Sun Valley

March 16 -22

Working Vacation for Tim

And for me....I was hard at work.

Last week Tim attended a very good and educational orthopedic conference in Sun Valley. His conference went from 7:30 a.m -1200 and 4-7 p.m. I knew his time on the slopes would be limited. Once again I sacrificed myself on Tim's behalf. While Tim spent the morning working on sawbones and putting plates in models of bones I was sure to scope out the best runs possible. If he only had 4 hours to ski he wouldn't want to waste any time on runs with the second best snow. Right? Exactly. I took my job very seriously. After skiing each day except one I did the unthinkable. I ran...at altitude on trashed and tired legs. Well I couldn't just sit around eating bon bons while Tim put plates in sawbones....or something like that. Guess what....my legs didn't feel so bad. Unfortunately they were limited by my inability to catch my breath. Last week left me with a lot of questions:

1: Is 6000ft significant elevation?

2: Is 1000 ft of vertical climbed a lot in a 5 mile run?

3: Are these two things combined enough to a 10 minute mile

4: What's up with cars parked in the turn lane...seriously downtown Ketchum uses the center lane for parking...do you know how confusing that is for the sea level runner???

I know most people blog about how fast they go ....well that's how fast I didn't go. I don't care. I got in some good skiing and enough miles to remain in my skinny jeans. Amazing considering I ate pizza for lunch and huge Idaho potatoes for dinner. Oh shucks....now you are all thinking maybe my skinny jeans aren't so skinny after all. Once again....everything is relative.

In the latter half of the week Tim was able to run with me. He didn't seem to struggle nearly as much as me to catch his breath. I am attributing this to the altitude and males having more hemoglobin than females.....in other words men are natural dopers. Cheaters.... Tim was kind and offered to slow down. I would rather complain than ease the pace. Tim and I are a good pair. I am the militant one who gets us out the door. My bark is bigger than my bite. I would be more likely to go shorter or easier than indicated. Once started Tim wants to capitalize. The route will be hillier, longer and at more intensity than what I would have chosen. .....I'm soft.

All week long I read articles in the paper about a pack of 9 black...not grey, black wolves in the valley. Don't ask me the difference between a black and a grey wolf but obviously there is one. Despite the hotels two treadmills...I had to run outside. The scenery was great and the bike paths were plowed and awesome. In the back of my mind was that pack of wolves. I'm sure my quads, calves, and biceps would make a nice sandwich for that pack. I kept these thoughts to myself as I actually used the wolf excuse once before. How many times can I get away with the wolf excuse before being labeled officially outrageous? I wanted to get out of a run at my parents house in the Upper Peninsula. It was 5:30 a.m. raining, dark and I could hear the wolves howling. Yes the wolves...not the coyotes.....I love to run but at 5:30 am I love my bed. Anyway on our last day of running in Sun Valley we saw a big fresh bony structure....The hind leg of a deer....no, of an elk. It was too big. In fact maybe it was a Moose (it's getting bigger by the day) Anyway I am sure those wolves took down that elk. The ran home was at race pace because I was convinced the wolves were sighting me. I'm sure I looked to be an easier target than my bean pole husband. Funny all that money spent on models of bones for the orthopedic conference when in Idaho you could just go out and find some.