It's a real winter here

...and I am loving it. OK, to be honest, I am looking forward some warmer weather eventually coming, maybe by mid-March, but that's the thing, with a cold winter season, the Spring is appreciated so much more. I am just ready to wear fewer layers, and have my water not freeze, leaving me stranded dry.

Let me backtrack a bit. The week was going all great, my recovery (a.k.a. road run speed) was faster than after my January Pikes Peak trip, so I did all the usual things, runs, legs, Incline, work (priorities, right? In that order).

Then Friday rolled, and it was time for my long run. Thank God I didn't look at the thermometer or I would have turned around. It, apparently, read at home 0 degrees Fahrenheit. What was it in the mountains? I will never know. But my water bottles froze shut in about an hour, after first 5 sips from one of them. And my Cliff bars got rock-hard, along with chews and gels. The only thing I was able to consume, even though with icicles inside, was my homemade wrap of egg and cheese. So, it'd be my only food for some over 5 hrs...and basically no water. Simultaneously, I wish I did know the temps ahead, because I was totally underdressed. My hands were freezing, so was my face. My body stayed alright, I guess, with some chills going through once in a while. Due to all that, I quickly, within first 30 min, changed my route, and tried to stay "low" (I am guessing all below 11k for sure), although still got my 23 miles with 5,700 feet of elevation gain. I am one mo-fo! Gosh, I wanted to quit so many times, but I made it. It was beautiful, though, with hoarfrost, air still (thank God no wind, almost), and even some sunshine when I was on a dirt road stretch in the middle of it all! I tried to smile through it and enjoy the suffering...eh, the amazing mountains around. 

Unfortunately for me, it was still 8F when I finished, and my water bottle in the car I was counting on was frozen as well. With that, all of my recovery was done once at home, lots of water, tea, coffee, and, of course, food. In fact, our local plaza half a mile away opened up a new pizza place - NY pizza! Considering I spent 11 years in NYC (The Bronx!), I was eager to try it, and I only eat junk food after long efforts. This one qualified. We ordered an 18 inch and inhaled it all! That evening, I have also finally finished my slow (albeit very simple) knitting project with the yarn Monika bought for my birthday during my October Portland visit.

We spent after-dinner watching the weather forecast for the weekend. Expecting a serious cold front with lots of snow, but kept fingers crossed for a Saturday morning mad dash to Leadville for some cross-country skiing. Luckily, it worked out! We jumped in the car by 6 am, and after stopping at our favorite coffee shop City on the Hill in Leadville, headed out to Mt. Massive Golf course ski place. It was 20 degrees warmer there than at home when we left (2F vs 22F)! We had it all to ourselves as most people wake up and show up later, and those 7+ miles of quiet snow, views, fresh tracks, and time together was a best gift we gave ourselves! And we did them much faster than last time - Larry is getting a hang of Nordic skiing, I better watch out and begin putting some effort! 

On the way back (it's 2.5 hrs drive) we stopped in Buena Vista's trail store (Trailhead) to check it out, and to our pleasant surprise, they had 25% sale on everything - man, suddenly we needed things, and loaded up. I mean, we didn't "need", but really wanted quite a few, and all of them are extremely useful for what they are intended. That was a happy day. It was even happier as we made it home just in time - the snow started. The temperatures began plummeting and the win picked up. I barely made a dash to the store for milk, and we settled in for a cozy night...and with an eye on tomorrow.

Which came with 3 inches of fresh snow and -10F, windchill -18F. Yikes! Larry took a shovel, and I dressed up for the local flat trail by the creek. Um, I am tough, but I am human. I cut my run in half, as the snow was getting heavy, and my face was cold and plastered with snow so much, I could barely see.

These 7 miles brought me to another week just over 62 miles, and I call it good. Thankfully, next week in my schedule is a rest/off week with low miles (and lots of skiing planned), so I am fine adjusting and adapting. That's what life is about. We're heading into our coldest night and the following day since moving here (-18F, windchill -28F), but by Wednesday might creep up to 30. Ha. I feel like home:)