ON THE ROAD AND BLOGGING AGAIN!
That's right! I'm on the road for a little road trip. Nothing
like last summer, but for the next 2 weeks, I'll be heading
down south and then up the east coast for a couple of
races.
With my new mini van filled with lots of
toys, I rolled out of Boulder on my way for
my second road trip of the year. I can't
wait for all the adventure that are to
come! I was so excited, I had a one person
dance party in the van. Man was it rockin!
I started the trip with a quick stop
down in Colorado Springs to meet
my mom for a bit to eat. She's
always so fun to talk to. If you think
I'm a fun, goofy person.....  :-)
With expenses really tight, I'm up for
saving money however I can. So with a
little rearranging, I turned the back of
the van into a bed for the night in Colby,
KS. Next its off to Wichita to find a 50m
pool and then down to the Ozarks.
WHAT AN EXCITING DAY..... NOT!
Not that it wasn't interesting and lots to see, but 12 hours
in the car through "the bread basket" of America, isn't
exactly my idea of a good time. This is what my view was
for most of the time:
There was one really cool stop
along the way. The Wichita
Swim Club has a great indoor
50m pool in Wichita, KS. I
forgot how fun and hard
swimming in a 50 is. Just a
quick 1800m to keep my sanity
and then back on the road.
Drafting on a semi
It got hot!
I even scare myself!
My view for most
of the day
I also made 3 discoveries along the way:
1.  Tooth paste and V8 do NOT go well together
2.  I can fit 63 gold fish crackers in my mouth at one              
     time, but then have to spit some out before I chew
3.  My butt and no a/c don't get along. I had swamp a$$         
     all day trying to improve my gas millage by not using a/c
READY TO RACE!
The second race in the XTERRA regional championship
series is set to start tomorrow morning at 9:30am. Wicked
high humidity and upper 90's temps will make for a hard,
sweaty, and TOTALLY AWESOME day! I can't wait! The
harder it is, the more fun. I'll try to get a race report up as
soon as possible.
There is a pretty big
draw from people all
over the states. I
thought it would be fun
to show you just some
of the license plates I
saw in the parking lot.
My favorite --->
Just some fun pics that I wanted to share
Apple sauce on a rice, tuna,
and egg wrap. Yummy!
Playing with
reflections is fun
Ryan loves his beauty sleep
Hiding Ryan in the back of the
van, so that we didn't have to pay
for him to go into the park. We are
evil genius'! (or is that geniusi?)
The always speedy (and silly fun)
Brian and Jenny Smith
NOT MUCH TO TALK ABOUT
Unfortunately the race did not go well. I was very optimistic
before the race, but things went downhill from there. I had a
good swim, but just couldn't put things together on the bike. I
ran relatively well, but was to far back to see anyone. I'll
redeem myself next week in Richmond.
QUICK SHOT UP TO RICHMOND
Mike Vine and I packed
up the car and did a
quick 10 hour drive up to
Richmond. With 6 bikes,
loads of bags, and a
mountain of snacks we
made a short trip
through Georgia,
Tennessee, North
Carolina, and Virginia.
READY TO RACE... AGAIN!
After pre riding the course 4 times, a pre swim, and a run I
am ready to attack this course. I have it dialed in and with
2 days of rest under my belt, am feeling good.  After last
weeks disappointing performance, I have fuel to feed the
fire within to go out there and show 'em what I'm made of.
A FUN DAY IN RICHMOND
With temperatures in the 80's and the humidity relatively
low (for the east coast), there was a very fast, very
exciting race at the XTERRA East Championship. Though
I did not finish quite where I wanted (I was shooting for
top 12), 14th overall was satisfactory. The thing that
really got me excited about the race was the fact that I
was in the mix of it. Let me tell you all about it!
The swim was a bit short for an
XTERRA, but that got me amp'd up
because I knew if I raced smart I
could be close to the leaders. Well it
worked and I cam out of the water
only a few minutes down.
On the bike, I knew my buddy Ryan Ignatz
was not far in front of me. So I threw down
and gave it everything I had to catch him. It
worked and we rode the first half of the bike
together. I got a little over zealous at the
beginning of the second loop though and
ended up crashing. I couldn't catch back up
to Ryan, but I rode smooth, strong, and
confident for the remaining few miles.
Coming off the bike I was in 12th, but knew
that there were some fast guys behind me.
So I laid it all out and did my best to hold
them off. Unfortunately 2 guys caught me
(one within the last 1/2 mile) and crossed
the line in 14th.
As I said earlier, I was very excited to feel like I was part
of the race. Usually I'm just playing catch up and don't get
to see anyone let alone race with them, but today was not
the case. I can't for the next race!!!
POST RACE PARTY TIME
What comes before
part b?... PART AAY!!
And boy did we have
a good time. Sticky
Rice was the place
to be!
THE TIME I ALMOST WENT INSANE...
The drive home ended up being a doosey. 32hrs after
turning the key, I rolled back into Boulder. Running on only
a couple hours of sleep in the middle of Illinois and way too
much caffeine, I was soooo ready for bed!
First border crossing of seven
Still doing good at this point
I was starting to get a little
loopy at this point
Totally tweeking at this point. Stopped,
threw up, ran around a little and then slept
for 2 hours. I was good to go after that
Doing good the next morning
and now on to state #5
The gateway to the west
One more state after this, but
this one is the most dreaded.
Long, flat, and boring
Not exactly a bald eagle,
but I guess it'll do for now
Seventh border crossing in
less than a couple of days
I am the walrus!
The finale of the drive.
What a way to finish a
two week trip!
Bama Richmond Trip - June 2008
The following blogs are from my trip to Birmingham, AL and then up to
Richmond, VA for the XTERRA Southeast and East championship races.
To follow the blogs in order, start from the bottom and work your way up.
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