Did I enjoy my trip? Yes.
Would I do it again? Absolutely!
However, the way it ended left a bad taste in my mouth. It started off a little rocky with the whole acquiring a new van thing, but it was all uphill after that! I had the opportunity to see my grandmother in Texas and run in some beautiful and WARM trails in the Southeast. No one harassed me while I was sleeping or cooking in parking lots. I got into Vermont100! I was prepared for the cold with sleeping bags and generator. The weather was clear when I was driving and snowing while I was snowboarding. I was having the time of my life and enjoying every moment of that freedom...
Until I banged up my hip snowboarding. It was a feeling of defeat. I wanted to run, but it was so painful since my hip was so swollen. I could feel this just large mass moving up and down with every step and it was just way too bothersome. And the four different days I tried to get back on the mountain snowboarding, I was just so hesitant of falling after a couple of times of landing directly on my hip and it causing pain, that it was barely enjoyable.
I knew I was going to have to go back soon, regardless. However, I wanted it to be on my terms. I felt a bit cheated, which made coming back home a bit rough. I've been running and snowboarding constantly for the past few weeks and now I'm at home and can't do either. I've been driving hours daily and seeing beautiful landscapes and cities. Now I have to rest and stretch inside my tiny loft.
This definitely got me into a bit of a funk. I kept going to the gym to try and increase how many minutes I could run before my hip became bothersome again, then rest for two days and try again. I just got into the biggest race of my life up to this point and I can't even jog for more than 15 minutes without pain. This was something constantly going through my head.
That funk is now gone! I have put up a couple hour runs on the treadmill with minimal hip discomfort and going to be slowly ramping it back up. This was supposed to be a 36 mile week, but its looking like things will wrap up today 30ish. I'm at peace with that and will be getting right back on track with the training plan-I've got a 22 mile run next week!
Keep your head up and Run Wild
Sunday, February 11, 2018
And Heading Home
Wednesday, January 31st
By 5:30am I was on the road. I had the privilege of seeing the moon phenomenon in my mirrors as I was leaving Summit County. So Cool!
First stop was the Nissan dealership outside Denver. I thought I might have possibly been able to make it back to the Muskogee Nissan (where I purchased the vehicle) in Oklahoma before hitting 5,000 miles for free service and maintenance, but I was wrong. Time for an oil change.
Rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. Stopped at a planet fitness to run. Made it to my parent's house in Oklahoma by 10pm or so. Mom was so happy to see me!
Thursday, February 1st
I slept in a familiar bed, woke up, headed to the dealership where I got the vehicle to give it a once over and was back on the road.
Took a two hour pitstop in St. Louis to see some good friends then continued the drive straight through the night and arrived back home in Maine on the evening of the 2nd. I'm counting that as some sort of endurance training. Here's the breakdown of the trip from Colorado back to Maine (via Muskogee, OK and STL, MO):
Total time elapsed: 60 hours
Driving time: 37 hours
Sleep: 10 hours
Good to be Home
By 5:30am I was on the road. I had the privilege of seeing the moon phenomenon in my mirrors as I was leaving Summit County. So Cool!
First stop was the Nissan dealership outside Denver. I thought I might have possibly been able to make it back to the Muskogee Nissan (where I purchased the vehicle) in Oklahoma before hitting 5,000 miles for free service and maintenance, but I was wrong. Time for an oil change.
Rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. Stopped at a planet fitness to run. Made it to my parent's house in Oklahoma by 10pm or so. Mom was so happy to see me!
Thursday, February 1st
I slept in a familiar bed, woke up, headed to the dealership where I got the vehicle to give it a once over and was back on the road.
Took a two hour pitstop in St. Louis to see some good friends then continued the drive straight through the night and arrived back home in Maine on the evening of the 2nd. I'm counting that as some sort of endurance training. Here's the breakdown of the trip from Colorado back to Maine (via Muskogee, OK and STL, MO):
Total time elapsed: 60 hours
Driving time: 37 hours
Sleep: 10 hours
Good to be Home
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Packing It Up
Tuesday, January 30th
Today was a day of decisions. I started off the day by trying to run a mile on the treadmill. It still hurt. So here's the current situation: I can't go out and run and I'm afraid that if I fall while snowboarding, I will only make it worse. Time to head home. It is a bummer that the trip has to end like this, but I was able to squeeze in 11 days of snowboarding and run in warm, beautiful places this month.
I spent the rest of the day cleaning up the lodge, packing up the van, and giving the van a much needed carwash.
