Last week I was in the Beautiful State of Montana, specifically Big Sky with our final evening ending in Bozeman. Rob and I were invited out to a good friends rental place to meet up with him and several of his friends.
To be perfectly honest, I was bit hesitant since I am not a skier but Rob really wanted me to try it so I said sure. How could I say no since he is so good to me. He is my number one running fan, supports my craziness with no questions asked, so I can do this for him.
Since we both are beginner skiers, we both took two half day lessons. Rob started in level 2/3 and me right at the beginning. I was quite nervous since heights and speed are really not my thing, espeically on sliding things they call skies?.
I did make it through day. In fact, I never fell. Granted I didn’t make it off the beginner hill and I still have not been been on a chair lift. I was actually looking forward to day 2….up until a failed attempt at skiing back to our rental home with friends.
After our lessons Rob and I met up with friends which required me to take my first chair ride…..without skis I may add. Let’s just say it didn’t go well. I was a bit anxious the higher we went. Even though this lift was amazing….heated seats, a bar rail to keep me safe, and lots of support from others on the same ride with me, I was still very nervous.
The experienced skiers on the lift with me told me exactly what to do when we got to the top…ie Which way to turn and they also signaled the operator to slow the lift down for me. Whew……THANK YOU!
So we met up with our friends and they decided to cut their day short and head back to our rental on skies. They said they would help me get back and go slow. Ok…I said…. “I can do this?” BIG QUESTION MARK.
They said the runs were all green and easy. I still had not been on a chair lift with skies. They were confident I could do it. After all, I am in good shape. My first lesson went well. I stayed upright. I was ready to go to level two and a bigger hill. Hmmmm…SO I thought.
OMG. We skied over to our first chair lift and my first clue that I wasn’t quite ready for this was my lift pass didn’t work. We somehow convinced the operator other wise and my pass was fixed but I needed to go up and back down to retrieve my new pass.
Away I went…..on my first ride I continued to get more and more anxious wondering how am I ever going to do this. The lift kept climbing and climbing, going higher and higher. Rachel could sense my fears and tried her best to calm my nerves.
Is it much farther. I am not sure I can get off this thing? Do I really have to go down this big mountain?
She signaled the operator to slow the chair lift down. I made it. Yeah for small victories.
Ok there I stood. ON top of the mountain looking down. It was steep. I was scared. They all started down the first section with me not far behind until I started to make my first turn. I couldn’t slow down. I could hear Rachel saying, Use your legs. Put all your weight in. Down I went.
Because of my athletic ability, I was able to get up with some grace. The opposite of how I fell…..trust me. I tried again, and again, and again. Rachael, Randy, my husband were soooo patient.
Rachel calmly told me she would definitely help me down the mountain but it would take a while. Ha Ha! No kidding! OR I could walk back up the mountain and get a ride down. Yes PLEASE!
She insisted she would take my skies down since it would be easier for me to hike back up with less weight. Skies are heavy. I am thinking I can’t let her ski down with my skies, but she insisted. So away I went. However, I didn’t walk up the mountain, I RAN.
When I got to the top a kind gentleman asked me if I was ok. He was sitting on a bench just taking a break before his next ride down. He was in his 70’s. I said yes. “I just couldn’t make it down…I wasn’t read for this steep of a mountain. This was also my first time up a chair lift on skies and lets just say, it was frightening” He said well you sure can run. I said, Yes I can run, but I sure has hell can’t ski! He said, “everyone’s learning curve is different and you’ll get there”.
Thankfully I didn’t get hurt, except for my pride maybe. But guess what. On day 2 I managed to get over my fears after a few more runs on the bunny hill. My instructor took me back to the same chair lift. I went back to the same mountain as before.
Yes, I was frightened, but after only two falls, I got back up and made it further than yesterday before I fell again. The next time I got back up, I made it all the way to the bottom.
We rode back up. It wasn’t as scary. I rode all the way down and didn’t fall until I tried to avoid a fallen snowboarder. Instead of running into him, I decided this was a good time to fall. I almost made it to the bottom without falling. We rode up again. I made it. I did it. I am certainly not fast. But I made progress. I didn’t give up. Everyone starts somewhere.
I texted my new friends to let them know how day 2 ended…..They let out some big cheers for me! They were ecstatic, especially this guy (below) and Rach!
I felt their love, their support, and I have to say, the best part of this trip was building new relationships with these amazing individuals.
And we ate really good…..
They may say the best part of meeting me was my cooking?. We did eat good, which probably doesn’t surprise you right? There was a variety of roasted veggies every night and most everyone’s favorite, sweet potatoes. I made a Curry Sauce to go with them and of course my Famous Guacamole was a big hit. The first night I paired the veggies & roasted sweet potatoes with shrimp.
The second night it was Beef Tenderloin which Rob grilled to perfection.
Next there was my delicious Broccoli Soup and I served it with salad and left over roasted veggies plus chickpeas. The last night it was leftovers for the crew.
Rob and I spent our last day with family hiking and enjoying an amazing dinner with loved ones in Bozeman.
We had such a beautiful day hiking and a delicious/fun evening in Bozeman at one of Rob’s favorites, a local brewery.
The atmosphere, service, and last but not least, the food, spectacular!
The wine was good too….and according to the others, Bozeman has tasty beer.
Our trip was full of all kinds of emotions, but to be perfectly honest, it was a remarkable experience. I learned a lot, and most importantly, I made some amazing new friends. I discovered skiing isn’t really a sport I enjoy enough to get good at it. I am not sure I’ll ever advance further than the green runs and I am OK with that!
Just like running, it’s important to not let your ego get the best of you. That is exactly what I did on the mountain, and more importantly, what I try to do on a daily basis as I continue my running journey.
Running slower than I actually want to run some days is truly one of the harder things I have ever had to learn. Heart Rate Training has been a lot of fun, but it has not been easy. But what I have learned, it’s ok to go slow. In fact, the good old fashioned talk test is getting more and more attention. The good news, I am still racing ok and haven’t lost it yet?.
Currently I am learning to run via power. This weekend I was going to give it a shot, but like most other races, my race was also cancelled. Am I disappointed? A little, but it’s the right thing to do! After all, there will be another race sometime when it’s much safer for all involved. How about you? Was your race cancelled? How do you feel about it?
May I suggest roasting some veggies this weekend instead of worrying about a cancelled race. They are DELICIOUS, with or without a sauce, but if you haven’t tried making my guac yet, there’s no better time then now.
ROASTED VEGGIES
INGREDIENTS:
- Your choice of veggies and sweet potatoes…I used broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, Brussels, sweet potatoes, yams, red, yellow and orange peppers.
- fresh garlic
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS:
- Cut up all your veggies and place on parchment lined baking sheets.
- I kept all veggies separate since I wasn’t sure what everyone liked
- Roast for 45 minutes at 400 degrees
- Check veggies and adjust temp if needed. Rotate pans in oven when needed
Were you suppose to run anytime soon? Boston has NEVER EVER been postponed or cancelled. CRAZY times!
Do you ski? Green, blue black, or Black Diamond Runs? OMG Better you than me!
Are you a veggie lover like me? Favorite veggie?
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