Czech Trip - Day 1

We arrived to Znojmo, Czech Republic (Karel’s hometown, around 10k from the Austrian border) after a 3-hr drive from Roman’s house (outside of Prague). Although the trip was only around 110 miles, there is no interstate to get on but instead, we go through many small towns where the speed limit is constantly changing from 30-50Km/hr to 70-90Km/hr (the interstate is 110Km/hr). Plus, there’s also construction, round abouts, tractors and trucks to slow things down on the small two-lane roads.

When we arrived to Znojmo, we unloaded our stuff at our Airbnb in the town center and then made a quick stop at the grocery store to get flowers for Karel’s mom and some mineral water (and a non-alcoholic beer for Karel). Karel’s mom was really happy to see us and the feeling was mutual. It’s been three long years since Karel saw his mom. She had dinner ready for us – Svickova, one of Karel’s favorite meals. She started preparing this meal two days before we arrived (it’s a labor of love). I appreciate that she makes me a vegetarian version.

Nearing 8pm, we went back to our place and we were ready for bed. I was really proud of myself for not taking a long nap as that always throws off my sleep schedule. We slept around 10 hours but it was someone of a restless night as we were a little warm in our place (no AC and it has been in the 90’s here). It’s rare to have AC in many places in Europe and actually, many Europeans don’t like the AC as they believe it makes them sick (at least that is what many of Karel’s Czech friends tell him).

We had a light breakfast since we had a big late night dinner. We had yogurt and muesli and fresh peaches. After we ate and did a little work on the computer, we went to the local pool for a swim workout. The pool opened at 10am and we arrived shortly after and it was packed. I guess when you don’t have AC, it’s summer break and it’s 90 degrees out, the pool is where you want to be at.

The pool doesn’t have the same swimming etiquette as the states so you have to be ok with people getting in and out of your lane as you are swimming. We even had an old guy cannonball into our lae as we were swimming. No big deal 😊 We swam in the 25-meter pool (8 lanes) and swam 3200 meters. We did 1000 warm-up, 5 x 200 and then 10 x 100s.

After we swam, we went to Karel’s mom’s house for lunch (leftovers from the night prior except we started with bean and potato soup – so good). After lunch, we went to two different cemeteries so Karel and his mom could see his sister (who passed away 21 years ago at the age of 34 from a brain injury) and then we went to see his dad. This was a bit more emotional for Karel as the last time he saw his dad was in 2018 and the last time he talked to him was a day before he suddenly passed away from COVID. His dad was 81 and we were supposed to visit for his 80^th birthday celebration but COVID disrupted those plans. 2020 was supposed to be our trip to Europe, which is what we are doing now.

After we ate, I enjoyed looking through a few old albums from Karel's teenage years. Here are a few pics of Karel on a cycling trip w/ his dad and brother at Grossglockner (in Austria).

Karel dropped his mom off at her place and then he got our mountain bikes out of the case and got them ready for us to ride. Around 5pm we headed off our bikes through the town and into the National Park to explore. This was our first time riding mountain bikes in Znojmo as we are usually on our tri bikes. Karel had a great time playing tour guide as we explored the park and surrounding towns. I also experimented with my new Go Pro Hero 10 which I plan to use during the Haute Route Alps. There are so many hiking trails around to explore in Znojmo. We are planning a longer MTB ride on Sunday with one of Karel’s former cycling teammates. We rode around 90 minutes and then went back to cool off in the shower and then walked to the grocery to get a few things for dinner. When we are in Znjomo, we do a lot of walking. We ate around 8pm and went to bed around 10:30pm. Our time clocks are still a little off but hopefully in another day or two we will adjust to this new time zone (6 hours ahead EST).

Hello from Czech Republic!

 

We’ve traveled to Europe every other year since 2012 to visit Karel’s family (and in 2014, 2016, and 2018 we raced Ironman Austria and in 2018 we also raced Challenge Prague). Packing for this Europe trip was a bit different compared to years past. With all the recent issues and complaints with international travel, packing was not as easy as throwing everything into a suitcase.

With two bikes (we brought our mountain bikes for Xterra European Championship and we are renting road bikes for Haute route – more on this later) and two suitcases to get us through two races and 4 weeks in Europe, we needed to account for the chance of lost/delayed luggage. We both brought a carry-one with all our race stuff – mountain bike and road shoes, helmet, 3 cycling kits, Xterra race kit, 2 pairs of regular clothes and other race stuff. We packed our sport nutrition in our checked bag, with the rest of our everyday clothing and a few more cycling kits. For this trip, we ordered 4 Apple Air tags ($99 on Amazon) as well as tag key rings and bike adapters (for under the frame bottle cage) so that we could track our bags and bikes throughout our travels. The app is free and you get real time info on where your stuff is as well as when it’s handled/moved. This would give us peace of mind that we would know where our luggage was at all times. 

Karel packed our Biknd bike cases to be 50 lbs so that our bikes could travel free on Delta. Packing our mountain bikes was really easy for him in these cases – much easier than tri bikes. The Biknd cases are soft cases but reinforced with airbags inside for extra protection. The only downside is that there are only wheels on one end so you have to lift one end and pull the case to wheel it.

We did most of our packing on the weekend (and by we I mean I packed on Saturday, Karel tends to wait until the last minute to pack so I was proud that he actually started packing on the weekend – but finished on Tuesday) and then did a good cleaning of the house on Tuesday. We have a few different pet sitters for the cats while we are away and my mom will have Campy.

On Wednesday morning, I went for a 40 minute run. I didn’t have time for any longer so I did 8 x 30 sec hill repeaters to add some quality and intensity to the run. Karel planned to do a workout but he didn’t sleep well so he tried to get a little extra sleep in the morning.

After packing up our Jeep (leaving one extra seat for Karel’s mom to return home with us for 3 months), we said a long good-bye to the furries. It’s so hard to leave them. We dropped Campy off with my mom who lives a mile away and then we made the 2 hour drive to Charlotte, NC for the first of two flights to Prague Czech Republic.

We drove to our friends house – Kelly and Meg Fillnow – and arrived around 11am. I gave us a buffer of around 30 minutes in case we had any delays before heading to the airport at 11:30am. Kelly drove us to the airport (in our Jeep) and she will be keeping our car at her place for the month. So thankful for them to save us some money by not having to keep the car at long term parking. We arrived to the airport just before noon and there was no line to check in for our 3:50pm flight. I wanted to give us at least 3 hours before boarding due to all the delays and issues at the airport lately. We checked in two bags each (bike + suitcase = both were free) and by 12:20pm we were all checked in. Karel and I signed up for TSA pre-check ($85 for 5 years) but only I was approved within a few days – Karel’s application is still awaiting approval – it can take up to 60 days) so I got to go through the TSA pre-check (which was a breeze) and Karel went through the regular security check. 

Since we had over 3 hours until we boarded our flight, we got smoothies (and Karel had a pita sandwich, I brought a PBJ bagel sandwich) and worked on Training Peaks until it was time for us to board.

I selected Comfort Plus seats (front row) for our flights – a luxury that I will always pay for when traveling. We both napped for our 80-minute flight to JFK.

When we arrived in JFK around 5:30pm we walked from gate 40 to 26 for our next flight which boarded at 8:30 (9:30 take off). We would be getting dinner on the plane but we were hungry so we purchased food from a vending machine – and it was really good! I got hardboiled eggs from Vital Farms with my bowl and Karel got chicken. After we ate, we learned that our gate changed to 38 so we walked back to where we landed in JFK and worked some more on the computer until we started to board. 

As we were waiting to board, we started to track our bags with our apple air tag. It was fun to see our bags/bikes being moved in Charlotte. But when we were in JFK we noticed that our bikes were still sitting near gate 26 (our original gate) and our suitcases were near 38. This had us a little concerned but they still had time to move the bikes over 12 gates.

Tracking our bags in Charlotte - everything was on our plane.

We got settled in our seats and continued to track our bikes….which were not moving. Around 9pm, we were getting a bit stressed so I approached the flight attendant and showed her our bikes on the app and asked if there was anything that she could do. Without hesitation, she contacted a gate attendant from her phone and continued to send her messages for the next 20 minutes. Finally, around 10 minutes before the door closed to the plane, we received notification that our bikes were on the plane (along with our suitcases). If it wasn’t for the Apple Air Tags, we would not have known that our bikes were still sitting at another gate. And we had proof that our bikes were there for the flight attendant to notify someone to help us out. When we finally took off, we felt relieved and could relax on our 8-hour flight to Prague.

We fell asleep pretty quickly but woke up for our dinner around 11pm. I requested a lacto-ovo vegetarian meal online (special meal) and it was delicious. Karel got the chicken dish and he said it was pretty good. After we ate, I started to watch Marry Me but was too tired to pay attention and slept on and off for the rest of the flight. With 90 min to go, we woke up for “breakfast” – they gave me a plain bagel as my vegetarian meal so I asked for the egg sandwich that everyone else was getting for some protein. I watched a bit more of Marry Me (I love a good RomCom) until we landed in Prague.

It was smooth going through customs (Karel has dual citizenship but since he’s with me he uses his US passport) and then our bikes were waiting for us in the luggage area (and our bags came shortly after we got our bikes).

Our good friend and athlete Roman (who lives outside of Prague) had his assistant pick us up and he was waiting for us when we walked out of the terminal. We are very lucky that Karel has so many wonderful people in Czech who help us out when we travel. It saves us money as well as stress. I feel asleep in the car in route to Roman’s house (Roman is traveling but we will see him next week at the Xterra race) but woke up in time for a popsicle and mineral water at the gas station. Karel enjoyed a non-alcoholic beer with his popsicle. After arriving to Roman’s house, we checked out his new endless pool (which took over a year to arrive and install), Karel checked out Roman’s new Mercedes and then Karel had an espresso before it was time for us to pack up our “rental” car from Roman and make the 2.5 hour drive to Znojmo – Karel’s hometown to see his mom. Karel’s mom is so excited to see us and feed us. On Sunday, as Karel was skyping with his mom, she asked us what we wanted to eat when arrive. 😊

Our new car. 

Just kidding! This is our car for the next few weeks ;) It's a stick so Karel will be doing all the driving. 

It's been 4 years since Karel has been home (Czech Republic) and three years since seeing his mom. Sadly, his dad passed away unexpectedly from Covid in Feb of 2021 and Karel was unable to travel home due to border closures. This trip will not be normal for us as we are used to spending time with his mom and his dad (who lived in the same town but in separate flats). Although Karel is excited to be back home, I know it’s going to bring a host of different emotions for him. We are really looking forward to our time in Europe and I’m excited to share our experiences with you. 

Things to do in Znojmo, Czech Republic

                               

I had never heard of Znojmo before I met Karel. Prague, yes but not Znojmo. If you were wondering, Znojmo is pronounced Znoy - like joy but ZN instead of J and then mo - said like Joe but M instead of J. ZNOY-MO.

If you have ever traveled from Prague to Austria or the other way via car or bus, you probably went through Karel's hometown of Znojmo, Czech Republic.

Znojmo is a major town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic, located near the border with Austria. The town is situated on a rock outcropping on the steep left bank of the Dyje River (thus, we always have to climb on our bikes to get out of town).


The Gothic Church of St. Nicholas and the Late Gothic Town Hall tower are the most recognizable landmarks in Znojmo. St. Nicholas Church was built in 1348 by Emperor Charles IV and the town hall (250 feet tower) dates from around 1446.

There's a lot of history in the town. The Romanesque Rotunda of Virgin Mary (later of Saint Catherine) is the only fully preserved sight of the premyslid castle in Znojmo, founded at the turn of the 11th and 12th century. The significance of the rotunda is due to its unique paintings. Under the city and castle is a vast labyrinth of connected passageways and cellars. The Znojmo Catacombs (which you can tour) were developed in the 14th and 15th century for defensive purposes and contained wells, drainage, fireplaces, trap doors and escapeways that led beyond the fortifications of the city.

For the wine drinkers, because of the land and warmer weather, Znjomo is at the center of wine-region - known for their white wines. Znojmo is famed as "wine center" which is evidenced by a labyrinth of long wine-cellar corridors dug directly beneath the town. But don't worry beer drinkers - like most places in Europe, beer is much cheaper than water. In September, a historic wine parade takes place. Znojmo is one of the oldest wine growing areas in the Czech Republic.
The Znojmo region is predominantly agricultural because it has a warm and dry climate. It sits at 290 meters above sea level.

