A Different Kind of Run

December 20, 2012

I know I’ve been rather quiet on the blog this week, but I promise I’ve had a good excuse. I covered the distance of a marathon 3 days this week on some very different and difficult runs.

Ski runs.

I’ve spent the last 5 days in Breckenridge, Colorado, and completely swapped out running for skiing, Brooks Pure Cadence for heavy ski boots, long-sleeve dry-fit running tops for puffy ski jackets, ear warmers for a helmet, a cool breeze for 26 inches of snow, and post-run chocolate milk for après ski beers.

Including time on the chair lifts, I skied about 78.6 miles during my 3 full days of skiing and covered 30,484 vertical feet (or 5.77 miles).

Many of the ski resorts in Colorado are connected through EpicMix.com. Your lift ticket is called an Epic card and it tracks where you ski on the mountain, how high you go and collects all the photos taken of you in one place that you can access online or via their smart phone app.

Here is my week of skiing in photos …

We stayed at an awesome condo in Breckenridge that was a short walk to the slopes and to downtown.

View from our deck in Breckenridge
Exploring downtown Breckenridge with Mr. rUnladylike
Hanging out in Breckenridge with my niece
Nothing gets you into the holiday spirit like a giant Christmas tree in downtown Breckenridge

On our first night in Breckenridge, we went to dinner at a fondue restaurant on the top of Keystone Mountain nearly 12,000 feet up. It was extremely festive and fun.

Our ride to the restaurant: A gondola!
Der Fondue Chessel restaurant
Our live entertainment
Full from all our grub!

This was my fourth time skiing, and I have to say, the change in weather and in activity was a welcome one.

Mr. rUnladylike and me on the slopes
My sister-in-law and me taking a lunch break from skiing
It was cold!!!
View from the top of peak 8 in Breckenridge
I had to do it! Snow angel!!!
The best part of skiing is apres ski!

We also celebrated Mr. rUnladylike’s birthday while we were there …

On our last night in Breckenridge, we took a sleigh ride to a remote tent in the woods where we had dinner and listened to live music. It was the perfect ending to a perfect trip.

Ready to board our sleigh (This blurry shot is the best one I’ve got)

It has now been almost 2 weeks since my last run, so it’s time to get back on the horse. Why wait until after the holidays when I can start today?

Do you enjoy skiing? If so, where is the best place you’ve ever skied? Are you using the winter months to cross-train and engage in activities other than running? If so, what is your favorite way to get active during the winter?

Comments

Kat

Awesome! I’ve never skiied and really want to try it one day! You go girl! Looks like such a fun way to ring in the holiday! And if you’re here and have time next week hit me up! 😉 xo

rUnladylike

You should definitely plan a ski trip soon. I’d recommend spending your first few days in ski school. That really helped me. I take ski school the first day of every trip still too.

beka @ rebecca roams

Whoa!!! this is awesome!! the first time I ever got on real snow in the mountains of the mid west was in ElDora Wyoming. I decided snowboarding was the way to go – and broke my arm on the bunny hill. I have yet to get the courage to try again! When I do, I’m definitely going for skis haha.Your trip looks like such a blast! And I love your fuzzy boots 😉

rUnladylike

Thanks, Beka! Can’t believe you broke your arm your first time. Ouch! I’ve never tried snowboarding but it just seems like skiing is easier to learn/grasp. I hope you’ll try it again because it is super fun. Every time you go you get a little better and better. P.S. I only wear my fuzzy North Face boots when I go skiing, so at least I got some use out of them this year. Ha!