Czech Trip - Day 3 MTB

 

I was so excited for Sunday. A long ride on our mountain bikes. 

After checking out of Airbnb #1 (to check in to Airbnb #2 in the afternoon - I wasn't able to book one for our entire 7-day stay in Znojmo) we drove just outside of town to Karel's friends house - Jirka. We enjoy seeing Jirka everytime we visit Znojmo for two reasons 1) I get to see Visty (Italian Greyhound) and her baby Bianca 2) Karel gets to talk bikes with Jirka. Karel and Jirka share a similar love of Colnago bicycles. They used to race together when Karel was a teenager. 

Another friend joined us (Stephen) and we set out for a long ride around 9:30am. Although Karel is somewhat familiar with the roads, it was great to have Jirka as our tour guide as we were able to see so many great sights and several beautiful look-out points. I've seen a few of these spots in past trips, but never by mountain bike. I am used to riding on very technical single-track courses so it was a nice change to be on different off-road terrain. We rode for almost 3.5 hours and covered almost 40 miles and over 3400 feet of elevation gain. Although the area is not "hilly" we had to climb up several 18%+ grades to get to lookout points - it was all worth it. We also visited the Iron Curtain, which always makes me stop and think about Karel's upbringing in a communist country. 

When we visit Czech, I really try to embrace being a local. Although we brought sport nutrition from home, we enjoy trying new products. Jirka gave us each a sports bar to try (mine was banana and peanuts and Karel had apricot) – it was really good. We had our sports drinks in our USWE hydration packs.

Near the end of our ride, Jirka took us to a beautiful lookout point where we could see all of Znojmo – a location that Karel had never been to before. It was the perfect end to our long ride.

When we arrived back to Jirka’s house, his wife had a meal ready for us – chickpea curry with rice and salad. It was so good.

At 3pm, we headed back into town with all of our stuff to check in to our next Airbnb, which is where we will stay for the rest of our time in Znojmo (until Thurs). After unpacking, we walked around downtown and then picked up a pizza in town – it was amazing. The dough was so good and I really enjoyed the tofu topping on the margherita pizza. We finished the entire pizza.

We haven’t been sleeping that well since we have arrived. I think our internal clocks are still a bit off and getting used to not having AC (we have several fans). We went to bed around 10:30pm but it was a restless night of sleep. We seemed to sleep a bit better toward the morning hours as it got cooler outside. With the pool opening at 10am, we were in no rush so when we woke up. Karel went for a short run to help wake him up and then we walked to the grocery store (there’s a store at every corner) to get a few things. I’ve been having yogurt, muesli and fruit for breakfast. After breakfast, it was time to drive to the pool for a swim workout. 

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. 

5 Lessons that travel has taught me

Home sweet home. It's so nice to be back home. While we haven't been home for more than 48 hours, we are already back to our daily routine of training, eating, working and of course, giving love to our furry crew. While our trip to Europe gave us lots of stress with our lost bikes, the trip home was not without stress. It was an exhausting 30+ hour trip home but we have our luggage and bikes and we made it home safely and in good health.

Five weeks was a long time to be in another country but it was well-worth it. We never felt home-sick or had a "bad" day but we sure did miss our furry crew. Despite the time, energy and money that is required to travel to and from another country, I have learned so much from traveling and it enriches me greatly. Meeting new people, tasting new cuisines, seeing new sights and breathing the air in a new city can teach you a lot....if you are willing to step outside of your comfort zone.

While most of us athletes love our/a routine and being on a schedule, I really try to step outside of the norm when we travel to another country. You'd think that travel would naturally take you outside of your comfort zone but it's not always that way. Many people try to stick to what's comfortable and normal and miss out on many important lessons that travel can teach you. Losing yourself in a new environment can be scary but with the right perspective, you can learn so much. 

1. Appreciate the little things - There are so many things that we take for granted when we get into the thick of our daily routine. Travel has taught me to be more conscious and appreciative of the small things in life and to not undervalue these things.
2. Expand your view - Traveling gives you a different or new perspective on certain aspects of life. It teaches you what's important and thinking beyond the societal norms that are defined to be appropriate - body image, careers, how you live your life, etc.
3. Decision making - When you travel, you have to make a lot of decisions. You become much more independent and it brings a new level of confidence - especially when you don't speak the language in a foreign country. With all the daily decisions that you have to make, every day is new and exciting.
4. Priorities - Traveling helps you organize your priorities. You learn what's worth your time, money and energy and what things or experiences make you happy. Taking a break from the monotony and stress of every day life gives you a chance to slow down and think about what's truly important to you in life and to start working toward that vision instead of settling for less.
5. Compassion - One of the best things about travel is seeing how others live - often with less. Everyone has challenges and struggles. When you think beyond what you consider is difficult in life, you learn about the many adversities faced by other people. It's normal to complain and to feel unhappy but when you travel, you learn to complain less and be more grateful. You also become more patient and compassionate. 

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.

My thoughts on culture and body image

I'd like to ask you a personal question....

Over the past day, how many times have you been called fat - to your face?
Over the past week, how many times has someone told you that you need to lose weight?
Over the past month, how many times has someone commented on your body, in a negative way?
Over the past year, how many times have you been told by someone that you will always be unhappy until you change your body composition?

I'm hoping that the answer is never for if anyone is commenting about your body, I'd think twice about the role of that person in your life and how he/she is adding value to your life. Certainly, there are exceptions for health/medical reasons regarding body composition changes. 

Now I'd like to ask yourself the same questions but now that someone is you. How many times over the past day, week, month or year(s) have you told yourself that you are fat, you need to lose weight, commented on your body or believed you will only be happy when you change your body composition?

Sadly, far too many people struggle with negative self-talk regarding body image. If nobody is saying these things to your face, where are these thoughts coming from? Why do you feel so badly about the way that you look?

As someone who strives to always send positive messages about body image (especially relating to athletes and sport performance), it makes me so sad that so many individuals see body image as a reflection of self-worth. That is, how you look holds so much importance in your life.

What is body image? It's how you visually perceive your body, how you feel about your physical appearance, how you think and talk about your body and your sense of how other people view your body.

In America (and many other parts of the world),  your body image has a lot to do with how you feel you measure up when compared to the societal or media-supported norms. This is often where those negative thoughts come from. When you see someone who is lean, you feel fat. When someone looks pretty, you feel ugly. Whether you choose to acknowledge it or not, the media (TV, magazines, Facebook, Instagram, bloggers, movies, commercials, etc.) constantly reminds you how you should look. That is, the more you watch, look at or are entertained by perfect images of others, you feel worse about yourself when you don't fit into societies "perfect" body image.

Now this is no biggie if you can laugh it off and carry on with your day but this is far from the case. The more negative your body image, the greater the risk for extreme weight or body control behaviors such as extreme dieting, extreme exercise habits, cosmetic surgery, eating disorders and using supplements or drugs to change body composition.

Societies connection between thinness or leanness and beauty is around you on a daily basis. Think about all those unrealistic body images that are genetically impossible for most of us to emulate. 6-pack abs, sculpted arms, thin thighs, a flat stomach, a perfectly rounded butt - these are the images that you are told are "ideal"  and normal, desirable and achievable, but in truth, they are unattainable and truthfully, the work needed to achieve this ideal look may not make you happy or healthy in the long run. But, constantly trying to measure up to these images may make you feel worse about yourself - often picking on all of your flaws and self-imposed disgusting features. Sadly, many people believe that having fat on the body is a sign of being ugly, unattractive and unhappy whereas those with a toned, thin or muscular body are happy, successful, body and disciplined.  When did this become the norm?