For the fitness enthusiasts and adventure lovers, you will not be bored (or inactive) here. In addition to walking all around town, you can enjoy the Podyji National Park, swimming at the Louka Znojmo pool (open May until September) and of course, cycling! There are so many cycling tours going on in the summer as it's the most fun (and nature-filled) way to go from town to town or to just be outside and enjoy the sights. The cycling routes are for everyone, of all fitness abilities. It's very typical to see families and young kids on bikes, riding from town to town and then camping, as part of summer vacation.

And of course, I can't forget the ice cream! If you see a sign that reads "Zmrzlina" you know you are getting close or have arrived to an ice cream truck or shop. Yes, there are signs everywhere letting you know where the ice cream is and it's even advertised on the radio. The town of Znojmo loves ice cream! But don't be let down if your scoop of ice cream is the size of a golf ball as the servings are small....but it'll only cost you around one dollar (or 20-25 Czech Crowns). And instead of sitting down to eat it, you'll be eating it on the go as that's just how things roll around here. It's not surprising to see construction workers, business people and of course, kids (and parents) walking around with ice cream cones.

You can start planning your vacation with this guide - HERE. If you are considering visiting Znjomo, don't hesitate to reach out to us and I'll have Karel help you with your Znojmo vacation.

Sources:
Muzeum Znojmo
Znojemska Beseda
National Park - Jizni-Morava
Wikipedia

Here are some pictures from the town.

Grocery shopping in Czech

Nearing the last day of our European race-cation which included 1 week in Klagenfurt, Austria and over 2 weeks in Karel's home town of Znojmo, Czech Republic (with only 2 of those days as an overnight trip to sight see in Prague), I thought it would be fun to reflect on my many eating experiences that I have enjoyed, while on vacation.

It's going to take me a while to put all my food pictures into one blog (I'm thinking I'll let the food pics do the talking) so I wanted to share what it is like to grocery shop here in Znojmo, Czech Republic.

While I love eating new foods and meal creations when traveling, I find it important to understand the culture behind food. Whether it's understanding the agriculture (which is an important sector of the economy) or simply learning how to the food gets from farm to table, it's all very exciting to me.

With the "local" grocery store just a block from Karel's mom's flat (and in route to his dad's flat), we visited the store frequently. Sometimes it was just for some fresh bread and pastries whereas other times, our shop included items for Karel's mom (to make our lunch - she started cooking around 8am each morning) or some light items for dinner.
As for shopping for produce, we often stopped by a market, either in town or on the side of the road. 

And, we did a little shopping form nature (Mother Earth doesn't charge!) while riding our bikes.




The mornings are very busy at the grocery store as lunch is the biggest and most important meal of the day. The town pretty much shuts down for lunch and it's typical that most people stop their day (working and at school) for a sit-down lunch. 

To get your cart at the store, you insert 5 or 10 crowns (or 1 Euro) into the cart to unlock the cart. When you return your cart and insert the key, your coin pops out. This eliminates loose carts in the parking lot and having an employee go out to the parking lot to return the carts to the front of the store. 

If you only need a few items from the store, like meat, cheese, bread and/or pastries, you can shop at the front of the store as there are two counters with these items.

The grocery store is set up similar to what I am use to with the produce in the front but the main difference is that you (the customer) weigh your own produce when you select it, versus the check out person weighing everything for you. You put your produce on the scale, select the type of produce and then the machine prints out a bar code which you stick on your bag.
This makes it very quick and efficient at check out.

There is no shortage of fresh bread and pastries at the store. Shop late at night and there is little left.
Everything is made daily and spoils quickly so shopping on a daily basis for fresh bread is just part of this culture. Buying bread in the bag once a week is not typical, although there are a few "packaged" breads. 

While the pastries make your mouth water, they are not overly sweet. This is a nice change from the typical pastries that everyone associates with being overly sweet and packed with sugar.



You bag your own bread and can mix and match in the same bag. The check out person knows which bread is what so it's very efficient at check out .



Here's the packaged bread section. 

Oh the choices. 

I absolutely love the deli and cheese section at the grocery store, which I think is pretty typical here in Europe.
Rather than having one person behind the counter, slicing each cut of meat or block of cheese, everything is ready in the morning.
There's at least one person per section in the meat and cheese area, and they simply use their hands (with gloves) to grab how much meat and cheese you want, weigh is, wrap it and you are on your way.

(For reference for pricing, 1 US dollar = ~24 Czech Crowns. Food is very inexpensive for us here. But keep in mind that they use the metric system. Gas, on the other hand, is very expensive). 

Beer is cheaper than bottled water. 

And speaking of water, you can choose how many water bottles you want without having to buy a big packaged of water bottles. Mineral water is very popular here in all types of flavors. You don't have to worry about food dyes and artificial flavors as they are banned by the European Union. 

Of course, there is a section of candies and chips and other cereals but aside from the chocolate candy bars (which bring back found memories for Karel), we haven't bought much snacky food, if any. 

There's a huge frozen section of meats and cheeses and yogurts. 

And eggs are not refrigerated. 

At checkout, you pay if you want a bag (about 5 crowns) so it's typical that everyone brings their own bags. Also, about 80% or more of people pay for everything in cash here. Credit cards are not very popular. 

After our grocery store trip, we walk home with our bags and get to cooking and eating. 

Garden love

I feel very fortunate that my body has no food intolerances or allergies. Same for Karel. We both love trying new foods as well as enjoying a varied diet to help fuel our active lifestyle and nourish our body. We emphasize real food as much as possible but by no means are we strict with our diet or do we have an off food limit list when it comes to our occasional indulgences or treats. 

Alongside several years of working as a clinical RD, I have worked with many athletes and fitness enthusiasts on nutrition and sport nutrition for there are many people who are not so lucky for they have to restrict a variety of foods for clinical and health reasons. 

I believe that my love for real food has kept my body in good health over the past 1/2 of a decade. Without a sickness, cold or flu since the early summer of 2007, my immune system has stayed incredibly strong thanks to a wide variety of vitamins and minerals in my diet and an incredibly healthy relationship with food.

I love helping athletic individuals tailor their diet in order to meet individual health needs but it always requires a bit of work to ensure that no deficiencies arise in the modification of the diet in hopes for the athlete to feel healthy again (or healthier).I am happy to share the hard work with my athletes to figure out the perfect diet for their needs for when performance is suffering because of the diet or sport nutrition, there is nothing more gratifying that putting the nutritional pieces together to unlock great performances and to improve overall health.

When it comes to performance gains, I believe that the more varied of a diet, the more opportunities an athlete has to improve fitness potential for great performances are not built on just dialing in sport nutrition during training and training hard but ensuring that the body is healthy and well to tolerate intentional training stress. 

Certainly there are many other variable that make a positive difference in consistent training like sleep, stretching, strength training and stress management but that's a whole separate blog post. 

Most of my life has been spent as a plant strong athlete. 

22 years of fueling my active lifestyle and nourishing my body with food grown from Mother Earth. 

Yes, there are some products I consume made in a factory but my vegetarian diet has a foundation built on food grown from  plants (in some way or another).

While in Czech I had the most incredible time visiting Karel's mom's garden. We walked to the garden from Karel's flat and along the way, I found myself walking into plant strong heaven. 

Words can not describe these pictures and the happiness I felt as I grabbed apricots from the trees, munched on red currents in a bush and picked potatoes and green beans from the ground to be used in soup for lunch the next day. 

Thank you Mother Earth for the many delicious foods that you provide us all to help fuel and nourish our bodies! 

Road Trip! Traveling from Czech to Austria

It was around 8pm when Karel came home from his dad's after working on my bike.....

Yay! Thanks Jirka for letting me borrow your race wheels!!! They are super duper fast!

Karel and I were not that sleepy so we took a walk in downtown Znojmo around 9pm. 

The town was so quite and bright so late at night!

There is so much history in this beautiful town and of course, I have a great tour guide to share all the little details about Znojmo. 

Karel enjoyed telling me about his bike rides in the town, especially this one (pic above) on his steel bike, racing his buddies to the top. 

I really love learning about another culture/town but knowing that this is where Karel grew up is very special. 

After our 45 minute stroll around town, we were finally ready for bed around 10:15pm and had a good night of sleep until 6:30am. It only took about 2 days but we finally woke up feeling almost normal. 

After a small pre workout snack around 6:45am and coffee, we headed out on our bikes for a 1:10 bike with beautiful sights and smells. 

With our bikes 100% race ready, it was nice to just spin the legs and warm-up our bodies before our trip to Austria. 

I couldn't believe this field of flowers. And not just any flowers...Poppyseed flowers!!

There are so many pastries made with poppyseeds and they are so delicious!

Once again, the wind was blowing us around in the open fields so after we climbed out of one town, we turned around in the next town and weeeeee'd all the back to Znojmo. 

Just beautiful!

I love the wide-open roads!

I gave Karel's mom a break in the kitchen and I was itching to cook for us.
The eggs are superb here, so I made an egg, tomato and pepper scramble with fresh bread topped with farmers cheese and black and red currents. 

I still can't get over the field of poppyseed flowers!

This is Jitka's dog Visty. Jitka works at one of the bike shops and races as well. I met her last year and I fell in love with her. It was a long year but I was so excited to see her again!

After running a few errands to exchange some our US dollars to Czech crowns to Euro's and for Karel to get a T-mobile SIM card for his i-phone so that he could use it if needed while we traveled to Austria. In Czech, Karel's father in law lets him borrow his cell phone for local calls. 

What's nice about the SIM card is that Karel can upload a map on google maps or mapquest on his phone and then turn off the data service but he can still get directions on his phone. However, it does not help with any detours as we quickly learned. 

After a quick trip to the grocery for a few last minute items to our already filled cooler, we hit the road for our 4 hour and 10 min drive to Austria. I was really looking forward to this drive and to see some new sights. 

Well, not only did it rain almost the entire drive, but we encountered a detour on one of the side roads in Austria as we were leaving Czech and little did we know that we missed a turn without us even knowing it. The map Karel was following was still navigating but it took us almost 90 minutes out of the way and we didn't even know it!
Ugh, our 4:10 drive ended up being almost 6 hours!

Karel was having a blast (despite the rain) driving his stick-shift Volvo on the Austrian highway (A2) for it was like Formula One racing for Karel (or I guess for better reference, a crit bike race). 

We did manage to see a few beautiful sights and it was fun going through lots of tunnels. 

We made two stops on the way to Klagenfurt. First, we needed to use the restroom so we stopped at a gas station. Little did we know you have to pay about 50 cents to use the restroom. 

We also stopped at a public restroom on the side of the interstate which is not like the normal rest stops in the states. This was just a side road with an out-house type building. Oh well, a good time to stretch our legs. 

We jammed away to a mix of American and German music on the radio and enjoyed a few treats from Karel's mom. 

Rice cake - Karel has talked about this cake for some time and he yummed his way through many bites which brought him back to his childhood. It was super delicious!

I love these ginger cookies! She always makes the cutest designs (all by hand).

Yum!

We started to get a bit ancy as we were nearing 6pm, especially since we should have arrived by then but this is why we always allow extra time when we travel. We also prefer to arrive to IM races on Wed (if possible) for we never know about delays and traveling to a destination race (no matter how far) can be a little exhausted at times. 

6 hours of rain. 

Except for in the tunnels. 

Yay - we made it!! We rented a flat from someone online who rents out her place for IM weekend. It was a great price and only about 3-4 miles from the race venue. Plus, with a kitchen and king size bed, we couldn't turn it down. 

With all grocery's unpacked, we had a late dinner (a light one).

I know what you are thinking...where's the beer Karel? I guess he is saving it for post race. Here are a few pics of our flat on the east side of downtown Klagenfurt.

Full kitchen. 

Living area with twin bed. 

Full bathroom and washer. 

Bedroom with TV (German stations).

After I Facetimed with my mom, we were out by 10:15pm and had a great night of sleep...until the morning sun woke us up around 4:50am. However, we stayed in bed until around 6am and then started the morning which brought non-rainy sky's! 

