A Day at Alpine Meadows

We had a full day of skiing on the slopes today. I will say it was quite challenging - emotionally and physically. We encountered white-out conditions on the very top of the mountain. It was very, very scary to me. I was afraid Keith would leave my sight and I would be stuck up there all alone and freeze to death. I couldn't tell if I was going up or down hill at some points, I was so disoriented. I was angry that we had gotten ourselves into that situation in the first place. But, we made it down. Then in normal ME fashion, after it cleared up a little bit, we went back up the lift and made it down while we could see! I never let a hill get the best of me, do I? LOL



It was 29 degrees and snowing when we go to the resort. It snowed on and off for the majority of the day. We did manage to get a pretty good view of Lake Tahoe.

Keith skiing

You will have to click on the next photo to enlarge it to see the name of the run. Thinking of my little boy back home (it's a nickname I use for him).

Tomorrow is a day at Squaw Valley with the kids. The weather is supposed to be great.

Until later.............

Greetings from Tahoe

Keith and I are in Tahoe City. It was a three hour drive from home to the Hwy 80/89 split. No chain requirements and not a lot of cars on the road. We got snowed on a little bit but visibility was good.

After we checked in to our room, we went to find a place to eat. It started snowing pretty good while we were walking down the highway. We jumped into The Blue Agave for some fajitas.


After lunch we walked down to a shopping center where, imagine this, there was a chocolate shop (singing). The owner/candy maker was working today and he was so kind. He let us sample a bunch of different truffles. We did leave there with close to 1/2 pound of milk chocolate honeycomb (Keith's favorite). That should last us through tonight and maybe tomorrow. ;)

Our plan is to ski at Alpine Meadows tomorrow and Squaw Valley on Sunday. Our girls, along with their boyfriends, are joining us on Sunday at Squaw. I wish Boomer could have come. I (we) miss him. I'll bet he would like the snow.

Until later.............

That hill is my B**CH!

We came. We saw.

We conquered!

And when we were done, we did it again.

I am quite pleased to say it was easier than I had feared. I felt so good afterwards, like I had really accomplished something. ;)

I have a question for anyone (Victoria, Mike, Rick, Lori, etc.) that might be able to answer: While training for hills, which do you think is best? a) Stopping for 15-20 seconds a couple of times to catch your breath and then continue, or b) Slow to a walk if you need to, pick up running again when you can, just keep moving.

You know what? I'm looking forward to doing that one again.

Until later.............

A Family Affair

I got "the fam" out today for a little trail running. Well, I guess I could just say Keith joined Boomer and I on a run today. LOL



He dropped us off at the south entrance of Garin park and headed to a job he had to wrap up from yesterday. Thinking that he would be hiking/walking more than running, and knowing how much I NEED my endorphins on a daily basis, he told me he would meet me at the main entrance in about 30 minutes. Boomer and I booked it. You could say I did a 30 minute speedy hill work out, or a hilly speed work out. It was a blast!

We were able to put in 2.5 miles before hooking up with Keith. Then the three of us ran another 3.5 miles together. I wish he would fall in love with trail running so I could have his company more often. But, I guess it's just not for everyone.

My boys

I have a hill in mind, at Garin, that I am going to attack tomorrow morning. I'll let you know how it goes. I looked at it today and it's big. It may need to be broken in sections. My lungs are going to be pissed off and so are my legs. I haven't even walked or hiked up that hill since the fall. It should be interesting.

Until later.............

I daydream a lot!

Who can blame me? I was at work all weekend, but this is what was on my mind:

I kept thinking of all my different runs at Garin and where they take me. I was so looking forward to getting out this morning. I could only spend 90 minutes there but oh, what a beautiful 90 minutes that was.

I ran up every hill. I may have broke a few of them into three parts, stopping for a few seconds, but I didn't walk at all. It felt so good! If you aren't from the SF Bay Area, you're probably tired of hearing about our beautiful weather. And, if you are from here, you're probably sick of hearing about it from everyone that crosses your path. But, I am going to say, OMG - it's gorgeous (singing...) outside.

And, my dog adores me. LOL ;)

I have been having a lot of pain on top of my right shoulder for months now and finally last week, I went and had it checked out. I was attributing the pain to wearing my hydration pack but I guess I was wrong. I had it X-rayed and went to the orthopedic lady this morning and she informed me I have arthritis and bursitis in my right shoulder. Um, how old am I turning this year? I really didn't like being told this at all. She told me it's not uncommon for "folks" my age. Gee, thanks! My visit ended with a cortisone shot in my shoulder. We'll see how that works.

When it got really bad a couple of weeks ago, I just thought it was sympathy pains for my dear friend Christy. No such luck. For those of you I didn't directly email, Christy's diagnosis is a fracture in her shoulder which she is thrilled with. She was pretty sure it was going to be surgery on her rotator cuff. She is to keep it in a sling and immobilized for another month. This, she is not so thrilled with.

I'm off until Thursday night and a run is in the works for each day. Rain is supposed to hit us Thursday, which is great news for our water situation. Keith and I are heading up to Tahoe for the weekend so new snow would be nice too.

Until later.............

Sometimes it's hard being an adult

I worked all day yesterday and early morning running is not my thing, (especially in the winter) so I didn't get a run in. After work, Keith and I had a double date with Christy & Steve. We went to dinner and a movie. We saw New In Town. I laughed out loud quite a bit. It was a little predictable but entertaining enough.

Anyway back to the running thing. I'm working 11:00 to 7:30 tonight so my plan was to get out on the trail this morning at 8:00 for a fast 5-miler. But, the adult in me suggested perhaps I should hold off on that run. My hammy was tight all day yesterday and wasn't a lot better this morning. I decided I would go for a nice long speedy walk around my neighborhood. About a mile into it, my leg was still tight so I turned into the school:

Found a stick:

And let Boomer do the running:

I came home and rolled my leg. What I thought was my hamstring turns out it's my bootie. Roller felt SO GOOD, I didn't want to get up off of it. But I did and I turned on my Wii and did some strength training. Now I must get ready for work without a run under my belt. But, at least I know it's the right thing to do.

It's not always easy though, making the adult decision. Especially when it comes to running.

Until later.............

Mission Peak hike

This was my view as I was laying on the floor doing my ab work. A pooped puppy!

Boomer and I hiked six miles up around Mission Peak this morning with my friend Laurey (not HSE Lori) and her doggie Zoe. I didn't run at all and it sure feels different. Laurey is not a runner and I like spending time talking with her so a hike it was today.

You may have to click on the next photo to see what we saw. Two coyotes had this hill covered today. There was no chance for Boomer or Zoe to catch a squirrel.

We stayed on the main fire road all the way up, instead of cutting off onto single tracks like I do when I run. I came home and did some strength work on my Wii. When I was done, I just didn't have the same feeling I have after a run. I could tell I felt just a tad irritable and I wasn't motivated to do anything. I did what needed to be done around the house and when Keith came home he asked me why I was so down. I told him I think it's because I didn't get a run in today, even though I went for a hike. He told me to go see how fast I could run around our "20-minute block".

I did. It took me 9 minutes. I'm all better now. God bless my husband!