While the media is a powerful tool that is responsible for determining the standards for beauty, physical attractiveness and what's sexy (or not), it's important to get to a point of body acceptance to improve your quality of life. Even if you desire to change your body composition, make sure you are not comparing yourself to others and realize that your self-esteem and happiness should not depend on how you look. You should want to eat healthy food and exercise not because you need to look a certain way but because a healthy lifestyle allows you to do awesome things with your body. And it's absolutely ok to eat nutrient poor food on occasion (like ice cream and other treats) and to not feel guilty about it!

Over the past few weeks, I've been "living" in a society where I don't speak the language. I don't watch TV, I have limited time on social media, I don't read magazines and I don't watch movies here. The only person I talk to is Karel. Why do I share this with you? Despite already having positive views about my body image, body confidence and cultural diversity go together. In other words, by traveling, interacting with a different culture and experiencing foreign foods, you are no longer confined to the images that overwhelm you on a daily basis. When I see bodies here in Czech, I see all sizes. People express who they are without trying to fit a standard. When we go to the local swimming pool, I see body confident men and women in very little clothing - smiling, running/playing around and having fun. These people look happy and guess what, they aren't lean or skinny. Yes, people can be happy without being fat-free.

While I'm sure there are people here who are dieting to look different, surrounding yourself with people from other cultures may help to lead to a healthier body image. If anything, when you are in a different culture with such diversity, you get to choose what messages you want to listen to - that is, if you can speak the language. If you can't speak the language, no one can tell you what you should or shouldn't look like and that's gotta feel good. You can choose negative self talk or positive talk. You can think about all the negative things about yourself or focus on positive aspects and your individual uniqueness.

Remember, there is no standard or perfect body. You can be thin, medium or heavy built and still have problems or be happy and healthy. You don't need to achieve a certain weight to have a satisfying and enriching life. While I believe in good lifestyle habits to reduce risk for disease and to improve quality of life, "healthy" doesn't have a look or a number on the scale that never changes.

You are unique in your own way. Let go of your personal assumptions about yourself. Stop "following" people who make you feel bad about your image and spend time with people who have a healthy relationship with food, exercise and their body. Enjoy, thank, celebrate and accept who you are. And the next time you travel, consider exploring cultures and cultural traditions that support positive body image and self-esteem. Sadly, the Western culture is hyper focused on dieting and appearance. If only we could be like other cultures and rather than highlighting and commenting on appearances, we could celebrate all bodies.

The European food culture

Each time we travel to the Czech Republic, we live like a "local." That's because Karel has all his family in Czech and they have strong family food traditions. While I can only make generalizations from what I have observed while traveling to Europe, I've learned a lot from spending time in Karel's small town of Znojmo, Czech Republic.

A few observations:

• People walk a lot. It's very easy to get around via walking paths and sidewalks. 
• It's a burden to go by car when you can easily go by bike, bus or feet. With tight streets, expensive gas prices and little parking, it's much more practical to leave the car at home (if you have a car) and use a more physical way to get to your final destination. 
• There are no fast food establishments in this town. You can't just pick up a meal or eat on the go. Meals are either consumed at a restaurant or at home. 
• Children have traditional Czech meals at school for lunch. The kitchen staff begin cooking early in the morning - with real food found in the community from gardens and farms. 
• If you eat on the go, it's usually a pastry, bread or a small scoop of ice cream...as you walk. 
• Pastries are not overly sweet or drenched in sugar. 
• Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Many places close for lunch so people can go home and eat.
• The town shuts down around 5:30-6pm for people to go home and spend time with family. 
• Grocery shopping is almost a daily occurrence. 
• People are active - there's a lot of bike riding, walking, bike touring, playing in the local pool, playing on the playgrounds and just overall, being outside. 

As for food, I feel this is an area that I appreciate the most when traveling to Europe. Perhaps it's because I don't understand the language and thus, I don't hear any chatter about dieting, food trends and body image. Maybe this is something to consider for where you live - how much are your dietary patterns influenced by what you hear and read around you? While this can be good if you are wanting to improve your diet, far too many times, individuals follow strict, rigid and extreme styles of eating in an effort to change health, body composition or to improve fitness.

Oddly, America is a food-obsessed culture that is rather unhealthy. Food is cheap, quick and easy to access yet health care is extremely expensive. Interestingly, Europe (or Znojmo - where Karel grew up), is also food-obsessed. But in a much different way.

For example, Karel's mom thinks about our lunchtime meals well in advance. There's a lot of care, attention to detail and passion spent on cooking. A home-cooked meal is not just for a special occasion like a holiday but it's how you eat here - everyday. Again, a generalization but it's also how Karel grew up.  Food is fresh, local and nutritious. People care about what they eat. There are at least half a dozen grocery stores (and probably over a hundred at-home gardens) within a few miles of this small town so it's easy to get food. Meals take time to prepare and it's something that people want to make time for. It seems like people aren't "too busy" to cook. Eating is a time of celebration in the day - not in the year. Much unlike the relationship with food in most of America, people want to stop their day to eat as they are too busy.

Here, it seems like people care about food and there's little (if any) debate over what's good versus bad food. Karel tells me that there's little discussion on fad diets here. While there are processed snacks, candies, ice cream and lots of pasties available, I find there's an overall attitude that this meal or snack is going to be delicious, satisfying and good for you because people here care about ingredients, where they are produced, how they are produced and how things are made. Food is good for the people and the environment. And you can feel it too - when we eat food here (pastries to ice cream), it doesn't feel heavy or uncomfortable in the gut. Maybe it's just our observation but we notice a vast difference in the digestion of food in American vs. Europe - with our Czech meals/snacks digesting so much easier.

With every home-cooked meal that we have consumed in Czech, it is one that is memorable, satisfying and satiating. Essentially, for most American's, food provides calories to survive the day and that's pretty much it. For some people in America, eating is a chore or an afterthought. Far too many people in America don't view food as memorable. If a person does care about food ingredients, there's a tendency to care too much - the point of obsession. Certainly, there are far too many questionable ingredients in America but there are also far too many diet trends, strict styles of eating and to be honest, too many experts endorsing the "best" way to eat. Most often this style of eating doesn't address lifestyle habits like cooking and meal prep but just addresses food without a holistic perspective.

While obesity and health issues are wide-spread around the world, there's something to say about the obvious difference between how American's view food compared to other parts of the world. Clearly, a good relationship with food starts with making time (and appreciating) home-cooked meals and making the time to stop your day to nourish your body, connect yourself with the community/friends/family and celebrate the food that you have the privilege of eating. And don't forget to yum. 

It's time to catch you up!

I can't believe that we have been in Europe for three weeks! We still have a little over two more weeks left of our European race-cation but it's nice to have finally settled into a good daily routine. Karel and I are not "vacation" type of people so although we are trying our best to relax and recharge and do some sight-seeing, it's not practical for us to step away from our coaching and nutrition business not to mention the difficulty we have escaping structure in our daily structure. So here's a little update on the past two weeks......

Post Ironman
The two days after the Ironman were rough. We were sore, tight and did I say sore?..... but every day it got a little better. Luckily, we were both able to sleep fairly well on the night of the Ironman so that helped a lot with recovery. We also did a lot of walking but the 5 hour drive from Klagenfurt back to Karel's hometown of Znojmo, Czech republic was a little uncomfortable. But thanks to some delicious coffee/cappuccino from McD's (yes - I said it, the only time I'll stop at McD's is in Europe for coffee) and some pastries, we survived.

