I've been way too busy with naps, facebook, training and racing to write anything. Really...life is rough.

You know in the US everybody walks around with their LARGE coffee mugs and "venti" Starbucks? Not so much in Europe. Walking around with a coffee mug gets some stares, and any hopes I had of looking somewhat European are out the window. We left early for our drive to Luxembourg yesterday morning, and since we did not have time for a leisurely breakfast, I pulled out the mug and asked if I could have it filled up. "The whole thing??" YES. The WHOLE mug.
First off, I was really grateful for the opportunity to race with the National team. It is great to have such experienced women as teammates.
The race was a 10k circuit, a race of attrition with two climbs. One of those races where the field gets smaller and smaller each time up the climb. Race morning, I woke up not really in the mood for 3 hours of pain. It was an afternoon race, so I had all morning to sulk in the hotel room about not wanting a couple hours of self induced pain. I came to terms with it over a bowl of dry museli. We had a quiet ride to the start, getting their with plenty of time to sit around and enjoy the sunny weather. To make a race report short, Kat got in the break, the rest of us took turns covering attacks and surviving every lap up the hills. Most teams were happy with the break, Nurnberger missed out. It was interesting, because they didn't have radios, they didn't know splits. They were on the front, pushing the pace, and almost made it a couple times, getting the time gap down to 10 seconds. Thankfully, for the sake of my legs and pain threshold, the break stayed away. The last 5k in the field was pretty sketchy. Battle of the bars and elbows. It was a fast slight downhill before the last kick up to the finish. My legs felt good, but it takes more than good legs to maneuver your way through a final sprint.

Car, train, and taxi rides later, we made it to Paris.
Here is a link to the velonews article that explains Jeannie's domination at the Paris race.
http://velonews.com/article/91556/longo-wins-troph%26eacute%3Be-des-grimpeurs-again

This race was all about position on the first lap. There is a 500 m WALL at the start of the 8K lap. I was smart enough to make the first selection, but didn't have the 6th gear to stay there. Things could be worse, fitness comes.

After some quality hours on the eurovan, we made it back to Limoux. It was good to be home after being gone for about a week. Only one race left, then headed home already! Time flies, but I'm looking forward to some of the things I've been missing for awhile. Like Peet's, a burrito, people who speak English, a hairdryer.