Being in Colorado and trying to breathe, may have been what it was like to take my very first breath the day I was born, 41 years ago today so, it’s appropriate that I spent the last five days aย mile or more aboveย sea level trying to just breathe.

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It doesn’t help that the views there are absolutely breathtaking. It’s like the entire town of Breckenridge was daring meย not focus on myย breath and was forcing meย to slow down and take it all in. When I finally stopped fighting it, I did just that, and enjoyed every last breath.

The trip deserves a post all it’s own because it was just that good so, I will touch on it here and then bring you more later on. After all, we’re slowing down and just trying to breathe.

WEEK OF MARCH 14, 2016

 

RUNNING

I started the week running upwards of a 6:00 min/mile pace and was humbled like a bitch by the altitude out west and, literally thought I would faint on the treadmill if I tried to keep an 9:00 min/mile the first day.

Altitude ass kicker!

Altitude ass kicker!

Of course I knew that being at altitude would be difficult on my breathing and running. What I did not anticipate were the headaches, dizziness and nausea in addition to not being able to climb three flights of stairs without gasping for air. Good times.

Tuesday: Ladder at 10K pace effort (7:00/min mile) after 45 min ride on the bike trainer

Wednesday: 10 mile easy run (7:56 min/mile) after 2,800 yard swim < – – this was SO much better/easier this week because a good friend joined me for the run!

Friday: I was supposed to do a 30 minute run with 10 x 20 second pick-ups but it was all I could do to stay conscious on the treadmill and run 30 min at 9:11 min/mile OMG!

Sunday: 30 min on treadmill where I was able to hold an 8:27 pace, before a very long day of travel. Progress.

Total miles = 24 miles/almost 8 at altitude #IFeelLikeAnElite

SWIMMING

I actually brought my swimsuit and goggles for the trip to Colorado. There was a heated outdoor pool at our hotel and I thought it would be amazing to do laps in it! Well, since I could barely breathe on the treadmill I figured I wouldn’t try to drown myself in the pool! Instead, my husband and I sat in the outdoor hot tub after our sad, air-sucking workout on Friday.

When I was at sea level, I did this:

Monday: 2,100 yards of speed/endurance after 1 hour cycle

Wednesday: 2,800 yards, ladder 100-300 before 10 mile run

Total yards = 4,900 or 2.8 miles

CYCLING

Another great thing about going on a little vacation this time of year is that I was able to bring my bike to the shop for a tune-up and not miss it while I was away. Multitasking.

Saying good-bye to my bike...

Saying good-bye to my bike… Clearly before I had my hair done for the trip. #Thisis41

Monday: 1 hour ride before swim

Tuesday: 30 minute warm-up before run

Wednesday: Drop-off at the bike shop for some TLC

Total ride time = 1 hour 30 minutes

SNOWBOARDING

I.just.can’t.even.

The only other time I have had the pleasure of riding west coast powder was about 17 years ago when I lived in California and my brother and I took a trip to Mammoth.

The only way this trip could have been better is if my brother was with me and if my husband hadn’t pulled a muscle in his back literally 10 minutes before we headed to the lift. More on that later. Right now, let’s focus on me and how amazing it was to ride Peak 9 at Breck.

Trust me, I'm smiling.

Trust me, I’m smiling.

Weather perfection.

Weather perfection.

My favorite trails!

My favorite trails!

FUEL

My husband and I literally ate our way though the town, one bite at a time. My top three:

Ember! Voted the best restaurant in Breck by me and my husband.

Ember! Voted the best restaurant in Breck by me and my husband.

Coffee and a big breakfast at the Blue Moose pre-snowboarding.

Coffee and a big breakfast at the Blue Moose, pre-snowboarding.

The most incredible dessert on the planet at Relish.

The most incredible dessert on the planet at Relish.

So much more on all the food and favorites later on…

GEAR

Each time I think I cannot love Amazon more, they make another delivery, just in time with exactly what I need. Why can’t everything in life run like Amazon?

I decided I needed a shoe pod for myย Garmin vivoactive the day before leaving for Colorado. I had all these grand plans of running on the treadmill overlooking the mountain range, that I would have to track super accurately. Little did I know just how badly the altitude would impact me and I was secretly praying the shoe pod wouldn’t work so I wouldn’t have to relive my paltry paces!

Obviously this was BEFORE I started running on the treadmill. You can see the AFTER picture under "Running" above...

Obviously this was BEFORE I started running on the treadmill. You can see the AFTER picture under “Running” above…

But, as all things Garmin do, the shoe pod worked like a charm and I was able to get both air-gasping treadmill runs on the record.

THINGS I LOVE

My birthday.

Oxygen.

My husband.

Traveling.

Coming home.

THINGS I DON’T LOVE AS MUCH

Flying.

Missing my kids.

Attitudes at altitude.

March madness.

READING

I’m in the middle of Pretty Baby and it’s excellent so far! I’m supposed to be reading All the Light We Cannot See for book club but it’s very slow going.

Mostly this past week I was reading this:

breckenridge_ski_resort

We were at Peak 9 which is not the scary all black diamond map on the far left but the peak just to the right of it with plenty of blue trails!

RANDOM QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The shopping in Breckenridge was like everything else – amazing. The jewelry and art was breathtaking and the vibe was all hippy love Colorado:

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The sign reads: Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes: large, small, thin crust, deep dish, extra toppings…

Now that I can breathe, I cannot wait to see how my workouts go this week! But today, I will be celebrating 41 amazing years on this planet!

 

How was your week?

Have you ever run (or walked or just tried to breathe) at altitude?

What goodness have you been eating?

 

 

 

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