Patience; the new endurance sport.

Celebrating racial justice in the whitest way I know how, skiing with my friend Linda.  To make up for it, I posted part of MLK's I have a dream speech on the FB page's of all my racist aunts and uncles--who all think MLK days shouldn't be a holiday. I had to remind them just yesterday that my children's best friends are black when they launched into their Michelle Obama jokes. 

I am feeling so much stronger.  Ran 9:13's with no sweat.  I did sweat, I mean, it wasn't hard. 

Sitting at my desk at 11:00 a.m., wondering about the success of the passing storm I casually checked the snow report and saw it snowed 26 inches at Sundance.  I coughed twice while walking backwards out the door mumbling vague excuses, and  then drove as fast as I could toward the montain.  Once there, I was practically alone, except a handful of vagrant snowboarders....Besides the sketchy weather, the place was buckeling down for the film festival.  I took a hard, agressive push on the first run and realized that snow was only about 4 inches powder on top of rocky ice from the frozen rain just days before.  I skiied hard until I hit a bad block of ice going really fast, tumbled forward onto my shoulder, and then slid down a really steep mountain upside down on my back.  I spent 30 seconds looking at the sky behind my skis which were up in the air behind me as I hit the tops of a hill full of frozen moguls.  I went back to work by 2:00 and felt depressed about global warming.  I re-read the National Weather Service report and saw what I had sadly missed hours before.  I read snowfall: 2-6 inches.  I missed the hyphen. That's what I get for wishful thinking.

Sort of freaked out that I've really got to get myself in gear for DC.  I've increased my daily mileage and have one 10 miler somewhat under my belt.  I spent the rest of my afternoon teaching 11 years olds to ski.  Although it was icy groomer the whole day, it was deliriously sunny.  Nothing lifts your spirits better than an afternoon with 6th graders skiing through the magical forest and practicing 'french fries' in the bright winter sunshine.

I wasn't intending to do my long run today--especially on the treadmill.  I planned to run 15 tomorrow, but I was watching Salt and got carried away.  Forget Nancy Drew, every young girl needs Evelyn Salt.  I had to stop a couple of times during my run because I got 4 really great writing ideas and had to jot them down before I forgot.  Salt really inspired the badd  A in me.  I was on fire.  It's nice anyway to get the long run out of the way today since I have a futsal and a baskeball doubleheader again tomorrow and my sister is showing up to outfit her new house at Sundance.  I'll be nice to have the extra time and energy to do funner things than run this weekend.  Also, it wouldn't be smart to try and push two long runs in the same week when I haven't done any solid running.  I'm getting there.  If I can just be in shape by the time I hit DC I'll be ok.  I just want to keep it in the bank for UVM. 

Closest to 40 miles since August, and I'm doing ok.