Tuesday Blues

Yesterday was an all-around crappy day. Woke up sicker than a dog and went directly to the doctor. Got some work done at the restaurant and law firm and then went and interviewed for a another potential small bookkeeping job. Since I was so miserable, training was absolutely out of the question. Not that it mattered too much anyway because we had some of the craziest and scariest storms I have ever seen before come over the mountains and hit the entire city of Boulder...it was AWESOME...but only because I was watching from inside and not out battling it on my bike :)

Watched the Pistons game last night which was a great game, however, they went from being up 2-0 to now being tied 2-2. Not a bad game, but Billups could have made a few smarter moves in the last quarter to pull for a win. Oh well, they'll be back in Detroit for game 5 and hopefully ready to rock it.

T - one week until I leave for Baja...now that's a scary thought!

The Bolder Boulder has come and gone...

I think it's safe to say that not getting any sleep the night prior to a race because your throat is so scratchy you can't fall asleep is enough to justify not racing...well, I didn't do that, which I should have, and instead didn't have such a race!

This morning I went and attempted to race the 2nd largest 10K race in the world at altitude, on a tough, hilly course while not feeling 100%. Probably not a good idea, but then again, people question everything I do in life anyway! Since I had absolutely nothing to lose (except the $43 I had to spend to enter the damn thing) I went out there and just went with it.

The first mile was all down hill which was hard to hold back on, however, I did just so and let everyone in my wave come flying by me as I knew I could bring them all back on the hills. The legs felt pretty good but at 2K, my throat started killing me (even after drinking about a gallon of water last night and this morning). I had a terrible taste in my mouth, my tummy wasn't right and I knew it was going to be all downhill from there. I tried to breath through it and just let my legs do the work, but at about 6.5K I knew the race was over and it was not worth making myself sick for the rest of the day, or week for that matter. I have a much more important race 2 weeks from now and I would rather get in the appropriate training instead of trying to recover from a silly 10K.

On that note, I jogged to the finish with a smile on my face and ran 20min back home. I'm now sitting on my butt indulging in some delicious Justin's Almond butter and a banana and contemplating what to do with the rest of my day. Work, swim, bike...hmmm.

Happy Memorial Day :)

Such a moron!

After feeling like absolute dog shit yesterday, the last thing I wanted to do was stand in line for almost 2 hours to pay $43 to register for a race that I could have had a free and not had to stand in any line had I decided to do it about a month earlier...ugh, I guess procrastinating always comes back to bite ya in the you know what.

Anyway, when I say I felt like crap, I really mean it. I didn't even leave the house until 1pm, had a terrible run and then missed my swim bc I was standing in that stupid line. However, today was 150 times better. Killer swim in the morning with JZ, great long ride with a solid run off it...I even met a really cute boy from Crested Butte that ran with me for 20min of it :)

Off to take a nap so I can have a fun night tonight!!!

Tata.

Just one of those days...

So it was definitely a good thing I went out for my ride early yesterday morning because when I was swimming at 12:30pm, we got hit with a crazy hail and lightning storm in the middle of practice. After getting out early I came home and ate just about everything in the house, took a 3 hour nap and then watched 3 episodes of Grey's Anatomy online! WOW...fun day huh? Skipped my run, half-assed the swim and slept all day...gotta love it. At least I didn't get caught in any crazy weather on my bike so that's a plus.

Just had a great long hill ride this morning and about to hit the pool, work and do a little run before hittin' the bar to watch the Pistons rock it again tonight! WHOOOAAA...

Time to hit the golf course

Even though I was completely decked out in Red Wings paraphernalia last night at the bar watching the game with several Michiganders and numerous Wings fans, it wasn't enough for them to hold back the Ducks from winning the Western Conference Finals. They played pretty damn hard last night, but Anaheim was just the better team in this case. Oh well...there is always next year. Now they can go out and enjoy the summer with their families and shave that ridiculous facial hair they've been growing since the playoffs started...GROSS.

Great training day yesterday, but looks like Boulder has got a little cold front with lots of rain coming through...heading out in a few for an early morning chilly ride right now so I don't get caught in the rain later on! Brrrrr.

Hmmm...day off perhaps?

