Weekend plans go sour...

Let me just start by stating that I have the most amazing family and boyfriend in the entire world...

After Bryce picked up my parents from the airport Wednesday evening, we enjoyed a great night on the patio while I grilled up some burgers and we all caught up on life. Thursday was a pretty low key day with lots of relaxing and packing and some quality time with the folks. Unfortunately, that evening is when everything hit the fan :(

After dinner on Thursday, I began feeling incredibly sick to my stomach and was not able to fall asleep until 6:30am on Friday morning. After a few hours of tossing and turning, I finally got up to get things packed for the weekend trip to CA. I still felt unbelievably horrible but sucked it up because I knew how important this trip was to Bryce and my family. After running around and getting everything taken care of with all my clients, we finally made it to the airport for our 6pm flight. Our flight kept getting delayed every hour and I kept feeling sicker and sicker as the time went by. At 9:30pm, we still hadn't boarded. By the time we would have arrived at my brother's place in LA, it would have been well after 2am so after shedding several tears, the decision had been made for Bryce and I to pull the plug on the trip.

Bailing on my brother's first triathlon is the absolute last thing I could ever imagine doing, but I honestly couldn't make it. I have spent all day sleeping and lounging around and still feel so crappy that venturing out of the house really isn't even an option. Whatever strand of this virus that has taken over my body has hit me incredibly hard. I am doing everything I can to stay put, rest and recover but I have yet to see any improvement. I will continue to do everything I am told so that I can get healthy soon. Stay tuned.

Epstein Barr Virus Infectious Mononucleosis

Or just Mono if you will...and yes, that's what I've got...on top of Anemia.

Click here to find out all about this stupid virus

I've been wallowing in my own misery for the past 3 weeks trying to figure out why I was so sick, knowing that the Anemia wasn't just it, and now I know.

At least 2 more weeks of doing absolutely NOTHING to try and kill this bugger then another blood test. Any suggestions on what to do while I sit at home would be great. Any company to help pass the time would be even better...I promise I won't lick you :)

Total Loser

It wasn't long ago when I was a total little shit in high school, getting into trouble and bumping around town with my two sweet 12 inch Polk Momo subwoofers!!!

Although I'm no longer in high school and getting into trouble, I'm still the same little shit with the same love for loud music with LOTS of bass! On that sad note, I had the parents mail all my old stereo equipment out to Colorado and had it installed this past weekend :) Oh, how I've missed my stupid loud music...

XTERRA Indian Peaks

Although I'm still not feeling better yet, and nowhere near race-able, I still need to mention some of the local XTERRA races that deserve a much needed referral!

Each year, the Boulder/Denver area is filled with thousands of endurance events ranging from cycling to running to road triathlons, etc. However, for us dirt seekers, off-road races are few and far between. Luckily, Mr. Paul Karlsson, a well known race director, has used his expertise to form Dig Deep Sports and offer the off-road folk some great events. Click the logo above to check out the XTERRA on Aug. 8 that offers one of the best courses on the tour, as well as an 11K Trail Run that won't disappoint!

If you missed the heavily attended pre-ride this past Saturday, it's okay. You'll have an opportunity to ride the course Friday and Saturday before the race. However, you did miss out on some great Timex prizes that I raffled off at the end :)

Big thanks to Eldora for letting all 150 of us come out. What a killer turnout! I apologize to everyone that I was unable to join in on the ride, but I hope you got a good look at the course and have that added anticipation for race day!!! Hopefully I'll be well in time to see you out there :)

XTERRA Forest Drive

Although I will not be able to attend the above race on Aug. 1st due to prior commitments, if you are at all in the South Dakota area, I would highly suggest checking it out! P.S. Colorado isn't that far away...I had the opportunity to speak with the race director while racing in North Dakota last month and it sounds like a complete blast! Not only is there a $2550 cash purse going 6 deep for male and female, which makes it all that much more appealing, the course itself sounds like a ton of fun. The off-road triathlon has a 1100m swim, 15mile MTB and a 4mile trail run. There will also be 5K and 10K trail running races as well.

In my opinion, the best part of racing off-road is having the opportunity to travel and check out the various terrain around the country. If you've never visited or ridden in that area, a new and well organized event is the just reason you need to head out that way! Click on the logo above to get to the main site and don't hesitate to contact the race director at craig@helmsengineering.com! Have fun and good luck :)

PYRAMEDIUM

It's about time I get to thanking the wonderful bunch who helped me design, create and host my amazing new website! Gregory and Erin Menvielle have not only been preparing for their first child to arrive late this month, but also busy dealing with me and of course taking care of their many other clients who use their services and software through Pyramedium.

At Pyramedium, they can help you acquire, launch, and benefit from software solutions that are most adapted to your needs. They offer a series of web-based solutions such as inventory and maintenance, organization and content management that can help you with specific services, and consulting needs. They also offer systems that can lower your costs and risks, or generate new efficiencies and greater business value with E-commerce, Analytics and Software as a Service.

They are a fantastic group to work with and I can assure you they will meet and exceed any of your expectations. If you have a need for any of their services, or just want to see if they can create something specifically for you, please contact them by clicking on the logo above!

