Run Jeff run! No wait...Ski Jeff ski

It was an awesome day here on the west coast. I was up early and had a good breakfast. We then went out to the aircraft and finished all the maintenance that needed to be completed. With the run up complete and the weather completely sucking we decided that we'd go skiing. But before I would allow myself to any fun I was going to go for a run. A long run!!

I departed the Hotel and started running to the east towards a large water tank about 1.5 miles away. The hotel is sitting at 4800 feet and as I ran to the east it was slowly going down hill. A very nice way to warm up for a run but I knew I was going to have to climb that hill when I came back. I made it to the water tank after what seemed like an eternity. If you've ever ran in the desert you'll know what I mean about it taking an eternity. There is something about running towards an object you can see for miles. When I left the water tank I continued into the hills running on trails. I only made it another half mile before the trail was just to steep to run up without my lungs bursting from my chest and slapping my face while shouting "slow down". So I ended up "hiking" the last 3/4 miles to the summit of the hill I wanted to climb. The summit was at 5500 feet. I'd like to say the view was awesome but I was actually in the clouds when I reached the summit. Total distance was 3.03 miles at 33 minutes 30 seconds.

I was able to run back to the hotel since most of the trip was down hill. The run back to the water tank was a bit slow going since it was muddy and slippery from the snow. Once I was back on solid ground I was able to pick up the pace. The run took 55:31 and my average pace was 9:26 over 5.89 miles. Now don't start thinking I'm a slow poke because 3/4 of a mile was up a very steep hill. The speed was really not that important to me. The fact that I feel good enough to run and to run hard is just awesome! I'm so glad to be back to normal.

Now after that long run I allowed myself an afternoon of snow skiing at Diamond Peak in the Lake Tahoe area. It was a cloudy, wet and snowy day. The slopes were packed but I still had a very good time. They had about 6 inches of new snow and the bumps where easy on my legs. I wish I could snow ski more often. I really enjoy it!

Tomorrow I'm off to Southern California. At least it will be warm there and I can crossfit and run all I want.