And then there was reality...

Oh, hi...remember me? I have this little blog here. I used to write somewhat regularly. And then I traveled for a month. And then there was this pesky little thing called reality that had to be dealt with.

But there are many, many stories. And I promise I will catch up.

There is actually a lot of catching up to be done....like catching up on this little thing called "training." Reality called again last night when I hit the 'dread'mill for the first time in - oh - about a century.

O-M-G. There is work to be done. But I am back. And I am ready. Stay tuned.

And she's off.....again

Five days in Utah are next on the agenda. With a local "tour guide" who only recently moved to the area, I might finally be able to keep up on the mountain. Though that's not to say I'll be slacking. As it stands right now we're scheduled for four solid days of skiing. In a row. My quads will hate me. But they'll get over it.

Good thing I had that two week trip to Colorado to get me ready. ;)

But my rib is feeling better, and though my knee has been hurting a bit (did I mention my little me vs. the snowboarder chairlift debacle that tweaked my knee??) I think it should hold out for the weekend.

So bring it on Utah!

And, if I do end up injured, or exhausted, or otherwise unable to motivate to get to a mountain....it happens to be opening weekend of the Sundance Film Festival, so I shouldn't be bored.

Dumbest. Injury. Ever.

So I haven't really mentioned this what with all the gushing and cooing about my super-fabulous road trip across the rockies....but I have a bit of an injury. An injury that I managed to acquire on DAY ONE of this fourteen day trip. Yes, you read that right. Day one. Well, I guess technically it was day three...but it was the first day in the mountains and not in a car, so for all intents and purposes it was day one.

So do you want to hear the incredibly dumb story that goes along with the dumbest injury ever?

Well, lucky for you I wish for others to be as entertained by my mishaps as I am, so I'm more than willing to share. But I'm warning you, its the dumbest injury story ever.

So I managed to survive the 1000 mile trek across the middle of America, including the worst ice storm I have ever driven through. I even made some new friends along the way (this is a totally random yet entertaining story for another time). So as is custom when one makes new friends in Colorado, one goes skiing with said new friends. So there I am standing in my first lift line of the day, having skied one run down to a mid-mountain lift. I queue up with the mob of humanity that is also skiing over the holiday week and decide that I've got plenty of time to mess with my boots.

Now a little about my boots, for those not in the know....I have MAJOR boot issues. And by major I mean I have been known to stop mid run and demand assistance with the adjusting and re-buckling of my boots lest I find a chainsaw and cut off my leg because that seems like a better option than continuing to ski with the boots as they are.

Have you ever tried to mess with boots (yours or someone elses) in the middle of a fairly steep run? Its not easy kids. And I have "a guy" that had become quite good at dealing with my mid-mountain boot issues....but he wasn't on this trip....so I decided that there in that lift line would be a much better place to get my boot fit dealt with than somewhere mid-run with my new mountain-friend who would no doubt have little patience for such boot hi jinks.

So there I am in the lift line...as in, standing still, on flat ground...bending and contorting and trying to snap down my boot buckle, when I feel a pop.

Ow. That hurt.

Then I pole forward in the line.

Ow. That really hurt.

I try to shake it off. There is no way I just got hurt buckling my boot. I mean really.

But four days later I was trying to hunt down a Chiropractor outside of Aspen that wasn't going to charge me a mortgage payment to shove my rib back into place.

Turns out I managed to displace the little guy while doing the oh-so-strenuous task of boot bucking. How's that for an extreme mountain girl injury? Oh, but bonus, I may have also torn some of the rib's little ligament friends so it could stay irritated for even longer. Oh the joy.

Have you ever injured a rib? Let me tell you its shockingly painful in the most annoying way. I mean, its a rib for cryin' out loud, not a femur. WHY DOES IT HURT SO BAD? And when I say hurt, I mean like if I breathe too deep its like someone is stabbing me in the heart through my armpit. A sneeze? OMG like the whole side of me is exploding.

So I went and got all adjusted and guess what...it still hurts. And will probably still hurt for another week. And I paid $95 for that to happen?! So consider me back on the ibuprofen. Well, tomorrow that is. Right now I'm testing the effectiveness of a nice bottle of California Zinfandel.

Hey....its vacation.

I might never come home

This is how the past two days have ended. Seriously. The days start with 'where should I have a soy latte' and end with this. Life's rough.

Two words....

Quad. Burn.

But I get it now -- I get Vail. Thank you Ms. Amy for showing me the light. ;) And watching me torpedo some 30 yards downhill, headfirst without laughing hysterically....at least until after you asked if I was alright. (it was kinda funny....you know, once I was sure all my limbs were still attached and working)

Sometimes I think I shouldn't be someone who likes all the outdoor adventure. I should be someone who enjoys sitting on her couch. Watching reality television. And eating cheetos.

But I keep at it. Because as miserable as I can be at things, I'm still having fun doing them.