I'm heading home tomorrow.
Run Wild.
Today was a day of decisions. I started off the day by trying to run a mile on the treadmill. It still hurt. So here's the current situation: I can't go out and run and I'm afraid that if I fall while snowboarding, I will only make it worse. Time to head home. It is a bummer that the trip has to end like this, but I was able to squeeze in 11 days of snowboarding and run in warm, beautiful places this month.
I spent the rest of the day cleaning up the lodge, packing up the van, and giving the van a much needed carwash.
I'm heading home tomorrow.
Run Wild.
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Catalina Leaves
Monday, January 29th
Today is the day Catalina leaves.
It has been so fun adventuring with my partner! We shared laughs, frustrations, beautiful sights, cold nights, powder filled mountains, questionable roads, animal sightings, and way too many parking lots. I believe it is a testament to our love for each other to be able to not only to survive two weeks in a van with each other, but to be able to have such a great time doing it! We talked about how we would not want to do this trip with anyone else besides each other. I love that girl so much!
Alright, enough of that gushy emotional stuff. We got up early, packed and double checked everything, and got in the van. We stopped at HashTAG restaurant outside Denver for breakfast and headed to Denver International Airport. After some wrong turns, both inside and outside the airport, Cat got checked in and I walked her down to security. This would be goodbye for a week or so.
Well, I needed to clear my head. I headed to Eldora Mountain for a short day at the mountains. My hip was still swollen and mildly painful, but when in Rome. I wore my ridiculous snow onesie and enjoyed a pretty empty, but icy mountain. I was extra careful-no jumps, not fast- and just enjoyed the fresh air. It was an exceptionally warm day, which was a blessing since it allowed me to change out of my snow stuff outside my van!
Next stop: Castle Rock. I was planning on meeting up with my good friend from Westminster College, Logan Ray. It had been a few years since we have caught up. We met up for a couple of beers and food at Rockyard Brewing Company. Logan and I have both made some big moves and some big resets in our lives since we saw each other last. It is so nice when you can meet up with someone and instantly click up like no time has passed at all. Logan just moved to Colorado less than a month ago. We talked about mountains and the beautiful scenery out here. Logan mentioned that he wanted to learn how to snowboard or ski, but didn't have any gear. Instantly, I knew what I needed to do. I had two boards and two pairs of boots in my van. Logan is a proud owner of a snowboard and boots that are over a decade old. It was an easy decision for me: I already had a great board and boots, and rarely used the other board and boots. We said our goodbyes and parted ways.
I headed back to the lodge at Avon and called Catalina to make sure she got back to Portland safely. All is good.
Be Kind and Run Wild.
Today is the day Catalina leaves.
It has been so fun adventuring with my partner! We shared laughs, frustrations, beautiful sights, cold nights, powder filled mountains, questionable roads, animal sightings, and way too many parking lots. I believe it is a testament to our love for each other to be able to not only to survive two weeks in a van with each other, but to be able to have such a great time doing it! We talked about how we would not want to do this trip with anyone else besides each other. I love that girl so much!
Alright, enough of that gushy emotional stuff. We got up early, packed and double checked everything, and got in the van. We stopped at HashTAG restaurant outside Denver for breakfast and headed to Denver International Airport. After some wrong turns, both inside and outside the airport, Cat got checked in and I walked her down to security. This would be goodbye for a week or so.
Well, I needed to clear my head. I headed to Eldora Mountain for a short day at the mountains. My hip was still swollen and mildly painful, but when in Rome. I wore my ridiculous snow onesie and enjoyed a pretty empty, but icy mountain. I was extra careful-no jumps, not fast- and just enjoyed the fresh air. It was an exceptionally warm day, which was a blessing since it allowed me to change out of my snow stuff outside my van!
Next stop: Castle Rock. I was planning on meeting up with my good friend from Westminster College, Logan Ray. It had been a few years since we have caught up. We met up for a couple of beers and food at Rockyard Brewing Company. Logan and I have both made some big moves and some big resets in our lives since we saw each other last. It is so nice when you can meet up with someone and instantly click up like no time has passed at all. Logan just moved to Colorado less than a month ago. We talked about mountains and the beautiful scenery out here. Logan mentioned that he wanted to learn how to snowboard or ski, but didn't have any gear. Instantly, I knew what I needed to do. I had two boards and two pairs of boots in my van. Logan is a proud owner of a snowboard and boots that are over a decade old. It was an easy decision for me: I already had a great board and boots, and rarely used the other board and boots. We said our goodbyes and parted ways.
