Our weekend was off to a great start, considering the last few weekends were superseded by responsibilities such as house work. Saturday we were fortunate enough with time and great weather to be able to bike to the gym to get in a great arm workout and then bike back home. We were excited for Sunday because we knew the weather was going to be even nicer, and we had plans to check out a park we had never been to. Our earlier plans of hitting up the Smithville trails were thwarted due to deer hunting season. We were so glad they were, because Landahl Park turned out to be as awesome as we had heard it was. Joined by our friend Brent, we hit the trails around 11:30, and we commenced in pretty intense mountain biking. Bumps, bruises, cuts, dirt, and sweat, and we found ourselves an hour later pretty beat. We knew it was time to go when we realized we had lost Brent; he had cruised on ahead and made his way back to his vehicle…I guess he was ready to go! We packed up our gear and planned on our much-anticipated visit to the famous Dixon’s Chili. Everyone has been telling us how wonderful this place is, and our mouths were virtually watering with thoughts of chili and cornbread after working up quite an appetite on the trails. To our dismay, Dixon’s was closed. Lame! We settled for Gate’s BBQ instead; “Hi, may I help you?!” (For those of you who don’t know about Gates, this is their signature greeting they harass you with when you walk in the door.) Tired, full, and happy, we called it a day. Enjoy the video of us tearing through the trails!

Mandy & Christopher

Landahl Park from Christopher and Mandy Beltz on Vimeo.

Hey all, Mandy here!

Today our Sunday Funday took a different route, and we decided to hit up Smithville Lake to do some off-road mountain biking. Our friend Tom from The Wheel Cyclery met up with us to join in on the fun. It was a brisk 45 degrees when we got started, but we worked up quite a sweat on some of those technical trails. We had no idea that some of these trails could get pretty rough! There are parts of the trail that we looked over the ledge and saw a dramatic drop-off right into the lake. Being that Christopher and Tom had more experience on these types of trails, I decided to take it a little more cautiously to get a feel for the difference between off-road trails and paved roads. Even though I took it pretty easy, I’m proud to show off my scraped up leg from the spill I took! Christopher and Tom raced ahead and were able to get in some pretty nice jumps and practice maneuvering through the terrain and trails, barely squeezing through trees and rock hopping. Christopher got in a great workout, had a blast, and is newly motivated to practrice his skills on his mountain bike. I think I might see Cyclocross in his future. We got dirty, sweaty, and even a little bloody! After about two and half hours of our mountain bike adventure, we called it quits and headed to a bar for a Guinness…or two. On our way home, we made a pit stop at Lowe’s, and Christopher was kind enough to cart me around because I was wiped out!

Hey all, Christopher here! Today was supposed to be my Wakarusa Challenge, but after dislocating my knee about a month ago, I’m still not able to run any more than a quarter of a mile. Trying to run 6 miles would just be inflicting more damage to my knee. So playing it smart, I decided not to do it. That’s a little disappointing.

So instead, Mandy has her 20 mile training run for her marathon this morning! Plus this will give me more time to get use to my “fixie.” 20 miles should be enough to get me used to it. It was a great ride following her around but there were a few times I wanted to test the speed and naturally jumped on the road so that I can pick up speed. Now when I get on the road, I ALWAYS leave enough room for motorists to go around. Nothing more rude than when the road is hogged. But without fail, there is always some A-hole trying to tell me to get off the road. Needless to say, I had some words with a guy at a stop light. More or less just a bunch of bickering, but always the same; “bicycles don’t belong on the street.” I wish people would read up on the laws before they decide to make their own judgement. Anyway, we went our seperate ways and I continued to have a good ride.

When riding a bike, you always have the dangers of hurting yourself one way or another. Especially if you are trying to test its limits. Here is my causualty for the day. A little tire burn on the inside of my thigh. But OUCH!

Now, I hand this off to my other half.

Running is cheap therapy. Whenever I’m feeling down on myself, lost, frustrated, unattractive, or just all around “less than,” I lace up my running shoes and pound the pavement. It’s on the road where I work out my anxieties, get lost in my thoughts, and come up with solutions to my life’s problems. Running 20 miles today, I had 3 hours to sort through my thoughts. It’s just me and the road, the sound of my footsteps, the sound of my breathing. It’s here that I remember how incredibly strong and invincible I am, even if I lose sight of that in day to day life. By the time I’m finished running, I’m covered in sweat, dirt, grass, and the dead bugs I’ve drowned in my sweat; and I can tell you that I’ve never felt more beautiful or alive! My inner strength and determination has carried me mile after mile, and the deep sense of pride I feel at the end of my run smooths away all the issues that I started running with. I beat my inner demons into submission over the course of 20 miles; even if they come back before my next run, I’m confident enough in myself that I’ll do it again next weekend. I am strong; I am resilient. Running allows me to dig deep and unearth the positive traits in myself I long to see and share with the world. Running is inexpensive therapy, but its cost is still high: all it takes is all you’ve got.

I’m lucky to have such an amazing and supportive man by my side. He supports me, encourages me, and pushes me to be the best woman and runner I can be. Thank you, Christopher for being my PIC

Below are some pictures we took during the 20 mile run/ride. We’ve also posted a video of the infamous post-run ice bath!

Post-Run Ice Bath from Christopher Beltz on Vimeo.