Just in time. . .

. . . for my vacation . . . I hurt my back!

I tweeked my back last week while pulling on my sock. Nothing serious, just a little tender. I ran and it didn't bother me at all. It was feeling back to normal on Saturday, until I fed the cats. Seriously I reached to the counter corner to reach a food dish and pop, I hurt it again. I spent some time on the roller and that really helped loosen it up. I planned to go skiing with a couple friends and didn't think my back would stop me from skiing.

Got to the hill, picked up lift tickets, got my friend set up for a lesson and off we went. Holy cow, after 1 run down, well it didn't take the entire run down for me to realize that my back was in bad shape. I should have stopped, but I continued for 4 more runs, then I decided I needed a little break. My low back muscle was in spasms and I was in pain. I ran into my friend who was taking a lesson. She had decided she didn't like skiing, she wasn't able to come to a stop and wanted the lesson to be done. I told her I needed a break, and we would go have a beer and then go back out for a few runs down the bunny hill. By this time my back was really hurting, but as I said, we had a beer and then headed back out for a ride up the lift and a few runs down the bunny hill.

By the time I got home I was in a lot of pain. I would rank it 10 out of 10. I took Advil and a couple Tylenol PM's hoping that would alleviate some of the pain. I was not that lucky. After suffering through the night with no sleep, and actually falling down our stairs (I only fell from the 3rd step) because my leg went out under me and not being able to find any position that offered relief I went to urgent care at 8 and came home with Vicodin and muscle relaxers. Arrrrgggggg

That was Sunday morning. Today, Wednesday is the first day I haven't taken any Vicodin, but have taken two muscle relaxers. My left leg is tingly and somewhat numb below my knee, so something is still pinching. What a great vacation. My plan was to run daily and take some extra Pilates classes, but that isn't going to happen.

I am just hoping to get out of the house tomorrow for a walk! Until the tingling, numb feeling is gone, running isn't going to happen.

Recipes -

Last Friday I made chicken parmesan with a twist, HERE from Jenna's blog, Eat, Live, Run. I have never made chicken parmesan. I usually don't like breaded meat, but this was pretty good. What's the twist? Pepperoni on top!

Enjoy the moments!

 

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Steamboat . . .

. . . a bluebird type of day!

Dry conditions set in on Wednesday, with blue skies and milder temp's. The previous days snow and clouds left snow laden trees on the upper mountain and beautiful vista's. If you look closely the trees on the upper mointain, that were in the clouds the day before are white with sticky snow.

The pictures are stunning!

 

After we were done skiing on Wednesday, we traveled down to Dillion, CO for more skiing. We got to the condo around 5, unpacked and headed over to Frisco for dinner.

Today we decided to take a day of rest. Our legs were tired and the added elevation is certainly noticeable. One of the many reasons I LOVE Steamboat is that the city and resort base is around 7,000 feet wih the mountain peak at 10,500 feet. We seem to adapt to that elevation quickly. But here in Dillion, CO the elevation is 9,000. That extra 2,000 feet is very noticeable when moving around and since both Vail (Friday) and Beaver Creek (Saturday) ski resorts are at higher elevation we thought we needed a break.

Enjoy the moments!

 

 

 

 

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Steamboat . . .

. . . still snowing! Charlie and I took Monday off to rest my legs and his back. He fell on Sunday and hurt his back - nothing worse than a sore back while snow boarding or skiing.

This morning we woke up to snow and wind. We were at the Gondola at 8:25, which is 5 minutes before they open so we waited about 5 minutes and then headed up the mountain and started our day on Heavenly Daze again. We did that run 3 times and then separated. I stayed on the bottom mountain area for some runs and then decided to head up to the top, hoping it wasn't as cloudy as it looked. The top of the mountain was in the clouds but as the lift got closer and closer to the top I realized that there was basically little to no visibility. I should have known it would be bad. I took it pretty easy skiing down because you couldn't see very well. At the bottom of the run, I decided to head to one of the mountain restaurants to warm up. By this time it was about 12:15 and the rest of the family met me at The Rendezvous.

Here is a shot of my son Joe in the distance.

We contined skiing and finished up around 2:30.

On the home front, we are having our base molding, window trim and interior doors replaced. We have been waiting for the crew to start for about 6 months. They had other jobs and we were not in a hurry. I was just thrilled to know it was off of my to do list. Anyway, they started this week. Here is a before shot of the hall bathroom door before and after.

As you can see we are replacing dark wood trim and hollow core doors with solid core white 4 panel doors and white base molding. I am enjoying our ski vacation but can't wait to see the results. Of course there are many other doors to finish and windows and base . . . the builders will be at the house for about a month. There will be plenty of time for me to enjoy it,

Enjoy the moments!

