Welcome to Runfessions!
Welcome to Coffee Talk!
Today I'm runfessing as we chat over coffee. There's Peppermint Mocha creamer in my Dark Magic coffee and I'm ready to spill my guts.
We've just returned from a long road trip to Monarch Mountain, Colorado where we snow skied and went dog sledding among other things. So, that's what I'll be yacking about. Here goes...
I'd Runfess...
Because
it was relatively warm in Colorado, I didn't wear a ski jacket -- mainly because mine looks hideous. I wore
running tops instead. On our last day, I wore my red 2016 Disney
Marathon shirt. One of the ski lift operators was a 90 year old Willie
Nelson lookalike {kudos for still working dude}. He wanted to
know how long that marathon was. I was nice... I swear! I have to give him major props for knowing, and telling me,
where the name Marathon came from!
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| Now that I think about it, that marathon was 27.6 miles long! |
Over Coffee...
I'd tell you how very fun and interesting our dogsled ride was. It was an adventure and experience I'll never forget, in more ways than one. You see, you have to be able to roll with the flow...so to speak. The dogs like to poop while pulling. Uh-huh. I'm actually in awe that they could do that while pulling hundreds of pounds. Seriously, could you? Anyway, the blanket they gave me to keep warm came in handy as a poop protector. Appropriately, it was brown.
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| Some of the dogs wore socks! |
I'd Runfess...
We had some Griswold-esque family bonding time on our trip. On our way home, we were stuck in a snowstorm. Yes -- we were trapped on the interstate due to a jack-knifed semi and its ensuing pile-up of cars near the NM/CO border. Apparently, there was no way for law enforcement to get the cars off the interstate because the exit ramps were all blocked by other vehicles stranded by the snow. After sitting 5 hours on the interstate (ugh!) and then being redirected twice due to more road closures (argh!!), we only made it 200 miles in 13 hours. It was a loonnngggg day. My true runfession would be how I used the "facilities" but I'll spare you those details.
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| Our interstate view! |
Over Coffee...
I'd tell you how we see the strangest things on road trips. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd find my namesake restaurant in Arkansas. Of course we pulled in to eat! And then we pulled right back out. Too sketchy.
I'd Runfess...
I'd forgotten how hard it is to run at altitude (at least for this low lander). I ran eight miles at 8000 feet on what I thought was a mostly flat dirt road where our rental house was located. I had to stop frequently to catch my breath. It was quite humbling. When I checked my Garmin later, it had recorded 430 feet of elevation gain. I guess when you have mountain peaks all around, everything else appears flat. I'm glad the upcoming Utah Valley Half is not nearly as high! And downhill!
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| The view from my run. |
What would you tell me over coffee?
I'm linking with my friend Marcia today from Marcia's Healthy Slice.
Please stop by and join in with your own Runfessions!
Please stop by and join in with your own Runfessions!
What? The HoHo restaurant was sketchy? Say it isn't so! OMg on the poop and run aspect of your sled ride. That's a little too exciting. Thanks for linking up!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to eat at HoHo's very badly. I'm not sure they were even selling food... We weren't going to stick around to find out.
DeleteSounds like a great trip. Too bad your trouble getting home. I ran in Denver which is only one mile high and I had a hard time breathing.
ReplyDeleteI could definitely tell I was at altitude when skiing (that was 11000+) but it wasn't too bad. Only when I ran did I really notice the huge difference.
Deletepeppermint mocha - my fave. :)
DeleteIt's my go-to everyday flavor!
DeleteThat peppermint mocha creamer sounds amazing! And I hadn't thought about that aspect of the dog sledding. Not so fun. And boo to being stuck on the road so long :( That sounds horrible but I'm glad you all got home safely.
ReplyDeleteThat's an aspect of dog sledding that I didn't think about either. But, it was still a great experience. Nothing hit me in the face. LOL.
DeleteWell you learn something new every day, and today I learned that dogsled dogs poop while running - now that's talent! Also gross, but hey...animals. Glad you had such a great time in CO; sounds like quite the adventure getting home!
ReplyDeleteI felt I learned a lot on this trip! The dogs were really very sweet so I can't complain. When you gotta go...you gotta go!