I headed back to the lodge at Avon and called Catalina to make sure she got back to Portland safely. All is good.
Be Kind and Run Wild.
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
End of #Vanlife / Lots of Beer
Friday, January 26th
In the morning we headed towards the edge of Boulder and were blessed with a fantastic view of the city from the Flat Irons. What a great way to start the day! Afterwards, we headed down to Denver! We had a great vegetarian breakfast at City O' City, just a few blocks down from my brother's old flat. We walked around the city a bit while we waited for the Public Library to open. We both had some computer things to do today, and didn't want to pay for coffee in order to use the internet. After we had enough of free wifi, we headed back out towards the mountains.
I told Catalina I wanted to head back to the mountains tomorrow to see how my hip/butt felt. It's been bothering me and I wanted to make sure everything was groovy before we had a full day on Sunday.
We stopped at Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado for great views, camp cooking, and of course to use the restroom facilities. Today's lunch was lavish. We had a packet of dehydrated "Cuban Coconut Rice and Black Beans" from Backpackers Pantry (so good!), a packet of shrimp ramen, and COFFEE! it was really nice to enjoy this last #vanlife meal with Catalina before we met up with my father and brothers tomorrow in Avon.
Next stop was Frisco! We found free overnight parking and headed to a local watering hole, Moose Jaw, for some cheap beer and reflections on our journey.
Saturday, January 27th
I woke up this morning colder than any other morning this trip, to the sound of snow plows. I started the car to get some heat and start the windshield de-condensation process. While this was happening, I found a nice snow bank to sneak behind to relieve myself of the cheap water beer consumed last night.
It was possible the lodge we were going to be staying at the next few days would allow us to check in early, so that was going to be the first stop. But first, BREAKFAST! Cat stayed sleeping in the back as I drove back through the mountain passes on the way to Christie Lodge in Avon. We stopped for a nice warm meal at Northside Kitchen just as the sun was peeking out and making the mountains glow.
Unfortunately, the room wasn't ready so we headed to Copper Mountain for a short day. I knew if I fell, I would irritate my injury again, but I wanted to see how comfortable I would be still riding down. I was fine. I would be alright tomorrow for a full day. That's a relief.
We stopped by the store on the way back to get essentials for the room while we waited for my father and brothers to arrive. As we all know, the essentials include beer, bread, chips, salsa, and guacamole.
It was so nice to get everything unloaded out of the van and into the room. It was amazing to actually see all of our belongings at once. After showers (last shower was Wednesday...), I organized while Cat did homework, and we both cracked upon a beer and relaxed.
The family came and hugs were exchanged and we headed out for dinner at a local mexican restaurant. Tomorrow was going to be a big day!
Sunday, January 28th
It was such a blessing to be able to wake up in a large, warm bed! We prepped some peanut butter sandwiches for the afternoon while cooking oatmeal for breakfast. Catalina, my brothers, and I loaded up the van and headed to Copper Mountain! We played on the backside of the mountain and ran into my buddy Alex again! It was a wonderful and uneventful day, until a had a lapse and fell straight down onto my butt, while doing nothing at all. Oh boy did that hurt! I told the squad that I was going to the bottom of the mountain for a beer. It is so frustrating to keep injuring the same area over and over again. We had a long lunch and headed back up the mountain for a few more runs.
Not a bad day!
Trying to heal up so I can Run Wild!
In the morning we headed towards the edge of Boulder and were blessed with a fantastic view of the city from the Flat Irons. What a great way to start the day! Afterwards, we headed down to Denver! We had a great vegetarian breakfast at City O' City, just a few blocks down from my brother's old flat. We walked around the city a bit while we waited for the Public Library to open. We both had some computer things to do today, and didn't want to pay for coffee in order to use the internet. After we had enough of free wifi, we headed back out towards the mountains.
I told Catalina I wanted to head back to the mountains tomorrow to see how my hip/butt felt. It's been bothering me and I wanted to make sure everything was groovy before we had a full day on Sunday.
We stopped at Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado for great views, camp cooking, and of course to use the restroom facilities. Today's lunch was lavish. We had a packet of dehydrated "Cuban Coconut Rice and Black Beans" from Backpackers Pantry (so good!), a packet of shrimp ramen, and COFFEE! it was really nice to enjoy this last #vanlife meal with Catalina before we met up with my father and brothers tomorrow in Avon.
Next stop was Frisco! We found free overnight parking and headed to a local watering hole, Moose Jaw, for some cheap beer and reflections on our journey.