With Karel having his family (aside from his brother) and many of his childhood friends living in Znojmo, we are lucky to have a place to stay anytime we visit. We stayed two nights with his friend (who has whippet puppies!) before heading off on the road again. We were able to get in some work, spend time with Karel's dad and get in a swim workout at the local outdoor pool (long course meters) on Wednesday (43 minutes/2500 meters). Although my body felt low in energy still and a bit stiff, it felt really good to loosen out in a cold pool. Post Ironman, I was still feeling tired during the day and would often get waves of highs and lows, but able to sleep ok during the night.

Ironman Frankfurt
Since we knew that Karel's friend Roman was racing Ironman Frankfurt (the one we stayed with on the first night of our arrival after our lost bikes issue), we couldn't pass up the opportunity to spectate, especially with such a packed pro field. Plus, I've never been to Germany so I thought it was a must-do opportunity.

We woke up really early on Thursday to get to Roman's place (outside of Prague) around 9am. We left his place around noon (after stopping for lunch) and I enjoyed my first trip in a camper van! I had some important work on a project to get done on the computer so that kept me busy for the entire 6+ hour drive. We finally arrived in the late evening and it was nice to stretch out the legs for a walk before heading off to bed - in the camper van. Roman had a hotel room booked in the town of Walldorf (about 15 minutes from Frankfurt) so we stayed in the van for one night and then booked a hotel room for the rest of our stay.

Karel enjoyed hanging out with Roman and the other 3 Czech guys racing the Ironman, whereas I enjoyed being in an Ironman atmosphere. The Frankfurt setting was a bit overwhelming with the Ironman being in a downtown setting so Karel and I were happy that we weren't racing (and only spectating) as it was a little stressful getting around. We also enjoyed having an outsider view as spectators of a European Ironman as our only experience is at Ironman Austria as athletes. It was neat to visit the expo and check out different vendors and to feel the Ironman hype. This certainly helped with the typical post-Ironman blues that are felt after a race (especially a race that doesn't go as planned).

It's crazy how bright it stays at night (it doesn't get dark until after 10pm) and how early it gets bright (well before 5am) where we are so it didn't make for easy sleeping, especially since we need to leave the windows open with no AC (no place where we stay in Europe has AC). But once again, we were ok with this since we were not racing. Luckily in Klagenfurt, we were on the top of a mountain which made it really cool - plus the weather was rather cool in the evenings and mornings which was pleasant.

As for workouts, we went for an open water swim (not at the race venue since that was not open for athletes before the race) at a nearby lake to the race venue. The water was very refreshing so we didn't swim with our wetsuits. It was nice to swim with Karel's Czech friends - although we swam a bit more than them since they were just splashing around and getting use to the water. Karel and I swam about 15 minutes. Afterward, we had a delicious lunch with the group before heading back to the hotel. We got some work done before heading out for our first run post Ironman (five days post race) which was a very easy 22 minute/2.5 mile run around the town. Although the legs were a bit tender, it felt good to run as we had been doing so much sitting and walking.

Karel helped the guys out with their bikes as a few had mechanical issues before the race (day before) and afterward, we headed out (with Roman) for a ride. This was our first ride post Ironman (Sat). Roman joined us for the first 45 minutes or so and then Karel and I went back out - exploring around the airport (on the bike path). We rode for about an hour and fifty minutes with the last 20 minutes just playing around on our bikes (exploring).

It was nice to have the rest of the day to ourselves as we got a lot of work done and could get to bed early before our spectating race day. Oh, I almost forgot! We also figured out how to use the train and we took it to the next town to check out the aquatic center. There was no designated place to swim so we just played around (let's call it pool open water swimming) and laid around before walking the 3 miles back home on the bike/walking path. It's so nice to be able to easily get from town to town (by feet or bike or train/bus).

Karel woke up early (4am) to take the guys to the swim start and then he returned back to the hotel. We stayed in the hotel until around 10am before heading downtown to Frankfurt. We decided to "watch" the first part of the race online on Ironman Now (Facebook) and also get in a short run (22 minutes/2.6 miles). It was a long day of spectating but an awesome experience!

Znojmo, Czech Republic
On Monday (8 days post Ironman), we returned home to Karel's hometown and it felt good to finally be stationed in one place. We are calling Znojmo our "home" for a total of 17 days as we booked a place from a friend of a friend in the city. It's nice for us to be able to spread our stuff and have a work space while still being able to spend time with Karel's family. Our typical routine involves waking up (without an alarm but to the sounds of the chirping birds) around 5:30/6am, getting work done for a few hours (while eating breakfast) and then working out. After our morning workout(s), we eat lunch (prepared by Karel's mom at her place) and then head back to our place to get more work done. Then, it's time for Karel to watch the Tour de France (Czech version of course) with his dad at his place. This is some great quality time for Karel to spend with his dad, talking about what they both love - cycling. Before his dad had hip surgery, he raced until he was almost 74! He will be 78 this year. Since Karel's town is small, it's not uncommon for Karel to run into a childhood friend - someone who he hasn't seen in over 20 years! Karel has been doing a great job translating for me and has only forgotten to switch from Czech to English a few times. I always enjoy grocery shopping in Czech - trying new foods and yumming over some old favorites.

As for workouts - to be honest, my body was still recovering all this past week. Sunday (7/15 - two weeks post Ironman) was the first day that I actually felt like I had energy and my body wasn't suffering. While the workouts we have been doing are unstructured (more like exercise), I have continued to go through highs and lows during the workouts - and throughout the day. But Sunday was the first day I finally felt fully recovered. While it's easy to want recovery to be quicker, I need to respect the time that is needed to heal my body. Even though my race didn't go as planned and I didn't meet my expectations of the race I felt I trained for, I still owe it to my body to let it recover. If anything, because I ran on empty for over 20 miles, this is even more of a reason to get my energy back through lots of nourishment, fuel, hydration, sleep and rest. The blood flow has been good as my muscles feel good and the niggles have gone away. We worked out every day last week except Saturday, which was a planned all-day trip to Vienna which included a lot of walking - it was exhausting to sight-see!

As for workouts this past week (days 8-14 post Ironman)....

Monday: 41 minute swim/2400 long course meters swim
Tuesday: 2:17 hour/37 mile bike in the AM. 35 minute/4.6 mile run in the PM
Wednesday: 2:34 hour/42 mile bike
Thursday: 58 min trail run followed by a 47 minute/3000 long course meters swim
Friday: 2:23 hour/42.5 mile bike followed by a 14 min brick run (1.5 mile)
Saturday: Day off/Vienna
Sunday: 38 min swim/2400 meter long course swim followed by a 61 min/7.6 mile run

And lastly - FOOD!
Oh - we have been eating well here. Fresh, local and homemade. And it's all so delicious! I'll save those pics for the next blog. YUM!

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. 

Eating comfort zone

It's often said that traveling is one of the best ways to step outside your comfort zone. 

A new routine, a new lifestyle, new sights and perhaps even a new language that you do not understand.

Every time you travel, you welcome the opportunity to experience a new way of living.
And above all, when you travel somewhere new, there is a good chance that you will eat new foods or new meal creations that are not familiar.

Perhaps you are the individual who loves putting yourself into situations where you are forced to try new foods and adapt to new cuisines and eating traditions and customs.

