Living the dream: AZ Style

I am back from an awesome weekend in the desert with future-wife and future-fam. on Friday afternoon I got home loaded all the bikes, gear, and clothes in the truck and after Beth got out of class we hit the road... in the rain.

The rain did not let up and neither did the traffic. I think it took us about 1.5 hours to go the first 40 miles. Not fun. Eventually we made it to the Copper Wynd in Scottsdale just before 2am.

After some good sleep we woke up Saturday morning and hung with the family a bit before they set out to go hike the Superstitious Mountains and Beth and I headed out for some training. The weather was perfect. About 55 and not a cloud in the sky. There was a trail leaving straight from where we were staying so we decided to head out there for our long run.

The run was tough... 3200 ft of climbing tough. We ran on some steep fire road trails, through some hilly neighborhoods, and then some killer single track. It worked us both.... but it was rad to get this in right from the front door.


After the run we headed back, crammed some food in our mouths and headed for McDowell Moutain Park for some mountain bike action. When we got to the park Beth was crashing and not on her bike. She needed a power nap. So I hit a couple of laps off the "Technical Loop" and 30 minutes later Beth was ready to roll. We rode 2 laps of the "Sport Loop" and Beth was killing it! Seriously she was riding awesome... I was so stoked. I was having a blast riding too... the riding out there is so fun. Not a lot of climbing just fun, flowing, single track.

We were both pretty crushed after the ride. When we got back home we grabbed some lunch from the pool and hit the hot tub. For Dinner we all headed to the True Food Kitchen (thanks for recomendation JP). The was awesome. If you are in the area check it.

Family hot tub time.


So yeah... Saturday was perfect.... My kind of Valentine's Day. Hitting the trails with Beth all day and then hanging out with the Family and eating awesome food.


Day two. We got up a little earlier on Sunday and set out on our road bikes for a long. My homeboy Brian that lives in Fountain Hills sent me route that looked solid. It was definitely pretty cold when we first got on the roads (mid 40's and windy). The ride was interesting and tough. We rode some quiet roads, saw packs of wolves, crazy bulls that I thought were going to charge us, and even had to ride 5 miles "offroad". Thanks for the heads up Brian! When was all said in done we got in 65+ miles in 4 hours... and it wasn't easy. We dealt with a lot of headwind. I am really impressed with the way Beth is riding so far this year she is getting strong on the bike... and it's only February. I think she is going to step her game this year.

sweet dirt road. thanks Brian!

Again.. the rest of the day was filled with lounging by the pool, jacuzzi, and then eating more great food. A tough day!


Monday was another full day of training with future-wife. We headed out early for an easy run just to "shake out the legs". We wanted to find out a trail that we could see from where we were staying. So after some google mapping, running, bushwhacking, and hiking we found our way to the Sunrise Peak Trail head. The trail was rad... and pretty much straight up for 2+ miles. So the run turned into an uphill grind but the trail was just too awesome to not run all the way to the top.


beth on the way up.


more up.



feeling it.


the peak.

After run we headed straight to the resort gym for core and then grabbed a good breakkie with the family. After Beth's family headed off to the airport we set out for McDowell Mountain park for more riding. Beth again rode awesome. I did a lap of each course and Beth joined me on the long loop and sport loop. She handled everything on the course and blew me away. Some the descents are kind of sketchy and rocky, but she plowed and climbed through everything. I was so stoked.

shelled.

After we were done we packed up and headed to my good friend Tom's for more good times. Brian also joined us and we hit some beers and mexican food.... yep another perfect day.

This morning we packed up and hit the road. I got in a solid run on my local trails in the afternoon. As good as it is to go on vacation... it's great to be home!

Weekend Recap:
Saturday: 1:35 - 12 mile run/1:15 - 11.5 mile mountain bike
Sunday: 4:00 - 65+ mile road ride
Monday: 1:00 - 6.5 mile run/:15 core session/1:30 - 13.5 mile moutain bike

totals: 2:35/18.5 miles running, 6:15/90 miles riding, 15 min core = solid!