Hey!!!! 'Memba Me!!????

Huh, ive been in candyland, drinking sweet fairy punch, and riding my bike on sugar sweet singletrack...in my dreams of course! But im just one busy bee. Last weekend we went to Bamberg, Justin raced, he did great, got like 57th out of three or four hundred souls. He was freakin' sicker than a dog, had the shittiest starting spot in the field and still came out showin em who's boss. He hates it when i do that by the way, but whateva...Ive been riding a lot, but I have also learned that I love riding my bike, the whole deal with racing, well, racing is in it's own category, but riding, man the love of just that freedom, who cares what anyone thinks, riding is better than sitting on the couch watching tv all day and only getting up to go to the bathroom or stuff your face full of crap! And to judge me!!! To say anything could be more important!!! Proposterous I say!!!!

We are heading to the Alps this weekend, to do a little camping, a little hip shakin', a little bike ridin' a little r&r for us busy souls. Some people just sit their whole lives, whatching it pass by like a littel rainstorm, well, Im gonna live mine! Im not gonna just sit here and let things hold me back, Im gonna live my life and enjoy every single day I get to spend with my kids, huggin, and lovin' them, and my husband, who brings me a lot of laughs, a lot of jibbery jatterin' that sometimes get on my nerves, but I wouldnt have it any other way.

What has gotten into me? hmmmm....maybe the fact that I love my life. Maybe because it isnt what you got, it's who you get to share it with. Us coming here to Germany was the best thing we coulda done. Sure, I miss our family and friends, but we also got a chance to see if the grass is greener on the other side, if the singletrack is sweeter on the other mountain, if the lake across the range has bigger, better fish....oh, gosh, im sure no one is getting this, but that's okay, because its really for me and me only to understand. Just go out and DO IT< have the best day of your life!!!! Scream from the rooftops! Jump off a rock (0n your bike), but HAVE FUN< enjoy your life and most off all give joy to those that share it with you!!!!!

Hope you are livin' and always, always havin' fun...Angie

muttertag

its a little late, but happy muttertag to all the mom out there. I know my mom reads this blog from time to time, so Happy Mother's Day. Here's some pics from my ride Sunday.

tonite

here is a picture that i just took. its been raining, even had power outage. But my night just couldnt get better than this:

almost dead, but not really

I had a bad week. One of the things that really killed me was improper nutrition. So let this be a valuable lesson boys and girls, when you train hard, you gotta eat like a pig. Well, not like a pig, but you have to replace those calories and very soon in that window of opportunity, usually within 45 minutes after a long hard effort.

The thing is, I know all this. I have been riding for a long time. Training and all that has become second nature, I know most of this stuff cuz I been doin' it a while. But then I threw in the task of trying to lose some weight. Not a good balance when you are also in high intensity training mode.

Well, anyway, the sad part to this story and in not so much detail is that I came down with some exercise induced hypoglycemia. So bad, that I could not think, talk, and barely conscionable. It took me two days to recover from it and two days of lost training days. But I learned that I cant forgo caloric intake and train as hard as I was. The defecit after a few days of "cutting calories" came back to bite me in the ass, and the bite was hard and ugly!

I am happy to report that after yesterday's ride, I ate a bunch. I never want that to happen again! And fueling on the bike, never more important.

I will post some pictures later. Peace, Ang

more rain

I dont really have any cool pics to show you, I have been inside lately, as it has been raining the past few days, but I am planning on riding tonite, even if it's raining, I have been continuing the running and it doesnt seem any easier yet. I am getting stronger at the pushups, I did 90 yesterday, of course I was doing circuit workout and reps with weights, and so it was all broken up, which was nice. I am sore today and I think i should have taken some ibuprofen last night.

I also ran over a baby bird on accident and i feel real bad about it. I bet it mom is really sad.

