Guten tag from Durbach

Guten tag

We are enjoying our time here in Durbach - especially with the heat wave they are experiencing for this time of year - today was 27 degrees! The sun is way different from our sun though - I was in a singlet all day baring my lilly white shoulders and barely changed colour. It is supposed to rain for the next 3-4 days though, so tomorrow we are catching the train to Strassbourg (in France - about 25km away).

Jase has been enjoying getting some time on his bike - he has explored heaps of the region and has even found a 10km climb not too far away. I fill up my time by walking (exploring the black forest) and learning French. I have decided I might have to give up on running for the time being - It just makes me feel so sick.

Today I set off for a short walk. My legs were a bit dodgey after running for an hour yesterday (stupid I know). I took the map but most people who know me well, know I am not the best with maps. I got pretty lost and my short walk ended up being 3.5hrs. I did have the map but it didn't help - probably because I don't orientate the map to where I am - I tend to find orientating the map to be disorientating for me! It is more fun to wing it anyway. My goal is to walk to 'Moostrum' - a peak 11km from here but I will wait until I have had a few days in the pool so my legs are good for that one. You can see the monument on Moostrum in the first photo above.

The outdoor heated pool opens on Saturday - our 'guest card' that we got because we are staying here entitles us to free entry so that is pretty good. I find swimming incredibly boring but it will have to do to stimulate my endorphins!

Not much more to report - we are planning another visit to the Winestube restaurant this weekend for steak, onions, chips, and salad. It was the best meal we reckon we had ever had when we had it last week (although we were starving at the time!).

Jase will attach some more photos - all were taken on my walks.

Hope you are all well
Jeanette and Jase

Update

Well here we are in Europe!!!

The plan was originally to take 6 months off work, rent our house out, and for Jase to work 2 days a week here and train for the Marmotte (a French road cycle race - 174km with 5000m of climbing!), and for me to train and do the entire world cup circuit...

Things haven't quite worked out as planned. I had all the tests for iliac endofibrosis (Exercise stress test in the hills where I had no pulse or BP reading in either leg for some 10-15mins afterwards and intense pain in both legs; Doppler US test after riding on the wind trainer which detailed the location of the problem to the proximal portion of both external iliac arteries - the main supplier to my legs; CT scan which showed significant artery stenosis/narrowing at rest in the same location as above measuring 2.5cm in length in each artery) and the surgeon said I was not allowed to ride my bike ever again! That is unless I had surgery whereby they take a vein graft from the saphenous vein in my leg and use it to widen the narrowed artery. He scared us senseless with the risks of this surgery, and told us the surgery is fairly new and that they don't actually know how long the patch lasts - they suspect there is a risk of aneurysm, but I would be checked for this at regular intervals for the rest of my life if I chose to have the surgery.

So much of our trip was planned and we had committed to alot of it financially so we decided we had to make the most of this opportunity... so here we are now in Durbach in the Black Forest in South Germany. I don't have a bike, and can't run more than 2x/wk, but I can walk (as long as there are not many hills) and I can swim so I am determined to make the most of it. Jase will be cycling most days and enjoying that for the both of us! I have decided to have the surgery when we return - I am just too limited in what I can do - ie I have to walk up stairs backwards now to avoid bringing on symptoms. I just don't want to live my life like this.

We arrived in London last Weds (14th April) to a pretty chilly morning. We were lucky to get in before all this volcanic ash saga started. We stayed with Jase's Aunty and Uncle in London and just spent the time getting over the jet lag really (and visiting Starbucks!- hope you're reading this Hoppers!). Jase also did some work in a place called Ely. We tried to walk the sights but unfortunately I came to a grinding halt after all the stairs of the underground. The next time I went into central London I walked from Waterloo station to avoid any underground. Man London would be a disaster for anyone in a wheelchair.

Jase did some running by the Thames, and I went swimming at an outdoor pool (lucky it was heated!). Our flight to Frankfurt was cancelled on Tues due to the ash, but we managed to get on the Eurostar to Brussells on Thursday. It turned into a pretty big day - 11hrs of travelling via car, train, cab, eurostar, train, train, and finally taxi to reach our accommodation here in Durbach. This place is great. I stayed here last year when I did the world cup and loved it. Yesterday we had a busy day - the groceries. Yes - just the groceries. Had to walk 12km to get there mind you, and then spent a good 2hrs in the supermarket! It is pretty hard figuring out what to buy that is also gluten free!

Today Jase started his training for the Marmotte with a 4hr ride. I went for a walk in the hills behind our appartment. It is beautiful - although I really wanted my MTB! I took some photos (our appartment + some from the walk) which Jase will attach as I am technically challenged! Was a beautiful day - about 22 degrees I think.

Hope you are all well
Jeanette and Jase

National champs

Wellington: end of Feb

Well this was it for me. The final test.

I had a pretty grim 2009, and despite training harder, I was getting slower and slower, and my legs were 'blowing' more severely and not recovering. My legs would typically blow about 2mins in and all I could do was watch the field ride away from me... it was soul destroying. I just couldn't quite work out what was happening and why it was happening.

I worked really hard trying to find out what was going on with my legs all year, and tried everything possible to rectify what had now become a major problem. I had changed coaches and radically changed my training, rested as I thought I was overtrained, looked at nutrition, spent alot of time with the sports psych, trialed many different warmups, got tested for exercise induced asthma (and found out I had 'vocal cord disfunction' - very funny for most! - actually brought on by anxiety), saw a physio, chiropractor, trialed lymphatic drainage, massage therapy, talked to doctors about feeling sick after training (I threw up several times and even fell off my road bike after doing intervals),.... you name it, I tried it. Nothing helped.

Then after the Tour de Femme hill TT when I was 3mins slower than the previous year, I had finally had enough. I had been thinking in the back of my mind that there was a chance that this problem could be iliac endofibrosis, but this was not the diagnosis I wanted. After the Hill TT I actually took my dorsalis pedis pulse (in my foot) and could not find one. Then I told myself I was a hyperchondriac and just needed to find enjoyment on the bike again and build up my strength....

So I rang Deb Robinson and discussed it all with her. She said she would test me in the hills for iliac endofibrosis when I returned to work... When I got back Deb was away with the Silver Ferns for a short period, so I decided I would try to build fitness and strength first (as I knew these things were lacking).... I spent 8 weeks in the gym, and got myself stronger than I had ever been. I also spent alot of time riding in the hills - 4,5,6 hr rides. My legs were toast on every ride, and my recovery was slow but I told myself it was just the weights. I only did 2 speed work sessions before Nationals, but my legs were dead. Then I had a week recovery before my final test....

End of Feb: National champs....
I was the most relaxed I had ever been before a race. I felt ready, fit, and strong. Then the race started... I felt great. I started conservatively but made sure I was at the front... then bang 2mins in my legs started to go.... then the first climb.... the legs were dead, and the entire field (including the U23s and U19s) past me. I was fully unable to ride some of the hills and had to get off. I kept trying to tell myself that my legs would come right... but no. At the end of the first lap I was so far behind and I was gutted. I knew that I had iliac endofibrosis... there was no other explanation...

Back to Chch for testing....