Stay tuned for our first day in Austria as we got into Ironman race mode with a gorgeous 1 mile lake swim at the race start, 2:30 bike on most of the IM bike course and 10 min run. 

Czech trip - Day 2

After a long day (or should I say two day) of traveling, we went to bed at Karel’s mom’s house around 10pm Czech time (4pm EST) (in bunk beds in Karel’s old room J ) . The weather is just perfect right now, low’s around 55 and highs around 75 degrees. There is no AC in Karel’s mom’s flat so the windows give us a wonderful breeze. However, the little birdies began to sing around 6am and then the downtown Znojmo construction started around 7am but nevertheless, we made ourselves stay in bed as long as possible, even though the sleep was on and off for the last few hours. With 10 hour of mostly good sleep for us, we woke up feeling a bit more normal than yesterday (which was a day feeling like a zombie with an empty-feeling body).

We started our morning around 8:30am with coffee and a light breakfast which I normal around here. WASA-like crackers, farmers cheese and yogurt as well as red and black currents and gooseberries from the garden. I did bring a small stash of PB but I am saving that for Austria when we are in full-Ironman mode.

After Karel spent some time with his mom and step-dad, chatting away in Czech (and translating for me), we got ready for our first workout in Czech.

We made a quick stop at one of the local bike shops in which Karel use to work when he was living in Czech in the 90’s. The shop just recently converted to a Specialized dealer and they will be having a grand opening later this week for this new addition (and new addition to the store). The shop is really nice! Karel wanted to get some CO2 for our bikes since we can’t travel on the plane with it but I guess Znojmo is a bit late to the trend for they only had hand pumps. Oh well, the Ironman expo will have that covered for us. We actually have a really good hand pump (carbon) with a CO2 adapter attached which I use to have attached to my last Trek bike and now we bring it to races just in case we needed it before the race (we used it in St. Croix because there was only two floor pumps that we spotted on race day morning).

Karel and I do a lot of walking in Znojmo because everything is fairly close and parking is tight. After the bike shop, we made our walk to Karel’s dad’s to get our bikes from his basement. Our bodies are still a little off with the recent 10-hours of flying and 6 hour time change so we have to be really careful with our blood sugar/appetite for our bodies are kind of confused right now.

We found ourselves a bit hungry around 11am so we made a quick stop at a Natural food store on our walk to his dad’s (there are plenty of small markets/stores in downtown) so I got a “fig newton” bar (5 individual pieces) and Karel got a small loaf of fresh bread. We snacked on our walk but still questioned how our bodies would feel for our first workout in Czech.

For my taper, I have learned what works best for my body when I train for long distance races. With our train smart philosophy emphasizing quality of quantity, I do not find myself burnt out or anxious to taper as if I can’t take any more long distance training. Around 2 weeks out from race day, I start my active recovery after my last “race prep” weekend of training. 4 weeks out is my longest bike and long run off a short bike. Allowing myself a full week of active recovery is very welcoming to my body for the healing process takes a big toll on the body requiring lots of sleep and rest. So rather than incorporating intensity into my “taper” (which is recommended), I give my body a good 4-5 days to fully recover with workouts being really light, as if I am just exercising and not training. Then on race week, I wake up my body with low volume workouts but with intense efforts with ample recovery in between. I do not fear that this will tire out my body because I know that my body is not overtrained or burntout by the time I get to  my taper week so my body actually welcomes this wake up without residual fatigue for race day.

I was really excited to bike for the first time in Czech on my tri bike (last year we borrowed road bikes from a friend of Karel’s) so whether my body was ready or not, we were out for our ride around noon.

Karel and I usually need a good 20-25 minutes to feel warmed up and with the wind blowing at us on the way out from our out and back course, I was pushing fairly hard power and only going around 15-16mph (Karel was a bit ahead of me thanks to his disc wheel and front race wheel – I am still waiting for my race wheels which I will get tonight). I toned it back a bit until I met up with Karel (he waited for me) and then I was able to stay on his wheel with the wind blowing at our face. Thankfully, the power was a bit lower but still not an easy start to the ride. However, we both ended up feeling really good around 25 minutes into the ride and we both were really enjoying ourselves.

Karel spent most of his life in Czech as a cyclist so he makes a great bike tour guide. Karel took me to a place that we visited by car last year. Vranov nad Dyjí is a chateaux in the South Moravian region of Czech Republic,which lies on the Dyje (Thaya) river, 3 km north from the Austrian border close to Hardegg. There is a beautiful castle that we get to see in the distance as we make our way down the hairpin turns while descending. Of course, Karel zooms down this road for he is very familiar with this route. Karel told me that when he was a kid, him and his bike buddies would race down this windy road, passing any cars that were on the road and sometimes crashing. Yep, that’s Karel – he has the need for speed on two wheels.

After we reached the body, we took a few pictures and visited the Dam which also serves as “beach” for the locals in the summer.

We then biked up the zig-zag road and enjoyed the amazing tail wind that was once in our face on the way out to the castle.

16-17 mph on the way out, weeeeeee, 29-32 mph on the way back. It was tough to even sit on Karel’s wheel going that fast for he told me he was just soft pedaling!

After our 30 mile ride, we went on a 4 mile run on every type of terrain possible. My tour guide took me on cobblestones, trails, hills, downhills, back roads by gardens and the street/sidewalk. If we didn’t have the Ironman on Sunday, I am pretty sure Karel would have kept me running so we could tour his town.

After a shower at his dad’s place (his dad has a stand-up shower where his mom has a bathtub with a removable shower head), Karel chatted a bit with his dad and then we walked back to his mom’s house for a late lunch around 3pm. Oh well, our bodies still have no idea what time it is so when the workout is over, it’s time to eat!

In Europe, lunch is a big deal. People go home for lunch or take a long break for lunch. The same is true for dinner where the town shuts down around 5 or 6pm and most people are home, ready to enjoy a home cooked dinner.

For lunch, we enjoyed a delicious vegetable risotto (Karel had meat in his) along with a super tasty garlic and cucumber salad and I had a side of Greek Yogurt for my protein. For dessert, homemade apple strudel (Karel asked his mom for it and while we were biking she made it for us!). The pastries and desserts are not super sweet here for they do not overload recipes with sugar. Therefore, the sweets are not super addicting, you have just a few bites and you are satisfied. Also, even last year, we never felt tummy upset with the sweets here or the food. All the ingredients are natural, no preservatives, artificial ingredients or food dyes. All good stuff that the body likes and knows what to do with during metabolism. Of course, we can't eat like this 365 days a year so we welcome these occasional treats and feel super great while eating them. When in Europe.....

After lunch, we rested for about an hour and then headed out to a local café with two of Karel’s friends in town (old bike racing buddies) for coffee and an afternoon treat. Karel ordered me a cappuccino (same for him) and he also got a crepe with cinnamon sugar (Palacinky) which is a staple at this coffee shop.

We then walked back to his mom’s house so I could Facetime with my mom back in the states. Karel’s mom has WIFI which is hard to find in downtown shops/cafes so that is where I have been doing my uploads on Facebook (Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition page) and blogging.

We had leftovers for dinner and kept it a light meal along with snacking on currents and apricots (can’t get enough of these tasty seasonal fruits!).

Karel is currently working on my race wheels which he has to use his bike-specialist knowledge to make sure the race wheel become compatible with my 11-speed bike (now turned into a 10-speed) with the right components. It is not so simple to put race wheels on any bike so I am lucky that I have Karel to make sure my bike is race ready in Europe for the Ironman on Sunday.

Today was a great day and I am SO excited for tomorrow! We get to drive to Klagenfurt, Austria and get ourselves into race mode at the Ironman venue!

Czech trip - Day 1

OFF TO CZECH!

It was a tedious process but we managed to get everything we needed into 1 large suitcase ….my Oakley Women suitcase has two zipper compartments – one for me and one for Karel) AND our bike case (with has two bikes inside but only one set of wheels. It was very important that we met Delta airline weight requirements so we wouldn’t have any delays.

With this being our first trip flying international, we were extra careful to follow all guidelines from the Delta website (I also printed out everything in case I needed to show documentation that we met all restrictions at the airport. We both had a carry-on bag and a personal item (backpack) with our race day gear and sport nutrition.

Because Karel had to be extra creative with meeting the weight requirements (70 lbs without an excess weight fee) of our bike case, we only brought one set of wheels (Karel’s front wheel and disc wheel) and I will get a loaner set of race wheels from one of Karel’s friends in Czech. Karel also put his bike seat (w/ cages attached) and bike box (with his spare tire) in our large suitcase so that saved some extra weight in the bike case. Lastly, Karel had a cassette and some extra tools in our large suitcase which helped with the weight of our bike case (which Karel managed to find a way to put both our Speed Concepts inside).

Tri Bike Transport (TBT) is a great investment if you are ever traveling to a race! We used them for IM Lake Placid last year and then I used them for the IM World Championship last year – just drop off your bike at the nearest TBT pick-up bike shop (with pedals removed) and then pick up your bike at your race venue. When the race is over, turn back in your bike (pedals removed) and you are good to go. Super easy and totally worth the price!

However, the TBT fee for an international race is around $800 per bike and since I travel with my bike mechanic, the $150 one way Delta fee was totally worth it (although there is always the concern of the bike not making it to the overseas final destination).

On Sunday, after an early morning run (45 min for me, 7 miles for Karel) in Greenville, we double checked everything, said good bye to our cats and fish (a friend of ours is staying at our place while we are away and Campy is at his “camp” in Charlotte with a friend) and we were out the door at 9am for our 2.5 drive to Atlanta International airport.

When purchasing our flight to Czech/Austria, I considered the pro and cons and every single option available so that we could pay for the most affordable and practical trip. This was not easy considering that we were flying in peak season for traveling to Europe (and we purchased our tickets about 3 months out for the flight) so I went with a flight from ATL (instead of Greenville) which only had 1 layover in JFK, in route to Prague. A little less than 11 hours total of flying time (2.5 hours to JFK, 8 hours to Prague).

It was only 13 months ago when we made our first trip to Europe together, which also happened to be Karel’s first time home in over 12 years. This time around, we decided to make the trip even more exciting by combing our travels with an Ironman race. Of course, with every destination race comes unknowns when traveling so I tried to be as prepared as possible and to give ourselves lots of extra time for the what if’s and oh-no’s.

When we arrived to the international wing of the ATL airport, we parked in the hourly parking ($2 per hour) so that we could just walk our rolling bike case and suitcase to the international check-in for Delta. We arrived at 11:45am for our 3:10pm flight so we had plenty of time for any delays. Since I checked in online the night before for me and Karel (passport information) and notified Delta about our bike, we were able to bypass the short line  at check-in (although it was only a few people), pay for our bike case, receive our tickets, get the bike inspected in oversized baggage and return back to our car by 12:05pm. We get our first bag free on Delta (each of us) but a special item (ex. bike) counts as a bag so we only checked one piece of luggage for free and then used our other free luggage as the bike case without incurring extra costs. The bike fee is $150 since it is a special item.  If we each had a checked bag plus the bike we would have to pay an additional fee for another piece of luggage. Always review your airline policies before traveling to a race because the fees can add up quickly if you are not prepared.

We reserved off-site parking at Double Tree hotel (just a few miles away) for only $4/day which includes 24-hour security in a gated parking lot. This was the first time we have done off-site parking instead of economy parking with a shuttle and it worked out great to check in ahead of time so that we didn’t have to worry about feeling rushed with a hotel shuttle.

The shuttle ran at quarter past and quarter til each hour so we parked at 12:30pm and we were on the next shuttle (with our carry-ons) at 12:45pm.

It was a 15 min ride to the international wing because we were dropped off at Domestic and then had to take a bus to the international wing. We arrived around 1:15pm or so and got in line at Security. Because this was an international security section only, this entire process ran very smoothly (I also think not feeling rushed also helped with this stress-free process). By 1:40pm we were all set for our first of two flights.

I packed plenty of snacks for our travel day/night, including PB&J sandwiches, fruit (banana, nectarine, peach, grapes, apple), KIND bars, Clif bar KIT’s Organic, trail mix and chex mix w/ pretzels and trail mix. Oh and dark chocolate too for Karel and I always love to finish a meal with dark chocolate. We both also had an empty water bottle to take through security and we kept filled throughout our travels at the purified water fountains. Karel got a wrap at Mexican place for lunch in ATL and I had my packed sandwich w/ fruit and nuts. On the way to the airport I had Greek yogurt w/ fruit and cheerios for I knew that would be the only opportunity to enjoy my daily dose of yogurt (unless I bought it at the airport).