So yesterday was a bit of an odd day. Felt pretty crappy most of the day and slept/ate it almost all away. Was woken up a few times by some crazy thunderstorms and strong winds, but otherwise slept like a baby...I think I needed it after a long hard weekend of training.

I promised Jimmy I would pick him up from the airport and I thought it would be an easy ride to and from the airport...boy was I wrong...well partially. The ride there was quick and easy, however, the trip home was a bit different. Because I had to stop and get gas ASAP (I was about a quarter of an inch below the red line - no I don't need to be lectured DAD!), we made an emergency pull off at the Commerce City exit (refinery/factory city of Denver). It took about 10 minutes of driving through subdivisions and residential areas to actually find a gas station. After we finally found one, I put in $45 in my car which gave me less than 3/4 of a tank...RIDICULOUS!!! Anyway, we're heading to get back on the highway and realize there is no way to get back on. We're either going under or over the highway on every road that is close to it. We finally get to Thorton and end up taking another interstate which eventually led us back to Boulder. The 45min trip took about an hour and 20 minutes!!!

Note to self - NEVER GET OFF IN COMMERCE CITY!!!

Smashing Weekend Baby :)

OH yeah, it was a good one. Killer training days, great laughs with friends, lots accomplished...gotta love it. However, I am a little nervous about the Red Wings. They lost game 5 and they're now down 2-3 in the series. If they don't pull it together on Tuesday, it's gonna be time to hit the golf course...The Pistons, on the other hand, are rockin' it and play the Cavaliers in the next round! Look forward to watching them kick butt again this series!

Have a happy Monday!!!

It's gonna be a good one!!!

I'm up, I'm drinking my coffee/eating breakfast, and I'm gettin' ready for my big weekend of fun and training! If I can manage to stay away from the crazy Boulder storms, I think we should have some killer weather. Alrighty, out for the long, hard bike/hard run brick. Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy the sunshine :)

Getting back on track

After a rough weekend, I've finally gotten back into the groove with training, work, etc. I've put in some great efforts over the last 4 days with good mileage. Gettin' it together for the Baja 70.3 on June 10th.

I know the only person who can appreciate this is my roommate, whom I was riding with when it happened, but yesterday as I was turning from 36 to Lefthand, there was a GIANT rattlesnake in the middle of the road that I almost completely biked over. Luckily at the last minute Merci screamed something and I nearly fell off my bike swerving around it, but holy crap, that thing was freakin' HUGE...Unfortunately if it didn't move quickly, it was bound to be run over by a car. Great ride up in the high country after a good, solid and hard swim in the am and a little jog post ride :)

Livin' and lovin'!!!!!!!!!!

And the thunder rolls...

With warm weather in the foothills comes spontaneous and super strong thunder and lightning storms...they're pretty cool to watch and listen to as long as you're not out on your bike a couple hours from home :) Luckily that hasn't happened to me yet this year, but there is no doubt it will at some point this summer!

Training is definitely back on track after sleeping most of the weekend away, however, the job situation is getting a little messy. Stay tuned for more updates...

As for my sports teams, looks like the Pistons got a little over confident and need to get it back together and finish off this series against the bulls like they should have 2 games ago. My Wings are up 4-0 with 7min left in the second period and have a great chance to move ahead in this series as well...wish I had a TV, it's not as much fun listening to it on the computer :(

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Hope all the mom's out there had a wonderful and relaxing Mother's Day. Wish I could have been there to spend it with my momma but I know my dad and brother made sure she was taken care of :)

Interesting weekend with some tummy issues and a lot of sleeping. Think I might have caught a 24 hour bug, but after sleeping so much, I think I've finally gotten rid of it.

Heading out to watch the Red Wings game...hope they play a little better than the Pistons!

I think the Chicago Bulls might be in trouble :)

Oh, and doesn't that make me happy! How in the world can you lose a game that you are winning 44-28 in the first half? I mean seriously, you have got to be kidding me...that's so embarrassing. Looks like the Pistons are going to rock this series as well! I sure hope they go 4-0 and show everyone the kick ass team they really are!!!!

On the other side of sports, the Red Wings play their first game against Anaheim this evening and I'm super excited to watch that outside in the 85 degree weather Boulder is experiencing! It's soooo freakin' awesome.

