Still 2021 here

The worst part about social media is that it kills brain and desire to speak in coherent sentences and paragraphs, cutting every happening, no matter how big or important, to a mere few pictures and 5 words. I should know. This blog got resurrected because I quit FB and IG and Twitter, at once, in the middle of the previous October. Well, this past October, I crawled back on IG, just to watch first, then a photo once, another time, and before I knew it, it spurred put of proportion and I became "one of them". A paragraph and 10 pictures. Repeat. Sigh. It doesn't help that I get, what, like 20 random people wandering over here, clicking on the post, no clue who they are, and no comment/conversation. Lets face it, writing "for my own good" had been overrated. I am 52. I am good. I do love the pictures, though, as I live in the most beautiful place. I think I will never get tired of repeating this. With that, lets just throw them, pictures, over here, and move on.

On December 15th COS saw highest winds recorded, gusting up t0 105 mph, downtown mostly - and our neighborhood was hit the worst. We lost power, trees, mostly evergreens, fell on the powerlines, houses, streets, alleys, garages - it looked like a war zone after 7 hrs of raging weather. Of course, it's not a tornado that ravaged near-by states a day or few prior, but we got severe damage still. Our house got spared (we cut some trees as soon as we moved in, what a foresight move), but our neighbors on both sides, and my boss, were not that lucky. 2 full days in the dark/cold, and 7 days without internet. Yikes, we're so spoiled in 21st century in good ol' USofA...

Of course, that didn't stop me from running and training and suddenly ramping up miles and workouts for a race that wasn't on a calendar even at the end of the first week of December. Talking about spontaneous...but it's going well, and a fine balance between this burst and health seems to be holding on well. I feel pretty good overall, and a little stronger and faster:)

Our local ski bump Monarch, to which we buy season passes every year, finally opened up on December 11th, with only a few runs though, so we waited another week before getting our skis out. The day was absolutely gorgeous, and it was so nice to zip on the slopes!

The following week I decided to sneak another Pikes Peak round-trip, just because. It was not a bad day, I knew we are about to hit high wind 10-day stretch, so it was one of those "now or never". I took a day off on Thursday before Christmas, officially starting my holiday break a little earlier, and got up and down on a pretty bare ground, with only gusts above the tree line at 30 mph - and hot temps once down back. No people at all on my 13th ascend for the year (and 21st overall), and the time of 4:24 to the top should technically beat my own Winter PP FKT from February. The run down, once past the icy sections, was quite nice as well, and I felt that I finished this whole thing on a better note than I started. Gosh, I love Pikes Peak, so nice to have it right at my door!

The next day (Friday before Christmas) Larry got into the car and drove to Lubbock, TX, to spend holidays with his son. You see, Harrison was supposed to drive up for a few days visit, but the day before he was to leave, his truck broke down. Nobody wanted to have a young man be stranded in an apartment in a college town, without friends, car, and on the biggest holiday of the year to boot. And since I don't really celebrate Christmas (not on December 25, anyway, Russian Orthodox have it on January 7), I figured I'd be the one "lonely and suffering". With that, Larry drove out, and I went into the mountains. But of course:)

There was no fancy dinner, just me, my veggies, and a little YouTube on TV indulgence, plus a bedtime by 7:30 pm. I have to say, though, our downtown is gorgeous on Christmas! And my coworker gave me an awesome shirt - she knows me well, since every time on Monday when she asks how was my weekend, my answer is always the same.

Christmas morning I was up dark'o'early and drove myself back to Monarch for some solo skiing. I wasn't sure if I'd like it alone, but it turned out, I loved it. I am a true introvert. It's like liking a focused workout, without any determents, all inner conversation. I love skiing with Larry, I guess I was just surprised that I'd enjoy it by myself so much as well, though not sure why it surprised me - I run alone, hike alone, backpack alone, and I sort of like my own company:) There was a fresh dump of snow the day before, and nearly all the runs (but 3) were not groomed - and it was so much fun! I methodically worked my way from the left side to the right side of the mountain, taking on every single run, including some black diamond ones I normally hesitate. With deep heavy snow, I seem to have much more control of my turns, and feel safe and excited. No great photos of me doing it, of course, the downside of being alone, ya know - but lots of great views! The first 3 hrs were bitter cold, cloudy and windy, but by 12:30 pm the sun finally peeked out. Too bad, as I finished my entertainment at 1 pm, and drove home. That early bedtime was calling my name:) 

On Sunday I threw in an extra Incline, making it an odd number 53 for the year, and even funnier number 88 all-time. There was a Christmas tree at the top - of course, why am I not surprised! 

The rest of the days were spent running, going to the gym, and taking yoga classes daily. No pictures of yoga (I don't take my phone inside), but here's a bit of a workout, because it's holidays, nobody else was inside, and I didn't feel too dumb setting up timers on my selfies while doing plyometrics.

Well, my dear 2.5 readers, the year is not over. We've got a couple days of skiing together scheduled, one more long double-run, last one for this cycle before a taper, and probably a post wrapping up the numbers for the year. From there on, who knows if the blog survives the silence.😜