Down and Dirty at Tough Mudder Houston 2013

Kristin, Alex (Dad), Becky, Kelsey (sister), Myself, Sheri
from left to right. Cajun Chaos 3.0 was the team name

What is tough mudder? That is the exact question that I had to ask myself a week before the event. My sister has been hyping up this event for several months now, and I wanted to see what the big deal was. She even was able to make my dad do the event with her. As the final days approached to the event I started to dig around and find some information and what exactly tough mudder is. A few google searches later I came to the conclusion that tough mudder is a basically a 12 mile course that you can do solo or with teams. Where in between the start and finish line there are many obstacles that would need to be circumnavigated as well as lots of mud to sludge through.

A long awaited close to 2013. A season of learning and growth

Stach Watts

In my opinion 2013 feels like it has been the longest season of my cycling career. This season would end up being my 6^th season since beginning racing back in 2007, as well as my 2^nd season on team Super Squadra. My goals for the season would be to improve upon the great 2012 I had. I knew that I would be capable of it. My winter training before the season was flawless and my motivation for racing was the highest it has ever been. I finished 2012 with some great results to my name. Including an 8^th at my first u23 national road race, 4^th at Pro states, u23 state champ, and the youngest winner of the Fayetteville stage race.

Keeping it together at u23 State championships

The blog post for this race is going to be on the team blog. It is a really good write up in my opinion and I recommend everyone to take the time to check it out.

***HERE***

But I will now post it here in honor of Shane's retirement (temporary) from cycling

When I woke up at 5 a.m. for the age based state road race championships, I had no idea how I was going to feel. The previous day, at the skill based state championship, I was blown out of the water and only able to complete one of the three, 33-mile laps. (A big disappointment, considering I finished fourth in the skill based race the year prior, and my teammate finished second.)

I looked at my phone, and the weather looked terrible. It was going to be wet, cold, and windy. All things I did not want to wake up to.

Article in the Racing Post

Just want to give out a shout that I have an article in this months Racing Post about my adventures spent with the USA Jr Camp I did back in June. This article is a lot longer and more in depth then the write up found on my blog from a while ago. I would recommend for everyone to go to their local bike shop and pick up a copy. You can also find the PDF version of this month's racing post at their website which can be found HERE. My write up is on page 7. I recommend checking it out when you get a chance. Andy Hollinger has been putting together the racing post for as long as I remember. He also supports texas racing through the hosting of races and events. The Racing Post has a website of their own which is at theracingpost.us

An Alan Ting Sighting at a Bear Creek Crit!

I ended up taking the series overall
with the win tonight

School has finally started and my legs still want to go fast before they get too bogged down with assignments. Today would be the final Bear Creek Criterium as part of the summer series put up by my friends at sun and ski sports. Before driving that way towards the race there has been a few text messages going on between the well renowned Alan Ting and myself. For weeks Kevin Kremke (his boss) and myself have been putting on the pressure to persuade Alan to pin on a number and race his bicycle. Alan, is a teammate of mine, has not ridden a bike since Nationals of 2012.

The Close of a Summer and the Start of a Fall Season

            

Shasta and I

So as summer comes to a close, the Texas cycling season goes back into full gear.  The Hotter Then Hell Omnium is this weekend, and my first day of fall classes the following Monday. My excitement for these fall is out of this world. With HHH, Tour of Austin, Chappell Hill, and the Texas State Championships. Couple that with the fact I will be surrounded by college women again on a daily basis gives me a reason to look forward for the next couple months.

HTX Team relay Ham Cycles summer Series. Allycat style racing in Houston!

The winning team (team drunkstrong) posing with Crystal

I got the invite from what would end up being my teammate for the event, Dan Morgan. He messaged me saying that there would be some sort of relay going on in downtown Houston. He said it would a little “for fun” event and he thought it would be a great idea for me to give it a try. He was right.