remembering to stop and smell the roses

Well, this is ridicuolous!!!  I mean really!  Who takes this long to update their blog?!?!!!  I mean, if you are going to even plunge in and do this, you should not wait an ETERNITY to update it! 

I see my numbers dwindiling, people are fed up with me and I am losing my beloved blog readers.  Well, hopefully you will try to follow more.  I have so much new stuff going on. 

First, not only will this be a blog about pedal girl, but it will also showcase photography, which I have been doing for years, but now my sweet husband has bought me the ultimate camera, and two nikkor lenses, so it is time I do this right.

Anyway, not to make this a super long post, let me start from where I started off from..oh, bu the way, sorry for the spelling mistakes, but I just got back from a brauhaus, and one to many beers may affect the readout...

Soooo...3..or maybe more weeks ago, I had the honor of watching my husband complete an XTERRA.  I think this may be much harder than a century mountain bike race.  Watching the men and women complete a swim in the Neckar river, a mountain bike ride in the mountains outside of Heidelberg and a run in the same mountains, it made me re-think the definition of suffering.
the village where it all took place place
Justin was amazing.  He first started with the swim.  When I saw it start, it looked like..crazy.  It was a whole bunch of swimmers and it seemed like everyone was getting kicked in the face..Then I saw him. 
He even saw me! 
Thats him with his face out of the water!

There was this direct look between us, like "what the f&*k did I sign up for?!", then I saw his head go down and continue on into the great blue yonder.  I was super impressed, but even more unsure of this new task he had taken on.  Then he transitioned into the mtn bike portion.  Me and my kids did a mad dash towards the transition area, but when you are running with a 3 year old, it feels like you are lugging a ton of mollasses, so we eventually found a spot and luckily we were able to see Justin ride by, he looked like a fire was put under his booty, so he was hauling on by, we ran back to the transition area (by this time, the 3 year old was in "turtle mode"), but we barely caught him coming out for the run.
 finishing up the bike portion

Seeing him go by in the run and acknowledging his "crew"--us, was awesome.  He went by and had to go under this overpass, that went directly into the river, but there were ropes and cute fireman to catch him if he fell in, so he seemed ok (he later mentioned to me that he started to cramp as he went down under). 


After that, we ran to the finish and cheered him on to the end. In the end, he finished midpack, to seasoned pro's.  He was not even fully trained for it, so I see some podiums in the future!!
I was really proud of him and excited for the future XTERRA's we will get to particpate in. 
Coming in for the finish!
Recovering..

He has made mad improvements in his run and swim...next year he should dominate!!
and we really like living here by the way : )
the view outside my kitchen window

brace urselves..this is kinda long...

Life is beyond a bit crazy and hectic, but what am I doing...at this point, just chillin', soaking it up, actually enjoying it.  We've moved 3 times now in the last four years, and we will move once more when we go back to the states.  Hopefully back to Colorado, I left a little tiny piece of my heart there and I want it back.  So moving back would be the only natural thing to do.  We have thought about buying a house there while we live here, but still in the 'thinking about' phase....

So, we are living in an apartment until we move into our house in a few weeks.  Apartment life has been cool.  A cleaning lady comes every week to clean up after us, which, I have found I thoroughly enjoy.  Im not a pig, well, maybe I am, I am kinda a messy person, that likes to clean though.  But having someone else do it is suuper cool.  She is so nice and only speaks Russian, so I cant understand her and she cant understand me, which makes a very zenful and harmonious situation if you ask me!

So is it different in the Pflatz than in Bavaria???....YES, it is!  Where we lived in Bavaria, it was remote, like living in the country.  None of the locals spoke English, and people were very to themselves.  Everything was very by the book, very, very tidy, and cookie cutter like.  I did enjoy the solitude and the ENDLESS riding possibilities.  The skiing, the riding, the beer, the fact that it felt like you were living in a foreign land...
which brings me to living in Ramstien/Kaiserslautern.  First off.  I live in a little village near K-town as they call it.  It is VERY hilly, which I know is going to make me an amazing climber come next season.  Hills that definitely would remind you of a scene out of the Sound of Music, with cows, sheep, and wildflowers, green as the far as the eye can see...
Anyway..back to the original thought, well, here in the "big" city, I have found, pretty much everyone speaks English!  When going to ikea to buy a bunch of furniture, we did not have to speak German, because to our surprise, the elderly German woman who ordered our stuff for us spoke English, almost perfect.  We go out, we use our Deutsch, but are always replied to in English.  I figure, we are just being returned the favor, and of course we know our Deutsch is not, well far from, perfect.  People also dont look all the same.  People are very individualistic which is nice change.  It just is way more people here, some places look kinda dirty with trash, but not everywhere.  K-town is pretty cool, enjoy just going shopping, walking around and finding a nice cafe to sit at and people watch whilst drinking a wiezenbier.  Its absolutely beautiful here too.  Bavaria, I thought took the cake, and there are places that cannot even compare, but I think they are both beautiful.  The landscape is a bit diff here, but they both are equally scenic in my book.

