Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays, from me to you..

I caught the flu, and I have been sick for two weeks. Although I never had a diagnosis of swine flu, I am positive that I caught the horrid virus. It has not been a fun ride and it wreaked havoc on my body, so I have not been working out.

Today will be the first day I start back again, just going to go the gym and take it easy. I feel like today the fevers are gone, and strength is a bit back up.

I will post more as I get back to feeling somewhat normal again.

Peace! Angie

beginning to feel like Christmas...

Home Sweet Home (no snow yet):
This past weekend, we loaded up the kids and headed to Regensburg to the romantic Christmas market in Regensburg at the Thurn and Taxis Palace.
Taking a break to sip Gluehwein (a hot mulled red wine with spices, orange juice, sugar) and kinderpunch for the kids (the non-alco version):
They were brewing it right there!
The big pretty tree, love the pretzel on it!
Fun to be had by all:
The monkeys might have had too much kinderpunch:
We had a lot of fun, Regensburg is a short drive from our home, via the autobahn. It was really busy, but we had a great time. It was REALLY cold though, but that's what Gluehwein is for!!
We all ate a lot! My favorite thing was the footlong (at least) wurst in a bun with a yummy sweet stone ground mustard. mmmmm!!

Other Christmas market in old town Regenburg:
Random sights:
This week starts a very busy week on the training front. I have about two more weeks, then some time off, then I go on a two week intensive, dietary and physical, long, long rides.

Im really excited for this season coming up. Justin and I are dueling it out over which races we are doing and who's doing what. There are just so many races here, every weekend you can travel to race. I hope that this is my year to cut teeth!!

Hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying the upcoming holiday season!! --angie

training plan

"i know im not going to the olympics, but i did sleep at a holiday inn last nite..."-angie koppa 2008

so, can u fake it? nahhh,,,not really. you cant fake fitness baybee, if we could, we'd all be rockstars, or in my world, olympians...but you can aspire, be the best you can, whether that is beerpong nationals or a worldcup mountain bike race in germany,,,YOU CAN DO IT!!!

anyway, Justin has his coaching cert underway with usa cycling, so I thought i would give the guy props for the great coaching he as given ME all these years. One thing i figured out with a coach is that, One: you need to do what your coach says. Since I have a problem with authority, this hasnt always worked out so well.--just kidding, but at least give 60% to conformity otherwise, suffer the embarrassment lata..So, pick a coach that is going to keep you motivated and that you like, because if you dont like them all that much, that wont get you too far (and if they are hot, it really helps too, and he's hot!).
Next thing is that you have to remember WHY you might need a coach in the first place. Me, I get unmotivated, A>D>D kicks in and angie just goes into lala land, so having someone motivate and keep you in check is kinda important, especially when you know that you could have solid results with the proper training, which comes to the next point, training. How much, when to rest, what to eat, what do all these heart rates mean, how do they correlate to me and my training?????? am i getting faster? what to do in the off season..etc.etc.

its very helpful having someone give you a schedule, you just do the work. then you see the results, then you are happy :)

some coaches cost a gazillion dollars, i think Justin is very affordable--but i wont go into that ;)

tictactoexoxox angie

thanks!!!

Thanksgiving was great! It was a typical American Thanksgiving, complete with turkey and all the fixin's. I was a bit worried, only cuz our freezer is not much bigger than a shoebox and our oven isnt much bigger. We pulled it off, our turkey was only 9 lbs, so we didnt have a lot of leftovers. But it was still perfekt!!

Things are smaller in Europe. Our flat is not that big, but we have a whole nother seperate flat that houses a bar, sauna, hot tub another bedroom, a bike workshop and a bathroom. So nothing is terribly small I guess.

We've been here a year now and I have been thinking about all the things that make living here so different than living in the states. How thankful I am for all the great opportunities we have had and the chance we get to experience bike life abroad. And its all just simply amazing. I love it. I miss home sometimes, but I really do like life here and I think we will stay as long as we can.