But for many people, traveling can be an overwhelming experience because it requires eating foods that are not so familiar and that can make you feel uncomfortable (often more mentally than physically). 

While it is good to have a style of eating that works for you on a daily basis, if your eating boundaries are very limited, you may find extreme difficult to step beyond the place where your daily eating habits make you feel safe and secure and this can bring a lot of anxiety when you travel.

While it is very easy to say "yes" to foods within your comfort zone (or diet-approved zone) when you are at home, when you travel, you may find yourself saying "no" a lot due to a very restricted and limited food comfort zone.

While you should never eat something that doesn't agree with your body (allergy, intolerance) or goes against moral, ethical or medical reasons, living a life that is controlled by food limits is no way to live.

You may even find that you dread the thought of traveling to a new place (whether for work or pleasure) for fear of having to eat foods that you normally don't eat. Whether you are a picky eater or crave simplicity or struggle to make eating choices without nutrition fact labels, measuring cups, calorie counts or a clear understanding of how a meal is prepared, I encourage you to slowly begin to step outside your eating comfort zone. 

Over the past few years, I have become more uncomfortable eating....... in America.

While I am very comfortable eating in my own environment, my eating comfort zone is not always comfortable as I am eating in a diet and body obsessed society that has a very dysfunctional relationship with food.

This doesn't mean that I don't love the USA as I am proud to be an American but I am greatly disturbed by our culture when it comes to food and how people see and talk about food.

I love bread, yet in America, bread is bad for you - we are told it makes you fat and causes diseases.
I love grains, yet in America, only a few are "good" for you, depending on the current trends and who's giving you permission to eat what.
I love milk and cheese, yet in America, those are bad for you - We are told they are bad for you and can cause inflammation.
I love all fruits and veggies, yet in America, there's a list as to which ones are healthy and which ones are filled with the most sugar - thus making some fruits and veggies "unhealthy."

You see, when I am in Europe, I can eat in peace.
I eat all my favorite foods and new ones because the foods I love, grains, bread, milk, cheese and all fruits and veggies, are all accepted in Europe.

There's not a day in America where I don't see or hear people talking about the foods that I choose to eat in my diet, discussing all the "bad" things about these foods and all the "bad" things that will happen if you eat them.

And don't get me started on how "bad" these foods are for athletes, especially if you want to perform well, improve body composition and stay healthy.
(Would now be a good time to do a throw-back to our 2016 Ironman Austria finishes where our bodies performed so well, despite being fueled by so many "bad" foods and "bad" sport nutrition products?)

So why is it that I feel more comfortable eating in Europe than in America?
First off, I don't speak the language.
Therefore, when I eat, I don't hear anything that makes me not enjoy what I am eating.
There is no talk about carbs, gluten or sugar.
 I can taste and truly yum over my food without any judgement.

For me, food isn't complicated yet in America, it's complicated. Very very complicated.

I'm bothered by how companies market and advertise food and frankly, what people call "food" in America.
I'm frustrated by magazines, social media, TV and experts constantly brainwashing children, adults, the elderly and athletes that something on the body always needs "fixing" and the best approach to change the body image is through food restriction.
I'm saddened to hear how many athletes are abusing exercising the body, and believing that starving the body from calories is the "best" way to improve performance.
I'm upset that America is so obsessed with healthy food yet we have such an unhealthy society.

While I understand that I am speaking about our country as a whole and not discussing subgroups who may have a great relationship with food and the body, I know that there are many individuals who understand where I am coming from and you likely sympathize with me. 

By all means, you are allowed to eat bread in America!

Let's be honest - eating is a messy topic in America and unless it changes soon, our society will become more sick and ill because of unhealthy habits that can be changed by a healthier lifestyle and eating disorders (and disordered) eating will become more and more prevalent. 

Naturally, this is a very important topic for me me as a Board Certified Sport Dietitian because I want to be the change that I want to see in America when it comes to athletes improving their relationship with food and the body. 

As I enjoy my last few days in Europe (with more pictures of my Czech meals to share on Facebook), I will continue to appreciate a style of eating that I strongly embrace here in Europe.

For the last 3 weeks, I have enjoyed eating trying new foods and meal creations and welcoming any eating opportunity to try something different. 

I am not sure when it started or how it started but my diet has certainly evolved to one that makes it so easy for me to eat in Europe. 

Whether I'm eating in the USA or Europe, I never feel confused or conflicted about my food choices but in Europe, I eat among a society that appears to have a great relationship with food and the body.
And with every bite and every yum, I am happy. 

Stepping outside of America allows me to step away from a food and body obsessed culture which is heavily focused on what foods are good or bad, depending on the season, the year and the latest diet fad, research study and the loudest nutrition expert.
Here in Europe, I am not in a culture that eats in uncertainty and fear and doesn't need approval that x-food is allowed to be eaten.

Allowed by who?

I'm still wondering that same question and who you are letting boss you around as to what foods you need or should be eating to be happy and healthy. 

European Race-Cation

It's been a busy last few days but we are finally settled into our rental home in Klagenfurt, Austria. And in case you didn't know - we are in Europe!

(I apologize now for any typo's or sentences that do not make sense. As you will read - I am still a little sleep deprived but slowly adjusting!)

We started planning our European Race-Cation last June after Karel and I registered for Ironman Austria. We had such an amazing experience in 2014 when we raced our first international Ironman together and seeing that we combined it with visiting Karel's family in Czech, we couldn't wait to do it all over again. 

But this time we brought my mom to share this race-cation with us! 

On Saturday afternoon we rented a mini van (although it turned out to be a passenger van - thanks Karel for driving!) for all our luggage and bikes and on Sunday morning, we headed down to Atlanta.

On Saturday evening, I had a little scare as I called Delta/KLM for the third time in the past 3 months to remind them once again that we would be traveling with our bikes and that I would need a vegetarian (lacto-ovo) meal for our flight. When the Delta agent on the phone told me that they needed 48 hours notice for our bikes and that they didn't have any record that we were flying with our bikes (according to KLM - our 2nd flight from the Amsterdam to Vienna) and we wouldn't be able to fly with our bikes. Say what??!! I nearly had a breakdown as we were driving to Atlanta at 9:30am on Sunday and I had called Delta twice letting them know about our bikes.
Finally, around 9pm on Sat evening I received a call from Delta that we were ok to fly with our bikes. My heart nearly stopped for a few hours but even with the good news that we were good to go with our bikes, I still had trouble sleeping. 

After our 2.5 hour drive and a bit of stress with all the things that we had to do before sitting on the air plane, we finally arrived at our gate around 1:30pm for our 3:10pm flight to Amsterdam. We prefer to minimize the layovers when we fly with our bikes and many times, it's cheaper to fly from ATL and to either rent a car or do off-site parking. 

We grabbed a late lunch (salad with tofu pictured below and a mozzarella and veggie sandwich - not pictured) and by 2:30pm we were boarding our plane.
The check-in with our bikes was smooth and we just love our new Scicon bike bags. Seeing that Karel is always the one to pack and assemble our bikes, he found it super easy to use and all he had to do was remove the wheels - yes, that easy! The bag came with a lot of accessories for keeping the bike secure and padded in the soft case. The case is extremely easy to move around which is nice when you have a lot of luggage. We typically go to the hourly parking when we check-in with our bikes as we can just bring in our checked bags and bikes and then go park and head straight to security. It makes for a less rushed experience. 

