Saturday, April 27, 2013

Amazing Run

I haven't had much to blog about this year seeing as I don't have any races on the schedule and life has been crazy hectic. I have been pretty good about keeping up with my running. More about that in another post.
So today when I was getting ready for my run, it was 50 degrees with a light rain. I wasn't sure exactly how to dress, so I walked outside to get a feel for the temp. 50 degrees in the spring feels a lot warmer than 50 in the fall. I decided on shorts, a light long sleeve compression top and a running t-shirt plus some light gloves.
I arrived at the trail head to find I was the only one there. Perfect. It wasn't long before I noticed how peaceful it was out in the woods. The trees were green with newly budding leaves, birds were singing and the light rain made that nice soft sound. It was like I was running with one of those soothing sound clocks playing.
Things are getting green

Decided to wash my hat by wearing it in the rain :-)
Not many flowers out in the woods
Fun getting muddy :-)

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Breckenridge 2013

Last week my son and I flew to Denver to meet up with my mom and head to Breckenridge for some skiing, running, rest and relaxation. Denver was in the middle of a blizzard when we arrived. You know it's not good when the pilot says we are at the limits of our visibility for landing so don't be surprised if we have to go around a couple times or maybe even divert. It was a bit rough coming in but we landed on time with no issues. My mom was delayed by 10 hours so we ended up staying the night in Denver. My son and I went to visit my cousin then out to dinner. My cousin has done a few 140.6's slits always fun talking training with him. The roads were a mess and we saw over twenty wrecks.
Not fun driving
We made it up to Breckenridge Sunday, got supplies then settled in. We stay with my Mom's friend from college and they have an awesome setup for guests. With all the snow, skiing was great Monday and Tuesday though it was a tad cold Monday morning. -5F when we woke up made me wonder why we don't go to Mexico for spring break, but it warmed up to +10 and with all the right gear, we were comfortable.
Just like last year, I was the only one to crash. In my defense, two of the crashes were on a black run with moguls which is clearly outside my ability. It was kind of funny. We ended up at the top of peak ten and saw all black runs. Oh well, I decided to head down first so I could take pictures of my son and mom braving the moguls. I crashed hard and was glad I was wearing a helmet. My day probably would have been done without it. Anyway, my son skied down the run with no problems and my wise mother asked ski patrol which run to take and they pointed her to a black run with no moguls which is well within our abilities. Live and learn :-).
We chose Spitfire

The steam coming off my head looks like a cloud :-)
We skied Monday and Tuesday then I had a couple blogger meet ups Wednesday. Wednesday morning. I met Kovas, Laima and their youngest boy for coffee after they dropped their other kids of at ski school. It's funny I met them in Colorado seeing as we all live in Illinois. It was really nice chatting with them. They are a super nice family.
Blogger meet up number one!
After meeting with Kovas and Laima, I headed to Idaho Springs to meet up with Jill. Idaho Springs is a neat little old town and we met at a great pizza joint. It was nice getting to know her better after following her blog for a couple of years. Her athletic accomplishments are impressive and she has some big races coming up. I think I'll just live vicariously through her while I sit out for a while :-).
Blogger meet up number two!
Funny story about the blogger meet up with Jill. I was wondering how to ask my wife if it was ok to meet up with a woman I met on the Internet while I'm on vacation and she's not with me. Awkward! It was an interesting conversation for sure :-). I guess after 25 years she trusts me.
Main drag in Idaho Springs
Besides skiing and running at 9000+ feet, my son and I watched seasons one and two of the walking dead. I was also in bed by 10:30 every night catching up on sleep. Oh, and I cooked to earn my keep. Our hosts seemed to appreciate it and I love to cook, so it was a win-win for everyone.