We had a smooth flight to JFK, even though our first flight had a 25 minute delay before we boarded. Thankfully, I picked a flight that had just under 2 hours of a layover in JFK in the case that we had any delays or needed to take the shuttle to the international wing in JFK. I also wanted to make sure TSA had enough time to transfer our bike case to the next plane and a short layover is very risky for moving an oversized, expensive piece of luggage.

When we arrived to JFK, the wing we were in was incredibly crowded but of course, everyone was gathering around every TV possible to watch the soccer game so that was exciting to hear the cheers. 

Luckily, we did not have to leave the wing we were in for the Prague gate was just two doors down from where we arrived. SCORE! 

The food options were a little limited in this part of the airport and since we only had about 40 minutes until we had to board the Prague flight, Karel and I decided on pizza and it was a good call – what a delicious piece of pizza! I got spinach, mushroom and olive (I gave the olives to Karel for I’m not a fan of the taste) and Karel got sausage and spinach. We didn’t need a big dinner since we were getting dinner on the airplane but it had been over 4 hours since we had a meal and we were tired of snacks.

The flight to Prague was on Delta but was operated by Czech Airlines so it was fun  to see Karel’s expression when he heard so many people talking Czech on the plane. Karel’s is very use to talking English since learning how to speak English in 2000 when he came to the US with only a back pack and the pursuit of living the American Dream. Karel’s brain worked extra hard last year when we traveled to Czech so I hope he is up to the challenge again for translating for me for 2.5 weeks.

For both of our flights, I booked aisle seats for each of us, next to each other so that we could get up as often as we wanted (to stretch and use the bathroom) and a little more leg room if needed. I am super envious of the first class seating w/ seats that can recline to beds!

Thankfully this was our last flight (8 hour flight to Prague), scheduled to leave at 7:35pm and to arrive in Prague around 10:15am. However, due to congestion on the runway we didn’t lift off until 8:40pm.

After a smooth take-off, Karel and I each watched a movie (I watched Labor Day and Karel watched Captain Philips) and ate our complimentary dinner (dairy vegetarian requested for me when I booked our flights – steamed veggies with orzo, fruit, a roll, butter and cheese) and Karel got the chicken and rice standard option (although he said it was too salty and he wished he would have had the pasta option without chicken which he had last year. I guess they serve similar food each year).

I started to get sleepy around 11pm, and with complimentary eye masks and ear plugs, I was able to get a little sleep (on and off) til around 4am. The time difference is 6 hours ahead in Czech. Karel also slept, although a bit longer than me. 

We watched a little TV while enjoying our complimentary morning snack around 8:30am which was 2:30am EST (granola bar and banana for me – it was the vegetarian option and egg and cheese on an English muffin and banana for Karel. Both with Orange Juice. I would have liked the egg and cheese sandwich but I guess the vegetarian meal didn’t include that. Oh well, we were almost to Czech and I was super excited to land!

We ended up arriving just a bit past 10:30am which wasn’t so bad considering our hour delay on the runway. Karel was really excited to see his family for it had been 13 months since he was last in Czech and this will be the 2^nd time he has returned home in the past 14 years.

The best thing about this pricey, once in a lifetime  trip (in terms of saving us money) is all the connections that Karel has. If you are ever traveling international, consider any options that you have to save money for all the little things (that are really important) add up – food, rental car, lodging, plane tickets, race fee, bike shipping, luggage, etc).

Karel had a relative pick us up at the airport in Prague (which was a 2 hour drive for him) and not only was that a nice gesture but he also let us borrow his car for our time in Klagenfurt (4 hours away). This saved us a lot of money for renting a car (or van) big enough for us two + luggage + bike case would have been pricey. We could have flown into Vienna (about 1:20 away from Karel’s home town in Znojmo) but it was several hundred dollars more per ticket so again, I weighed all our options.

We made a quick stop at the market at a shopping center for some lunch and I was SO excited for the large fresh bread selection that I feel in love with last year when we were in Czech.

Just like last year, I was OUT (asleep) in the back seat of the car for a good 2 hours until we arrived at Karel’s relatives home, for a relaxing cup of coffee and of course, pastries. I am not a napper but that flight really gets to me.

Karel enjoyed his stick-shift 40K drive to his hometown from his relatives house and after getting his mom some beautiful flowers at the grocery, we finally arrived in Karel’s home town of Znojmo, Czech Republic (The Moravia area is just beautiful!).

Karel’s mom was so excited to see us and after lots of hugs and kisses, it was time to eat!

In Karel’s home, his mom never watches the clock for meal/snack time. There is always food and we NEVER go hungry. She uses local and fresh ingredients all the time. We ate our meal around 4pm which include all fresh ingredients from her garden (and the neighbors garden). I had vegetable, potato and egg soup and Karel had the same but with chicken. Karel’s mom knows I am a 22 year lacto-ovo vegetarian but many of the meals she prepares have the option to include meat or not so it is nice that she doesn’t have to go out of her way for me. I just love seeing her cook food for us, she prepares everything with love.

After our soup we had an egg, potato and onion casserole (with included ham for Karel) and then apricots for dessert (from a neighbor’s tree).

And if that wasn’t enough, by 5:30pm we were enjoying coffee with red current cake that Karel’s mom prepared for us with her own fresh red currents from her garden. Karel said that this was one of his favorite treats when he was growing up and he really enjoyed it in the summer when red currents were in season. Because so many people grow their own produce, a lot of the meals are seasonal. Fresh bread is purchased daily from the local grocery (Karel’s mom just walks there, a few blocks away).

Around 6pm, we drove a mile or so down the road to Karel’s dad’s house with our bike case still strapped to the roof of the car (Karel said that’s how “we” do it here in Czech) so that Karel could assemble our bikes in his dad’s basement “garage” (aka bike shop). Karel’s dad use to race bikes up into his late 60’s but his body is starting to wear down on him but he still loves bikes as much as Karel. His dad really enjoyed seeing Karel in action in his basement. It was really special to see those two together.

We are incredibly lucky to have family and friends here in Czech for it is so nice to have a home away from home.

Although traveling to another country (especially for a race) can be overwhelming, stressful, time consuming, expensive and exhausting, I am incredibly lucky that I can make these memories with Karel and enjoy these amazing experiences in life.

I love learning about new countries especially when I can embrace their culture, their lifestyle and their diet.

I absolutely love Czech and I am super excited to see what the rest of this trip has in store for us! One more full day in Czech before we head to Klagenfurt Austria for the Ironman!  Thanks everyone for following us along in our journey! 

Good by Greenville.... 

Real food, home cooking. Who doesn't love the holidays?

I've had a few life changing events that involved traveling over seas. 

When I was 13 years old I traveled to Japan as part of an exchange program with my school. It was really exciting to stay with a family for 2 weeks and to go to school with my Japanese "siblings."

When I was 20 years old, I traveled to Cebu, Philippians for a work service trip with my college. It was a life changing experience that really changed me. Perhaps it is the trip that gives the "whys" as to why I am so passionate about so many different things today particularly involving quality of life and the diet. I had no running water for 2 weeks (only bucket showers where I would pump my own water for 1 bucket per shower), I slept on concrete (with a sleeping bag), I had no air conditioning (in May) and food portions were very small. 

I am so grateful that my parents gave me two international trips when I was growing up because when I met Karel, I felt like it was meant to be that I was lucky enough to spend the rest of my life with someone who grew up outside of the US. Although I love being an American, I really love learning about the lifestyles in other countries. 

                               

Not only did Karel educate me on the "real" beers in Europe but I learned so much in our recent Czech Republic trip in May. This trip was not so much a life changer as it was a life reinforcer. I was able to live the life I aspire to live in the US and while in Czech Republic, I found it so easy. Real food, lots of walking and a lifestyle that is a bit slower and more focused on quality of life. Sure, there are some downsides (and why Karel left Czech so he could live the American Dream) of living in another country but I really felt at home in Czech. 

Beautiful views. 

Fresh bread...daily. 

Riding our bikes to Austria (Ok, it's only 10K away from Karel's hometown of Znojmo but it sounds so much more impressive to say we rode from Czech to Austria)

Touring Prague. 

I'm sure you noticed but around this time of the year, the grocery stores are packed. There's a lot of food shopping for all the holidays eats on Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas (and any other celebrated winter holiday). 

Grocery shopping is a bi or tri-weekly occurrence for me for I shop for my staple foods but there's a lot of quick trips for produce. Here recently, the packed grocery store and aisles full of people have reminded me  a lot of our trip to Czech. 

Everyday in Czech the locals shop for fresh bread. They also shop at local farmers markets (in season) and do a lot of canning for the winter. There's processed food but for Karel's parents and most of his town, meals are homemade. There was not one fast food place in his hometown and most of the town closes around 5 so that people can get ready for dinner. Lunch is a large meal and there is also a lunch break for the town where most of the town shuts down. 

At the ice cream shops - there is no inside seating. You get your ice cream cone and walk around.
However, in the coffee shops, you do not get a cup of coffee for the go in a paper cup. 

Coffee is consumed slowly, in a small espresso cup often alongside a danish that is appreciated and not seen as "bad" food. 

This is the time of the year that I love for our society. Recipes are flooding the kitchen counter, ingredients are being combined and the smells in the oven make every tummy sing for joy. 

Whereas most people see this as a time of overindulgence's or fatty and high calorie meals when it comes to holiday eating, I see, think and taste real food.

I see families cooking, getting together to eat at a set table and to use silverware. They are not scarfing down a meal in 5 minutes to make a deadline or to get to the next meeting. They are not eating mindlessly in front of a computer, phone or TV or behind the steering wheel in a car. 

Although there may be a processed food option or two, the majority of our holiday meals are based on traditions, secret ingredients and memories that last a lifetime. 

 Would it be too much to ask for our society to emphasize home cooking, 365 days a year?

How about a few days per week?

Now, I am not saying that you have to break out the fine china every evening and never watch TV or sit on the couch when you eat. Also, I don't believe in a 100% real food diet (I've discussed before about choosing fortified food for the right reasons). 

I think the best place to start appreciating real food and home cooking is just that - appreciate what you choose to put into your body. And while that can  be done anytime, the holidays are a great place to start. 

I feel our society struggles the most with having a healthy relationship with food and it is exacerbated around the holidays. 

For many, eating is a time of guilt, restriction or obsession.
For others, there is absolutely no enjoyment for eating - often it is simply a stressful or boring time. 

It's as if for some people, with every bite there's little enjoyment for food for fuel and for nourishment but instead a mixture thoughts of body bashing, enjoying food, calculating calories, factoring a workout (or not) with food amounts and types, etc. 

Instead of feeling great after a meal, there's precise quick measures as to how to try to take back the "damage" that was done.
And for others, the diet is restricted to the point that food doesn't enhance life but instead controls life. 

Although it does take a little more time, planning and dedication, think about how great it feels to enjoy a meal that is cooked slowly and prepared with love. 

Enjoy this time with your friends and family (furry ones included) and be sure to thank your awesome body for another year of an awesome life. 

Happy Holidays!!

Czech trip day 10: Historic and beautiful Prague!

One full day in Prague and I think our feet let us see everything on our list. I will let the pics show you how beautiful it was in this part of Czech. Enjoy and thank you for letting  me share our trip with you!

 

Czech trip: Day 7 and 8 pics

Stay tuned for Day 9 and 10...in Prague!

Czech trip Day 7 and 8: Happy vegetarian athlete - running, castles, hiking, wine, food, cycling, shopping

I love waking up in the morning, excited to start the day. I find myself this way every day but in Czech, it is an adventure everyday!

The sun rises rather early in Czech and with no AC in the flat, we often wake up to the birds chirping outside of the open windows and the sun as our alarm clock. Regardless if we sleep to 8 or 5am, it all looks the same. We woke up around 6am which was usual for us and after our morning cup of fabulous coffee, along with some trigger point therapy (rolling on the ball) and active stretching/dynamic warming up, we were off for a 6-mile tour around Znojmo. I guess this was a workout as we were running but with Karel as my amazing tour guide, it was hard to think of this as a workout but instead, the best way to sight-see in a new country. Despite doing a morning run of around 2-4 miles every day since arriving to Czech, we had yet to cover the same route twice in Znojmo. Similar paths but always something new to see. I just couldn't take my eyes off the sights as Karel had me running on a trail, in a forest, on paths, by gardens, on cobblestones. Each place was familiar to Karel, new to me. 6 miles later, we were back at home for a yummy breakfast and then we got ourselves ready to officially start the day.