 

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Steamboat day 2 . . .

. . . was as good as the first day!

We woke up to about 6 inches of fresh snow.

 

Skiers LOVE fresh powder. We were up and on the mountain by 8:30 and headed up the Gondola and then down Heavenly Daze. This run is on the face of the mountain, along the Gondola line and overlooks the base area and city. We have discovered that it is great first thing in the morning - but extremely tough for me later in the day. It is a long run and the mountain face is (in my opinion) extremely convex, so it appears steeper that it really is. Anyway, down we went. With it still snowing, there was probably 7–8 inches on the mountain and boy oh boy is it tough to carve through the snow. It took all of my leg strength. I really tried to think positive thoughts - easy corners, move ski's together, don't cut on your edges . . . eventually I was down. Down in the snow, not down the mountain!!! Nothing hurt, just took a tumble. We continued down the run and headed over to another area accessed by another lift.

 

What goes up, must come down, so down we went. After a couple more runs, I decided I needed a break and decided to do a few green (easy) runs. My legs and confidence needed a break. I felt much better on the greens given the deep snow conditions. I like the blue runs (Intermediate level), but today, I stuck with the green (easy level) since they had been cleared of much of the fresh snow, leaving 2-3 inches, which is much more manageable!

Hooked back up with everyone at lunch. Here I am with Charlie before heading down. Then back out for a few more runs!

Dinner was at a local Mexican resturant - then back to the condo to relax and watch RonBurgundy. No matter how many times - it is always funny.

Enjoy the moments!

 

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Steamboat day 1 . . .

. . was wonderful . . . like always.

Steamboat is probably my favorite place.

Saturday morning we flew out of Madison directly into Denver and then rented a car and drove to Steamboat. Traffic was slow for about 15 miles before the Eisenhower tunnel and the roads were snow covered over Rabbit Ears pass. But since we drive in snow all the time - the trip went fine. Once you get off the Interstate and head north to Steamboat - the route is through "high country", defined as 'An area of land formed or lying above the piedmont and below the timberline'. Here is a shot overlooking a lake area. It is very beautiful country. Ranchs, cattle, grazing land, streams,mountain peaks and the bluest sky you can imagine!

Once at the condo we unpacked and headed to the grocery store. This is our view from the condo. You can just see the mountain top sticking up over the roof line. Speaking of roof lines, check out that snow!!!!

We then decided to try night skiing, so we grabbed subs at Subway so that we had a quick meal. This is the first year Steamboat offers night skiing. They have lite 4 runs that is serviced by the Christy lift. Here is Joe and Chelsea at the base area.

 

We must have taken 10-12 trips down the trails. Mid-way through, they headed to the black (expert) runs, while I stayed on the blue (intermediate) run. Finished the night at the base with a water and a Fat Tire.

This morning, (Sunday) we already have 2 inches of fresh powder and are expecting 8 inches through out the day. Eating breakfast and getting ready is next, then heading to the mountain.

Enjoy the moments.

 

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Ski Colorado!

I had planned to post and comment while vacationing in Colorado - but that didn't happen.  Oh well - sometimes things just don't work out like we think they might or should.  But the important thing is we had a great time skiing in Colorado - Sunday evenings flight into Denver was no problem - we picked up the car and headed to Frisco.  We arrived at our hotel around midnight Sunday.  After unpacking we jumped into bed so that we could get up and ski on Monday morning.


Monday:  Breckenridge

 Jan and Charlie bright and early at the parking lot of Breckenridge - getting ready to jump on the gondola and head to the mountain.  

  

Charlie and I on one of the lifts at Breckenridge.

We headed to Breckenridge on Monday.  My friend Jan has a friend, Shelia, who lives in Breckenridge.  We met up with Shelia at the base of the Gondola and headed to the mountain for a day of skiing.  Skiing conditions were wonderful - the top of the mountain was socked in by clouds - so we didn't venture up there - but skied peaks 7, 8 and 9.  We had wanted to make it over to peak 10 - but just didn't have the time and I didn't have the energy.  Plus peak 10 is mainly blacks . . . and I only starting to feel comfy (that is a relative term) on some blacks.  But we had a great day of skiing.  We stayed in town after skiing was finished - walked down main street and ended up eating at a Mexican restaurant.  After eating we headed back to the hotel - sat in the hot tub and headed to bed.


