It was a beautiful day on the ski slopes – snow frosted trees and blue sky. When I went out to run first thing this morning, my feet felt like concrete. I had to do some walking in adapting to the higher altitude, and then joined my friends and headed to the gondola. These friends have a club membership here at Steamboat, so clothing, boots, and skis are are stored mountainside. Once I put everything on, however, I could feel the extra weight of that first run of the year, and by noon I was exhausted. My thighs were burning and my toes were sore from trying to fight gravity and keep my speeds down. I fell once trying to follow a narrow pathway to a neighboring hill, and then crossed my skis and slid down again on my butt. It was not painful just embarrassing, but I felt very tentative and a little unsteady on my skis today. I also did an unintentional 360 getting off the lift when my arm caught on the chair just as we were unloading. That’s when I knew I was getting really tired. After our lunch break, I skied back down to the club and sat in the hot tub for a half-hour, showered, and went back to the house. 

We’ll have dinner out tonight and enjoy some of the annual Winter Carnival activities. I am the fifth-wheel on this trip, since my wife can’t join me for a few more days. I’m also the oldest of the group, so I’m usually the last one down the hill. Tomorrow, I may have to go off on my own, so the rest of the group doesn’t have to cater to me. I look forward to two more good days of skiing.