The day prior we had biked to see a castle that Karel was taken me to the next day. Well, today was the day and we were so happy that both Karel's mom and dad would be joining us.

After a 20 minute or so drive down the road, we parked at a parking lot and made a steep walk (about 1/2 mile) to the top of the hill to visit Vranov nad Dyjí which is a chateaux in the South Moravian region of Czech Republic,which lies on the Dyje (Thaya) river, 3 km north from the Austrian border close to Hardegg. We took a tour of the castle and Karel was my translator for the tour. The rooms were magnificent and so much beauty within each part of the castle. We had to put on slippers over our shoes and you could just smell the history.

After our tour, we hiked back down the steep road to the car and then headed back to Karel's mom's house (after dropping off his dad at his home a mile from his mom's) for lunch. A delicious lunch as usual.

After resting for an hour or so, we got ourselves ready to  meet with Karel's best friend and his girlfriend and their doggy (YIPPE) to tour an underground wine cellar and taste award winning wines. This was an amazing experience for me and although it was cold underground with mold everywhere (perfect humidity for wine), the tasting room was cozy and the wine was amazing! Although I do not drink very much (only wine as beer is not to my liking), I really enjoyed sampling all the white wines which were fantastic.

After our tour, we left with a few bottles of wine that were given to us and headed down the road for a hike with an amazing look-out point. One thing I must add is that this trip has been very special for me but it makes things so much better to have locals (including Karel) as my tour guides. Everything has run so smoothly and I feel like I am at home in another country.

The hike was amazing, with vineyards everywhere and a look out point that takes your breath away. Life just gets really good when I am outside as I just love connecting with nature.

After our hike, we had worked up an appetite as it was nearing 6:30pm (sun still shinning). We went back to Karel's mom's house to clean up and then we all met down the road to walk to the restaurant. Not a new trend as all we did in town was walk which was fantastic seeing that we love to use our bodies as much as possible.

As much as I was loving all the new foods that were served to me in Czech, Karel and I both thought it would be fun to check out something special in Czech that would make me extra happy - a vegetarian restaurant! I found Na Věčnosti online from Happycow.net which is a great website to locate vegetarian/vegan/healthy places to eat while traveling. I absolutely love trying new foods and when I have over a dozen selections to choose from on a menu, I am one happy plant strong athlete :)

Karel was also excited as he loves trying new things and will eat anything so it was nice to have some company with Karel's best friend and Girlfriend to join us for a very new experience. You can read more about our vegetarian dining experience with this link: Na Věčnosti.

After dinner, we chatted a bit more and walked around town and nearing 9:45pm, we made our way back to Karel's mom's house for a good night of rest.

The next morning we had a bike ride on the schedule but that was all! We laughed on Day 7 that for Wednesday, it would be our first unplanned, planned day. Every day was filled with something to do so we decided that for our last full day in Znojmo before heading to Prague, we would enjoy ourselves with a bike ride and then shopping around town to buy gifts for our friends and family and of course, lots of chocolate and coffee for us.

We woke up around 7am and although our first day of not running since arriving to Czech, we were both excited to just ride this day. We had a light breakfast to hold us over for our morning ride and then walked a mile to Karel's dad's house to get our bikes. No need to drive when the roads are made for walking.

We got our bikes and biked a mile or so down the road to the bike shop and picked up Karel's friend's who were joining us for a fun ride in Austria. Little did I know, my skills would be tested again on cobblestones in the town and then descending on switchbacks in Austria. Climbing is no thing for me - I just wish I never had to descend! But thankfully, Karel always gives me pointers and he knows my saying "I'd rather be a chicken than a dead duck." He knows I take my time and although hot brakes at times, I am getting much better at my descending with switchbacks. Karel makes it look so easy just flying down the hills/mountains but then again, after riding in his home, I see why he is so good at cycling. When you grow up in Europe, you have no choice but to learn good cycling skills.

Our bike ride was fantastic today. We left around 9:45 from the bike shop and although only around 35 miles, our 2.5 hours of riding and a few short picture stops was amazing. I am just having so much fun on my bike here in Czech - I fell in love with Karel on our bikes and now I am falling in love with another country on my bike. So many priceless memories.

After riding some long climbs and riding in Austria, crossing over to Czech, seeing the Iron Curtain (which brought back a lot of memories for Karel - he recalls when he was first allowed in Austria, he and his buddies couldn't wait to cycle on different roads) and riding in very gusty winds all the way back to town.

After our ride, it was early afternoon so we showered up at his dad's and then grabbed a coffee and a pastry for refueling, stopped by the bike shop to say good bye to his friend and left with more wine and a new local jersey for myself. People are so generous in Czech - we left with way too much alcohol (Karel says that's not a bad thing and thankfully - nothing broke on the way home).

We finally had some lunch and then rested about 45 minutes before heading out to see more sights (walking) and to shop around for some gifts for us and our family/friends. We finished the evening with a delicious meal and then Karel joined a few of his friends for one last beer at the pub. I decided to stay in as I wanted to give Karel a break from translating so he could just enjoy his time with his friends and just speak Czech. I caught up with my mom and Campy on Skype which was a nice way for me to end my evening.

I stayed up until Karel came home around 9pm and then we were off to bed soon after for we were excited and sad to pack up and head to Prague for day 9 and 10. Wow - I can't believe how time flies....only two more days until we have to return to the USA. Thankfully - I get to bring home lots of memories, pictures and an appreciation for a lifestyle that I have grown to love and hope to continue inspire others to live back in the states.

Czech trip Day 6: From Pribor to Znojmo. more cycling, food and beer

After a quick morning run with Karel (around 4 miles) in the misty rain but on a great paved road, we cleaned up, enjoyed another delicious breakfast in Czech of eggs, mixed veggies, fresh yogurt w/ dried apples (homemade) and muesli, and a slice of bread with homemade cheese spread and Karel and I packed up to head back to Znojmo. It was sad to say good bye to his brothers family but we were looking forward to our last week in Znojmo as Karel still had so much more on our unplanned to do list. I can not believe how time is just flying by!

After our 2.5 hour drive (a bit faster than before due to beautiful weather!) we were back in Znojmo and Karel's mom had a delicious meal waiting for us (Slovakian-inspired) along with several desserts (she said she was in a baking mood the night before). All these treats are exciting but Karel and I typically share any treat that we are offered. There are certainly times for occasional treats but each time should be enjoyed and if you treat yourself day after day, it becomes less and less special. Certainly I do not feel like we are restricting ourselves from anything that is special here and can be consumed with enjoyment but we are not eating anything and everything just because we are in Czech. We have turned down a few treats and second helpings only because we are satisfied from a meal and I feel that is the most appropriate time to say no thank you as oppose to fearing food for calories, fat, sugar, salt, etc. I am really enjoying the fact that I can enjoy this city with Karel and we have both kept our great relationship with food here in Czech. We always feel better after we eat, than before. Just like at home in Florida, no low blood sugar levels, stomach issues, hunger pains, intense cravings, headaches or anything else that many people accept as normal when trying to eat "health"...we have lots of energy all day, sleep well, wake up rested and never use the words guilty, off limit, restricted, cleanse, detox, bad or any other popular fad diet word that brings attention to a style of eating that appeals to the masses.

After we rested for an hour, we headed over to Karel's dad's place to get our bikes from his basement and headed out for an awesome ride in Czech. Karel knows these roads like he road them yesterday for each ride we ride somewhere new, see beautiful scenery and Karel tells me stories of when he was racing/training here in Czech. We are not training here in Czech so we have no schedule or specific miles-time that we have to accomplish everyday. We are not exercising to "burn" calories so we can eat pastries or not feel guilty when eating. We are just enjoying our time here being active, which we love to do with our fueled bodies.

This ride was amazing because we rode in straight headwind and sidewind to a castle and well-worth the brutal conditions heading out there. There was a chill in the air so it was rather chilly while descending to the castle so we only went half way because the rain was coming. We took a pic and then, my favorite part - began climbing again to head back home. We had the most helpful tailwind coming back and we were flying! Karel extended our ride a little to show me some special scenery spots and then it was time to head back to his dad's to clean up.

We walked to Karel's first bike shop and first job to meet with his first boss. Since leaving Czech, Karel's boss turned the basement of the bike shop into a wine cellar where he has received many awards for his wines. We tasted a few wines (with white wine being very popular here due to the seasons and the production of white grapes) and then enjoyed the most amazing pizza ever. Karel told me that the pizza in Czech was out of this world and as a big lover of local pizza, I was so excited to try it! On the side, we had pizza dough (cooked) w/ garlic which was amazing as well. Wow - totally in love with the pizza here and after a long day, I was so happy about our early evening eats.

Since Karel hadn't seen all of his friends yet in Znojmo, Karel arranged a get-together at a pub (of course) for his old cycling teammates to get together and catch up. It was a bit overwhelming for Karel for he wasn't able to translate everything to me but that is ok - several of the guys had their dogs there which is a great thing for me as there are doggies everywhere in Czech so I get lots of doggy love (and it doesn't matter what language they speak) :)It has been very hard for Karel but I know he is gaining a lot more brain cells to extend his longevity as his brain is on 100% of the time, translatting for me all day. Sometimes he forgets to switch and talks English to others but overall, he is doing a very great job as my translator.

As Karel enjoyed a glass (or 3) of beer following our wine tasting, we ordered a light "dinner" at the pub since we had just had pizza. I had a delicious salad w/ a baguette and goat cheese with black walnuts (delicious!) and Karel had a steak tatar plate.

It was a late evening but a great one! Afterward, we walked home (a big trend which I am loving here - we walk miles and miles everyday, especially to and from eating) and it was time for a great night of sleep to begin another fun-filled day.

Stay tuned for Day 7: a run around Znojmo, touring a castle and an underground wine cellar, hiking and eating at the vegetarian restaurant.

Czech trip Day 4 and 5: Pics

 

 

Czech trip: Vegetarian restaurant

 

As a vegetarian athlete, I find meal planning very easy and fun as I have a variety of fresh and whole foods to enjoy on a daily basis to keep me fueled, nourished and satisfied. But there's nothing more exciting to me than being inspired by new plant strong creations and enoying those creations with others. I'm grateful that I have a very open-minded hubby who loves to eat and is always open to good, fresh food. He knows that between us two, the only thing that differs is that I don't eat meat or fish. So in other words, there is a lot for us to enjoy together and I rarely feel "left out" at meal time. Sometimes, I have to get a little creative when eating outside the home so you can imagine, when a vegetarian restaurant is within my reach, Karel is excited to share it with me. There are not too many times when I am stumped as to what to order from the menu AND I can taste whatever Karel is eating as well.
 After a busy day of touring a castle, walking around town, visiting a wine cellar and taking a hike to an amazing look out point, Karel and I (and his best bud and cycling teammate growing up along with his girlfriend) enjoyed a delicious, satisfying and amazing meal at a vegetarian restaurant in Czech.

I found Na Věčnosti from the Happy Cow website and the reviews were great.

 

 

 Karel and I both thought it would be special to try this restaurant as we have been loving all of the local food here but this would be an extra treat for me and for all four of us!  I am happy about last evening so I wanted to share it with all my plant-strong lovers.

 

(yay - there was a menu in English!)

                                          

 

My dish! Couscous with dried plums and tofu with ginger, nuts and raisins

Karel's dish: Robi medallion with mushrooms in creamy sauce with potatoes (OMG - so delicious!)

 

Halusky with sheep cheese and roasted onions (girlfriend of Karel's friends' dish)

Karel's friends' dish: Creamy risotto in wine, saffron, capers and parmesan cheese

 

Dessert: Fresh rye bread (which I am LOVING here!) with Zlato Cheese - with hot pickled peppers, ketchup, jam and mustard

Czech trip Day 4 and 5: Pribor

In 2004, I took a trip to the Philippines with a group of students at my University (Transylvania University in Lexington, KY – my hometown). We mostly stayed outside of Cebu for the reason for our trip was to serve others by helping to rebuild schools, bathrooms and to give school supplies. It was the best work-service trip for me for it really changed my life. No other trip has affected me like my trip to this third world country. Bucket showers, no running water, no electricity and food rationing.