Karel was super excited to see his family for the firs time in 2 years. 

The flight was uneventful but relaxing. I can't remember the last time I had 8 hours to just watch movies/TV - I enjoyed every minute of it. Karel and I both prefer aisle seats but this time around there were no two aisles open for us to sit next to each other so Karel sat in front of me (to the right) and my mom and I sat in the middle row of seats.

I have to say that my lacto-ovo vegetarian meal was delicious. I had cooked kale and carrots with a black bean patty, along with a salad, fruit, a roll and cheese. It was not salty or heavy/greasy so it felt nice in my tummy. 

Seeing that we left ATL at 3:10pm, we arrive in Amsterdam around 5:45am (or 11:45pm EST). I had yet to sleep which not a good thing because by the time we headed to Vienna, I had gone over 24 hours without sleeping. We were served a light breakfast before landing in Amsterdam and once again, I enjoyed my vegetarian breakfast of orange juice, a banana and a tofu and tomato sandwich. 

We have traveled through Amsterdam twice before in route to Prague but never have we flown into Vienna, like we were this time around. 

Thankfully, I was able to take a short 1 hour nap on our 1:25 hr flight to Vienna but I knew my body was not happy being so sleep deprived. 

We had our last stressful moment as we were waiting for our bikes to arrive and thankfully, there they were! Yay!! (fellow triathletes/cyclists know this feeling)

Karel had one of his friends from Znjomo pick us up at the airport and sadly, it was rainy outside so we couldn't enjoy the ~80 min drive to Karel's hometown. 

Finally - reunited with his mom! 

Of course, as soon as we arrived, Karel's mom was ready to serve us lunch (their biggest meal of the day) and we were ready for her delicious home cooking.

We started with the traditional soup before the entree and this time I had vegetable soup with homemade noodles and Karel and my mom has the same soup but with beef broth. 

And for lunch, asparagus sauce with dill, an egg (beef for Karel and my mom), a dumpling and boiled potatoes. Oh so good! 

And of course, there's always something more in Karel's mom's kitchen - homemade apricot bars with fresh apricots from the garden. I must say, I love the treats in Czech because they are not overly sweet or salty - a big difference from the treats in America. 

After resting at Karel's mom's, we then walked over to Karel's dad's flat so that Karel could catch up with his dad. Neither of Karel's parents speak Czech so Karel is our translator. I often feel bad for Karel because it is a lot of work to translate and sometimes his brain forgets to switch (he will speak to his parents in English and to us in Czech).

Of course, no visit is complete without some treats. 

After visiting with Karel's family, we took my mom to her hotel/penzion where she would stay for the night (I joined her) - super cute. I absolutely love Karel's hometown as there is so much charm, history and beauty. Although this is my third time here in the past 4 years, I still get excited when I walk through his historic downtown. 

We had a light dinner (which we picked up some of it at the grocery and then Karel's mom made a meat and cheese platter) of couscous, asparagus, fresh bread and cheese. 

And one of Karel's favorites - rice and apricot cake (it's not sweet like cake so think non-sweet rice pudding). 

And she keeps on baking!
Homemade oatmeal, raisins and dried fruit cookies and gingerbread cookies (once again - the cookies are not sweet - just perfect. Honestly, it's hard not to feel great when you eat them - especially since they are prepared with lots of love). 

It was an eventful night on Monday as our hotel was filled with kids who were being super noisy all throughout the night. I was so exhausted and tired and tossed and turned in bed for hours until finally, around 3:30am I kinda fell asleep for a few hours. Needless to say, my mom and I didn't sleep as well as Karel (at his mom's flat) who slept 12 hours! Oh the fun of traveling internationally.



Karel and I had plans to run in the morning (Tuesday) to wake-up the legs but with him sleeping until almost 10am and me not sleeping, a workout was not in the picture.

So we ate instead :)
Fresh bread from the grocery and the most amazingly tasteful scrambled eggs (seriously, the eggs in Czech are amazing!)

After packing up our rental van, we made a stop at the local grocery in Znojmo (the food is much less expensive in Znojmo, Czech Republic compared to Klagenfurt, Austria) and around 3pm, we finally hit the road for our 4.5 hour drive to Klagenfurt.
Did you see our passenger van that we took to the ATL airport? Well, this one is even bigger...and a stick shift. Thankfully, Karel can navigate that big fan through the tiny streets of Europe :) 

The last time Karel and I drove to Klagenfurt, it was cloudy and rainy. This time, it was beautiful and sunny so we watched the mountains grow until they finally turned into the Alps. 

Now you may be wondering why I am so excited to be at McDonald's. Well, when was the last time your McDonald's looked like this??? (see below)

Fresh pastries? 

Fresh muffins? 

Fresh croissants? 

Fresh smoothies?

Yep - this is McCafe - not your normal fast food stop on the road!

If you didn't know, you have to pay to use the restroom at many places but here, we got a voucher to buy more coffee at McCafe. 

Fancy bathroom! 

Yum! 

This will be the ONLY time you will see Karel smiling over McDonald's coffee.
Mr. Czech here is very picky with his coffee!

Here are some of our pics in route to Klagenfurt. 

We finally made it to our airbnb in downtown Klagenfurt (right near the town center and only 2 miles from EuropaPark - race venue) around 7:45pm to check-in to our 2 bedroom flat.

After a late dinner and some unpacking, we finally went to bed around 10:30pm. Although I am still adjusting to the time zone, I think I fell asleep around 11:30pm and had a good 6 hours of sleep (the days are long here - the sun goes down after 10pm and then rises around before 5am) - slowly, I am finally getting on a sleep schedule and hopefully will feel more rested by race day on Sunday. 

I'll do my best to keep you updated with our travels via my blog when I have WiFi in our flat but for quicker updates, you can visit the Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition Facebook Page (and Instagram - @trimarni where I am sharing our daily pics of our adventures.

Training smart for Ironman #8

Over the past 8 years I have found myself standing at 6 different starting lines (IMFL, IMKY, IMWI, IM Placid, IM Austria and IM Kona). For all 8 of my Ironman races, I have felt the same flood of emotions as I wait anxiously for the start of my 140.6 mile racing day.

Despite feeling the same mix of emotions from a nervous belly to fully body excitement, I have discovered that every IM journey to reach the starting line is unlike the last journey. Sure, every Ironman journey shares similarities such as an investment in time and a greater investment in money alongside commitment, hard work and discipline but there are also many differences, specific to what is happening in life while training for an IM.

Over the past 8 Ironman finishes, I have learned that the pressure to arrive at the starting line healthy and hungry to race is always the ultimate goal because racing with a healthy body and mind is simply the result of my body positively adapting to the right amount of training stress alongside the right amount of recovery to foster performance gains.

A healthy, motivated and injury-free body will always outperform an unhealthy, unmotivated and injured body. Plus, it is a lot more fun to reap the rewards of your hard work effort when the body can train consistently well with proper recovery to reduce risk for fatigue, burnout and injury.

Because life doesn’t stop just because I am registered for an Ironman, I am constantly aware of the many outside stressors that can affect my training journey. Therefore, over the past few years Karel and I have developed a strategy for training for the Ironman to ensure that we minimize setbacks in our Ironman journey. Thus we train smart by training hard and recovering harder. And above all, we love to race smart with our current level of fitness as we find ourselves raising our limits by being challenged by our faster competitors.