Saturday, January 27th
I woke up this morning colder than any other morning this trip, to the sound of snow plows. I started the car to get some heat and start the windshield de-condensation process. While this was happening, I found a nice snow bank to sneak behind to relieve myself of the cheap water beer consumed last night.
It was possible the lodge we were going to be staying at the next few days would allow us to check in early, so that was going to be the first stop. But first, BREAKFAST! Cat stayed sleeping in the back as I drove back through the mountain passes on the way to Christie Lodge in Avon. We stopped for a nice warm meal at Northside Kitchen just as the sun was peeking out and making the mountains glow.
Unfortunately, the room wasn't ready so we headed to Copper Mountain for a short day. I knew if I fell, I would irritate my injury again, but I wanted to see how comfortable I would be still riding down. I was fine. I would be alright tomorrow for a full day. That's a relief.
We stopped by the store on the way back to get essentials for the room while we waited for my father and brothers to arrive. As we all know, the essentials include beer, bread, chips, salsa, and guacamole.
It was so nice to get everything unloaded out of the van and into the room. It was amazing to actually see all of our belongings at once. After showers (last shower was Wednesday...), I organized while Cat did homework, and we both cracked upon a beer and relaxed.
The family came and hugs were exchanged and we headed out for dinner at a local mexican restaurant. Tomorrow was going to be a big day!
Sunday, January 28th
It was such a blessing to be able to wake up in a large, warm bed! We prepped some peanut butter sandwiches for the afternoon while cooking oatmeal for breakfast. Catalina, my brothers, and I loaded up the van and headed to Copper Mountain! We played on the backside of the mountain and ran into my buddy Alex again! It was a wonderful and uneventful day, until a had a lapse and fell straight down onto my butt, while doing nothing at all. Oh boy did that hurt! I told the squad that I was going to the bottom of the mountain for a beer. It is so frustrating to keep injuring the same area over and over again. We had a long lunch and headed back up the mountain for a few more runs.
Not a bad day!
Trying to heal up so I can Run Wild!
Friday, January 26, 2018
Day 4 of Swollen Butt/ 3 inconveniences of #Vanlife
Thursday, January 25th
I woke up to a sore, swollen, and stiff butt/hip. Today was going to be another day of recovering, which meant no running or snowboarding. However, there would be lots of stretching and rubbing. After we got everything packed back into the van and said farewell to friends and modern luxuries such as heat, showers, and a real bed, we headed back onto the road. Next stop Boulder. Catalina has never been to Boulder so we parked the van in a parking garage on a slope (this would be discovered to be a poor decision when it came time for bed), and explored Pearl Street. We found a nice bar with a good happy hour and had a beer before finding a coffee shop to sit down and get some work done.
Catalina has been superhuman this trip! Whether it is feeding me food while I drive, finding great places to stop and eat, entertaining me with spanish music, laughing at me while I'm falling down a mountain of powder, or just knowing how I'm feeling. And, she is doing all this while staying on top of grad school homework. She's AWESOME!
We spent the rest of the day wandering around and just being grateful to have each other on this adventure. We climbed into the van on the sloped parking and had another night of no incidents, until I woke up with all my weight on my swollen hip, due to the slant.
This adventure has been great, but there are some major inconveniences of #vanlife that I'm listing below:
1. Waking up and having to use the restroom immediately. Not an issue in regular life--walk down the hall, turn on the light, enter restroom, take care of business, leave restroom, turn off light, go back to bed. This is what usually happens most mornings: wake up, "I really need to pee", realize the business you parked in front of is closed and no restrooms available, start the car and the defroster, move all the bags from the front seat into the back seat, wait for the car to defrost, frantically find the nearest open gas station, drive to gas station, enter restroom, take care of business, leave restroom, feel weird about not buying anything at gas station, figure out the plan for the day.
2. Lack of cleanliness. Whether it's going a few days without a shower, going a few meals without washing the camping stove pot (cinnamon flavored shrimp ramen is much better than shrimp flavored cinnamon oatmeal), or the dirty clothes bag being 3 feet from my head when I sleep. They are all reminders that I'm not living the most sanitary lifestyle and I probably smell worse than I imagine.
3. Being stuck in box. For those that don't already know, I tend to get pretty antsy and have to move around every so often. Driving hours on end during the winter doesn't help that feeling. In the summertime, taking long drives and road trips has never been a problem. I just pull over wherever and go for a run. It's not the hassle of layering up, packing nutrition, sharing my location, and hope I don't get lost or eaten by a bear.