When I came home from this trip, I really started to think about my own life. I remember crying when I went to a restaurant on our way home (in route home at Cheesecake factory in the airport) and saw so much food being wasted by people who were served large portions + a bread basket and were unable to finish a meal but yet, still had room for dessert. Thinking about how I would give anything to be able to properly nourish the children and individuals who appear to live such a happy and grateful life for what they have and what they are use to. I suppose that trip changed me because I do not feel comfortable with others serving me for I am not comfortable wasting food. I’d rather eat a little less than have too much food on my plate and have it thrown away. Karel knows this and he also knows my portions as I feel many of my food behaviors were first learned from observing others who have very little rather than from a dietetic textbook encouraging “calorie” control.

In Czech, I am reminded of my previous trip abroad as I have yet to read a food label, I do not know how much fat, calories, carbs, protein, sodium, etc is in the food I am eating and I am often served food. However, none of these things bother me as I am learning about a different lifestyle. Whereas in America, there is often little peace with food. We eat as if the food police are watching our every move and calories, carbs, fat, sodium and anything else with a number is on our mind. Of course, it is my job to know these things but I do not feel food facts should consume my life. Here in Czech, I find that the most appropriate word for our current eating style (in Europe for Karel and myself) is “energy”. We put in energy into our body and we expend it. We eat a meal, then we walk for a few miles….just like the locals, walking to and from work, to and from the grocery stores, to and from the parks to play, etc. Life isn’t about food reward or using food to numb emotions but instead, energy balance. Regardless of what you are eating, you expend energy after you consume energy. Sadly, many people in America would rather restrict food (often nourishing food) to “lose weight” rather than to properly energize the body and thus, move more. But as I mentioned before, the American lifestyle is not conducive to healthy living for it is much easier to drive 1-2 miles to the grocery store or walk down the hall to a vending machine than to walk to the grocery store or to take a break from working and enjoy a well-planned meal.

 

On Saturday afternoon, we drove ~3 hours to Karel’s brothers house in Pribor to visit his brother’s family (wife and 3 teenage kids). Although it was a bit cold and rainy out (~40-45degrees Fahrenheit), I couldn’t wait to spend time with Karel’s brother who is extremely active. They are not all athletes but they live a very active lifestyle. They take biking trips in the summer, both Karel’s brother and wife bike to work year round (A few miles down the road) and they bike to and from the grocery store. They have  a car but none of the kids need it for they all walk or take the bus. The kids (between the ages of 17-22) all cook for themselves – fresh food, nothing packaged – and drink tea and water, not sodas or energy drinks. They have a garden in the backyard  that is about to peak and they make jams, pickles, dried fruits, salads, soups and desserts from their selections of foods.

Sure, they are on the computer, they watch TV and they sit around…..so do Karel and I when we are at home. But their energy balance is a lot more beneficial for weight maintenance or even weight loss (without trying) as oppose to being in a positive energy balance for weight gain. Because it is natural to put on weight if you are not aware of your dietary and exercise choices, it is much harder to put on weight quickly in an active lifestyle as oppose to one that encourages large portions, easy snacking, little emphasis on meal time and real food and a sedentary lifestyle.

After a delicious lunch of homemade broccoli soup and vegetable patties we headed to Štramberk which is a small town near Pribor, next to Kopřivnice. It was a long hike to the top of the hill where there was a cute festival going on and I couldn’t believe my eyes – I felt like I was in Disney World with all the cute timbered houses and cobblestone roads. The top of the hill is dominated by the Trúba castle tower. Stramberk is known for their “ears” which are from a tale that Barberians would eat the ears of others, thus Stramberk’s ears everywhere. I must say – as a 20-year vegetarian, those gingerbread like ears were the most delicious “body parts” I have ever eaten J Nearby there is the Šipka Cave where Neanderthal child bone remnants were found.

After our cold and rainy 3 hour walk/hike/visit to Stramberk, it was time to head back to the house to warm-up with a fire and enjoy dinner. I was tired from the day of activities which started with a quick 2 mile run with Karel (in the drizzling rain) so I headed to bed around 10pm as Karel stayed up with his brother for a little catching up.

On Sunday, Karel, his brother and nephew and I went for a rainy yet beautiful 3.75 mile run on the most amazing paved trails which Karel’s brother bikes on to and from work. It was great to get the blood flowing and to have some company for our morning run.

After a delicious breakfast, we stayed inside for the morning until the rain stopped and then had the most delicious lunch of tofu, rice and veggies prepared by Karel’s nice (who also enjoys tofu – actually 4 of us had the tofu creation and 4 others had goulash) and then we headed to a car museum all about Tetra - Tetra company

There was a special exhibit going on about Emil Zátopek who was a runner with an amazing repertoire.  Emil Zatopek

After spending much of the afternoon out, we headed back home to clean up (another cold/rainy day) and enjoy one last meal with the family. Karel’s niece prepared the meal again (whereas Karel’s nephew prepared the goulash) and it was chickpeas with veggies and couscous. So yummy!

We sat around, enjoyed a few small treats for dessert and it was such a great weekend with the family that we were sad to go to bed on Sun evening to head back to Znojmo on Monday.

I forgot to add, on our way to Karel’s brothers, we made a “fast food” stop at McDonald’s because Karel needed to prove to me that this wasn’t your normal McDonald’s….

 

.....pics to come soon.

 

 

Change can be good

When I work with athletes and fitness enthusiasts during my lifestyle service (2 month program) it is my goal that by the end of our time together, the individual has a new or improved tool set to live a more balanced healthy and active lifestyle. It is not my job to tell a person how to live, eat or train/exercise as I don’t feel there is one best way of living. Certainly, there a tremendous amount of long-term research as to the most appropriate ways of living a healthy life but we are not a controlled science experiment in a laboratory and we all have different ways of describing a quality filled life. Although I feel many people have an impractical definition of a quality filled life, I believe that most people would like to live a disease-free, active lifestyle with a healthy body and mind. So, it is my hope that I can continue to inspire, educate and motivate others to live a lifestyle that feels balanced and moves you closer to personal life, diet and exercise related goals.

On the detailed questionnaire that I ask each individual to fill out for the 2 month program (additional questionnaires for each of my services) one of the questions is “what are you least looking forward to during our time together?”

I sometimes receive the response “NOTHING! Can’t wait to get started” but generally I get the response of “I am afraid to give up my favorite foods” or “I am afraid of failing” or “I’m not good with change”.

Because I understand that we don’t go to visit the doctor when we are feeling 100%, but instead, pay  money for a professional opinion/advice when we need help and want to feel better, I welcome all responses. Because of that, I also ask the question of on a scale of 1-10, how motivated/excited are you to make changes for a more balanced lifestyle? Certainly, a person who is afraid to give up favorite foods but let’s me know that they are a 10 on the motivation/excitement scale, allows me to recognize that they are open to change. However, if someone ranks their excitement as 4, I know that the journey may move slowly and that is still OK. It’s all about making progress and moving forward as one of the most frustrating things in life for us all is wanting a change but being afraid to change and thus, finding yourself staying the same or worse, moving backward.

This has all been on my mind here in Czech because as I try new food creations and live a lifestyle that is out of my control, I am a firm believer that we can all change and change is not always as bad as we may think it may be. We can change our outlooks, our moods, our dietary choices/cravings, our activity routine and anything else that involves healthy living. The problem is that people don’t like change for it is uncomfortable and even more so, people have this false idea of the outcome of change which makes it easy to resist change. Sometimes change isn’t always good but how do you know if you don’t try?

I have given this example in my talks when I speak to women but I have expressed my thoughts on body composition as it seems to control many people (males included) in terms of how they live life. Not sure how we got to this in our society but it has been so great to be free from “Dr. Oz says not to eat this” and to not hear “new research says that eating this food will make you healthy” or what I hear the most “this food is so bad for you …..today.” Of course, diet and fitness is my profession and I am strong with my philosophy of food for fuel, nourishment and pleasure but being here in Czech has reminded me why I am so happy with the changes I have made in my lifestyle, although not all were easy and I had many doubts, it’s nice to be in a good place in my life for the past few years….especially with Karel in another country.  So, at 5 feet tall, I have told others that I could be 100 lbs. However, I choose not to be this “ideal” weight for my height because I don’t feel it would make me happy. I don’t need to see my veins and have my bones sticking out and I don’t need to sip ripped abs. My body is trained to performed so I expect it to be strong but I am not training for a fitness pageant, I need to use my body, not look “perfect” in a mirror. I have maintained my healthy weight for almost all my life due to exercise and a balanced diet. I have never been overweight but to be “skinny” I  would have to restrict food, I’d likely have a headache all the time due to low blood sugar, I would find myself being inconsistent with life, with every thought revolving around diet and exercise and I would not find myself energized like I am now with 10-14 more lbs on my body. I didn’t say that those extra lbs were disgusting fat or that I hate my blubber on my body. But unfortunately, when you think about a quality life when it comes to body composition, there’s this concept that if you gain weight to live a happier life, you are going to be unhappy and “fat” compared to others who are happy and skinny. Truth be told, it doesn’t have to be this way and life isn’t about a number on a scale. Sadly, I feel that when people eat, they are constantly fearing weight gain or have body image on their mind. Sadly, I feel those who are body composition focused (not in a “health conscious”, extreme way) are too focused on the outcomes of eating and exercise and thus, fear change when it comes improving daily living, possibly outside of your comfort zone.

As many people know, I love trail mix. It is part of my daily diet and my absolute favorite food. Back at home, I couldn’t imagine a day without nuts, raisins and cheerios. It makes me happy, feel energized and satisfied. But here in Czech, I have not had any trail mix for 5 days and I am surviving just fine. I don’t miss it, I don’t feel deprived and I don’t feel as if my life is over because I have “given up” my favorite food…for I didn’t give up anything and I have some with me in my travel bag but I have so many options here to enjoy for food choices that I am enjoying changing up my routine to discover new foods or a different way of eating. I am not on a diet here so it isn’t as if I have an off-limit food list as so many people do when it comes to wanting a change.
Here in Czech, aside from a few chocolates that Karel’s family have mailed to us over the holidays, I don’t have favorites. Karel shows me food in the grocery or shops and tells me stories “Oh! This was one of my favorites!” but if I have never had those foods, I can’t say that I am missing out on anything. It’s interesting because here in Czech, fruit is very seasonal. Like US, some of it is expensive if not seasonal but for the most part, fruit is not a big part of the diet here. I love fruit and certainly miss eating it like I do at home but I am surviving just fine. When I was in the Philippians, we ate very little veggies and ate a lot of fruit and it was all exotic and delicious!

 I feel this is one of the biggest issues with our society in that we have too many favorites and when we want a change, it because this horrible, guilt-obsessed feeling that “all is gone that is good” and everything has to be extreme for a new result. Perhaps not everyone is this way but in my experience in working with a variety of athletes and fitness enthusiasts, there are very few individuals who want to accept slow progress and are ok with change for a different, better or new way of living. As I said before, I don’t believe that there is an ideal way of living but instead, taking chances on making changes to see if there is a more balanced way of living to make you happier. Thanks to the media and food companies, everything is big, fast and “easy” in America. People want change yesterday.

When it comes to fitness enthusiasts or those who seek a more active lifestyle, I encourage you to start slow. 10 minutes a day is better than no minutes a day of walking. Not every workout has to be an hour or intense. I wore a pedometer on our travel day from Tampa to Prague and just in the airport alone, we walked 2.5 miles. Sure, for a “runner” that doesn’t sound like a lot but considering the amount of time we were sitting, every little movement added up and that was my point in wearing the pedometer in that I wanted to show that you have opportunities to move (or ‘burn’ calories) and it doesn’t have to be extreme or expensive with a gym membership.
When it comes to athletes, I encourage you to disassociate training from food rewarding. If you  ever think about your appetite while you are training intensely for an event compared to your appetite while you are taking some time off (or an injury), it is likely that you are much more hungry while you are training….and with good reason because your body is expending much more calories than just sitting around or walking. But regardless of the calories burned, there doesn’t have to be the thinking that if you don’t work out for x- minutes a day, you don’t deserve to eat or can’t eat carbs. On the flip side, just because you work out doesn’t mean that you get to “reward” yourself with anything and everything or because you want to indulge, you use exercise as your reason to do so. Sure, there may be times when you can treat yourself because of your activity level (and even without exercising) but I find that in America, there is such a bad relationship with food and the body from both athletes and fitness enthusiasts and I think it all comes down to the lifestyle that we choose to live. Sure, we can blame the food industry and preoccupation with the “perfect” body image but I feel for the most part, our society has no idea how to live a balanced lifestyle.

