills without trees...to flat without trees...to flat without trees and cow poop smell :-)
It was nice to get there 2 days early. Usually I get in the day before and out the day of the race. We settled in our hotel and started searching for...a pool off course.
After 10 unsuccessful calls to a variety of pools (for members only...what...what is lap swimming?...we are not open for the public...) we decided to ask someone at Texas Tech to let us
in as guests...and we were successful!!! On the first attempt.
The pool was great with lap swim and super fun diving bords and a slide and a lzy river. Which we, off course, had to try.

Well, Sunday morning came around and the race was on. It was a non wetsuit swim with a beach start (2 new things for me :-). We went off and I found some feet to draft off, but then those feet decided to let the group in front go. I swam as hard as I could for about 2 min and caught up to the group in front of us. 26:30 min later I was out of the water with about 5 people :-) Success!!! Even though I was the only person without a swim skin (OK, what is the deal here...they totally give you an advantage...and they will be illegal shortly...so why are they even legal now?) but my Kiwami suit was great!!! Take that swim skins!!!

Onto the bike: I felt great, pushed hard, was very careful on the downhills (too much bad luck lately made me be careful) and I had the 4th fastest bike time!!! Yeah, my swimming and biking are great right now.

Onto the run, I felt good for about 3 miles...moved up a few spots...and then my foot started hurting...I started compensating and pretty soon (around mile 4-5) my hamstrings were TIIIGHT...I was shuffeling/stretching and even walking for the next 9 miles. So frustrating. I hate getting passed and not being able to respond. Especially since I have a running background. Oh well. I finished in 10th with a 1:47 half. Good news is that I know what I can normally run and believe that would have put me into 4th place which is a great success.

Pam PR'd on this awesome course which has a very tough 13.1 mile run at the end. On a flat course she would have PR'd by 20-30 min for sure!!! She did great in all 3 events!!!

After the race we sat in the car immediately to drive back to Phoenix so that I could be at work the next day :-)

Ouch...if you think your hamstrings are tight after a 70.3 try sitting in a car for 12 hours after doing a half :-)

It was a great trip with lots of fun!!!
Here are a few pics:

Jack playing in the water before leaving.

Flagstaff on fire.

And again...

Cadillac yard in Amarillo, TX.

Lazy pool. Not sure how I ended up under the mat :-)

Pam's diving skills.

Oh oh, here we go...

At least the landing is soft...hopefully...

Recovery time is coming to an end now and I will be working on getting my run/foot better again.

Phoenix is getting hotter and hotter so JR and I are escaping to Flagstaff for the 4th of July!!!

Where has time gone...

The middle of June already... here are the quick updates:

1. still waiting on the house...shortsales...
2. Phoenix is getting hotter...and hotter...and people tell me this is actually a nice June :-)
3. can't wait to race in my first 70.3 of the year...

OK, now here is the full story:

The wait on the house is incredible, but we knew what we were getting into when we signed up...if we can close by the end of this month we will get the tax rebate which would be GREAT!!!
I was hoping to go do the Liberty Classic with Team Colleen - www.teamcolleen.org. Unfortunately I couldn't get my UCI license and I had to stay at home. I would have loved to represent at Philly with some great Teammates!!!

Instead JR and I went to the Deuces Wild Triathlon in Show Low, AZ. The race was very fun but sooo hot. I was excited to race against my batteling buddy Katie-she is an amazing athlete who knows how to fight!!! We rode the "legal" together until she flatted. From then on it was just me against the clock :-)

The run was incredibly hot (guess I am not a Phoenician yet). I ended up running my slowest 10 since...I can't even remember...but broke the course record by a few minutes. JR took home the 3rd place overall male trophy!!! Great comeback...After 5 years or so out of the sport.

We spend the next weekend in Flagstaff. BEAUTIFUL!!! Lots of riding, not so much running :-( My foot has been hurting so I took a few days off...

Thanks to Endurance Rehab I am back into full training and getting ready for Buffalo Springs.

It is getting hotter and hotter here in Phoenix. We hit the 100 mark almost every day, but everyone tells me we are still lucky. Usually it is way over 100 every day...let's hope it stays the way it is:-) FOREVER:-)

Going back up to Flagstaff this weekend for some good training again before taking off for Texas on Wednesday!!! CAN'T WAIT. 2nd time in Texas:-)

Pics from my busy busy busy weeks :-)

Busy busy busy

Life down here in Phoenix is very different. I love sleeping in but down here you have no choice but to get up early to hit the track or to ride a bike. It just gets too hot!!!

I have to say that I am enjoying it though. I finally get things done. By 9 am I am done with my workouts, then I go to work and at around 9 pm I am in bed to recharge for the next day.

Unfortunately we are still waiting on our house. But we are not giving up on the thought that we can move in by the end of june.

Racing down here is great too. I finally don't need to search for a hotel anymore :-) Or get up at 2 am...

I competed in 2 local races lately the Tempe International Triathlon and the Tribal Triathlon and one out of state triathlon the Columbia Triathlon.

