For several years in a row Gaby and I have returned to Vail for the opening week of ski season and to celebrate Thanksgiving. We arrived in Vail Saturday evening, after spending a night and day in Boulder, to find our beloved retreat blanketed in a deep, puffy blanket of glorious early season powder. Some say the recent and current snow storms have produced the best opening ski week conditions in over a decade. We have not been up the mountain yet on skis but we will soon. The challenge is each of the past few years my desire to bundle up in heavy clothes and clunky boots, and lug heavy skis has waned. In addition, the thought of wiping out and getting injured, thus taking running away, is scary at best. So instead of procuring pricy lift tickets and expensive on-mountain bread-bowl-soup lunches, I layer on thin, light, wicking fabrics and tacky trail shoes. The Sandstone Hill entrance of Vail's North Trail network is some 200 yards from the door and a welcome gateway to the steep mountain trails I now love more to run up than to ski down. All of this is to say we came to Vail to ski, the conditions are 'epic', and I would rather run in the powder than ski. How ironic.
Running in snow is great fun. Unfortunately, taking it easy and, more to the point, not running, is still a priority. Over the past two weeks, since Masochist, I've run a whopping 10 miles. Rest is simply something I must do right now; it is my job. The unfortunate byproduct of this current workload is additional forced restraint thanks to the extra time on my hands courtesy of the upcoming holiday week, the fact that we're only footsteps from miles of killer trails and snow is in the forecast for all week. This, too, is sadly ironic.
I will continue following the self-prescribed rest order but not getting some sort of trail fix, at least a little, during the current epic conditions here in Vail would be a sin. And when not running, or skiing, or working, I hope to do more of the following.
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| Visiting the farmers market in Boulder. |
Late in posting but congrats on your Grand Slam victory and record. We should get some running soon. Rest up.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brian. I need to get out with the Mafia. You guys keep me posted on your outings.
ReplyDeleteCan't pass up that epic powder to SKI in. Rest is the mode I'm in right now too. Gonna get snipity-snip on Wednesday - yikes! Eat lots and ski lots!
ReplyDeleteWe are heading up to Breck on Dec 20th for a weeks worth of skiing so hopefully I'm healed up by then. Next time you're in town, drop me a line and we will hit the mountains "running".
Talk soon
Scott
Hey Scott - you'll be up and at 'em in no time. Good luck. This ski season in CO is shapping up to be a good one. Have fun at Breck. And, yes, definitely next time I am in CO- which will hopefully be again soon- we should meet up.
ReplyDeleteMissed seeing you in DC, but glad you had good snow in Vale. There was a good WUS turnout. You throwing your name in for WS again? Miwok? An OR race in Aug or Sept?
ReplyDeleteI figured WUS would represent for your return. Very nice. I learned recently that, lottery or otherwise, WS is not in the cards for me in 2011. The one week in all of 2011 I can't travel. Miwok? OR? Hmmm... I think to seriously start planning for next year. MMT100 is the only thing on my [lottery] calendar so far.
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