Crested Butte Recap

Below is a random recap of my hand written journaling while I was in Crested Butte, Colorado over the weekend. Cell phone is spotty at best and internet connections are fortunate when you find an open terminal in the Grand Lodge.


Sunday, March 5th
What a wonderful night of rest with no alarm clock and no agenda. I wake up at 6:30am. It sounds early, but it was actually 10 hours of sleep! Wow-I apparently needed to catch up. I was the first one up. I lit the fireplace and started coffee. The thermometer says 15 degrees outside. Sun is coming up over the snowy mountains. I love this place and am fortunate to be here. Right here. Right now. I stretch, do some ab work, push ups, sun salutations. At about 7:15am, I decide to go for a small jog. I stress "jog." It's cold and we're 10,000 feet above sea level. Immediately after starting, I decide to ascend Cement Creek Road. My HR increases and it's tough to breathe. I want to quit, but I committed to 30 minutes. It's such an amazing morning. I am feeling very "in the moment." I guess there's no other way to feel since my heart appears to be exploding from my chest! Fifteen minutes passes and I turn around. The way back is much easier. I actually want to go longer, but I don't. My only goal was 30 minutes and I did it. Back at the condo, the fire is burning and coffee is ready. My girlfriends are still in their PJs. It's another perfect morning in Crested Butte. On the agenda--a full day of skiing and that's it. My day is mine. My time is mine. No 2-a-day workouts.

8am Uncle Sams Cereal/Granola mix with Organic Vanilla yogurt. A little skim milk with blueberries, strawberries, 1/2 banana, coffee.

11:30am 1/2 balance bar on the slopes
1:30pm Pan Seared Tuna Salad, nibbles of antipasta appetizer plate including 3 pieces of procuitto, a small piece of cheese and 1/2 breadstick, diet coke.
4pm 1 1/2 glasses of wine, 1/2 balance bar, bite of cookie, small cup of warm apple cider
7:30pm Cooked dinner in condo while watching Academy Awards: Salad, chicken breast, asparagus, roasted potatoes, 1/2 glass of wine, dessert was 1/2 clif bar.

Monday, March 6th
Skiing is scary. There is something about going fast and losing control with no protection on a mountain of snow, ice and rocks. Call me crazy, but that shit is downright deadly! Skiing, however, is also exhilarating. Where else can you get breathtaking views of mountains, sky and earth at the same time? I hadn't skied in a year and it was only my 2nd ski trip ever! I put on my skis and got nervous-really nervous. I almost didn't want to do it. 'What if I fall and tumble down the mountain?' 'What if I break my leg or tweak my knee a month before the Boston Marathon?' My girlfriends are much more confident on skis, which is funny since I'm the one who's more daring, athletic and risky. We decide to go up the lift together for the first time. I'm tense the entire time-pretty much hating it! They keep stopping and waiting for me. Once we got to the bottom, I BEG them to go their separate way. I'm not trying to be bitchy, but I just have to tackle this in my own way without the pressures of people watching...and waiting. I spend the next two hours by myself traversing the mountain doing run after run and going up lift after lift. My favorite part of skiing is going up the lift...the views, the silence, the gratitude of being alive.
After a couple of hours, I start to enjoy it again. I start to love it. The slopes aren't crowded so I am able to go slow and take nice wide turns down some of the runs. I meet my friends for lunch on the mountain again and we eat outside with jackets off. After lunch, I go off by myself again and ski for a couple more hours. By 3:30pm, my knees and quads are feeling it. Time to go in for the day...We eat dinner at a funky Thai Restaurant and veg out in the hot tub later that evening. I'm in bed by 9:30pm.

8am coffee, 1/2 Clif Bar, Uncle Sams and Granola mix with berries, yogurt and 1/2 banana
10am small bite of chicken breast that I had packedon the slopes--protein
1:15pm Caesar Salad with chicken (brought from condo), beef and bean chili on top, diet coke
3pm 2 glasses of white wine
6pm Thai Restaurant called the Ginger Cafe: Flat Bread with shrimp, sprouts, red peppers, cheese, cup of miso soup, chicken stir fry with red peppers, onions, cilantro, green tea
8pm-1 small piece of chocolate and PB, about the size of hershey kiss.

Tuesday, March 7th
Our last full day in Crested Butte. I miss Shawn and can't wait to show him this part of the world. I've already resigned the fact that I want to take a summer trip and bring him with me. Kim left this morning and I ran 8.5 miles in 1:18. I had only planned to run for an hour, but it was AMAZING. Probably 38-40 degrees. I ran in shorts and fleece. The first 40 minutes were all uphill...switchbacks up the side of a mountain. slow, painful, beautiful. I traversw back and forth and keep climbing the roads of Crested Butte South until I have run (jogged) about 40 minutes and find a breathtaking overlook that looks down upon the town I just transcended. Mud, dirt and snow are on my legs and feet. awesome. I catch my breath and audibly give thanks for the ability. As I descend the hills I had just climbed, I find myself wanting to just KEEP RUNNING. I could go forever. I'm not fast, but it is comfortable and the views are too much. I stop after 8.5 miles so that I can stretch and spend the morning at the condo. We went our seperate ways this afternoon. Michelle went to ski, Susan went to get a manicure. I walked around town, got coffee, wrote a bit and then ducked into a bar. Go figure! There's nothing like Stoli Vanilla and Sprite at 3pm in the afternoon! Plus, it's a great way to meet the locals and get a real feel for the community. It's always interesting getting their take on this little slice of heaven. I enjoy the solitude of doing my own thing. I'm not much of a shopper so that has no appeal. I've got a massae scheduled nest week so I don't need that. Just one more day with no schedule and no regime. I Enjoy it!

We meet back up around 4:30pm for a glass of wine at the lodge, followed by shopping and then an early dinner at Sushi Restaurant Lobar...I went a little crazy on my last night of drinking.
Vodka at 3pm, Wine at 4:30p, and Saki for dinner. I spaced it quite well, but I was definitely tired on Tuesday night. Another night of turning in at 9:15am.

8am 2 bottles of water, 1/4 Clif Bar, coffee, Uncle Sams/Granola with berries and yogurt
11:45am (post run) slice of pizza with egg, procuitto, spinach and cheese and small cup of leftover chicken stirfry.
3pm Balance Bar and Pretzels at Lodge over a glass of red wine
6:30pm Sushi Restaurant--edamame, green salad, and plenty o' sushi with salmon, tuna, etc.

All in all, Crested Butte achieved everything it needed to achieve for me--just a little time of not being so freaking wound tight and high strung. It made me realize that I take this training stuff a little too serious sometimes (don't we all??). It doesn't mean that I'm going to stop, but perhaps it means that I can view it differently and not necessarily always be so results-oriented. All of my training stems from wanting to better my times, get faster, train harder, etc. So much so that I've forgotten to enjoy it sometimes. This weekend allowed me to step back and actually enjoy it. I spent a lot of time by myself--skiing, running, walking around. Some people don't like to be alone with themselves. I loved it.