Welp, all that “hey, look at me because I might be a runner” blabber clearly did not work as a long-term motivator. All that running I was supposed to do this weekend? Yea, I decided to take up cross-training instead. I’d blame all the snow that finally arrived in Denver but the trails/sidewalks got cleared quickly, I own traction + gaiters and there were no arctic winds. All that kind of shot my Friday/Saturday excuses right in the foot. But my Sunday excuse? Oh, it’s a good one…
Rather than go on a snowy long run like a responsible runner-in-training would do I jumped at the opportunity to head west and play in the feet of fresh powder that got dumped on Summit County. It was Superbowl Sunday and I had high hopes for an empty mountain…Keystone did not disappoint! Traffic did not exist, the lift lines disappeared at 11:30 and the powder was glorious!
I made the early morning drive up alone with the intent to spend the day riding hard, alone. I was actually really excited for a long day on the mountain looping along tree runs just to see what I was capable of. As I made my way up the mountain it became apparent I wouldn’t have to ride alone. Heather and Will were already in Summit County, Piper was on the road somewhere ahead of me and Lynne came up for afternoon skiing! I had all sorts of friends to frolic in the snow with!
Lynne, rocking at life after just 1 year on skis! She hit the black diamonds and even the deep tree runs! So proud!
At some point throughout the day I met up with pretty much everyone I knew on the mountain and even made a few new random friends. That did not stop me from riding hard and pushing my limits. I immediately headed to the back of the mountain, did some hiking up to the North/South Bowls and spent as much quality time in the trees as the lifts would allow.
The first thing I noticed while riding alone? I’m much more aggressive when I’m by myself! I was hitting lips while sucking it in and crouching to fit through the trees – I’ve never done that before! At least not on purpose!
Sure, I beat the crap out of my helmet and may have made direct contact with a tree more than once but it felt so good! Well, except for the part where I try to hug a tree only to have 2 pounds of fresh snow fall onto my head…and melt down my back. Yup, that happened more times than I care to admit. And yes, my jacket had a hood, I was just being stupid!
Somehow I managed to dig up just enough responsibility to go to work today…and probably tomorrow, and the day after that. But this weekend? Definitely have plans for more hard tree riding – counts as cross training, right? Trust me, my body says it does! Riding powder is a lot of work!