Because hard work is only one component to arriving to race day with a healthy body and mind, I do not see training for an Ironman as a journey that involves only long miles and hours of swimming, biking and running. Certainly, I am well aware of the positive impact of hard work as well as a balanced and healthy, wholesome diet. More so, the timing of nutrition with training as well as the critical need for sport nutrition during training is a specialty of mine. Alongside my specialty of understanding how to fuel a body in motion, strength training, recovery tools and sleep have also contributed to my body tolerating the demands of Ironman training.

No matter what Ironman race I choose to participate in or what the conditions are on race day, my desire to improve within every Ironman journey provides me with the ongoing motivation to see what I am capable of as an age group triathlete.

Over the past few years, I have changed the way that I approach Ironman training and thus I have been able to help many triathletes enjoy their Ironman journey without focusing on weekly hours or miles but instead, finding enjoyment in the simple art of training the human body to improve. Through quality training sessions, the body adapts well to training and thus, habits are formed that are productive to race day goals.

In the last three Ironman races that I have done, I have overcame obstacles while training for the Ironman but have found myself with personal best times. Although different courses and race day conditions, I have gone from a 10:58 Ironman finisher, to 10:43, to 10:37 and now, a 10:17 Ironman finisher. Although this time drop has occurred over 4 years, my motivation to train and race in Ironman competitions has continued, with gains in fitness, despite the constraints of my life.

My message for any Ironman athlete (newbie or veteran) is to stop counting weekly hours or obsessing on arbitrary paces that “should” be performed by race day and instead, build a training plan that allows for maximizing your performance over a period of time, without compromising other areas in your life that can bring you performance gains AND happiness and balance in life. 

Because every age group triathlete has the ability to improve if dedication and hard work are grounded in your mindset, stop emulating  what everyone else is doing within their constraints  and freedoms of their lifestyle and do not compare your readiness to succeed by another athlete’s training hours, paces or miles.

On June 29^th, 2014, Karel and I each executed a perfect race which resulted in personal best times for every sport alongside a total personal best time that will likely not be broken for quite some time. This isn’t to say that we will not get stronger, fitter and smarter as athletes but on June 29^th, we found ourselves embarking on a day of racing 140.6 miles which was the culmination of training smart with the least amount of training stress to foster the largest performance gains to be used on race day. Because it is very hard to consistently improve in a race that lasts over 9 hours for most age groupers, I am incredibly thankful to my body for not only giving me 8 Ironman journey’s to enjoy but for also allowing me to push it to higher and higher limits as I try to discover my ultimate potential as an endurance triathlete.

Race report to come shortly.

Ironman Austria FINISHERS!

 

Preparation

The activity or process of making something ready or of becoming ready for something.

Things that are done to make something ready or to become ready for something.

A state of being prepared. 

We all have our own definitions for being/feeling prepared. For the athlete, it may be following an arbitrary training plan and for others, it may be putting all your trust into a coach to design the perfect plan for you to peak and taper properly and execute on race day. 

I'm sure we can all think of a time when we felt prepared and things didn't go as planned.
And of course, the times when we didn't feel prepared and it showed. 

 But then there are those times when we didn't feel prepared and we surprised ourselves. 

Some say that preparation is key to success. Failing to prepare is like preparing for fail. 

When it comes to carrying the human body for 140.6 miles, preparation is certainly key. There's always that person who can wing it but without preparation comes fears, uncertainties, doubts and negative "what if" thoughts. 

However, how much can one actually prepare for an event that involve 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and 26.2 miles of running without risking injury, burnout or extreme fatigue as well as balancing life with good nutrition, proper sport nutrition, stretching, quality sleep and everything else that goes into "preparing" for an Ironman

Despite this being my 8th Ironman here in Austria, I went into this Ironman with a mix of emotions, including excitement and nerves. 

I have completed 7 Ironmans so far (three on the big island) and I still woke up on race day morning thinking to myself "can I do this...again?"

I've learned so much about Ironman racing over the past 8 Ironmans, including 3 Ironman World Championship races. 

And one thing that I have learned is that 140.6 miles is a long way to go and even those who feel they are best prepared, still must have the right mindset to start and finish the 8-17 hour journey that lies ahead. There is so much training that goes into a one day event so on top of doing the "work" that you may feel is needed to prepare the human body to perform the demands of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles, that training is no good without the right mental toughness on race day, combined with pure enjoyment for the sport and appreciation for the human body.And of course, the ability to overcome whatever comes in your way while racing for 140.6 miles (no race is ever "perfect", it's just how you overcome situations that will determine if you perfectly executed your day.)

I am proud to say that Ironman Austria was a great success for Karel and me. As for feeling prepared going into this race, we certainly did not follow our "ideal" training plan with everything that has been affecting us in our life over the past few months so I guess you could say that we didn't feel 100% prepared. I am not one for excuses and I find that with Ironman training, it's very rare for a person to give 100% for 6+ months to prepare for an Ironman. Ironman training requires a lot of time, money and dedication and for us age group triathletes, it is a fine line of training for an Ironman and still feeling balanced in life (and being able to still function well in life).

In our case, we had two half Ironmans (HITS Ocala in March and St. Croix 70.3 in May) which included some good "short distance" stress on our body before we started our IM build. 

However, our move in May coupled with the passing of my dad left us with our minds on other important things in our life. Nevertheless, we both have thoroughly enjoyed our new home in beautiful Greenville SC so we applied the most training stress on our body with ample recovery to prepare the best we could for Ironman Austria in just 5 weeks. Of course, we do have years of endurance training under our legs but this should never be a good reason to purposely over or under train. 

This means that we carefully overloaded our body with higher intensity workouts that were of moderate volume (even though we do no believe in large weekly volumes of training or "long" training days on the weekend). We each carefully stuck to our own taper regime (we both have our own 2 week taper routine) and then appreciated our time in Europe and considered this Ironman as a chance to take a few risks and to race among a very high caliber of athletes. Since we both were not racing for Kona slots (we are saving our Kona-qualifying race for IMWI in 9 weeks), we wanted to see what we were capable of with our current level of fitness on this fast, beautiful yet challenging course. 

On June 29th, 2014, we both raced the best that we could considering all circumstances that had affected us over the past few months. 

Every athlete will toss around the thought of feeling as if they could have done more prep work before race day, especially in the taper period and race week that precedes the important race day. 

Because every athlete is going to feel and not feel prepared at certain times in a racing season, it is always important that you follow a few of the following suggestions to ensure a positive racing experience: 

-Race only with your current level of fitness - minimize the risks that you take on race day so that you can finish the race with minimal setbacks.

-Consider your own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to executing your race day plan.

-Be sure you have a race day plan that is flexible. 

-Trust the training that you have done and if applicable, your past fitness/racing experience.
-Don't confuse your concerns/worries about not feeling prepared with hating the racing experience. I promise that even if you don't feel prepared, you are going to figure out a way to get to the finish and enjoy crossing that finish line. 

-Never stop loving what you choose to do with your body and with your free time. Your ability to train and race is a gift. 

-Enjoy the race day experience. Maybe you aren't having a good day but someone else is and you can help them out. Don't worry, that favor will be returned when you are rocking your course and others who aren't having a great day, are rooting for you to finish strong. 

-Never stop believing in yourself. 10% undertrained is far better than 1% overtrained. 

The day was not easy for us and after eight Ironman races, I can assure you that I have never felt as if the Ironman day was easy. This is one very important thing that I carry with me as I am racing for 10+ hours...it is NOT suppose to be easy!
The Ironman does not just hand out that medal to anyone, you have to earn it!