Those are the 3 major inconveniences, but they in no way outweigh the joy and feeling of freedom of being on the road and making your own destinations.
Stay Free and Run Wild
I woke up to a sore, swollen, and stiff butt/hip. Today was going to be another day of recovering, which meant no running or snowboarding. However, there would be lots of stretching and rubbing. After we got everything packed back into the van and said farewell to friends and modern luxuries such as heat, showers, and a real bed, we headed back onto the road. Next stop Boulder. Catalina has never been to Boulder so we parked the van in a parking garage on a slope (this would be discovered to be a poor decision when it came time for bed), and explored Pearl Street. We found a nice bar with a good happy hour and had a beer before finding a coffee shop to sit down and get some work done.
Catalina has been superhuman this trip! Whether it is feeding me food while I drive, finding great places to stop and eat, entertaining me with spanish music, laughing at me while I'm falling down a mountain of powder, or just knowing how I'm feeling. And, she is doing all this while staying on top of grad school homework. She's AWESOME!
We spent the rest of the day wandering around and just being grateful to have each other on this adventure. We climbed into the van on the sloped parking and had another night of no incidents, until I woke up with all my weight on my swollen hip, due to the slant.
This adventure has been great, but there are some major inconveniences of #vanlife that I'm listing below:
1. Waking up and having to use the restroom immediately. Not an issue in regular life--walk down the hall, turn on the light, enter restroom, take care of business, leave restroom, turn off light, go back to bed. This is what usually happens most mornings: wake up, "I really need to pee", realize the business you parked in front of is closed and no restrooms available, start the car and the defroster, move all the bags from the front seat into the back seat, wait for the car to defrost, frantically find the nearest open gas station, drive to gas station, enter restroom, take care of business, leave restroom, feel weird about not buying anything at gas station, figure out the plan for the day.
2. Lack of cleanliness. Whether it's going a few days without a shower, going a few meals without washing the camping stove pot (cinnamon flavored shrimp ramen is much better than shrimp flavored cinnamon oatmeal), or the dirty clothes bag being 3 feet from my head when I sleep. They are all reminders that I'm not living the most sanitary lifestyle and I probably smell worse than I imagine.
3. Being stuck in box. For those that don't already know, I tend to get pretty antsy and have to move around every so often. Driving hours on end during the winter doesn't help that feeling. In the summertime, taking long drives and road trips has never been a problem. I just pull over wherever and go for a run. It's not the hassle of layering up, packing nutrition, sharing my location, and hope I don't get lost or eaten by a bear.
Those are the 3 major inconveniences, but they in no way outweigh the joy and feeling of freedom of being on the road and making your own destinations.
Stay Free and Run Wild
Thursday, January 25, 2018
A Baby Hiccup / Humpday
Tuesday January 23
Let's recover and not make the injury worse.
Woke up at the Travel Transit Center in Steamboat Springs next to a couple different vans and RVs that also illegally "camped" overnight. I am still finding it difficult to wake up to a bright outside world after sleeping in complete darkness. I was going to take the day off, due to the swelling in my hip/butt. However, my partner in adventure shouldn't have to be affected. I dropped Catalina off at the base of Steamboat, told her to have a great time, and headed down to take care of some cleaning and organizing that was long overdue. I knew we would have a washer and dryer at our disposal along with a dishwasher tonight and wanted to take advantage of all these amenities in the most practical fashion. I also wanted to make another duplicate of my keys, just in case. Catalina had a short day on the mountain and I had a productive day making phone calls to family and sorting out the van. After a day on the mountains, I knew Cat would need some revitalization. We went to a small local mexican restaurant, "Taco Cabo", in Steamboat Springs and sampled some beers at Storm Peak Brewery. We then picked up some beer and pizzas from Papa Murphy's when Alex and his friend crew met us that night at our airbnb right off the mountain.
It was so nice to have a bedroom, shower, fireplace, and all the space to lay around and walk! It is the small things that make the experience. It was a great night full of smiles, laughs, and beer.
Stay Fun and Run Wild!
Wednesday January 24th
How nice to wake up and not have to worry about ice crystals inside the van! Did I mention free underground parking? Yeah. I got the van a carwash and parked it in the free underground garage at "The Village at Steamboat Springs." I was trying my best to treat the new van as well as I possibly could. This guy has taken me 4,000 miles with no problems. I am thankful.