My New Favorite Training Food

This past year I was selected as one of the members of the PowerBar Team Elite squad! What an honor. As one of the perks, we are allotted a certain amount of product to order each year straight off the website. Sometimes my favorite product is not easy to find so having access to every product in every flavor at all times is a HUGE asset :)

When I went to place my first order, I noticed that PowerBar had come out with a new Engery Gel Blast in Strawberry Banana. It's a gummy chew with my favorite Gel in the center! I have been a die hard PowerBar Gel fan since the beginning of my athletic career. The consistency and flavors exceed any other brand by far. The new Gel Blasts are the perfect combination of solid and liquid calories and have become a staple in my training food consumption. If I'm heading out for a ride, long or short, I never leave without my Gel Blasts!!!

A weekend with Bryce

Since there was no racing for me this past weekend, I headed down to Trinidad, CO with Bryce for his moto race instead. The weekend was filled with lots of driving, good conversation, chillin' in the heat and fun spectating. Although Bryce was racing well, his hand weren't holding up so great. I'm thinking this is a sign that needs to be riding his dirt bike a little more and his mountain bike a little less! Thoughts?!

Sooooo sick :(

There is nothing good, exciting or positive to report from the past couple days. Although I have discovered that I am very anemic, I have also come down with something on top of that as well. The few 20-30min workouts I've tried throughout the week have resulted in absolute disasters making my heart beat out of control and leaving me super nauseated. After my HR wouldn't stay under 185 on a short run, I went to the doc Tuesday afternoon where he ordered an EKG and Echo-cardiogram just to be sure and told me to rest the remainder of the day. Per coach Neal, I attempted an easy 20min swim late Wednesday morning to stretch and loosen up. Unfortunately this only made me super nauseous for the next 2 days. I spent that entire night up sicker than all could be then laid in bed for the remainder of the next day missing my doctor appointment and feeling ridiculously ill. I was eventually able to hold down some soup, animal crackers, saltines and ginger ale but still didn't feel right. Luckily I was able to have a solid sleep last night and although I'm still having a hard time getting this toast down today, I'm hoping things start to make a turn for the better.

On a side note, it's quite obvious that there is no physical way I will be able to race the XTERRA in Beaver Creek tomorrow which makes me really upset after all the hard work I've put in the last few months. The past year and a half has been the biggest whirlwind and mental challenge EVER. I know what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger but still...I just want to be healthy and race! I know it will come, but I honestly wouldn't believe it without the constant reminders and support of Bryce, Neal, Tingle and my parents. The new plan is to focus solely on my health until I'm well and ready to begin training. At that point, XTERRA Snow Valley on Aug. 1 will be the next event to look forward to. Keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned for a more inspiring update :)

The New Site Is Up!!!

After me being a pain in the butt to the best web designers on the planet, we've finally put the finishing touches on my website and it's now ready to rock!

Please visit the link below to check it all out...and if you prefer, you can just visit that site from now on because the blog will always be streamed on the main page :) Cool, huh?

www.erinkummer.com

No wonder I couldn't keep my eyes open...

After a few weeks of being really tired then almost blacking out in my last 2 hard workouts, I knew something wasn't right. I had a blood test done early Friday morning and it definitely confirmed my prediction...my iron and B6 levels were off the chart low.

Per coach Neal, I need to start supplementing immediately and eating red meat several times a week. As much as I don't want to believe this crap and want to get back to being healthy as quickly as possible, I'm going to listen to my body and do everything a little more conservatively. I had to take the last 2 days off training completely and sleep 3-4hrs more per night than normal but hopefully a little iron boost will get me back on track for the big race next weekend in Beaver Creek.

Anemia isn't something that can be fixed overnight and may take up to months to get regulated. Iron is very hard for the body to absorb and almost all supplements are very difficult on the stomach.

JUST WHAT I NEED, RIGHT...I already have issues shitting, now it's going to be even worse. Pardon me if I'm a little crabby over the next few weeks or months. It's because my system is clogged from iron supplements!!!

Summer Fun

This afternoon, one of my clients invited Bryce and I to attend the company outing at the Rockies game. I got to pull out my trusty Rockies t-shirt that gets worn once a year and enjoy some screaming and yelling. Luckily they came out with the win and it was a blast seeing the employees out of the office!

While we were attending the baseball game, Bryce dropped his new car off for a little cosmetic work. He had a clear bra put on the front and the windows tinted super dark. Now all that little VW needs is some killer wheels :)

Ridiculous

Bryce keeps telling everyone that this little kid in the video below would totally be me if I raced motocross on the track. How nice...

Part of the Holiday Weekend

I haven't had much news to report over the last couple days as I've been a bit busy wrapping up the second quarter books and getting ready to go play in the mountains.

Friday afternoon Bryce and I drove out to his parent's place in Edwards so we could have a big XTERRA Beaver Creek training day with a bunch of friends. First thing Saturday morning, we headed to the local pool to get the blood pumping. I always forget how difficult it is to swim hard at altitude but glad I sucked it up and did so. We then headed over to Nottingham Lake where we met up with lots of friends from all over. We pre-rode the bike course and even did an extra loop at the top to make the legs extra tired. We then ran part of the run course right off the bike for the final kicker which made for a killer training day. Although I didn't force Bryce to do my swim set, he crushed the bike and hung on for dear life on the run...soooo proud of him! After sleeping for 11hrs Saturday night, we ventured back to the mountains for a 95min run with 2500ft of climbing early Sunday morning. I'm pretty sure this is where I completely roasted the poor kid because he didn't even have the energy to get me back on the dirt bike later on!

Instead, we went shopping and came home with the world's largest spoon and fork...