summer fun and ridin'

our lake






Ive been training like a madwoman, my newest goal is a 6 hour solo race on aug. 22. I know its not a lot, as far as time goes, but for me it will suffice. I can get the feel of how it would be to do a 24, which might be something I would like to shoot for in 2010. This race is actually a 24 hour race, but it has a 6 hour race too. Im excited. I just need to figure out this whole nutrition thingy, need to find some ideas and different stuff to play with and dial in for race day. I get hypoglycemia if not properly fed during intense racing, it is superly unpleasant and leads to panic attack symptoms after that. So, if anyone knows of any cool ideas for fueling, please add them to the comments section so I can give a try. Next weekend I have a race in Bamberg, then its off to the alps for a training/fun/camping with friends weekend. Then this 6hr race, then...gosh, who knows! All i know is Im having a blast!

Here are some pictures I have taken in the last week. I have found some singletrack and other fun stuff, we went to the lake a lot too. I have a busy weekend ahead, with longer rides and I am also happy to announce that I have lost a total of 1.5 inches of fat since I have started weight lifting. I looove the weights. I was such a wuss the first time, I could barely lift, now, after a month, I am lifting twice what I started and after next weeks rest week, I will add some more weight! I am so glad I started, and for women, as far as cycling, one of the greatest coaches in the world, suggest women incorporate weight trainig into their training plan all through the year, men should only do it in the off season-- you big burgeoning capsules of testosterone!

im watching some german music channel and its freakin' weird and funny, i like it...

okay, im just babbling now, neeed more coffee...hope you like the pics...

lazy daze

Sorta lazy daze, its just feels like sommer is here, and im enjoying it a lot! I explored some more wooded areas this weekend and found some fun singletrack. It was really steep and technical stuff. I think i will head there again and start riding it to work on the skillz.

We have been going to the lake a lot. We meet up with friends and sun and just enjoy the warmth. Im headed there again in a few hours! We jumped off these spots and I was actually scared for a few of the jumps, the last jump, I missed something and fell too close the shore, it was funny, but i scraped my leg up a bit.

Justin is the greatest guy in the world, he is a great cook, and made some yummy food this weeknd. One being green chile burgers, and his yummy pizza.
It was the Perfect weekend, hope to get a repeat comin' up.

No racing next weekend, but racing most every weekend after that. Its been nice to be home and clean up and just veg out. I like it when you can take a rest and recharge.

Peace! Angie

sommer

im sooo cool in this picture




Summer has been hardly noticeable here in germany. We have had a handful of nice days and when they come, we do our best to partake in the lovely weather.

This week, we had a few nice days. We found a lake that is super awesome, with a beach and only like 10 minutes from Justin's work. We enjoyed food, drink and fun and Justin and I swimmed the entire thing!

Hopefully the weather will perk up and we can go again and SWIM!, and i will get pics too!

Last week, was cold and miserable. We woke up early to get the kids, bikes and ourselves packed in the car for the hour or two drive to Ansbach. I didnt eat anything, as my race wasnt supposed to start til 12pm, so I took my breakfast up with me, and planned to eat there, as we would be arriving around 9am, early enough for Justin's 10am race start.

Well, when we get there, they switch the times, so my race would begin at 10, Justin at 12.

I did one pre race lap to check out the course, it was muddy and felt more like a cx course than a xc course. So after that it was race time and off I went, sorta fueled, I ate really quickly upon knowledge of my race time. I just didnt feel it from the start. The course was MUDDY, and lots of slick spots, my tires spun out enough that I had to walk several times. By the second lap, it seemed like the course was TORE UP!
Every effort I made to "push it", was met with reluctant hesitation from my legs. I felt this way the prior weekend as well, when weeks before, I felt like a feather climbing up hills. Oh well, I maybe had rested them too much.

With all that, I can tell you I still managed to pull off an overall win at this race. The outdoor crew made a fun, tricky course and it was still challenging with the limited amount of singletrack. When I came across the line, I was one mud covered lady, head to toe, mouth, ears, teeth. YUM!!!! I love me some dirt!!!

Justin had a good race too. Took top honors as well and got some good racin in.

This weekend, we are just gonna stay home and enjoy the kids and each other. It feel nice to be home for once. We have another Alps adventure in mid August, we'll be going up with some friends this time, and Justin and I plan on riding to our hearts content. On a side note, the last time we went, we actually rode to Plansee lake, in Austria. I dont even think that is how you spell it, but we were confused with our map, seems it was this lake not lake Eib. clarification. clairification.