First thing I did when I woke up was to try and see how bad my hip was by running on the treadmill. I could not even maintain a 10 minute pace without the pain becoming too much. Just the bouncing motion was rough and had to slow down to about a 12 minute pace. I found the pain manageable, but too much for me to do more than a mile and a bit. Oh well. I was going to try to get back on the mountain today. I could tell I was sore and things were tight, but manageable. That was until my loving girlfriend got a bit overzealous in wanting to "dust me." Alex, Bradley, and I were all on snowboards and due to a limitation of going uphill, we cut through a few runs to get to our destination. The girls, Cat and Heather, on skis managed the uphill just fine. We were sitting at the aptly named "Rendezvous" Lodge waiting for them as they kindly waited for us. It was at this point I saw Catalina flying down the mountain at an impressive speed. She was headed right towards us. "She's going to try and dust me", I meagerly said to Alex and Bradley. I popped up on my board and tried to avoid the powder cloud. Unfortunately, I ended up right in Catalina's path and her brazen speed was too much for us to handle. She crashed right into me and I ended up landing on the swollen part of my body. Well that hurt.
I was done. My mission for the rest of the day was to get down to the base, numb the pain, and sleep it off. Not the most ideal start to being told you are running 100 miles in July!!!
The rest of the day I accomplished those goals. The rest of the group finished the mountain for the day and headed off to Strawberry Hot Springs. I heard it was beautiful, but I was content laying in bed and not moving.
Know Your Body and Run Wild!
Let's recover and not make the injury worse.
Woke up at the Travel Transit Center in Steamboat Springs next to a couple different vans and RVs that also illegally "camped" overnight. I am still finding it difficult to wake up to a bright outside world after sleeping in complete darkness. I was going to take the day off, due to the swelling in my hip/butt. However, my partner in adventure shouldn't have to be affected. I dropped Catalina off at the base of Steamboat, told her to have a great time, and headed down to take care of some cleaning and organizing that was long overdue. I knew we would have a washer and dryer at our disposal along with a dishwasher tonight and wanted to take advantage of all these amenities in the most practical fashion. I also wanted to make another duplicate of my keys, just in case. Catalina had a short day on the mountain and I had a productive day making phone calls to family and sorting out the van. After a day on the mountains, I knew Cat would need some revitalization. We went to a small local mexican restaurant, "Taco Cabo", in Steamboat Springs and sampled some beers at Storm Peak Brewery. We then picked up some beer and pizzas from Papa Murphy's when Alex and his friend crew met us that night at our airbnb right off the mountain.
It was so nice to have a bedroom, shower, fireplace, and all the space to lay around and walk! It is the small things that make the experience. It was a great night full of smiles, laughs, and beer.
Stay Fun and Run Wild!
Wednesday January 24th
How nice to wake up and not have to worry about ice crystals inside the van! Did I mention free underground parking? Yeah. I got the van a carwash and parked it in the free underground garage at "The Village at Steamboat Springs." I was trying my best to treat the new van as well as I possibly could. This guy has taken me 4,000 miles with no problems. I am thankful.
First thing I did when I woke up was to try and see how bad my hip was by running on the treadmill. I could not even maintain a 10 minute pace without the pain becoming too much. Just the bouncing motion was rough and had to slow down to about a 12 minute pace. I found the pain manageable, but too much for me to do more than a mile and a bit. Oh well. I was going to try to get back on the mountain today. I could tell I was sore and things were tight, but manageable. That was until my loving girlfriend got a bit overzealous in wanting to "dust me." Alex, Bradley, and I were all on snowboards and due to a limitation of going uphill, we cut through a few runs to get to our destination. The girls, Cat and Heather, on skis managed the uphill just fine. We were sitting at the aptly named "Rendezvous" Lodge waiting for them as they kindly waited for us. It was at this point I saw Catalina flying down the mountain at an impressive speed. She was headed right towards us. "She's going to try and dust me", I meagerly said to Alex and Bradley. I popped up on my board and tried to avoid the powder cloud. Unfortunately, I ended up right in Catalina's path and her brazen speed was too much for us to handle. She crashed right into me and I ended up landing on the swollen part of my body. Well that hurt.
I was done. My mission for the rest of the day was to get down to the base, numb the pain, and sleep it off. Not the most ideal start to being told you are running 100 miles in July!!!
The rest of the day I accomplished those goals. The rest of the group finished the mountain for the day and headed off to Strawberry Hot Springs. I heard it was beautiful, but I was content laying in bed and not moving.
Know Your Body and Run Wild!
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