New summer goals and busted heel update #2

Busted Heel Update
I have been fitted with what resembles a victorian or midevil torture device:

Its like a corset for my calf!  And about as comfy!  The black piece is carbon fiber, which sounds cool, but it hurts.  Every time I take a step, my heel clunks against the back of the carbon fiber and the ball of my foot squishes up against the hard egde on the bottom of my foot.  The idea is that you secure the boot as tight as you can with your foot ~1 inch off the bottom of the brace.  Then as you take a step, your heel is held up off the brace.

Honestly, I think the goal is to make walking so uncomfortable that you choose to not walk at all.  I have another ~2 weeks in this thing.  UGH.

Revised Summer Goals
In other news...... I have re-focused this summer's plan away from racing and towards climbing monster hills on my bike.  Last fall, I wanted to buy a used roadie but between convincing Will that I needed a 3rd bike (but they each do different things!) and grandma dying right before VeloSwap, I didn't get a roadie.  Now that my summer is askew, I started researching used roadies and settled on a few to try.  And I didn't really get any commentary from Will, because what was he going to say?  No, do not use your own money for a toy to play with while your foot is broken.  Really, this was my chance to get a 3rd toy without any commentary whatsoever. 

So, I present my yet-unnamed roadie:

Its a ~2008 Specialized Allez Pro with Ultegra brakes and Dura-Ace everything else.  Sweet!  I will probably put on aerobars and maybe get a new seat post.  I'm still figuring out the saddle.  It may need to be moved up and back a bit.  Or I may need a new saddle.  Not quite sure yet.

Potential names are Billy or Monty (as in mountain goat).  This bike will be a climber and I want the name to be some sort of ode to mountain climbing.

And now, my summer goals..... I have this nice pretty list of races here off to the right margin.  Most of those races aren't going to happen.  Specifically the three in July.  At this point, I will be lucky if I can run/walk Rattlesnake in August.  I'm downgrading the RnR to a half marathon.  And I'm thinking about doing the Oilman HIM in Conroe, TX (Houston) in early November.  Because I'm still pissed about Boise.

And then my big scary goal..... IMCDA in June 2013.  I knew the bike was challenging but I honestly thought it was a middle of the road bike course.  Some climbing but doable.  Instead, I have this to look forward to:


this is ONE LOOP.  I get to do this twice.

I've found that the hills are rumored to be around a 6% grade and ~5 miles long.  I don't know how accurate that is and it seems a bit steep, considering most Colorado mountain passes are at 6%.  I think its more like 4 or 5 %.  Hopefully.

Regardless, I have 5,000+ feet of climbing in 112 miles.  I need to get my legs used to climbing.

Therefore, my mission is to do loads of climbing this summer.  Get those climbing muscles developed this year so that training next year will be more about fitness instead of "OMG, THE HILLS ARE KILLING ME!"

There are several organized century rides this summer, mostly in Boulder.  And other mountain rides/routes.  This will be my summer of conquering hills, or at least getting lots of practice trying.