Pics are from Ansbach mountain bike race. peace ang

goot

i will post pics later when im not so freakin delirious. i have had many events unfold that have compromised my sleeping patterns the last few days, so i have no cognitive reflexes at the moemnt..see...

anyway, Justin and i won our categories today, actually we both won overall in the mens and womens races, so that feels real good.

tomorrow there is a marathon in neurokirchen,,,yah, that is not how you spell it, but whateva, im delirous like i said..

the race was wet, muddy, and really slippery, the chamois weighed about 10 lbs due to water intake and the watery diaper i was drowning in between my legs felt really funny, it was cold too, germany in the summer, geesssh!

anyway, pics to come, as i wait for this beer to take effect, i am contemplating how much i reallly, i mean Really want to race tomroow, hopefully after a good sleep i will feel like it, but right now, i just want to Vedge out.

awwww, sleeep, g'nigth

angie

everbody's workin' for the weekend!

yup!! the weekend is embarking upon me, another funfilled, sweaty, heartpounding couple days of sufferin' and hopefully, some sweet tastin' success to top it all off!!

Yesterday, I went out for a short jaunt, just a little to let the legs know they're still alive. I found this awesome climb or downhill in the woods behind my house. I cant wait to take Justin on it. It would be a better descender, as there are stairs and then it just goes straight down across a wooden plank onto a jeep road.
Today is a complete rest day, as i have found that one day of rest before a big effort seems to make them happier the next day.

Tomorrow's race day is calling for a high in the 50's and rain. How wierd! So I am getting the arm warmers and knee warmers out and rain cover, should make the race more interesting I guess.

Im really contemplating doing the marathon race on Sunday. It wont be easy, but it will be good training, as I am really liking these longer distance races.

On a bummer note, Im really bummed out for my son, he has been training really hard for the race tomorrow and well, last night, he was jumping on a jumping castle and he hurt his wrist. He is having trouble grasping, so now he probably wont race tomorrow, and he was so excited. I feel bad for the little guy.

Post race pics to come!!!! Hope you have a funfilled, sweatsoaked, poundin' heartrate weekend@!

clearer thinking

Now that a few days have passed since the marathon (funatic bike marathon to be exact), I am thinking a little clearer (kinda). I was in a bike induced lactic acid daze, the body needs a good day of recovery after such an effort, especially when the body is not used to such efforts.

That was a super cool race, even though it was filled with some minor obstacles (of my own doing), one fun part of that race, was that right before the feed station, there was this obstacle course north-shorey (not as hardcore as the pic, but still tough) type deal you had to maneuver through to get to the feed. It was a climb up to the point so extra effort would be needed to meander up the wooden planks and down around the berms.
Last year when I lived in Winter Park, colorado, I did a clinic on a pump/dirt track such as this, so I am glad, those skillz came in handy.
Im not used to the marathon distances. I feel like I have the shorter xc races (under 30 miles) down pretty good. These longer distances take some sort of planning. Nutrition, tactics, pacing, all that is a new ballgame for me and I really like it! Im glad I have Justin to guide me on all this, he's been doing these longer races for a while now and seems to know what he's talking about.

I've been lifting weights too. I am doing three weight training sessions a week, and while racing, not doing too much in the legs arena. I see the faint beginning of the outline of a Glock 17 on my biceps and shoulders, im excited!!

The days here in Germany have been mixed with sunshine and rain. Summer, will it ever come? Today it rains, but Monday was amazing, so was yesterday. Those are the days we spend at the pool by our house, laying in the lazy sun, having a picnic dinner and enjoying a dip in the refreshing waters.
Thanks to Justin for fixing my bike! New chain, so no more breakages I hope, and stans'd up tires all good to go!

hope the sun comes out today...

What a freakin day!!!

Wow, I feel much better this morning than I did yesterday. The first pic is the bavarian night sky last night. It stays light til after 10'ish.

I did the race, 75km in 4 hours and 13 minutes. But getting to the finish line would be a whole nother thing.

We lined up to the start, there were about 5 other women and lots of guys. Justin got as far up front as he could, and I just hung out more towards the back. I also didnt want to get caught in a crazy pack, as we were heading up a steep narrow hill from the get go.

I managed to stick with the main group of women, they would hammer up the hills, ride more conservatively on the downhill parts, so that is where I would let it go. We would all stay together through most of the first lap.

