Time to catch up

Wow sorry I have been so out of the loop for so long. It has been a crazy summer for sure.

I feel that the illness gods are not on my side in 2011. Back in May and June I was the sickest I had ever been before. I was on my way to the 24 hour mtb race in Spokane and wasn't feeling to good. We stopped at a gas station and I threw up all over the back of the gas station. What a way to start a 24hr race!

We kept on driving and got to the race. I was up all night in and out of the port-a-potties. I had stomach cramps so bad. But with my stubbornish I start the race and did the first lap and thought I was going to die. I got through that lap and laid down and slept. I got up thinking I was better, but I was wrong.

My stomach was cramping so bad I could hardly stand up straight. But stupid me, I tried one more lap. I didn't want to let my team down, so I tried. I finished that lap but in the most pain I had ever been in.

With the help of Chad's right mind I decided to throw in the towel. The next 24 hours would be the worst to come. I was in the fetal position most of the day and night and by 1pm the next day we were off to the ER in Spokane.

2 hours of waiting in the ER and then 2 more hours in the room with morphine and spasm meds they released me with no diagnoses. But less pain.

I got better over the next couple days and thought it was just the flu. But driving home the following Thursday I threw up all over myself while in rush hour traffic. Pretty humbling for sure. I was a mess. I made it home to Chad who got me new clothes and I was back in the fetal position again.

I went into my doctor the next day and he tested for ecoli and giardia and the next day I got a call from the nurse that I tested positive for giardia. It was a mixed blessing . I was happy to know what I had and that it was curable, but was disgusted that I had little critters living inside of me.

So onto antibiotics I went. They helped and killed the critters but also killed every thing good in my gut. So the whole month of June I was off my bike trying to get healthy.

I started riding again in July but pretty much starting from scratch. I got in a couple good months of training and then raced the first cross race of the season on Labor Day.

I started out feeling pretty good. I was in 3rd and doing ok considering being a bit behind in training. With 2 laps to go coming out of a turn I stood up to get back up to speed and the course tape grabbed by handle bars and stopped my bike and I went flying over the handle bars. Hit the ground really hard and landed on my head and right shoulder.

Holy crap I had not crashed that hard in a long time. I jumped up and made sure nothing was broken and off I went. My shoulder hurt pretty bad, but I finished and held onto 3rd place.

Instantly my shoulder was hurting. I could tell it wasn't broken but possibly a small seperation. I iced it and went to my chiropractor the next day. That helped a lot and we decided to try taping my shoulder back to help releave pain while riding.

That worked but after two days of taping the shoulder back my lower back went out. That hurt more then the shoulder. So back to the Chiro for more adjustments. But this wasn't going away.

I raced the first MFG race and right in the first lap I crashed. Luckily on the other side. I lost a lot of positions and fell back to around 10th. I felt good though and started fighting back. I worked my way back up to 4th. I was pretty happy with that.

The back was really bad after that race. I could barely stand up. Kept in at chiro and started getting massages.

I started Starcrossed not know what to expect. It was a stacked field to say the least. I got a back row call up. So I knew I was going to have a lot of work ahead of me. I raced hard, and felt pretty strong and worked my way up to finish 14th. Not bad for racing injured.

Back was really sore again after the race. I started the Rapha Focus GP and right away I knew it wasn't going to be good. I couldn't produce any power and had to pull out of the race. For those of you that know me, I don't quit races unless I am in a lot of pain. So that will tell you how bad it really was.

So I was super frustrated and back in chiro and another massage. The back muscles were starting to let go a bit and I started feeling some relief.

I raced the first Seattle Series race and that didn't go so well either. We drove from Chelan at 4am (from a weding the day before) and boy was I tired. The whole morning was stressful with different issues and I just knew it wasn't going to be a good day.

We started only 15sec behind the guys. Not sure why such a short gap but it was horrible. We were mixing into the guys in the first corner and the whole race became a mess trying to pass guys just to stay with the girls.

I normally don't complain about being in with the guys, but 15sec just isn't enough time. So I got caught a few times behind some guys I couldn't get around and the race was over for me. I gave up metally and just finished it out the best I could to finish in 10th.

And now I have a cold. I swear my patience is being tested. I am trying to stay positive and work through it. We will see how tomorrow goes at the MFG race in North Bend. I am on a mission to kick some butt as long as I have the energy.

So long story short this has been a crazy summer and start to the cross season. Look out I will be killing it by Dec!