I just dont want to EVER, ever sound like I dont appreciate this experience!  I know how lucky we are.  My husband has "paid his dues", through education, other jobs and graduate school to be able to have a very good and secure job.  Im sooo happy and grateful we get this opportunity!

There are just so many more people, ALOT of Americans and much more to do.  There is a surprisingly amazing amount of riding, I will be hopping off the mountain bike and start getting on the cross bike, I think I will partake of a few cyclocross races if possible, but not before I do a 13 mile off road running, yes, I said running race in October!  I have started running and building up to this distance.  Justin does 20 miles the day before mine, then I do 13.  It is supposed to be over crazy terrain.  You are required to wear a backpack, carry first aid, etc.  Im EXCITED>  .  My racing season is pretty much kaput with the move.  Although Justin has been racing. He raced marathon WORLDS< yes!  But had some mechanicals that forced him to abandon ship.  This past weekend, he raced a U. S. Forces race in Spangdahlem.  I was not able to go watch (it was raining, and I didnt feel like going), but he won and used it as some training.  He is racing an XTERRA in two weeks.  It is basically a hardcore off road triathlon.  He swims in a lake, runs off road and then mountain bikes.  It sounds so much fun, and watching him train for it has been insightful.  Im actually kinda interested in triathlon myself.  I have done a few in the past, but I really have an itch, but its just a little itch at this point..

We drove over to France and bought a bunch of wine, cheese, baguettes, etc because a friend told us about this store right across the border, so had to go.  Driving on the autobahn, it took us 24 minutes to get home.

I just have a lot of thoughts and excitement for the future.  Im VERY excited to move into our house.  It is HUGE!  It has an amazing yard.  It is on a bike path.  We only have a few neighbors, which is nice.

It will be nice to just get back in the swing and start training for next season.  We do have a trip to the states in December, but aside from that, my focus will be on season 2011!!  Heck Yeahhhhhhh!!!!!

We are ready to move into the house and we have friends from the states coming in Sept.  My husband loves his job and the bike path goes straight from our house to his work, so he's happy for commuting.  Im toying with starting back up my massage business, and other stuff...my son starts 3rd grade in two weeks, my little 3yr old is going to go to daycare, giving me some extra time to train.  Justin and I have a plan, I train days, he gets evenings, the life of married with kids....lots going on...

All I know is...Life is good.

where have i not been?!!?!!

This past month has taken me on many adventures.  We have been to two different countries and have had numerous adventures.  I dont have time to post any pics right this sec, but I will in the coming days.

The first part of the month, we headed over to Cesky Krumlov for a fun rafting trip with friends on the Vltava river.  It was amazing!!  If you have the chance to go the the Czech Republic, GO TO CESKY KRUMLOV!  By far, this was the best place I have been in Europe thus far.  It is a small city situated on the Vltava River, the same one that runs through Prague.  It has a beautiful castle, and the city streets are all cobble and the buildings old with medieval history brimming your historical flavor..I actually found out that Hostel the first movie was filmed here.  It has this amazing warm, friendly ambiance that cannot be replaced by the big city.

We took our raft for 5 hours and made pit stops along the many little side bars/restaurants, much good Czech beer was had!  My favorite was Eggenberg.  sp?  But sooo good!

Then we moved out of our house in Bavaria, and headed for the alps.  Garmisch, another amazingly beautiful alpine town was fun, then through Austria, back to Deutschland to our new home, Ramstein/Kaiserslautern.  We have been here almost three weeks, living in a temp apartment looking for houses.  It has been an exhausting experience, as there are at least hundred of other people in the same boat.  It has become cuttthroat for this way too mellow, laid back family, but of course we have adapted, which got us into our new home.  We offered thousand euro down as a deposit on the spot to rent what is basically our German dream home.  We move in Sept 1!  We have a huge yard, a brand new, yes BRand NEW 5 bedroom large home, in the country, unlimited Bike access/trails, we live in a very HILLY region, so climbing should be an asset and not a weakness next season.