Training is going really well. Trying not to overdo it this week with all the nice weather so I can completely recover after last weekend...check out the website for updates on pictures from the race in the next few days.

The Website is Rockin'

Thanks to Blaga Popova (my brother's girlfriend's sister), my website is finally up and running. Check it out below and let me know what you think!!!

www.erinkummer.com

RACE REPORT

1^st 20-24 AG, 18^th Overall Female

The season opener has come and gone. I say that in both a good and bad way after the festivities of this past weekend. As most know, Wildflower is one of triathlon’s most challenging courses - chip sealed surface with large climbs on the bike and a combination of pavement and dirt trails with large hills on the run. Add a little wind, or should I say A LOT of wind, like we had this year, and you’re in for a pretty tough day.

Bittersweet is the word that completely sums up the feelings about my first race of the season. After battling extreme anxiety in the water since December, I was sure I was over it - until the swim in Lake San Antonio on Sunday. I got in the front pack early on and stayed there very comfortably until we made the turn to come back. We then hit the choppy waves from the strong headwind that had been picking up since the early morning. I started to get seasick, nauseous, nervous, and bam…complete panic attack. I floated on my back and did some side stroke for about 5 minutes while contemplating whether to go find a kayak, but I finally pulled it together and swam breast stroke all the way back in for the absolute worst swim of my life…to quit or to go on…that was the question!

Well, I didn’t have much to lose even though I was pretty sure my race was already over and I knew that having a disc wheel on my bike with the outrageously strong winds was going to be an utter disaster. But hey, I didn’t fly all the way from Boulder, CO to wimp out, so I got on my bike and went for it. Disaster is an understatement for what actually happened on the bike. I’m pretty sure I got into my aero bars about 4 times the entire race and each time I did, I almost tipped over sideways. Let’s just say that I was going faster up the hills than I was going down the hills…hmmm, that doesn’t seem right. To make it even more upsetting, the guys I was flying by going up were constantly asking, “Wow, you must be having a really rough time today with that wheel”. I mean seriously, is that necessary? I finally finished the bike about 15-20 minutes slower than anticipated, got passed by about 15 other girls and didn’t really feel like I worked much, but couldn’t do anything about it as I was unstable and nervous on the handlebars the entire time…grrrr.

The run finally came, whoooaaa! Even though winds are never fun to run in, they definitely don’t have nearly the impact like in the swim or on the bike. Running has always been my most favorite leg of the race and after doing lots of hill training, I felt ready to go after it. Although after finishing I was pretty sure I left a lot out there, I was very pleased with my run effort, especially after all the emotions and thoughts I had going through my mind from the first 4 hours of the race. Managed to pull off the third fastest run split of the amateur ladies which definitely put a smile on my face J

Overall – good day. A lot of disappointment, but every race cannot be perfect and I was able to learn a lot from it (which in my mind is the best part). I’m definitely looking forward to my next race so I can really test my fitness and push myself to those limits I think I’m capable of going!

Checking out til Monday!

Tomorrow morning I will be leaving for San Jose to race at Lake San Antonio at the 25th Anniversary Wildflower Long Course Triathlon (http://www.tricalifornia.com/wildflower/2007/). Should be an absolute blast camping, racing, partying, hanging with great friends, etc. Stay tuned for race updates upon my return. First half ironman of the year - wish me luck.

Busy Day in Boulder

Picture courtesy of Jeff Keil

The day began with the typical coffee and work at the law firm and followed with a great track session at Niwot HS with the above picture as my backdrop! Not too shabby if you ask me...

Took JZ to the airport so she can go kick some butt at two World Cups in Portugal and South Africa. She's definitely got some traveling in for her, that's for sure...but it will all be worth it when she comes back with two podium finishes...no pressure girl!

A little nap and bike in the afternoon and now getting everything ready to go for the trip this weekend. Lots of little random errands to get done.

On the sports side of things, it is super exciting to see the Pistons play the Bulls in the next round of the playoffs...however, it is quite nerve-racking that the Red Wings are down 1-2 against the Sharks. If they don't pull off a win tomorrow night, I don't think it's going to be a happy place back in Hockeytown!!!