Life in Germany is VERY different, than living in Colorado where we just came from. But the differences only add to the greater experience called "Life". Things that seemed so important a year ago, are only lost and forgotten somewhere in the distant past. You just have to take it all in perspective I guess.

monkeys:
Justin tearing it up in Strullendorf, then we headed to Bamberg and enjoyed the rauchbier, its a very smoky, yummy beer:
Life is what you make it!! Angie

pitchers

Been riding the singlespeed. Its definitely a different kind of riding. I really like it. I think Justin thought I would hate it, but he wuz WRONG! I love it! I also started a run and ride class I take on tues and thurs. Its an indoor spinning class for an hour then we go up to the track and do a sprinting with a core body workout incorporated into it. It is killer, literally, Im pretty fatigued physically from it, but I am already seeing some results in such a short period of time. Its nice to be around like minded individuals!

Im really looking forward to racing in Germany and beyond this year. I like the energy of the races here. I do miss racing in the states, and all the good friends I've made along the way. The slick desert singletrack, the high alpine riding, the pretty intense technical sections that give you the butterflies in the tummy...i miss that. Not a lot of crazy open singletrack here, but TONS of safe riding. Miles, and miles and miles. and miles....
What is your best? What are your goals? I have a lot of plans or goals I guess, but the one thing that I think Ive learned that is soooo important is dont sweat the small stuff! I think that if you understand your going to make mistakes along the way and dont beat yourself up about it, you feel so much better in the long run.

I am really enjoying this time in Germany. The snow hasnt fallen yet and the days are chillier but doable on the bike. I have not had to set up the trainer yet (YAY), so that is good.

bavaria, religious references everywhere
back behind our village
our village (tiny dot on the road is JK):
This weekend Im pretty sure I am going to do a cross race somewhere around nurnberg. I dont know if Im ready, but I'll never know if I dont at least try! Better go work on my dis/mounts...

angie

Falling

Its Fall in Bavaria. So beautiful. Leave colors exploding, falling...fog in the morning, darnkness at the rise and the fall...
It all begins, the long sleep once again.
A few weeks ago, we headed to Plzen, Czech to watch the UCI cyclocross worldcup. It was really fun to drive down with friends that have not seen a race like this. It was cold, rain, and muddy, perfekt conditions for the cyclocross race. Plzen is only a rough hour from our home in Germany. We take the autobahn into the Czech Republik and its off the highway not much further after the border. We found a quaint little restaurant where i was given the "bear claw", a pork chop style piece of meat stuffed with melted cheese and mushrooms. mmmmm...and topped it off with one of the local biers. It was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed watching Mr. Albert take the win.

what's a x race without a beer, especially in the home of the original budweiser
Go, Go, Go!!!
Random pics:
The winners:
Now, I have been just being lazy. Sorta, but I have my training plan in order and starting tuesday i will do a group training that incorporates running and riding in a two hour increment. I run on other days and lift weights, and then da, dah, da dahhhhh.....Justin converted my bike into a singlespeed for the "off season" training. Im really excited about it. Maybe I wont change it back :)

Rylee and I on our morning hike into the forest
awww, pickin' flowers for mommy
It has been really cold. REALLY cold. It snowed a few weeks ago, but no new snow, just bitter cold, and very wet. The forest is back behind our village and I ride and run into it almost everyday. Rylee and I have been finding all kinds of cool mushrooms. When we lived in Colorado we would go mushroom hunting. My kids loved it. I was beginning to know and ID the mushrooms, but they are bit different here. I do recognize some of them. Especially the MAJICK ones...heeeehehee...of course i just look, dont touch :)

where's the white rabbit?
Who's that scary guy behind me??? G was wolverine for halloween,
I will try to keep the posts up and the pics. Hope ur staying warm where ever you are! Angie :)

pause button

I've hit the pause button on the blog, sorry, just not a whole lot going on since there is no racing and taking a little bit of a break.

I started running again and there are some other things that i am going to be doing as well. We have a lot of nordic ski places so gonna do that and some other stuff.

Im just trying to enjoy the everyday here in Bavaria. the weather is getting pretty crisp, and the usual high fog/wetness factor has begun and the trees are changing their leaves. It wont be long before the first snow hits the ground.

what a great season of racing I had. especially here in germany. im starting to warm up to this place i think... :)

Next weeknd i am heading to the Czech Rep. to watch a little UCI world cyclocross action. I plan to get a lot of pics and just watching the best cyclocross racers in the world will be amazing. I have never been to this big of an event, so it will be a treat. Blogging on that to come...

I will get some pics and post them soon..

hope all is well in your world, keep the rubber side down, angie