Tuesday:  Loveland
Tuesday we headed over to Loveland Ski Area, which is basically built on top of the mountain that the Eisenhower tunnel is built through.  The ski resort is the second highest resort in Colorado with the peak at 13,000 and a drop of 2,400 feet.  It was a cold day with temperatures in the teens and fairly windy conditions.  The wind probably wasn't that bad - but when you are on top of a mountain - even a little breeze feels strong.  We had a good day of skiing at Loveland.  We probably won't go back to Loveland - the runs aren't that long and you are above the tree line for much of the mountain.  But is was still a good day of skiing.  When we were done - we headed back through the tunnel and stopped at a local bar and met up with Shelia for appetizers and a couple of beers.

The mountain top, which is just beyond the trees is where we are headed.  

Charlie and Jan at Loveland Ski Area

Wednesday:  Vail
Wednesday morning Jan's friend Shelia picked us up at the hotel and we headed to Vail.  Vail is a huge resort at 5,300 acres.  We headed to the back bowls and skied there most of the morning and early afternoon.  We didn't stop for lunch until after 1:30 and then headed back to the front side of the mountain and skied there the rest of the day. In my opinion, Vail isn't really built with snow boarders in mind - to move to the back bowls and from peak to peak, there are a lot of traverse area's which make using a snow board a real pain.  Although my son likes the runs - moving around the mountain is a pain in the butt.   

Charlie, Shelia and Jan at Cloud Nine in Blue Sky basin. 

When we were done we walked back through Vail village, stopping at The George, which is a local restaurant for Apres - drinks and food never tasted as good as after a day of skiing.   


Thursday and Friday:  Copper 
Thursday and Friday we skied at Copper Mountain.  My son and I had never been there and we LOVED it.  It was a great resort - the conditions were wonderful.  We had two days of low 30's and sunshine . . . so it was GREAT.  

Jan, Shelia and me at Copper - Check out that blue sky!

Both Shelia and her hubby Andy skied with us during both days.  On Friday, Andy and Shelia took my son Charlie on a mountain tour, down double blacks and through trees and into area's that only the regulars know about.  At times they were outside of the boundaries, leaving the marked "in bound" skiing areas.  Charlie loved it and got to ski through tons of unmarked powder.  This is well beyond my abilities. 

Charlie and I at Copper

Jan and I skied some runs on the front side and eventually met up with them at the end of the day.  It was SO nice being with people that really knew the mountain.  When we were done on Thursday we stopped on the hill at Jack's for a couple of drinks.  
  

Andy, Jan, me, Shelia and Charlie enjoying a beer or two after skiing!  

On Friday we headed back to Denver and then had an early flight home Saturday morning.  When I got home I took the dog out on the frozen lake to play catch - she had a great time slipping and sliding.  I was exhausted and did some laundry and basically vegged out for the rest of the day.  Sleep in my bed felt so good. 
Tomorrow I am back to work and will be running in the morning.  Looking forward to going to the Hood to Coast movie on Tuesday evening with a group of runners from Madison - 


Peace and Joy to all!


P.S.  2 of my items on my list of 55 things to do during my 55th year involved skiing.  
#9  - Ski at 5 different ski resorts during my winter ski trip - didn't quite happen.  While we DID ski all 5 days - we only skied at 4 different resorts.  Since the year has only begun - I just might still hit this later in the year.   
#14 - Ski 55,000 vertical feet during our ski vacation.  Yup - we certainly did that.  On Wednesday at Vail we hit our high of 18,500 vertical feet (Shelia has a pass that tracks all of her runs - so I used that number for Wed and estimated the other days based on my garmin and phone app's.)  My estimate is that we skied well over 80,000 vertical feet over 5 days.  


LOVE LOVE Colorado.

Colorado here we come!

Tomorrow we are heading to Colorado for a week of skiing.  YAHOO!!!!!
My youngest son Charlie and Jan, a girl friend of mine will be flying out tomorrow evening.  My oldest son, Joe and his girlfriend will not be joining us as this winter.  He started his first full time job in October and hasn't "earned" any vacation days yet.  I will miss his presence - he is an organizer and ALWAYS knows his way around the mountains.  Oh well - without him, it does force me to pay more attention to the trail maps.  ;-)
We were going to drive to Colorado and then at the last minute decided to try and price some airline tickets using Priceline.  As it turned out, we got a pretty decent price - only problem is we are not flying out of Madison until 7:30PM, getting into Denver at 9PM.  We then have to pick up a car and drive up to Frisco, which is close to 2 hours from the airport.  It will be a long evening and the funny thing is that we will get there at approximately the same time as if we had driven - but we won't have to be in the car for 16+ hours.  Priority number 1 for tomorrow afternoon will be to take a nap - something I am not real good at - but something that will make skiing on Monday possible.