After riding through some fun singletrack forest stuff, we headed out of that to fun grassy fast doubletrack stuff, then it went into the cornfields and there was a steep, quick, but very steep downhill. I did not anticipate it and for some reason put my foot out and went over the handlebars into the trees on the side. I just closed my eyes and when it was over i promptly shook it off and got back on my bike. I was passed at this point by a bunch of guys that were in my group and so I stayed on this one guys wheel hoping to catch back up to the girls. We went through more singletrack, a lot of muddy stuff, a lot of FUN! Then we headed into a cross roads, it was a cluster f*&^ and disorganized at this junction, I just followed the guy I was riding with and we went back up a hill we went on before. He suddenly turns around after a while and doesnt say anything to me, just turns around. I keep riding for a bit, and notice all the riders have the 50km number plates, so I decide that I will turn around too.

Yes, I went the wrong way. So now, I am farther behind from the girls due to the stupid crash and the stupid wrong turn, oh and yeah, thanks dude for giving me the heads up!!!

So I turned around, I was not feeling the legs from the get go, but by the second lap, I felt good, I told myself, I can do this, maybe I can catch them. So I head through and start my third and final lap. I am about 5 k into the third lap (25k) and I push on my pedals and I hear a clink. I look down and my chain is hanging, broken! So I walk for about 15 minutes, and I come upon the fork in the road, the place I originally went the wrong way. There was a nice guy there and a bunch of kids. The man basically with bare hands, and a stick put my chain back together for me! At this point I thought my race was over, I was bummed, I only had 20km to go! OH NO< he put my chain together without going through the front derailleur!!! SHIT!!! He says SHIT, AY YI YI and breaks it again! At this time all the little kids are talking in way too fast german, one says I look like a little doll, which was cute. haha..This time he puts it together right and tells me he hopes it sticks!!! Well it did!!!! Danke! SO SO much! It would have been easy at this point to say screw it and walk away, but I didnt and i am so glad i didnt.

So I rolled in, probably the last person in the world. I lost over thirty minutes for the chain breaking fiasco. I think I could have finished a 3:30-40'ish. Justin did it in some 2hrs 50min. He's way to fast!!! He said he wasnt feelin' it either, but geesh, at that time, he was feelin' something!

I am proud of myself for finishing, even when I felt sometimes like quitting.

It was a fun race and the german hospitality was great (im serious). Thanks!

Next up: Ansbach us mil. race on Sat. Sun is another marathon, but Justin most likely be doing that one himself.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! The pics are from the race, sorry not so many, my picture taker was preoccupied with my 2 year old and I dont blame her! At the finish I look like hell!

more yodel..

here's a vid of the yodeling i was telling you about.

today rx is a easy spin, then tomorrow, its on! 75k, and race report to follow. I rode yesterday and had some serious side stitch action going on. It happened to me when we lived in Winter Park a few times too. It hurts really bad, but I have no idea why this happens to me. I took a week off, i did throw some climbing in right away and maybe I freaked my diaphragm out. Hopefully none of that happens tomorrow.

Anyway, its still cloudy and rained a few times yesterday. I hope we have a summer here. I really miss that.

random thoughts currently floating in my air space:
I really miss all my old friends, I havent made any that do the biking thing yet.

Tomorrow Im wearing my big wheels kit for the german race, next weekend donning the Bella kit for the Ansbach race.

I LOVE MY KONA!! Im short, barely, barely 5 feet. It is hard to find a race bike that fits a lady that is the size of a 11 year old. Kona made a great bike for Velo Bella and I happen to get the team issue, the kona lisa. The fit is right on and being a hardtail, its super light. I dont think I will ever need a dual susp.

thinks Sarah Palin is a nut job

wonders if we could drive to france for just one stage

so proud of my amazing sister who is soon to graduate with her RN, so proud of that girl!

I'll do a race thingy after the race, have a great weekend!

clouds, rain, cold

Things to do when its raining:
watch movies
take a nap
make cookies
pick ur nose
clean ur room
do laundry
eat cookies you made for ur kids
stare at the patio you cant sit out on because its raining
eat more cookies

yes...im bored
I took a few days off from the training, as prescribed by koach koppa, and just sat around and relaxed. I was hoping to do a lot of that at the local swimmin' hole, but due to the fact that it has been constantly raining, there will be no lazy, hot, dog days in my forecast. Instead, Ive been watching movies and to be perfectly honest with you, its only fun for a day. I cant stand to sit on my butt and watch tv all day, then on top, you get tempted to eat crap. And people wonder why they get fat!

Im tired of rain, snow and 100% humidity. The next place we live is not going to have any of it!