Tempe International Triathlon:
I had an OK swim, go onto the bike and rode the 2 laps with lots of corners like a crit. Katie Ellis was in front of me (as usualy she comes out of the water in front of me), but I gained every lap on the bike on her. Unfortunately she crashed going around one of the tight corners and was out of the race. This is always sad, because she is such a great competitor. She can push herself really hard and therefore make me work really hard. Good thing was that she walked away with roadrash only. I got on the run and finished the race in first place. It was a lot of fun to have the entire Tribe crew out there cheering. My team, Tribe, also won the award for "best looking team"!!! We totally deserved it :-)

The next weekend I went off to the Columbia Triathlon jn Maryland. The start list was the following:
Natascha Badmann
Margie Shapiro
Rebeccah Wassner
Laurel Wassner
Desiree Ficker
Amanda Lovato
and...ME
The lake was super tiny and full of algae. The water temperature was at 68 degrees (which is right at the cut off for wetsuits for Pro's). Race morning it measured 69!!! WHAT!!!??? No wetsuit...=bad for Angi. Everyone (except for me) wore one of the "thin wetsuits" which I thought where illegal in 2010...but I guess not. The gun went off and even going as hard as I could, I could not even stay with the "swimmers" for the first 100 m. I swam with Natascha Badmann for the entire swim which was very cool :-) I hit her on the head a few times too...sorry...I came out of the water and jumped on the bike. Since it had been raining all night/morning, the transition turned into a mud field!!! After about 10 min on the bike I was approaching a roundabout. Unfortunately I must have had a leak in my tires and ended up sliding on the pavement because my wheel didn't grab. Yeah, more roadrash. My race was over which was very unfortunate. Not only did I travel around the US to get there, but also if I would have finished in my "normal"speed, I would have won around 1000 $ which I could have used for more travel.

On my trip home I got chosen to be in the naked scanner at the airport!!! Yeah!!! Since my hip was swollen they kept asking me what I have in my shorts. I told them I crashed, I have nothing in my shorts. I don't even have pockets!!! So I got padded down by a lady who kept going over my roadrash...trust me...it is just a swollen hip!!!

Not that that was enough bad luck. I arrived in Phoenix, just to find out that US Airways failed to close the bike box right after inspection and now the box is broken. The claim is in the mail, but who knows if I will ever see a reimbursement.

I jumped right back into training on Monday to prepare for the most recent race. The Tribal Triathlon. My favourite race in AZ!!! 1000 m swim, 23 km hilly bike and a 3.6 mile trail run. This was the 4th time I had done this race. The first time was when I was still a college runner. I PR'd by 2 min on the course and won the race. After the tri I jumped back into my wetsuit and completed the 2000 m open water swim. It was a great day of training, racing and being around fun peeps!!!

The day after the race was a long ride which was really fun too.

Monday I had a long run. JR and I found a great area to run at. Reach 11. It is a 12 mile trail system in Phoenix with non rocky trails, mostly flat. Perfect for intervals and long runs. And some of it is shaded. It is great!!! Who knew that Phoenix has this much to offer for athletes?

Wedding weekend

Wow, long time since I wrote last. After my last post things got CRAZY!!! We moved into a small apartment (waiting to hear back from the bank about an offer we put down on a house), and only one day later we flew to North Dakota to get married :-)

Pam and I got to Fargo and...it rained.
The next day we drove to Jamestown and...it snowed.
We wanted to go swimming...but the beautiful 50 m pool that Jamestown has is CLOSED to the public. So instead we went running and running.
The day of the wedding...it had snowed again. JR and I went for a run in the slush and then we were seperated to get all dressed up (non sporty this time).

Pam spend about an hour making my hair curly and I truely think she should have been a hair stylist since she did the most amazing job EVER!!!
My wedding was supposed to start at 6 pm. I looked at my watch and it was 4 pm and I still had not heard from my parents who flew from Germany to Minnesota the night before. 4:15...nothing...Pam started to ask: what if they don't make it? No parents=no wedding!!!
4:30 pm, I get a call...they made it!!! Yippie!!! I have to say that I was surprisingly calm even though my parents were...somewhere:-)
At 6 pm, JR walked down the aisle, then the flower girls, Pam and Jim, then my parents and me. It was a great wedding and if I could find my cable for my camera I would publish some pictures, but the moving thining...
Afterwards we had a BBQ with lots of salads, wine, beer, dollar dancing, and a TON of fun!!!
After the official part was over we took the Minister and my brothers and went downtown Jamestown (4 bars total I think).
It was a fun night and we stayed until we were asked to leave. The best part was that our Minister was a little tipsy and he fell over :-) LOVE IT!!!

The next day we spend discovering Jamestown with my family. They are so much fun!!! Too bad the time went by so fast and we had to say goodbye the next day already. Back to work in Phoenix.
My mom, dad and brother took off for a roadtrip to Chicago and my other brother, his wife and baby came to Flagstaff/Phoenix.

The wedding was super fun!!! Everyone had a great time.

Pics to follow once I find the cable.