Charlie and I last year!

We watched the Badgers play in the Rose Bowl - it was a disappointing game.  I hope that the Packers will be more successful tomorrow afternoon when they play the Bears.  

I will be posting short updates and some photo's from Colorado!

Back to Reality

I skied at Beaver Creek again today. As you can see in the pictures it was a blue sky day. Pretty chilly temp's in the morning - but it warmed up in the afternoon. I skied 21 miles today. It was a very pleasant day. I had a good final run down the mountain.

I left Avon around 3:00 and headed down to Denver, where I am staying the evening. My flight leaves at 11:00. I should be back in Madison around 5:00.

While I am sad to be leaving this area . . . I am anxious to get back to my family.

Would I go on vacation again by myself?

I am not sure . . . .

I had a great time . . . and think that more people should try this . . . but I kept thinking about how much more fun it would be to share it with someone. I really am glad I did this - it allowed me time to only depend on myself. ;-)

It was fun to chat with people on the lifts and at the shops. Today I had lunch on the mountain and were joined by several members of a family enjoying a ski vacation prior to their son's wedding in Denver this week end. The parents immigrated from Romania - it was fun listening to their stories.

Signing off from Denver . . . Madison here I come.

I will be back to running on Friday.

Beaver Creek and Vail

I have had a great two days skiing. I started Saturday off with an hour long Yoga class. The studio is right across the street (how lucky is that?) from my hotel and the class was absolute bliss. I then took the bus (right outside my hotel) to the gondola which took me to one of the ticket centers and I headed up the mountain. It was snowing most of the day - we probably got a couple of inches. I stopped at the Ritz-Carlton, which is located at the bottom of one of the runs and ate at the grill outside. I had a ginormous burger for lunch. Needless to say, the burger and lemon-aide was $20 . . . I ate every single bite. Usually if you eat at one of the resort restaurants on the mountain you can stay around $10-$12 for lunch - since I was at the bottom of the lift and hungry I thought what the heck. I won't do that again. It was a pretty good burger.

I skied with my garmin and only tracked the ski miles - not the lift miles. I skied 23 miles.

When I got back to the hotel I hopped in the hot tub for about 15 minutes - it was really hot - I was alone . . . which I liked. Then back to the room to shower.

I then decided to go for a walk. I am staying in Avon, which is right off I-70. Beaver Creek Resort is about 3 miles away. I started walking up to the resort. It was up hill (well it is really up the mountain) all the way. It took me over an hour to get there. I didn't have my garmin with me - but I am going to do it again tomorrow and will wear my garmin so I can check the elevation. It felt like I was climbing 1000's of feet . . . but I doubt it was that much . . . but who knows. I walked around the shops at Beaver Creek, and stopped for a bowl of Gelato. sooooo good.

Today - I skied Vail. It was another great day. I headed to the back bowls. On the way 18 groomers were heading back from grooming some runs of the back bowls . . . it is like a parade on the mountain.

Vail does a great job grooming some runs on the back bowls. If not for the grooming - I would never be back there. I made my way around the mountain without any problems. There was only a couple of times that I had to get my map out to check which lift to take. Usually when I have been skiing in Colorado - my son's have been with me and they lead me around the mountain . . . . I just follow. But this trip it is up to me to make my way around the mountains.

Tonight I am back at the hotel - blogging, updating facebook and watching the Super bowl - while enjoying a glass of wine.

Tomorrow is going to start with a 9:00 Yoga class. I am then going to head over to the Starbuck's, enjoy some coffee and do some work. I have personnel reviews coming up and thought this would be a good time to get some of the write-ups completed. I am then planning on running up to Beaver Creek again. I am sure I will walk quite a bit - but thought it might be fun.

Peace

Am I the luckiest person on earth?

That is pretty much what I feel like right now. Why am I so blessed to be able to vacation in Colorado a second time this winter? I have no answers. I am just very thankful.

I spent the last couple of days attending a conference in Denver. The conference ended at 1:00 this afternoon and I headed west. I got to my hotel in Avon, CO around 3:00 pm. I unpacked and then walked to the city market and bought some fruit and Luna bars for the next couple of days. I also scoped out restaurants . . . settled for a pizza joint. I ordered a greek salad and slice of pizza. It was the wonderful slice of pizza, with spinach, feta cheese, onions and tomatoes on a thin crust. Yum - worked out that I am by myself - onions and peppers. Yum. I didn't have any lunch so I was really hungry. I also had a glass of Sunshine beer - similar to Blue Moon.

