So. Incredibly. Sore.

I laughed at the alarm when it went off at 4:30 am this morning. Then,
I reset if for 5:15, rolled over, and went back to sleep. Screw
running, I need my beauty sleep.

My brother surprised us this weekend, but showing up unexpectedly from
Cincinnati. He and a friend came for a weekend of snowboarding, and he
convinced Ben and I to go with them on Saturday. Of course I was the
only skier in the group, so I felt like I was holding everyone up. But
it was a great day for skiing (or boarding) - they sky was blue, and the
temperatures were in the 30s. I actually dressed too warmly, and really
needed to shed a layer. We went to the Canyons Resort, by Park City,
and other than a couple of nasty falls, it was a fun day. I did get
completed blind-sided by a 12 year old snowboarder. Somehow he knocked
me off my feet, but he stayed on his. I got a nasty bruise on my hip
and severely damaged my pride, but other than that I was fine.

After a few more runs, I got my confidence back, and let Ben convince
me to take a double blue run - The Sidewinder. Now, the only difference
between a double blue and a black diamond, is that a double blue is
groomed, whereas a black diamond is not. And grooming The Sidewinder
run only made it worse - since it is a west-facing slope on a sunny
afternoon; it made the run very icy. Now, I would consider myself an
intermediate skier. I can generally hold my own, as long as the run is
wide enough for me to make a wide traverse if need be. But, this run is
a bit narrow and busy for me to slowly take my time. Of course my 3
companions blew by me at the beginning of the run. I stayed at the top
to survey my course of action and to let some other people pass me.
Then, I slowly started down. I was doing fairly well, going back and
forth, but I started to get a bit bored. I convinced myself I could be
more daring. So, I pointed my skis downhill and went for it. Of course
I crashed. The hill was so steep and icy that I probably slipped
downhill about 100 feet, head first, on my back, with my feet (skis
still attached) flailing in the air. When I finally stopped, I found
that I couldn't get back up. Every time I tried, I slid again. So, I
went over to the edge where the snow was softer and took off my skis.
But I still couldn't even stand up, and of course my companions were no
where to be seen. I had fleeting thoughts that I could die up there on
the mountain, when a good Samaritan came to my aid. He was so nice to
me, and asked if I was ok. I told him that only my pride was damaged,
that this hill was way above my abilities. He helped me up, helped me
back into my skis, and went on his way. I found that I could stand
sideways and slip down the mountain, but I looked silly and it was
taking forever. So, I decided to just go for it again.

I was doing really well, until I came to a place about 3/4 of the way
down the run where 2 ski patrol members were standing with a big Caution
sign. They were warning everyone that this was an especially icy place
on the mountain, and they'd had lots of injuries there today. I could
see my group waiting for me at the bottom of the hill, and I wanted to
get to them quickly. So, I went for it again, not really heeding the
warning. Big mistake. I biffed again (and apparently so did about 8
people behind me). Ben and company were having a great time watching
everyone crash at that spot. I decided not even to try to ski the rest
of the way. I just slid on my butt until it leveled out a bit. Then I
put on my skis, and amidst applause from my husband and friends, skied
to where they were waiting for me.

Actually, they'd all had a difficult time with the run. Only my
brother had managed to stay upright the entire time. Ben had hit hard -
the worst fall he claims to have ever had. So, I felt a bit better
about myself. We did a few more runs without incident, then headed for
dinner in Park City. My parents brought the girls up to eat with us,
and it was good to see them. I love skiing, but I miss my sweeties.

I actually felt pretty good yesterday, but today at 4:30 when the alarm
went off, I was sore and stiff. Even my forearms hurt. I've got about a
dozen bruises too - the badly bruised knee from my spill in the snow
running the other morning, my hip, a bad one on my calf (from my ski
boot?) and many other smallish ones. I'm a mess. I'll have to do
Tues, Thurs, Saturday runs this week, because I was too lazy to run
today.