Buh-OING...

So nice, so nice... I got you. ~ James Brown

Hit Eldora this morning for a few test runs which turned into several non-stoppers down Salto. I would say that I am about 80% but not much pain and though I was a bit tentative on the steepest sections, I felt pretty solid. That is good news. Tomorrow, I may hit the trails (which probably means it will snow tonight). Getting better. Good stuff.

Also, Flight of the Conchords is funny.

~stubert.

More of the same...

Another week on the recovery train. Not too much exciting to talk about. I have been spinning and swimming and lifting and not much else. I did try to ski on Wednesday with poor results. The knee is just not really ready for that kind of abuse. After 3 weeks, I am getting pretty sick of it. At least the conditions have been terrible with very warm days in the high-country so I am not really missing much. It is about 45° up here today. Just wrong.

Unfortunately, all this warm weather and lack of snow means that the trails are probably pretty open which is just stoking my running Jones. I have been able to trot around a little bit but not much more. I guess I will keep up the rest and spinning until my head explodes from boredom.

I did get out with Pete yesterday to see Watchmen. Decent movie. Pretty true to the book, which was cool. I wasn't thoroughly impressed but thought it was entertaining. It was good to see Pete again too as he has been working too much.

Other than that, I have just been working, getting organized, doing taxes for the biz, reading a lot, and enjoying my new office set up. The new MacBook Pro is awesome as is the Apple 24" Cinema Display. Good stuff.

I read a couple of good books recently: Devil in the White City and Never Let Me Go. I would recommend both.

Now I guess I'll head to the gym again to get my spin on. Hopefully more interesting stuff soon.

~stubert.

Data dork...

NUUUUUURRRRRDDDSSS!!!! - Fred "The Ogre" Palowakski

Finally got around to downloading my Vegas Marathon data. I kinda fell apart after mile 18.

Check it out.

~stubert.

Spin, swim, repeat...

You know what you two need? A little comic strip called "Love is." It's about two naked 8-year olds who are married. ~ Homer Simpson

I have been laying pretty low the last couple of weeks - mostly just rehabbing the knee which seems to be getting a lot better but with the snow conditions the way they are, I am not pushing it. It has been unbelievably hot up here, reaching the upper 50s a couple of days ago. Just not right at all. No snow either (go figure) so no real need to go out and get all banged up for nothing.

So I have been swimming, spinning, lifting and generally going a bit nuts because I can neither run nor ski. Bummer. I have been crazy busy with work stuff as well, so that has kept me occupied.

And it is official, Rach has put up with me for 18 years. What a trooper. She is the best.

Hopefully, the knee will continue to feel better and I'll be able to get back out there soon. Apparently, there is a big storm brewing that is supposed to hit tonight. It is looking really gray out there right now so as long as it doesn't rain, we'll be in business. (Actually, it just started to snow 4 seconds ago.)

~stubert.

Ice meet knee...

Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you. ~ The Stranger

This past week was relatively active with work and play-packed days. I ran 6.5 miles in an hour on the treadmill on Thursday then headed to Crested Butte early Friday to ski with my dad and cousin, in visiting from Oklahoma. We spun a bunch of laps on the North Face lift and good times were had by all. Funnel was in good shape as well, always a good way to end the day.

I started trying to step it up with both the speed and aggressiveness and managed to work up the steam to drop a few rocks in tighter terrain. Definitely wasn't flowing things quite yet but being able to toss air in the trees was a definite move forward for me. I was also charging several areas which usually cause me troubles so all in all, I was slaying it.

David, Dad and I grabbed a drink at the base post skiing and were treated to a really tasty Marg. Here's the recipe: 3 parts Tequilla, 2 parts Rose's Lime, 1 part Triple Sec, splash of Sprite. I highly recommend it. Dad and I then hit Donita's for dinner. Still one of my favorite restaurants. Great food and awesome service. Plus the owners, Kay and Heli are always willing to sit and talk with us for a bit... which is pretty cool.

Saturday, I headed back up and immediately headed out to one of my favorite circuits: Teocalli Bowl to Third Bowl. Lots of hiking = a sweaty Stu but it is usually worth it. The conditions on Saturday didn't disappoint and I dropped a couple of big rocks in Teo then rallied Third to the bottom of Big Hourglass where the Extreme Championships were being held. This is some serious terrain and is an area never open to the public. I watched the final Juniors go then stayed for most of the ladie's event before I decided to go spin more laps.

I worked my way back around the mountain for a Headwall lap then up the NFL again and into Fredo's which is a cliff section at the top of the North Face. I kinda blew my drop in but then skied the rest of Phoenix really well and hucked a couple of other big drops. Well, big for me. By the time I got back down, the men's event was in full swing and those guys are just sick. Rallying down Home Depot and tossing BIG air in the trees, over huge gaps, all in terrain with VERY serious consequences if one were to fall... really amazing skiing. I watched the event for awhile then decided to go back up and redeem myself on Fredo's. I dropped in and was skiing really well. Stuck my landing off a decent sized diving board then headed back over to Phoenix.

My second time off a pretty good drop proved to be it for me for the day. I am not really sure what happened but I landed on some rocks which rotated me forward a bit and my knee immediately started hurting. I was able to ski out, making alpine turns and having some pain on initiating right hand turns. My right knee immediately started to swell up and by the time I finally made it all the way back down to the base, it was really unhappy with me. Lots of swelling and pain. Bummer. That's the cost of going for it sometimes though.

So I iced it all the way home and am continuing treatment today. No skiing for awhile, I'm sure and running is probably out too. I'll try to get in to see Mark on Monday to see if he can help get me back up and rockin' ASAP. Given the amount of pain, I am thinking it is probably a strain vs. a tear but we'll see what the experts say.

Even with the injury, days 40 and 41 were a blast. Crested Butte has some killer terrain and is still one of my favorite areas. Get over there if you have a chance.

~stubert.