It’s not as if Karel and I can be in Czech and eat until we are stuffed. I find that we are not eating as large of portions as others around us and we have yet to finish a meal feeling stuffed. We still understand that a balanced diet is not a free-for-all but instead, recognizing the many things that promote a healthy lifestyle and not being obsessed with any one specific component.

I wanted to share some of my thoughts as I have been thinking a lot as I live life like a local in a different country. I can’t possibly get all my thoughts on to paper but Karel and I have really enjoyed an “active” lifestyle here in Czech, without feeling food-deprived from some of our favorite foods (albeit, we will be coming home with new favorites) and there has been no talk as to calories, bad food or diets. That is complete heaven to me for I don’t feel anyone should live a lifestyle of poor body image and a bad relationship with food. Here in Czech, it just feels so great to move our body and to eat around others without negative food/body talk.

When Karel came to the US in 2000, he had never tried peanut butter. It wasn’t until we met in 2006 that I introduced him to peanut butter. He enjoys it now but it isn’t as if his life would be over if he didn’t have it every day. When we met, we use to eat ice cream almost every night. Around 2008, I felt as if the ice cream treat after dinner was not enjoyed anymore like it once was – as a “treat”. I didn’t tell Karel that we were going on diet from ice cream or that ice cream was bad but since 2008, we have not had ice cream in our house, we don’t miss it and rarely do we even get it outside of the home. I find that this statement applies to many people who make favorable replacements in the diet, instead of just eliminating foods that they feel are “bad”. Replace, not eliminate. No ice cream means more room for fruit or perhaps, if ice cream wasn’t needed, an earlier night of rest. But with this concept, I welcome others to the idea that not all food is bad. Karel and I will never rid our diet of fresh bread. We feel so good with it, just like we do with dairy, legumes and any other proclaimed “bad” food that is “in” today (thankfully, we haven’t watched TV in over a week and I can’t speak the language here so I am not hearing about any diet trends/fads right now in the US”).

This trip has opened my eyes in many ways but  a good thing is that I came to Czech with a lifestyle that allowed me to function well in a new country. There will always be treats in life, indulgences and yes, even times when food is too good and you will say you ate too much. But to live your entire life the same, fearing change or being extreme in order to change is not the way to achieve a balanced, healthy and active lifestyle.

I feel my trip here has been enhanced because I am sharing it with Karel. Everything we do is meaningful here to Karel and we are around family who give unconditional love. I wish everyone could enjoy an opportunity like this whether internationally or just within your own state. Consider spending your next few days evaluating your lifestyle choices (wants, needs, can’ts, can’s – you have to make time, not find time) instead of wasting energy on the outcome of your lifestyle choices. For if you don’t work toward making small changes now, you may find yourself living the same, unhappy or monotonous lifestyle 10, 20 or 50 years from now.

 

CzechTrip Day 3: Austria, pastries, coffee and cycling

 

 

You know that feeling in a workout when you think to yourself “It can’t get any better than that”, well, I am finding myself “wowing” my way through this trip. I hesitate using the word “vacation” because Karel and I aren’t use to vacationing Sitting around on the beach or being catered to at a resort is not our style....honestly, we'd be bored after a few hours
When we travel, it is typically for an event or race and we don't do well sitting around. Thus, every time we pack our bags for something, it is for a purpose and often includes some type of movement (or is related to our jobs which involve activity/fitness). This trip has many purposes but I am enjoying my time here in Czech making memories but also learning about a new culture that allows me to bring home new ways to live life as well as an appreciation of what I have back at home. With my blog posts and pictures, I only hope that I can inspire others to get comfortable being uncomfortable by trying new things and being open to new opportunities. I realize that traveling abroad is not for everyone and may not be practical for everyone (costs, timing, logistics, etc.) but I feel that many people take for granted the many opportunities they have in their own current life but just feel “stuck” either in a bubble of familiarity and fear change or are scared to make any changes and the “what if’s” keep you bored, stressed and overwhelmed in your current life.

This is my third trip abroad and although my last two trips were a while back in 2004 and 1995 to Philippines and Japan, respectively, I find myself constantly enjoying learning from others...particularly, the lifestyle.

Aside from the 7th day Adventists  and the Mediterranean style diet (which research consistently shows, long term, that both show high rates of quality of life and low risk for disease and improved health status by following a vegetarian or plant based diet), I've learned from those who live a high paced, wealthy lifestyle and from those who take bucket showers and have no electricity and seeing that each country may have staple foods and/or certain thoughts on exercise/fitness/sports, every village, town and city differs in terms of quality of life. Thus, to assume that there is one right way to live is absolutely wrong as it isn't about a right way of being healthy but rather, making sure your lifestyle makes you happy.

So, here is the blog post that was very hard to summarize for there were way too many wow’s and not enough brain power to put it all into words. Again, thank goodness for iPhones and photos to keep memories current and fresh.

Once again, the sun was shining early and I found myself awake at 5:20am thinking it was 9am. I was able to lay back down for a little but then around 6am I woke up to the smell of fresh European coffee.

Karel and I started our morning with a cup of coffee and headed out for a quick 2 mile run on new roads (for me) in Czech. For both Karel and myself, we love to stay active and exercise is a very important to both of us for both physical and mental benefits. But as I have repeated many times in my blog and in articles, you don’t have to be a triathlete or marathon runner to be “healthy”. I am a firm believer that you should get your heart rate up, don’t be afraid to sweat and don’t feel as if you have to conquer x-minutes, x-workouts, x-days a week. Just move whenever you can for however long feels “right.” I absolutely love our morning runs because 20-30 minutes of sight-seeing is the perfect way to start the day as it is only the beginning of a jam-packed day.

Throughout our morning run and breakfast (which was a simple meal of local yogurt, fresh fruit, egg and bread/pastries and water) Karel continued with stories of when he was growing up in Znojmo. I guess you could say that Karel is taking a lot of “runs” down memory lane.

After breakfast Karel and his dad had to run some personal errands so I joined along for the “experience” of living a day-to-day life in Czech.  Since we were in town for the errands, we stayed busy on our feet walking everywhere (which is typical for people in Znojmo as parking is tight, gas is pricey and streets are narrow and it is much easier to just walk/bike everywhere. Plus, since everyone buys local and fresh foods are so popular, most grocery stores are within walking distance so people just shop daily for small items as not many would buy packaged bread here or expect  fresh food to last a week). We visited a beautiful church as well as two of Karel’s old bike shops. It is so great to see people remember Karel as soon as they see him and although I can’t understand anything, I know they ‘re catching up and sharing great stories.

After the bike shop, it was time for a mid morning treat. Seeing that we have not snacked between meals since we have arrived in Czech, I was super excited for this opportunity to have a real espresso in Europe with a real pastry. Because I have relied on Karel to order everything for me (much easier than having him translate everything for me), he ordered me a delicious walnut pastry as well as 3 other pastries for us to share. I laughed at Karel when he told me that he would always pass a bakery on his way home from school when he was young and he would always get pastries before he came home. Now I know why my hubby has such a big sweet tooth! Although it may look like we are “treating” ourselves a lot, we have yet to feel gross or guilty after eating anything and although no scale and we aren’t very concerned with weight gain, neither one of us feel as if we have gained any weight. We do not ever use words like "I'm being bad, I shouldn't be doing this or I feel fat" as I don't believe those are beneficial words in a balanced lifestyle. Of course, we can not bring home this lifestyle to the US because it just wouldn’t work in our sedentary, fast paced society. As hard as I try to help others live a more balanced active and healthy lifestyle (and feel more confident doing so, thanks to this trip), I realize that what works in one country may not be ideal in another. In addition to the food here being prepared with fresh ingredients and not loaded with salt, high fructose corn syrup (Karel says they don't use it in processed food here that he knows of) and sugar, we are extremely active here just moving all the time. Whereas in America, for many of us, we seem to spend most of our day sitting and only get up to go and eat (often eating quickly or continuing our day while eating).

Here in Czeh, it is nice to sit down to eat with family/friends after walking around all day. Also, there is something to be said about the quality of food here. I have yet to put a preservative, food dye or artificial ingredient in my body since arriving to Europe (although I have food with me, I have not had any protein powder, KIND and Hammer bars or other “emergency” food from home for I have not felt like I needed it), food tastes so good that you don’t have to eat a lot of it to be satisfied…much different than in America where you think food tastes good and you can’t stop eating. Here in Europe, it’s hard to overeat for the food is just more delicious and meal time is a slow time. I have yet to see anyone eat in their car or behind a computer screen (although I am sure people do, but unlike America, it is not the norm). It’s really hard to explain the living and eating style here, especially because many people in America have such an unhealthy relationship with food and the body. I have a blog to write in the near future as I talked with Karel's niece about "diets" here in Czech as well as some other questions that I had in terms of the "lifestyle" here and relationship with food and the body and I found it all very interesting. To sum up one of her statements after I asked her what she thought about American culture (relating to food/bodies) after her recent trip to Miami and then a cruise, she said that yes, there are big Americans but also, way too many "skinny" Americans. When I asked her to describe "skinny" she basically described the body that I feel many athletic individuals are trying to achieve - toned, lean and not curvy. To her, it looked unhealthy.

Everything in the US from body image (too big to too small) and diets (from good food to bad/off-limit food) is so extreme and for some reason, we have this perception of what is “healthy” in terms of body image and diet (although the diet component changes daily, it seems) and thus, I feel our society is so far removed from a balanced lifestyle. People want to be healthy but they aren’t happy and their idea of "healthy" is not always a true defnition of health. Although I have been very adventurous in trying new things and being extremely “free” here, I don’t feel as if I am living a different life from what I try to do at home in Florida. I am so happy that I came to Czech with a strong relationship with food and a good one with my body that I am only continuing my balanced lifestyle rather than being shocked at any one thing here. It is a great feeling knowing that I can travel outside of my comfort zone in the US and still maintain my definition of a healthy and active lifestyle.

The only thing that is different here is that it IS the “norm” here to live a life of happiness, love and good, real food. Food is slow cooked, not fast. It is real, not processed. I do miss a few of my staple foods that I feel are healthy in my diet like nuts, seeds, tofu, lentils, peanut butter, beans and whole grains but I am functioning just fine here in Czech while maintaining my meat-free lifestyle (and Karel is enjoying his meat options here and enjoying the lifestyle just as much as me. Well, maybe a bit more since it has been many years for him to have enjoyed his mom's cooking). Sure, Karel and I are athletes and our bodies take care of themselves  because we “train” more than we “exercise” but if I have learned anything in the 3 short days that we have been here, it is that American’s waste so much energy on wanting to change the outcomes of unhealthy lifestyle choices when instead, it is not one food (or food group)  that needs to be eliminated but instead the overall lifestyle is what needs to be addressed. If you don't make time to cook real foods, you are only going to find yourself blaming carbs for weight gain for the rest of your life. It's not carbs, dairy or bread...it's the lifestyle and I can attest for that as I have eaten a diet here that tastes great and much of it is not my typical diet....but, I feel great, have not seen any negative change in body composition, both Karel and I have repeatedly said we feel very "clean" inside and we feel energized and satisfied. Let's not forget that a balanced lifestyle includes good sleep, stress management, slowing down to enjoy life, spending time with friends/family (and wanting to take care of others) and of course, real food…not too much, just enough to enjoy it, feel fueled and nourished and feel satisfied. It's not gluten-free, paleo or these others diets that Karel's niece had never heard of, but instead, it's the lifestyle of moving your body and feeling good about the food you put into your body (and not worrying about what others are doing or not doing).

 Sorry - I digress.