On the downside to all the traveling and moving, my riding has gone to the wayside.  I am very dissapointed, but next year will be better, and Im not giving up on my season, I just know that its not going to be at my highest level.  Justin is racing marathon WORLDS next weekend, so that will be good.

Anway...pics to come...peace, Angie

2nd place is better than I hoped for!

Well, the 12 hour race was brutal.  Not that it was hard physically, but it was the mental focus that started to wear on us.  The biggest part of this was the heat.  It was 90 degrees out there and it was really humid, with no wind.  Some of the course was in the trees, but it felt like we were in an oven most the time.  Physically we could manage, but the heat started to wear us down, had to be strong and just push past that.  Justin and I had our strategy set in place prior to the race, but realized as we started that things would need to be tweaked and a new plan put in place. 
settin' up the koppa pit:
When I wasnt riding, I was feed zone girl, and it was great because the race passed right next to our setup, as did for everyone, so it was a matter of just seeing Justin come through and handing off his feed.  It was necessary to have COLD and fresh water every other lap because it was so hot.  The race had a great organized food area and lots of beverages. 
There were 5 mixed duo teams.  At one point, our team was in 5th place.  But we managed to keep the pace consistent and snagged 2nd place!  I am very happy with our results!!!
first lap freshness:
On the complaints end, I felt bad from the get-go.  My legs never fired up and I just didnt have any giddy'up.  I could ride a consistent pace, but I just didnt have any fire and that was a little disappointing.  It really bothered me that I couldnt just punch it on some spots, and I would see guys pass me that were on on the 4 man teams on basically huffy bikes, tearing it up.  I do know what happened and why, and I have learned from my mistakes.  I use this race as a platform to build on and learn from for the next one.  As far as my team mate, Justin is a fast and super talented cyclist.  Ask anyone that knows him.  But he was sick.  It was a situation that could have bad consequences.  We didnt want to not try, but he didnt want to run himself into the ground and gamble his future fitness away, so he played very conservative.  His conservative makes me look molasses, but he still rode amazing and that is why he is one of my heroes.
sleepytime:
Our kids...that is another factor.  We took our little ones, because we always do this, they go everywhere with us.  But, this was a new situation for us, as far as us both racing this long of a race and alternating between recovery and racing.  My kids are pretty awesome.  They played and when they got bored, they found rocks and sticks and grass to play with.  They didnt even fight that much, so I was real proud of them.  I know they can handle it.  And today they are getting rewarded for being good, by going to Playmobil Land.
Yes, I am that kind of parent.  I reward for good behaviour, and if you think thats wrong, I dont really care what you think.

dusk, and almost finished!
at the end of 12hours 9am-9pm, teammates:

The awards ceremony started at 10pm, we ate some great german food and got our podium, along with some Marmot, Crankbrothers and Deuter gear.  We also got a pretty sweet trophy made from marble.  I was suprised to get anything actually.  Thanks so much!!!  It was great!
some german puttinsteak and spagel/potatoes, it hit the spot
So, next week the movers come, then the following weekend we have another 12 hour race.  We are on the fence if we will be able to do it.  Its a sketchy situation.  We will be livng in a hotel by then, and JK will be about to start a new job.  Might be too much, but that's how we roll, so probably will do it anyway. 

I will post more pics soon,, Angie

been busy

Well, of course, as everyone says that maintains a blog; "sorry for a lack up updates, I've been riding" or whatever.  So, thats my exuse ; ).  I've been logging big miles, along with big recovery.  So, the el bloggo has been on the bottom of my 'to-do' list these days (sorry : ((

Last weekend alone, I logged 9 hours of ride time.  Justin and I are "gearing" up for a 12 hour duo race on Saturday.  I am ready and biting the bit, ready to dig deep and just do it!!!  I feel confident because Justin who is not only my husband, but my coach, not to mention the coach of several other athletes, has made me an amazing training plan that I have seen solid results, and if you do the work, the work will reward you.  The heat has been turned up to 11 here in Deutschland.  Im not complaining.  I love it!  I basically have spent everyday at the pool, so I've been trying to stave off the farmers tan, but I can assure you there is still a tan line from my bike shorts, so might not get it even just yet.

pics from my weekend riding

cool farmhouse

religious symbolism all over bavaria, love it!

heading into a cute little village, cobblestone roads are awesome!