Karel and I gave our best effort and left it all out on the course. We love to train smart but we also love to race smart. This means that we are OK to take some risks at times but we also have experience in how to overcome situations when the risks do not work in our favor. We are also ok with our ego's in that if the day does not turn out as we planned, we are still going to fight to get to that finish line. Run, jog, walk, crawl...unless it is medically related, neither one of us our quitters. 

We both respect the Ironman distance. Feeling prepared is great but there are many uncertainties on race day and that is why I feel virgin Ironman athletes should not go into an Ironman with overly ambitious goals. Of course, this statement is coming from someone who wanted to qualify for Kona after her first IM and then I ended up winning the 18-24 age group by almost an hour....but still, I dealt with a lot of "new" things on race day that I somehow was able to overcome. 

The Ironman requires experience, good mental strength (you will realize this when you get to the marathon if you are currently training for your first IM) and the ability to overcome obstacles all day long.

But above all, the Ironman day is to be shared with many people and not just yourself. It requires a lot of people, friends and support to help you start and finish the race. 

I'm incredibly greatly to 110% Play Harder and Oakley Women for helping me race in style but also with quality gear to support my active lifestyle. 

My mom, brother and close family and friends, thank you for supporting this crazy lifestyle that Karel and I enjoy with our free time and disposable income. 

To all the Trimarni fans - thank you so much for your ongoing support. I am so proud to live my life so that I can help others reach personal goals and dreams.
Thank you Gloria for always having the right thing to say at the right time. It's the thoughtful, yet appropriate emails that I get before a race that really make a positive difference in how I approach my race day experience. 

And thank you to the Trimarni coaching and nutrition athletes who inspire me and Karel with your ongoing commitment and dedication to your sport as you balance work, family and life. 

The race reports will be coming soon once I gather the right words to talk about our perfectly executed day with two bodies that didn't feel 100% prepared BUT were super excited to race. 

The Ironman Austria140.6 mile course was filled with lots of cheering spectators, great weather conditions (even with the rain on the bike) and endless spectacular views. 

Ironman Austria, thank you for a perfect day of racing! 

Thanks everyone for your support, we channeled all the positive energy from our amazing friends, family and Trimarni fans!

We would also like to thank my dad, who is not with us, but loved the Ironman day when I raced and we both proudly wore his favorite hats and felt his presence all day (especially when we both needed his strength on the run!).

Final stats:
Karel: (2nd Ironman)
1:07:10 - 2.4 mile swim (PR)
T1: 4:10
4:56:23 - 112 mile bike (PR)
T2: 3:51
3:11:17 - 26.2 mile run (PR,wowzer- 9th fastest AG!!!)
Total: 9:22:51
22nd AG/439 starters, 124th overall
41 minute PR!! So proud of you Karel !!! I just LOVE sharing the excitement and pains of racing an Ironman with you! So sorry that you are way too fast and have to wait for me for almost an hour 

Marni (8th Ironman- thank you body!)
Swim 2.4 mile - 1:00:13 (PR....err, still so close to breaking that hour mark!)
T1: 5:18
Bike 112 miles - 5:29:07 (PR)
T2: 3:48
Run: 3:39:09 (BIG PR... Yay!)
Total: 10:17:35
7th AG/57 starters, 31st female, 18th amateur female
21 minute PR!!

And lastly, thanks to the best furry child ever! 

We love that you approach life with unconditional love and excitement every day!

Every day is a winning day for Campy!

Also a big thank you to INFINIT nutrition for keeping my tummy happy and my body fueled during my training To Trek Bicycles for making safe, speed machines for me to drive with my body. To 110% Play Harder for helping me play hard and recover harder. To Brooks Running for keeping my feet and hips happy and to Oakley Women for knowing how to help a woman in motion look stylish and sporty with quality gear!!!! And to Gloria for helping me stay mentally strong in life and in sport.

Race ready for Ironman Austria!

After another good night of sleep, I woke up around 5:45am and had a good pre workout snack of WASA + PB + Banana slices and granola/raisins and water and coffee and then we got our bikes ready for our last warm-up ride. 

We drove to the race venue and parked before things got busy for there were two athlete meetings that morning (9 and 10am) as well as the Iron Girl race at 11am (run). 

We rode about 50 minutes total on the back part of the course (headed out first backward on the course) so that we could see the last 5 or so miles of the course. After the bike we did a short 10 min run to wake up the legs and then walked to the athlete briefing (in English). 

I always encourage athletes to go to the athlete meeting before a race for you never know what information you will need to hear that is important for your race. I always want to be prepared and many times, attending the race meeting can ease many pre race nerves (always good to control the controllables). 

After we came home around 10:30 (after a quick stop at the grocery), we had a good morning meal and then officially packed up our race bags. Since we can access our bags on race morning, we can put our race nutrition in our bags (and on bike) on race day morning. 

For my bike bag:
110% Flat out compression socks
Giro attack helmet
Commit sunglasses (Oakley Women)
Bontrager cycling shoes
Race bib (required on back) w/ belt (and safety pins attached)
Hand towel

For my run bag:
Brooks pure flow run shoes
My dad's favorite Corvette hat (Karel will be wearing my dad's other favorite hat)

We were told no ribbons on bags so even though I brought them I was unable to tie them on my bags to easily locate my bags.
There were designated times for checking in our bikes so I checked in my first, followed by Karel. 

Karel and I are both All World Athletes (award given to us and many others from Ironman) which allowed us to check in our bikes at 12:30-1pm with the pros but we decided to wait to check in our bikes when we could see a crowded transition area to help us visualize for race day. 

The volunteers checked our bike to make sure it had all necessary parts and was race ready with numbers attached. 

We then walked through a tent (men's changing tent) and a volunteer took a picture of our bike.
Next we racked our bike and run bags in the designated areas according to our numbers. There was no order to racking the bags, just in the range of bib numbers. 

After racking my bags, I located my bike rack near the end of the transition area (what a huge transition area for 3000 athletes!!) and found a spot in the middle of the rack. 

After I racked my bike and covered her up with the bike bags that were given to us (in case it rains), I waited for Karel. 

As I waited, I mentally walked through the swim to bike, bike to run transition over and over, including getting my bag, going into the changing tent, etc. 

Even though this is Karel's 2nd Ironman, let me tell you that even with 7 Ironman's behind me, it is still a bit overwhelming to put everything together for 140.6 miles of racing in just two bags, the day before the race. But it always feels good when you walk out of transition area with just yourself and all you have to do on race day morning is arrive with your swim gear and anything extra for the bike/run. 

I was totally jealous of Karel's end of the rack bike spot but when we walked over to my bike to let out some tire pressure due to the heat today/tonight, I noticed there was a free spot that just opened up on my rack!

YIPPE!

We can not thank you all enough for your continued support with our international IM journey. I still can't believe that the day is finally here for it feels like so long ago that we registered for this dream race. 

So much has affected us in positive and negative ways over the past year and we could not be more grateful for the ongoing kind words and enthusiasm as we continue to love life and to make great memories together. 

It was only 32 days ago that I said good bye to my dad. 

There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about my dad and wish he was still here with me, enjoying life and making the most of every day.  He was always so proud of me and my "real athlete" husband (Karel earned that title from my dad after he finished his first IM.) :) 

I know that if he was still here, he would be loving all my amazing pictures in beautiful Austria and we expect daily Facetime calls with him and my mom for they always got super excited when it came to my triathlons, especially the Ironman.