Okay, so enough of the whining.

Sunday, is the race. I hardly know nothing about it, except its a marathon distance type race. Should be good to spin the little cobwebs out of my legs. Then the following weekend is another race. Im excited to be out there again. Excited to be racing, not only good for the body, but good for the mind!

Ive also incorporated some weights into my workouts. Mainly Im doing this for weight loss. Also its important for bone health, as women, we need that extra oomph. Im really excited about it and hope in 12 weeks, I will see some small transformations.

In the training front, I have found that keeping goals short term is the most beneficial for me. You just have to get out there and do it, even if you feel like sitting on your butt. Force yourself to get out there, you will be so glad you did, and it just gets easier and easier! Even if its a 5 minute walk, dont make excuses! Make today the day!

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning form failure. - Colin Powell, U.S. Secretary of State

I wonder if Justin ever updates his blog?

Yodeling and all sorts of fun!

Back from the trip to Garmisch. Was so much fun, although very wet. It rained the entire time we were there, a few breaks of sun, but never too much.

On Thursday we arrived to our destination and set up the tent. Sea and J made did some nice tarp stuff to keep us dry, so that was good. Soon after setting up camp, it began to rain and pretty heavy. Under the tarps or in the tent, we were dry. It never got really cold either, just sooo wet.

Friday, Justin and I took off for a few hours to explore on our bikes. It sprinkled on us most of the way, but it was so pretty, it didnt matter to us. We headed towards Austria and soon came to a place that looked like it might contain some singletrack. We were not sure this was legal singeltrack, but we headed up it anyway. It was super steep and washing out from the rain, but we trucked up it and eventually we ended up on a jeep road that took us high into the wilderness and who knows where. It was so quiet, even saw a red deer, well Justin saw it better. There are a lot of bike paths all over this area and there are signs just about everywhere pointing you to all sorts of destinations. Next time I will ride to the linderhof castle place, but that will be next time. After a good effort, we headed back to Garmisch.

The next day, for the sake of giving Sea a break from babysitting, Justin and I did solo rides on our own. He went first and then came back and told me where to go. It consisted of him saying "just follow the river, you'll head into austria for a bit and come to this amazing lake", okay, so off I went, and all together about a 30 mile roundtrip. It rained sooo hard on my way out. I almost turned around, but I thought, "you dont get this opportunity very often", so I kept on trucking. It felt like I was wearing a diaper, my chamois was so wet, but at least I was getting a shower with my clothes on, so it was all good. Eventually the clouds cleared, the sun shone on me and I made my way up a steep climb (which I did twice!) and then down to the lake. It was a turquoise lake, almost crystal clear. One of mother natures beautiful places. I soaked up the view and then headed back. Listening to the cows in the forest with their bells was like listening to windchimes, it was really cool.

Another thing that was so awesome about the weekend was that everytime I rode, I smelt these amazing smells I never noticed before. It was like my life entered smellovision. The wildflowers, the rain, the pines, it was AWESOME!

That night was the fourth of July. We did the 4th in Germany! We saw an awesome bavarian band and there was a yodeler, I was so impressed. I love that german polka yodeling music!!! I was trying to do it, but the kids were like, "you have to learn that and it takes YEARS to learn it, so QUIT it!" They are so nice. I got some video and I will post it on here when I figure it out!

The last day, it rained HARD!!! We thought we might be able to get in a ride, but we decided to go to the lake, Eibsee again. It was raining when we packed up camp and we were not sure if it would be nice enough to swim...well it was!!! We got up there and it was actually almost HOT, we all jumped in, had a swim, jumped off the little mini pier and just enjoyed an alpine lake at the base of the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.

As they say, all good things must come to an end, so it was time to get the koppa gang in the car and head back to reality. It was a fun vacay, Garmisch is a pretty little mountain ski town, comparable to probably Vail or somethings like that, except its Germany and the history of this place runs so deep. You can feel it, you can taste it! I love it! To sum it all up, it was a blast!

If you ever go, there are a ton of riding options, and the place is full of cyclists, all you have to do is ask!!

I get to take some days off from the bike. It is a rest/recovery week, although I am registered for a marathon on Sunday near Nurnberg, so that will be my hard effort I guess, then the following weekend is Ansbach, so a lot going on this month.

On a cool note, Justin made the local paper, they got a good shot of him racing the singeltrack and he looks all like a rockstar! Need to come up with some kind of joke with that one!

Hope all is well in your world!! Peace! angie