In a little less than two weeks is the Bamberg Marathon. Justin is doing it and I am going to try to. I also wanted to say how nice the people at the Schonsee race were. Even though there was a communication breakdown, the event was really good. There were no real cultural lines, a bike race is a bike race no matter where you are...oh except one girl shoved me and that is just not cool, I almost had to kick her ass, just kidding, but really, it was kinda wierd. In the states, at least when I raced, all the girls knew each other because we saw each other a gazillion times over a race season, some of those gals, I really respected, some became good friends, so its wierd to have that catiness claws come out. Whateva...Im ovah it!

Okay, im blogging for the sake of blogging, not because i have that much to say today, but i truly hope everyone else is having fun! angie

One more thing...

I always forget this, but I truly cant do anything without the support and encouragement of my husband Justin. He is not only my husband, but he is a coach to me and he encourages me when I know I did not do my best. He has never made me feel bad about my finish, he only lifts me up. I got on him once yesterday out of frustration and I hope he knows how much I truly appreciate him. He's pretty darn dandy...

motivated

Race Day!
Here's some pics of the race yesterday. I wasnt the only one racing, "G", my little 7yr old was out tearin' it up as well. There were a lot of bambini's racing, and Gavin was only a little more than a minute back from the leader. I was super proud of my guy. The kids all had their race face on, totally decked in the kit of choice, and they were off! Gavin put his chamoix on and said he was "embarrased" (already!?! at age 7?), so I let him wear whatever he wanted. He opted for jersey and bermuda shorts, with his skate/bike helmet. He was totally cool!
And they're offf...
Go G!!!!!
Post Race-Refuel (meat n'cheez)..
My race, well, it was sorta fun...The good news is I got first in my age group, but last in the women, but I am cool with it. I know where I am and I also learn't a lot. It was not really a race on a circuit, it was a sprint hill climb around 5k, but it was super tough, and it was straight up, no recovery, just straight up. I did not know it was a hillclimb, i was super conservative going in, I screwed up, yes, but its all good. I know I could have pushed a bit harder, but not too much so. I am more motivated than ever to work that much harder.
Pre-race meditation..
One of my fans at the finish..
One of the dumb things was that I forgot my german dictionary, so there was a language barrier. I didnt understand that I had to pay 20 euro for a deposit on me and G's number plates, and I didnt understand that it was a hillclimb and not a loop. It is kinda dumb, but I take it as a learning experience.

Anyway, I guess there will be racing in two weeks for me, super excited for that!

After the long day, we went to a nice cafe and enjoyed dinner in the warm sun, the restaraunt had an outdoor playground with a jumpy bouncy thingy that the kids enjoyed while we watched them and sipped recovery beverages. It was a nice way to end the day with the people that make me happiest.

hope you had a great weekend! ~Angie

Fog

Here is a pic of what I woke up to this morning. It's been raining in Bavaria for a few days now, but I was still able to get in the required workouts and now I get to rest until Sunday which is the day I race. My legs feel a little tired, Justin had me do some intnse intervals yesterday, and for the first time in a long time, my hamstrings are fatigued. Nothing is sore, which is good, just fatigued, right where I want them. Tonite I am gonna get in our sauna followed by ice bath, it is my most favorite thing to do right now. Your legs will love you for it.
So I guess Im ready, I am as ready as Im gonna ever be, should be fun!

I was a kid in Bellingham, Washington when Loverboy hit the scene. I thought they were da bomb! I had a friend who's parents were hippys that lived next store, it was always 4:20 over there, but I was too little to understand what they were doing. Anyway, here is the album cover of someone's ass. I used to stare at it a lot when i was a kid, for some reason, I was more fixated on the red leather pants than the ass itself.
And what about the whole swine flu dealio. Kinda freaky. It is super close to us. Someone in Regensberg was infected and that is an hour away. I just want to keep the kids at home. I am pretty positive global domination is at hand, that is why I joined Swine Flu Survivors' Zombie Killing Mountain Bike Army, you should too!

Another cool pic of the H1N1 virus, how can something bad be so pretty, oh wait...