FUN weekend

The move has happened. I am reunited in Phoenix with JR, but unfortunately away from the most flexible/up for anything super friend Pam. :-) and :-(

Moving is a pain in the behind...I cannot believe how much stuff we have. But it is all under Pam's house or in our temporary apartment.

After Friday's move JR, Pam, Shannon and I went to swim. The arms were tired. All this packing and carrying things is a tough workout!!!
Saturday morning we went to participate in the SAGUARO LAKE OPEN WATER swim put on by DCB Adventures who always do a great job!!! We competed in the 2000 m Wetsuit swim and it was great practice!!!
After the race Pam and I biked back into town (2+ hrs) to check out all the roads with bike lanes and there are a lot :-)

Then it was off to my bridal shower :-) It was held at Tribe which is great that Kevin allowed us that. Pam and Janet came up with funny games and I got to hit my first ever Pinada (no idea how how to spell it). It was great!!! We had great people there including Lizzy who I hadn't seen in OVER A YEAR!!! It was great-and I found out that we only live 56 blocks away from each other...which is like NOTHING (that is what I was told hihihi)!!! Yippie!!!
After great food and great fun we went downtown Scottsdale for a Martini which tuned into 1 Martini and some shots of, for example Hazelnut Cream and Espresso Liquor...yum...but dangerous.

Since the entire group consited of athletes (4 Triathletes, 2 Cyclists, 2 Runners)...we decided to go home before we even got to midnight:-) Got to love how crazy we are :-)

The next morning was great as well. We hiked up Camelback Mountain, got a fantastic view of all of Phoenix, hiked back down and went to the original Pancake house!!! The original one as in the very first one in Phoenix!!! It was very good food!!!

Now today is another crazy day:
Early morning run followed by some packing, followed by more running, a swim and a team meeting at Tribe. Then tomorrow I am off to North Dakota for JR and my wedding. The weather forecast said 65 and a 0% chance of rain for next Friday, but then it got changed today to 45 with a 30 % chance.

Dear Weather.com employes. Please make up your mind and don't keep changing it!!!

ATOMICMAN DUATHLON RACE REPORT

Another adventure. This time the journey took me and my friend east...to White Rock, New Mexico. A 6.5 hr drive away.

I had heard about the Atomicman Duathlon before and wanted to race it last year, but the drive was too long for one person :-) Especially me...2 hrs of driving = sleepy!!!
The race offers a cash prize for the win, and also a 500 $ bonus for breaking the course record...mhhh...I looked at the record and thought: Looks doable :-) I checked out the girl that had it and she is a GREAT athlete...so then I thought: why the heck are the times so slow?

Well, I found that out when I looked at the course:-) The run is a 2 loop 10 k, followed by the toughest 40 k bike I had ever seen in a multisport event, followed by another 5 k...
The running loop consist of a downhill of about 5 min followed by a 15 min uphill (felt like there was more uphill then downhill in that race ;-)
The bike is beautiful, it goes up and down and up and down and down into this canyon and back up on the other side (they are definitely NOT rollers, because you CAN'T "ROLL" on the uphill :-)...then followed by a 6 mile climb, then back the other way.

The race director and the entire town is super friendly!!! I had an offer for a homestay, but since we were 2 people we decided to camp instead of invading someone's house. We camped at the Juniper Campground, the weather forecast said 40 degrees as a low...yeah, right...we woke up and our tent cover was frozen, our water bottles were frozen and our handlebars and seat :-) And the NUTELLA!!! We actually had to heat the Nutella up to be able to have breakfast:-)

The race starts at a nice time: 8:30 am, so no stress :-)

The gun went off and the legs felt...OK. Not great but OK. I ran the first 10 k and was 2 MIN!!! behind my "goal time" for the course record. I jumped on the bike and felt OK again. It is really hard to find a rythm on this course. Constant shifting followed by thinking about getting out of the seat or staying in? I got to the turn around and looked at my watch and thought: there is no way I will break this record. I am pooped:-) But my 2010 attitude is that I just do the best I can without worrying or freaking out. And I kept going. I got into T2 and started running/or is it called...speed walking? I ran but felt sooo extremely pooped. IT WAS GREAT!!! My legs were done. I kept looking at my watch and realized I had a shot at making it, but I would have to go fast...the results from the years before show that everyone raced about one min/mile slower on the second run...including me. And now I know why. Because this is the toughest race!!! I ran around the last corner and realized that I ... wait a second... I am going to break the record!!! I finished 1.5 min under the old record. YIPPIE!!!

This doesn't happen a lot, but I didn't know if I could walk one more step!!! This might have been the toughest race I had ever done!!!

My friend finished 2nd in her agegroup and did great. We were both in a lot of pain after the race, but it was soooo worth it :-)

The people in the town were super nice and hung out with us for the longest time. We found out that the town has the most PHD's/Population in the US, because of all the secret weapon building that is going on.

This race is great. If you ever want to feel like throwing up, sitting down and walking due to being exhausted: go do the atomicman duathlon. Or just do it if you want to do a well organized race in a beautiful area with nice people!!!