Saturday is supposed to be 91 degrees.  That is hot for a country that doesnt believe in air conditioning.  It should be interesting too because we are doing this duo without help, meaning that we have no babysitters for our children or for ourselves.  We have the idea that while I ride my six, Justin will be on dad duty and vice versa.  Should be fine, as my body has adapted to being in the saddle for long periods, I dont think I will be too dead to look after my children, although the heat might be a factor.  On top of the 'fun factor', Justin caught a nasty cold, its in his chest and it doesnt want to go away, so might make things even more interesting.  I did not go into any race wanting to get 2nd place.  I hope we have the chance to be competitive, but we shall see, we shall see.  Our kids are pretty awesome though, they are global travelers, and adapt pretty well to stress and change, so I have faith they can chillax for 12hrs while their parents race (this is wishful, hopeful, crossing my fingers thinking/affirmation).
singletrack!!
Last weekend I had the great opportunity of riding to a castle, that is not far from where I live.  Saturday I just went out to explore the bavarian mountain/countryside headed towards the Czech border region.  Awesome riding out there, even found singletrack.  It was nice n'toasty, and saw the remains of a castle many km away, since I was already hours into a 4 hour ride, I thought it best to turn back home, but wanted to see more.
You can kinda see the castle ruins on the top of the hill:

So Sunday, made it my goal to get to the castle and beyond.  The last 3or 4 km of the ride to the top was full on steep singletrack.  It was tough, I even thought to stop and walk, which I NEVER do, but it was humid and hot, and thank God there was a fountain in the little village at the top I was able to cool off on.
 
Was able to do it and was out there for 5 hours, but it was awesome.  I felt remarkably well, except that I forgot my cell phone, so Justin got worried and started looking for me three hours into the ride.  He never found me, and came home when I called him from the house asking where they all were ( I thought they all decided to ditch me for the pool).
Castle Pics:

I hope everyone has an awesome 4th of July!  I know I will be recovering from the 12 hour race, but I will be celebrating the 4th with fireworks and fun on the U.S. Army base along with our servicemen and women that make the USA great.  I hope I find myself a hotdog or a funnel cake or something that reminds me of home.  I miss home, but I also love Germany and it is my second home now.  Thanks to our troops!!  Thankyou for your service!!

Angie

Summer Fun n' Mud

The last few weeks have been busy.  We attended the local city fest with friends, did a few races and starting to focus on our upcoming move.  Life has been a little stressful at times, but that why I've got a bike to ride.
me drinking a giant beer, and getting "shot" at the same time:

Justin still has me focusing on interval and building.  Its been really tough on me.  He had me take a week off back a few weeks ago, I was beginning to feel really run down, just in a constant daze..overtrained.  Which might have been the goal, but it is not fun feeling like that.  The week off did miracles for my legs, my morale and just overall mental outlook and the view of my bike/training.  I came back feeling stronger than the week before, and I am seeing what this focused/planned training is doing for my fitness.  I am not good at coaching myself.  If someone is telling me what I need to do, Im not good at that either, but for some reason, this year, I am able to follow this plan to the "t" pretty much.  I know he is impressed with my work ethic for once , haha.

He's had me in recovery mode a lot and a lot of intensity mixed in.  I feel like the hardwork is paying off.  I am definately up on my fitness as compared to my first race over a month ago.  I feel like a different person actually!  I started off 10 pounds overweight.  Im still needing to lose 4 lbs to meet the goal, but I really need to lose another ten pounds.  Having kids does not help women's bodies.  I have saddlebags and the biggest ass and I hate it.   My arms and upper body are tiny, but I have treetrunks for legs.  Yes they have power, but it would be nice to be a bit thinner.  I really think it is going to take a while for me to lose the baby fat.  But it will happen!!!

Last weekend, I decided to do another U.S. Forces race.  This one being at Hohenfels.  I have raced there before, and I was excited because it is actually a course that feels like it is 90% singletrack as opposed to jeep roads.  The night before it was raining nonstop, so I knew what to expect.  I woke up that morning not wanting to go, but I knew that I needed the training if anything and Justin wasnt going to do it, so why the heck not.

Well, I get there, its cold, its damp and its muddy as heck.  Im talking the mud you better ride through or you are gonna bust yo ass.  Its that slicky, slippery stuff, not thick, but thin and slick.