Tomorrow I am going to ski at Beaver Creek. But first I am going to a Yoga class at a studio right across the street from my hotel. How lucky is that.

Usually we are try to get to the slopes first thing in the morning. Tomorrow - I will ski when I get there. Oh the joy of not having to please / or worry about anyone else.

Life is Good!!!

what to do . . . what to do . . . what to do

So I am heading to Denver for a conference on Wednesday. After the conference is finished on Friday afternoon, my plan was to drive up into the mountains and spend some extra days out there skiing. A friend of mine was going to fly in to Colorado and we were going to meet up after I was finished on Friday. We were then going to ski Saturday thru Tuesday and return to Madison on Wed. Feb. 10th.

My friend called me this morning and her father passed away last evening. I am very sorry for my friend's loss. Her parents were down south over the winter - but the funeral will be in Indiana. So there are a lot of travel issues and she is not sure about the arrangements. She obviously won't be able to come with me skiing.

I now need to figure out what I am going to do.

My choices are:

1. Stick with the plan - and ski by myself. Vail and Steamboat offer ski with resort ambassadors for individuals over 50 - so I could take advantage of that. Spend some time alone - do what I want - when I want - eat what I want - when I want - shop or do whatever I want. But I would be alone and although a couple days sound great - this would be 4 days of skiing by myself.

2. Since I am flying out through work - my airfare is covered by my company. I could see if there is a penalty for changing the return time and if not - or if it isn't very expensive I would cover the reschedule fee and simply fly back after the conference on Friday.

3. If I can change my return flight for a reasonable price - maybe return on Monday and simply ski on Saturday and Sunday. That way I could ski for a couple of days.

There is always a chance that we could reschedule another trip out west a little later in the winter - but that might be difficult.

what to do . . . what to do . . . what to do???

Ski trip to Colorado

I have just not felt like writing about our ski trip - don't know why - just haven't had it in me. So, I will simply keep this brief - we had a Great time. How could you have anything other than a great time skiing for 5 days in Colorado.

Pic's at the right:

Joe, Chelsea and Charlie waiting for equipment at Denver

Charlie, Joe and Chelsea at the base at Beaver Creek, waiting for fresh baked chocolate cookies

My son Charlie and me

Charlie, Chelsea and me

My son Joe (orange jacket) with his girlfriend Chelsea.

Friday - 12/18 - We skied at Beaver Creek - had a great day. No new snow - but the conditions were fine. Weather was sunny and quite comfy. Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies at 3:00 at the base tasted sooooo good. Something about skiing in the fresh air and then getting to munch on fresh cookies . . . it is hard to describe.

Saturday - Skied at Vail. The back bowls were not opened yet, but we still had fun.

Sunday - got up and drove up to Steamboat, which is where we stayed for the rest of the trip. First day of skiing was great. Again, no new snow and some of the mountain was not yet opened - but I love Steamboat.

Monday - took off - shopped and had lunch downtown - usually we eat on the mountain. This was a first for us.

Tuesday - more of the mountain was open. Some of my favorite runs - Heavenly Daze and Buddy's runs were in great shape in the AM.

Wednesday - more skiing at Steamboat. Fresh snow and it continued to snow all day. We got to watch the Olympic trials for Moguls - awesome. These people really fly down the run.

Thursday - got up and drove back to Denver for our flight back into Milwaukee. We got home just after midnight.

Great trip - I took my garmin - we skiied about 20 miles a day and traveled over 19,000 vertical feet.

I am so lucky - because I will be returning to Colorado in early Feb. to attend a conference and will be extending my stay by 5 days to ski with a friend. I am one lucky camper. ;-)

Peace

Linda

Looking Forward to Winter

So I have two ski trips planned for this winter. My sons and I will be traveling to Steamboat Springs CO over Christmas - - - love love love Steamboat. I also have a trip planned to Vail in February with a friend. I have been looking for conferences and found one in Denver – since I will be there – I will stay for 5 more days and ski with a friend in Vail. How lucky am I – two trips to Colorado for skiing this winter.

I only started downhill skiing 5 years ago. Up until then I had never been on downhill ski’s. My son had signed up for ski club in Middle School and we attended a reduced family ski trip over Christmas break. After that I enjoyed it – but had only skied a few times in Wisconsin. Then a friend was organizing a trip to Colorado and asked me if I was interested in going. This was the year after I had competed my chemo treatments for breast cancer. I didn’t even have to think about the answer . . . it was Yes – yes – yes.

Enjoy the Day – it’s my 54^th Birthday!!!!