DeleteOh wow that trip home sounds like the trip from hell.
ReplyDeleteI'm willing to be there are actually a lot of HoHo restaurants.
I never thought of that in regards to dog sledding, but it makes sense. Now I'm thinking about horse jockeys . . .
We really thought we would end up spending the night on the interstate. But we were warm, dry, had food and water, music, cell service. It could have been worse.
DeleteMy friend from high school tells the funniest story about her parents who were stranded on the interstate during a snowstorm. Apparently they had a liquor box in the trunk, and her dad was serving cocktails to her mom...I guess you have to hear Elaine tell the story but it cracks me up every time!
ReplyDeleteHa! We had a few cocktails in there with us too. Had we spent the night out there, I'm sure we would have partaken. We could have sold drinks to the cars around us and made some money. LOL.
DeleteYour vacation sounds (mostly) fun! You'll want to train on a lot of downhills then. I would have done a lot better at the Big Sur and St.George marathons if I had more hills around me. Maybe someday!
ReplyDeleteI've got a hilly neighborhood, although none of the hills are very long. I plan to do as much downhill training as I can.
DeleteOh wow, the snow on that Interstate is crazy! I did not realize that you guys drove out there. The one and only time I've been to Colorado I had trouble running, climbing steps ..just about doing anything. Hope it won't be like that in Utah.
ReplyDeleteHoHo restaurant ...now that is funny!
It is very difficult to breathe at 11,000-12,000 feet (where we skied) and 8000 (where I ran). But, Utah is not as high (5,000?) so I hope that works in our favor. Plus, we'll have the downhill working with us too.
DeleteWhat a family bonding trip for sure! I am impressed you all are still talking to each other after that car ride- HA! HoHo's looked sketchy? No way! Thanks for coffee Holly!
ReplyDeleteMemories we'll never forget. That's what it's all about right? I'm not sure HoHo's even sold food! I didn't want to find out either.
DeleteThe HO Ho restaurant lol too funny! That peppermint mocha coffee sounds delish. Loved all of your ski photos thanks for joining us for coffee today
ReplyDeleteI'm a little bummed we couldn't eat at HoHo's. It would have made a great story.
DeleteThat cracks me up about the HoHo Restaurant. Do you ever pack a box of the REAL HoHo's for snacks? (I know that's unrelated in terms of food...but, hey, HoHo...I had to go there LOL)
ReplyDeleteI know about HoHo cream filled cakes but we didn't have them growing up. We ate Zingers (I guess that's the southern counterpart?). I wish we could have eaten at HoHo's just to say we did.
DeleteWhat a nightmare being stranded on the highway for that long! Oh the things you learn on a dog sled ride, right? ;)
ReplyDeleteUntil we came to a complete standstill, those crazies who were still trying to pass people had me scared to death. I just knew they were going to slide right into us!
DeleteHa ha, gotta love the marathon questions and jokes! Never skied and it's something I would like to try one day.
ReplyDeleteCool, glad you snagged a picture of the sign, definitely a keeper. :)
I hope you get the opportunity to snow ski one day. It's always so beautiful! And quiet!
DeleteAn old friend recently said she ran a marathon 10k. When I realized she ran the 10k during marathon weekend I mentioned that it wasn't a marathon and she told me no it was a marathon. The snow storm you had to drive home in look less than desirable driving weather! I am happy you made it back safely!
ReplyDeleteIt's best not to argue with people that insist they run a marathon. They'll eventually figure it out, I hope.
DeleteLOL on the dogs. I guess they're like horses that way? And ugh on the blizzard. I'd have been panicked about running out of gas!
ReplyDeleteThe gas level was a real concern. We kept the motor off as much as possible.
DeleteOh to be able to poop on the run... Oh wait, I've seen pictures of that dude and it's gross!
ReplyDeleteYour five-hour ordeal stuck in the snow on the interstate sounds terrifying!
I experience first hand the pooper-on-the-run during the Chicago Marathon. Actually, I smelled him first. I know! TMI!
DeleteWow...5 hours stuck in traffic...with no real facilities... I think you took us full circle from the dog sled!
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine being stuck that long! Ugh!
ReplyDelete