There is another gal racing the series that is seriously fast.  She is also kicking the guys asses in the u.s forces races on the road bikes as well, so this gal is tough!  Well, she comes up to me prerace and tells me about the course and just to be careful.  I rode the first section, and I knew she wasnt kidding, especially when she showed me her battle wounds from her preride.  She also said they lowered the womens laps down to 3 instead of 4.  So, I was a bit nervous, but I knew we would go out there and have some fun and battle it the best we could.

So we go to the line, and Im just content on working hard, but not getting crazy, I really didnt want to break any bones, and this was a course where it would be easy to run into some carnage.

I felt out the first sections, my competitor in front of me heading into the singletrack.  It was slick, but I felt confident in my technical skills that I could go much faster and still have control.  I did fall backwards once in the beginning, and my bike landed on top of me, but I never wrecked or anything after that.  When we headed out of the first singletrack section, I waited for a place to pass, and then I went ahead.  It was brutal.  I was really labored the first two laps, there was a complete section that included steps, you had to carry your bike, not rideable, and it was necessary to run up them if you wanted to keep the competition away.  My husband was yelling at me to hurry, she is right behind me and that there was no time for rest and to "time trial it" the rest of the race.  The stairs had some beer on them and I was going to grab one, but I knew the celebratory beer could come later.  Oh yea...the poppies are bloomin..

In the end, I was able to hold her off and I think I was about 10 minutes or so up.  Anyway, I was not able to stick around for the post race activities, but the race promotors gave me a cool engraved beer mug, which I did fill with a tasty beer.  Big props to the Hohenfels crew for the fun race.  I always have the best time there.  I also have to praise the fox fork, it was awesome once again.  My Stans wheelset was just flyin'--super light and the maxxis ignitors were superb in the slick mud crud.  I was also interviewed for the newspaper, so here I am giving an interview..

Although I felt pretty crappy going into the race, it was not an indicator of my fitness, but more an indicator of my mood/mental state, which goes to show, that just because you wake up feeling like shit, doesnt mean you are gonna race like it.

Well, off to ride my bike for an easy spin, peace, Angie

payoff

the countless hours are starting to payoff...kinda...

I still have a long ways to go to meeting goals.  But I was really happy with my performance on Sunday.  Justin and I headed to Weiden, a town pretty close to us for a mountain bike race.  This race is part of a local series, and I was looking forward to using it for training.
The German girls were super fast, but I was able to hang with them and although, I was mid pack, I was feeling really great.  The only limiter on my performance was the heat.  This was the hottest day we've had yet, it hit the upper 80's, and we just came out of 50 degree weather, so it was a doozy to say the least.  The course was AWESOME< yes, singletrack, and lots of it, and lots of rooty, techie downhill, which is what I love.  It was a fast course, really needed to push hard the entire time, no time for recovery, perfect training and what I needed.  I feel really confident with my handling skills, and I used to be a girl that had her hands on the brakes waaay to much, but just letting it go and placing that confidence in myself felt good.  I think if you worry too much about it, something bad is bound to happen, so just let go and feel it!!

So given that, I was able to get first place in the women's 30-39 group.  Very happy with that.

Still working on endurance, but now moving into the build phase.  Wont be long before I feel more like my old self on the bike.  Not yet, but closer.  Im not sure how many of the US forces races I will be doing.  I feel like, why travel when there is like only one or no other women to race against.  It sucks.  I wish more women were racing those and it was a bit more competitive.  I will probably stick to doing the ones that are close to us, like Hohenfels, an awesome, fun group that puts that race on.  I really like the German races, they are stacked with fast, competitive ladies, and it feels more worthwhile in my opinion.

Anyway, Justin gets like one pic of me, and its my ass, and I get a gazillion of him, so here's what i got from Sunday:
me heading for the big finish
Justin at his start with all the uber fast German boys, dont worry, he could hang

on his 5th lap

Well, my big news is that we're moving!!!  Again!!!  Im really excited because we are staying in Germany.  This time we are headed to Ramstein.  Its in the Rheinpflaz and we are so close to France, Switzerland, Netherlands and it is just going to be a million times better job wise.

Anyway, that's my big news.

Racing another german race next weekend, and an epic mountain bike ride scheduled and jusst working on getting ready for our 12 hour race over the 4th of July weekend.  Then crazy moving and life stuff, but not gonna let it get in the way too much.

Peace, Angie