Back in 2011 I was able to share my Ironman World Championship experience with my parents and this was the last Ironman that my parents were able to physically be at with me. 

However, even with IM Lake Placid and the IM World Championship last summer, it was still great knowing that I was able to speak to my parents before and after the race and know that regardless of how I did, they were super excited to track me and to celebrate another amazing accomplishment with my healthy body. 

The Ironman journey is different for everyone for we all have our own reasons for committing to the journey of training for a 140.6 mile race. I know that for some people, it is to do the impossible but for a large number of people, it is for a greater reason than just earning the "Ironman finisher" title. 

There is always a mix of emotions on the day before an Ironman and many times, it is a mix of nerves, excitement, uncertainties, fears, worries, relief, happiness, joy and positive energy. 

One thing I have learned throughout the past 7 years of Ironman racing (starting at the age of 24) is that there are no certainties on race day and a lot of things out of your control. There are guarantees as to how the day will turn out for the IM day is all about constant motion and overcoming obstacles. 

My dad never wasted a day of his life and even when he was diagnosed with an incurable case of cancer and battled this horrible cancer for the last 10 months of his life, my dad continued to celebrate life with me. 

Despite uncontrollables in his life, my dad never ever gave up. He continued to fight when others would have probably given up. 

I know tomorrow is going to be a special day for many reasons and I look forward to racing with Karel and celebrating my dad's amazing 67 years of life. I have only lived for 32 years and have already created mountains of memories.
I look forward to everything that tomorrow will bring to me, knowing that my dad will give me strength when I need it and he will have the best seat in the house for 140.6 miles. 

Swim 2.4 miles
Bike 112 miles
Run 26.2 miles

Thank you body. 

Marni bib #857
Karel bib #1598

Live Stream TV: CLICK HERE

Ironman Austria website (Athlete tracking, photos, live coverage, finish line video, etc.)

Race start: 7am local time (1am EST)

Two more sleeps before Ironman Austria!

After a good night of sleep, we headed to the swim start/race venue (about 5K away) from our flat and got in our last pre-race swim before race day. Friday is typically a "day off" for us (and our athletes) before an A-race so we reserve this day to be incredibly lazy before the big event day and to attend to some pre-race to do's. Also, with our 3 hours of training on Thursday, we finally woke up our body and Friday felt great for just an EZ 25 minute swim to get more comfortable in the water and in our wetsuit. The water feels great and the weather is amazing!

The finish line area is like an arena with a huge big screen TV and stadium seating. Of course, we pass the finish line area at least 3 times while we are running so this finish chute will be super exciting when we finally get to end our 140.6 mile journey here on Sunday. 

How exciting to meet Faris!

We are huge fans of this professional triathlete super star! He was super nice. 

I am so excited for this bike course - it has a bit of everything I love in a bike course - fast sections, climbs, beautiful views and well, 112 miles of being on my bike!

We do 90K, two times while passing by the transition area in between the two loops. 

After stretching, chillaxing and packing my transition bags, Karel and I decided to go to the pasta dinner to see what it was like in another country. Typically I use the two nights before the race as my pizza night before an endurance race but instead, I had a small dinner before the pasta party so I didn't arrive hungry and so that I could eat familiar food for my two nights before the race meal.

The Irondome was packed with people and the evening was great with a lot of chatting with new people, pasta that Karel enjoyed a lot (meat on the left side, meat-free on the right side) and sharing the pre-race excitement with everyone in the room. 

I just LOVE the mineral water (left) in Europe! 

I'm really enjoying this entire Ironman experience in Austria and I can't believe that I will be sharing my 8th IM experience with 3000 other athletes on Sunday and making memories with my amazing hubby Karel!

Here are some stats for our race:
3000 registered athletes
12% female athletes 
61 nations represented 
99 Americans
100,000 spectators planned to be on the closed race course
2500 volunteers
54 women in 30-34 age group (my AG)
475 males in 35-39 age group (Karel's AG)

Ironman Austria race course (pics)

Some of the most memorable parts of traveling are enjoying new sight, smells and tastes. Because I am super camera happy, I just love capturing memories of beautiful sights when I travel. I really try my best to soak up every moment when I travel but for me, pictures help me tell a story. Not always do the pictures flow like sentences in a paragraph but more often than not, they help the reader want to turn the page for more. That’s how I see life when I travel. I just love sensory overload in a new place!

After my first two Ironman’s (IMFL and Kona in 2006 and 2007 respectively) and 3 consecutive half IM’s in Orlando Florida (Disney half ironman at the time, now Ironman Florida 70.3),  I welcomed my first Ironman race after Kona in my home state of Kentucky. I really enjoyed the journey of training for the Ironman but the added excitement of traveling for a race really made my Ironman experience extra special.

Since 2009, I have continued to follow two passions of mine – traveling and racing. And lucky for me, I have not been alone in my traveling adventures.

Although Karel just recently turned “Ironman” triathlete last July after nearly two decades of bike racing, it was a no brainer that we would search for a beautiful and challenging course for our first Ironman experience together. Ironman Lake Placid was our decision and the nature did not let us down!

After an amazing experience traveling to Czech in May last year (about 10 weeks or so before IM Placid), Karel and I tossed around the idea of combining our love of traveling and racing with our first international race. With Ironman Austria just 4 hours (without delays) from Karel’s hometown of Znojmo Czech Republic, we decided to save our money, make some plans and sign up and train for our first international Ironman.

With any vacation (or racecation for us), you don’t really know what to expect when you go somewhere new, until you arrive to your final destination.

I could not be more excited about the opportunity to race 140.6 miles on Sunday and to be cheered on by 100,000 spectators along the race course. And, how cool that Karel and I get to race with 3000 other athletes from over 61 nations! I am also proud to be one of the 99 USA athletes and one of the 12.5% of females racing on race day!

Because the right words are hard to describe this beautiful course, here are some of my best pictures of our day of training on the course yesterday.

The weather looks good for race day! The sun starts to rise just before 5am and the mix of clouds and sun makes for a very fun experience while racing. 

The temperatures are just perfect for racing and the water temperature feels around 70-72 degrees so it should be wetsuit legal on race day. The water feels great - not too warm, not too cold. Plus, the duckies are always happy in the water so that brings me comfort that we will be happy too. Most of the swim is in the lake, a very easy to navigate rectangle where we swim out, turn left and head back to shore. Although, the last 1000 K is in a cannal which will be lined with spectators. 

The road quality on the bike course is great. Well, anything is better than St. Croix 70.3 which we raced in May. 

There are a few rough patches here and there but nothing that would be too concerning, especially on a descend. 

There are a few climbs on each loop (two loops) of the bike course and the course is very well marked. We rode about 2.5 hours yesterday (with one wrong turn so we didn't get to see some of the end of the course) and enjoyed every mile (or kilometer) of it! The course  is not technical and the climbs are followed with long smooth descents. The course has views of water, the alps, valleys and runs from town to town. There is always something to look at so this may make "racing" this course hard for me and Karel!

The run, unlike the bike, is fairly flat so this will be a first for me to do my 8th Ironman on a hilly bike course with a flat run. This should be interesting for my legs for they do like to climb in a triathlon. 

The run features views in downtown as well as lot of spectators on the course. After two loops of the run, we will finish with a stadium-like feel of screaming spectators and cheerleaders down the finish line chute until we reach our 140.6 mile finish line!

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!!