After our morning adventure, Karel and I went to his mom’s to change quickly for we were about to take a bike ride to Austria!!!

Karel’s old cycling buddy, Jirka, invited us for a ride on his “lunch break” since many of the business shut down for lunch. Another one of Jirka’s friends joined us and I was thrilled that he could speak a little English.

So excited for a bike ride of a lifetime, we rode ~10K and crossed the Austria border! It was around 12:30pm when we started but I’ve completely lost track of time here in Czech as Karel is keeping me incredibly busy and on my toes (love it!). And I thought Czech was beautiful, the scenery in Austria was gorgeous! I just couldn’t believe my eyes and I couldn’t stop taking pictures while riding. I am happy that my bike handling skills have improved over the years for this ride offered many new experiences for me such as riding through small towns with small roads and cars zipping buy (although they don’t seem to mind cyclists), signs which I couldn’t understand and thus had no idea where we were going, riding on cobblestones and riding on a few rollers (Very smooth roads outside of the towns).

When we arrived to Retz, Austria we took a few pics and then, why not…let’s have a cappuccino! Coffee drinking is much different than in America..it’s not coffee, it’s the culture of drinking coffee. Seeing that I normally have 1-2 cups a day (before and after my morning workout or in the morning), I don’t ever do “energy” drinks or afternoon coffee pick-me-ups. But here, there are no paper cups or weak coffee beans that require loads of sugar and sweeteners to provide flavor. It’s 2-3 ounces of strong coffee that must be consumed slowly and it is hard to not enjoy it. Of course, I am use to this because I have lived with a European in America for the past 6.5 years so it is something that I welcomed but had not yet appreciated until I came to Europe.

After coffee, we headed up a climb on cobblestones (nervous at first but I did just fine thanks to Karel giving me pointers as to not ride slow as I needed to keep my momentum riding up the climb) and then up a windy, smooth road to see a beautiful windmill on the top of a hill which overlooked the city. Talk about a priceless opportunity in life while doing what Karel and I love to do….and how we met, on our bikes!

After a few more pics, we climbed a bit more and then had  a fast, fun descend on a smooth open two lane road back to Retz and then we made our way back to Znojmo. Although the total ride was around 25 miles and the way there was rather casual, the guys picked it up on the way back and with the wind blowing strong in the open fields, I had a nice workout on the way home by drafting with the guys pulling away.

After the ride, it was nearing 2:45pm and we had yet to eat lunch so to no surprise, Karel’s mom had lunch ready for us (from earlier since we missed it)…fried cheese and homemade mashed potatoes! Karel had been telling me about the Smažak for a while and it reminded me of mozzarella sticks…but of course, so much better as it was prepared by Karel’s mom and served in the perfect portion as I could have eaten so much more but Karel and I always eat until we are satisfied (in other words, we could eat a few more bites but we stop before). And here in Czech, Karel keeps reminding me you don’t want to eat until you are full because you never know when someone will have more food for you J What a great thought as many people eat until they have eaten one too many bites and thus, feel uncomfortable and regret that last bite (or 5).

We rested for about an hour and then Karel’s niece (from his sister who passed away in 2001) and her husband came over to take us to a trip to Vienna!!

All new news to me, I was so super excited when she told me where we were going in the car. It was ~80K to Vienna from Karel’s home and when we pulled off the interstate to downtown Vienna, I “wow’d” once again. Oh wow – so beautiful!! You could just feel the history between the buildings and on the streets. Oh and those streets were super bike/runner friendly (and in-line skating). We had coffee at one of the most famous café’s in Vienna called Landtmann along with a pre dinner dessert. The atmosphere was amazing with people just socializing after work, drinking coffee, enjoying a small dessert, reading newspapers and just enjoying talking to one another (minimal cell phone use). After a once in a lifetime experience in Vienna, we drove around the city before heading to another small city about 80K away for dinner. Karel’s niece is a vegetarian as well and she was excited to take me to my first restaurant meal in Czech….well, not exactly a Czech meal.

The restaurant Schickh was in Austria so the menu was in German and the waitress also spoke German (and a little English). Nothing new, I relied on others to choose for me as Karel’s niece Jitka read the German menu, translated Czech to Karel (she also speaks English but it was much easier for Karel to find something for me as he knows what I like to eat and also he knows what I may like to try for something new) who then told me what I would be eating. Talk about a new experience on a whole new level!!

For starters, the beautiful bread basket came and seeing that it was around 8:15pm, we welcomed the variety of fresh bread along with the fresh veggies and chive dip that also came with the bread. We also got a bottle of white wine to share. For appetizers, I had a salad w/ fried goat cheese and Karel had a steak Tatar plate. For our entrée, the chef prepared a vegetarian item just for me which included boiled potatoes w/ parsley (no salt added by the chef, I didn’t even have to worry about salty potatoes as he didn’t even feel the need to salt them) along with a full plate of a variety of roasted veggies tossed in olive oil. Karel said that I never have to feel the need to finish my plate and you don’t ask for a “doggy bag” and it is OK to not finish your meal. I wasn’t able to finish my meal so I ate until I was satisfied and I felt really great after I finished (albeit, very tired from a long, busy day). Karel, no surprise, had Schnitzel with potatoes and he loved every bit of it.

As I mentioned before, it was a wow-type of day. All new to me and lots of memories made in Czech (and Austria). I am learning so much about the culture and I am so grateful that I have Karel as my tour guide and that we are staying with Karel’s family. I feel my life has already been changed from this trip and I can’t wait to get back to “work” (Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition) and to change more lifestyles when I return home from Europe. Although I have never been one to read “diet, fitness and health” books written by guru’s and professionals but instead get my knowledge from research and textbooks, I can honestly say that a lot can be said from the experiences you get by living a lifestyle in another country, learning from the locals and addressing the pros and cons in another country in relation to your own. Sometimes you have to be willing to make a change to feel a change and often, those changes can’t be read in a book but instead, through life experiences.

 

Stay tuned for pics from Day 3 as well as a recap of Day 4: traveling to Karel's brother's house in Příbor, CZ , checking out Stramberk and eating LOTS of awesome, delicious, fresh food!

 

Thanks for reading and enjoying the pics on Facebook. I'm happy we can share this journey with everyone in hopes that you can be inspired to live a more balanced healthy and active lifestyle.

Czech Trip Day 2: Pics

Enjoy!

Czech trip Day 2: First “official” day in Czech

 

After one of the best sleeps ever, we both woke up to the sun shining, birds chirping and cars driving (window’s open – no AC, but the most perfect weather!). I figured it had to be well past 9am but Karel told me “it gets bright here early, it’s only 6am”.

Wheww….the day wasn’t wasted!

After we took our time with our morning coffee (always nice to slow down in life), we got ourselves ready for a run around Czech. Well, fast moving feet but a few stops for pictures. Karel shared stories with me here and there and we both enjoyed the ups and downs of running around the town, but primarily on running trails and bike paths. The terrain is absolutely beautiful and the weather was perfect (around 60 degrees). We saw gardens, the hospital and several schools. All bringing back memories for Karel.

After 3.5 miles, we made it back to his mom’s and sure enough, Karel’s mom was already cooking us breakfast.

After showering in the bath tub, I got myself ready and enjoyed another delicious homecooked meal. Scrambled eggs with fresh chives, tomatoes and potatoes, served with a fresh roll and unsalted butter. Oh, and more coffee.

Breakfast hit the spot and I finally started to feel like I was on European time. Afterward, we picked up Karel’s dad (who doesn’t have a car) and with his mom, we all went to two commentary’s so Karel  could see his grandma and sister, who both passed away in the past 13 years while he was in the US and was unable to come back for their funerals. It was a happy but sad time as Karel never thought this day would come he would be back in Czech with his family. He misses the many years that he could have spent with his family but he knows that immigrating to the US was the right thing for him and I feel lucky that I can share all these experiences with him. Life is best enjoyed when it is shared with those who you love.

It was sad for Karel to see his sister’s grave, who passed away in 2001 (one year after Karel came to the US) when she was only 35 years old (a condition/illness that caused her brain to swell) and Karel was 24 years old and he said that he really appreciates the times that he can share with his family now as they are in their 70’s and getting older and he really loves being with them after being away for all these years.

 

After the cemetery visits, we needed to lighten the mood so it was time for a grocery store trip….MARNI in HAPPY LAND!

I was picture crazy with all the fresh foods and endless amount of beer and bread (two staples here in Czech) but both Karel and I wanted to try everything! He was telling me lots of stories of foods when he was younger “Oh, I use to LOVE this, and that, and that”….and I loved it!

I absolutely love being in a new country and living like a local so although no peanut butter in the Czech grocery stores and plenty of cereals, I refuse to eat “American” food. Although there are many similar items in Czech, I only want fresh, local and/or new foods. I welcome it all!! Well, I will save the meat for Karel as he is loving it all! I can't wait to talk about the European lifestyle in more detail but I will need to save that for another blog when I return.

After our grocery trip, it was nearing 12 pm local time and Karel said that lunch time is the “big” meal of the day where everyone comes together at a certain time to eat together. People don’t just eat when they feel like it but instead, come together at meal time and stop what they are doing. Love it!

Lunch was sautéed spinach with onions and garlic, stuffed inside homemade crepes. The texture of the spinach made me a little concerned but after one bite, I was yumming my way through lunch. Delicious! Dessert was chocolate, a fresh sliced orange and a crepe stuffed with homemade apricot jam. The great thing is that neither Karel and I feel stuffed and we don’t stop moving.

After lunch, we got our stuff ready and we headed over to Karel’s dad’s place for Karel to get our bikes ready for our first bike ride in Czech. Although Karel rode with his dad in 2008 when they came for our wedding, Karel said that his dad has been so excited to ride bikes with Karel here in Czech. Karel’s dad is 73 and doesn’t ride a lot anymore but still loves any opportunity to be on a bike and surrounds himself with cycling friends, likes to still work on bikes and often visits the local bike shop where Karel use to work while growing up. Yep – like father, like son. Karel Sr. showed me some of his trophies and awards from some of his Master’s races in the past few years, just smiling with pride.

Karel had to assemble his bike and “fit” my bike based on my measurements from my road bike at home (what a bonus being married to a bike mechanic, nonetheless, one from Europe) and about an hour later, Karel told me that one of his best childhood friends, Honza, was going to ride with us.

Around 3:30pm we headed out for a very casual ride…..nice and steady for Karel’s dad (who did amazing!), and conversational for Karel and Honza who chatted the entire time. As usual, Karel is most comfortable on or around bikes and I could just tell he was loving riding on his old training routes.

The ride was absolutely beautiful…I just couldn’t help but take pictures the entire way. Goats, horses, green terrain, bumpy roads, small towns….It was absolutely priceless. There were a few small climbs on the rolling terrain but other than that, the windy roads made for the most pleasant 25 mile, 2 hour ride and I just loved that I could share this with Karel, his friend and his dad. Again – super impressed with Karel’s dad…I’m happy that Karel has good riding genes in his family as I hope we can live the active lifestyle that we love so much, when we are in our 70’s and onward.

After a quick shower at Karel’s dad’s place, we headed back to his mom’s place and prepared our own dinner. Because lunch is the main meal of the day (which seems appropriate since we don’t do a lot of activity after dinner and in Czech much of the town “shuts down” around 6-7 for business’s), we decided we would keep dinner a bit simple since Karel’s mom has been cooking for us since we got here (but she loves it and refuses to let us make anything – she is happy when she is cooking and taking care of us). Karel’s mom was actually at her garden down the road when we came home so we decided to do a salad and a variety of bread for dinner w/ fresh cheeses and Karel had a little leftover pork with his dinner.

After dinner, we had a light dessert of fruit and homemade pastry and cookie and then we walked around downtown, historic Czech for around 90 minutes until it was too dark to see anything. I knew Czech was pretty from the pictures on the Internet and in books but I just couldn’t believe my eyes as Karel was taking me on the roads which he walked to school every day and again, sharing lots of stories with me of when he was growing up. To be honest, traveling with Karel has been the best blessing ever because there is something so very special to be with someone who can share memories with you as you both make memories together.

After our walk, I was ready for bed. Nearing 10pm local time, I couldn’t wait to go to bed to see what tomorrow would bring.

Pictures to come soon......

 

Czech trip Day 3: Cycling, pastries and Austria