How do you put the feeling you get at the end of a race or hard workout into writing (or in the case of this entry, hiking at about 10,000′ up Peak 7 at Breck)?  I know I am not nearly a good writer to do so, yet. It is something that is virtually impossible to describe to someone unless they have experienced the gasping, the spots in the vision, the metallic taste in your mouth, even the feeling of being punched in the stomach at the end of a hard effort.  I was fortunate enough to have one more way to engage in this type of ordeal over my winter break from school.

My buddy Jon invited me out to Breckenridge to ski for a few days last week. It was a solo car ride for me out there this time around, when was the last time you had 8 hours of alone time?  Getting out there I had made up my mind that I was not going to buy a single day lift ticket.  One, it would cost upwards of $100.  Too damn much for me to put down.  Two, I wanted to do something this trip that I had been meaning to do for awhile.  My goal was to skip the lift lines, the lift wait, and hike up the damn mountain with my skis on my back:

I was not sure as to the legality of this in regards to bypassing paid lines, or the property of Breckenridge.  Whatevs.  Strapped up my skis, found the tree line, and sprinted away from the area.  Well, as fast a flatlander can sprint uphill, in snow, with skis on his backpack.  I am sure it did not look ridiculous at all.  No one questioned me, I got some weird looks from people heading downhill, but it was all good.  I have done enough mountain hiking to know pace.  I found a good rhythm, but without snowshoes it was a ton more work.  I would step, then sink, step, then sink with the Ten Mile Creek Valley spreading out below me.  90 minutes later, I hit tree line.  If you know the resort, my goal was to get to the top of the T-BAR lift.  When I started post-holing to my knees, it was time to quit and get skiing. I spent the rest of my day simultaneously worrying about getting caught and relaxing and enjoying a great day because I had not paid for a ticket.  Nice.

So what does this have to do with running?  Nothing really.  Except for one thing, try something different sometime with your running.  Hop in an open track meet, run some trails, try a new workout.  Be open to a new experience.  But always enjoy it!