As the crazy work week whirled by I kept focused on the weekend and the weather.  For a few years now I have wanted to do a single day Pemi loop.  Last time I did a winter pemi it took three days.  Ryan offered to take me on the tour de pemi and our friend Adam joined us.  I knew I was not going to be fast and made sure they knew it.

We started out around 7:30 am and got onto the lincoln woods trail with microspikes.  We moved well and there was some fresh snow that had fallen.  By the time we got to the Bondcliff trail we put on snowshoes.  I was using a pair of Ryans snowshoes as I didn’t want to trash my Dions or be held back by my MSR’s.  This was a mistake.  They were too long for me and didn’t seem to fit well with my stride.  I whined for a while before just dealing with it.  I didn’t want to be slow and bad company.

We got to Bondcliff and it was breezy and cold.  The views were extremely limited but I was so happy to be finally out there doing my pemi!  We carried on up the hill in the wind to Bond and then got our butts into the woods for a bit.  Ryan and I scooted off to do West Bond as I never climbed it before.  After summitting West Bond in a cloud we marched back to the trail and made our way out to South Twin.

Adam had taken off to hit North twin and Galehead so we followed his tracks to South Twin.  The trail was very tracked out down to the hut and we ran into some familiar and new faces on the trail.  It was still cloudy and blustery as we made our way to Garfield.  This has traditionally been where I start to fall apart and this trip was no different.

I started to feel the day in my legs and I was eating like a pig all day!  We stood on top of Garfield and then hurried back down into the trees to make the brutal climb up Lafayette.  It was pretty slow going and the tracks had ended.  Ryan broke trail (there wasn’t a ton of snow but enough to slow us down a bit).  As we ascended we turned back to see that Adam had caught us.

It was perfect timing as we did not want to be separated at dark, especially on the ridge.  It was windy and bitter cold on the ridge and we quickly stopped taking pictures.  I sucked up my exhaustion and pushed on the best I could.  This was no place or time to be slow.  I could feel my hands and legs getting numb as I chased the boys across the ridge.  As the sun descended we were treated to incredible lighting and soon darkness.

It was so surreal looking below at the lights of civilization while being whipped around on the ridge, cold, beaten and torn.  I paused as I looked below and somehow the lights made me feel warm.  I looked off the side of the ridge looking towards Owls Head and saw a black abyss.  It was strangely beautiful.

Right before we were all about to turn into Popsicles we were in the trees and safe from the brutal wind and cold.  The adventure was almost over and we just had a Liberty and Flume to go over before the downhill trot to the car.  I got up Liberty in descent shape and pushed myself up the long jaunt to Flume.

Adam and Ryan stopped for a second to send out a text and I moved on ahead to face my fear of the ridge on Flume.  I took a few deep breaths as I looked to my right, down below where if I fell I would not stop for a while.  I held my breath and walked across the narrow ledge.  I thought it was over until I got to an icy side hill with a nice sliding board down the mountain.  I stopped and started analyzing the situation.  I did not like the lack of traction in my snowshoes and I was tired.  Soon Ryan appeared and showed me the way across.

On tired legs I moved across to safety and we did the long march back to the car under a star filled night.  It took just over 14 hours and I could not have been more tired but I was smiling inside.  I finally did my one day winter pemi loop!

Sunday was interesting.  I woke up with bruised feet and a very sore and tired body.  I procrastinated all morning before finally getting off my butt and going for a run with Ryan.  We went to Beaver Brook where he talked me through my entire run.  My pure grits made my feet feel as good as they could.

I felt sore, dizzy, out of breath and exhausted but Ryan stayed right by me, telling me I could finish the 12 mile run.  I fell hard a few times and brushed off the dirt and kept on running.  I could feel the burn in my legs on the uphills and at some points had blurry vision.  Ryan gave me a good laugh on a very technical section when he pointed out the porcupine cave.  I had never seen so much poop in my entire life!  I am glad I am not a porcupine.

After what felt like forever we were back at the car and Ryan took off to do a few more miles while I did some grocery shopping.  Back to work for another wacky and busy week of making money.  Looking forward to next weekend!

As plans for the weekend fell apart slowly I tried to salvage it and ended up realizing I would be flying solo this Saturday.  I was pretty bummed, but I packed my bag and headed north.  I was on a mission, to stand on top of Owls head and finally get that peak that I have been putting off for so long finally onto my list of the NH 48 that I have climbed.

I had only gotten to the base of Owls head on my last attempt and luckily my friend had pointed out the start of the Brutus bushwack while I was there.  I kept it in my memory.  I took my GPS with me, loaded with the maps and my map and compass and set off on a journey to do this on my own.

I am not a solo artist and I am not too proud to admit that.  I was worried about getting lost, coming out after dark or getting eaten by a large animal on the trail.  The conditions were great so I kept my pace steady and strong.  My legs felt great and the temperatures were very warm!  Off with the jacket, hat, gloves and shirt.  The sun was shining but the air was cool.  It made for a great day on the trail!

The Black Pond bushwack was broken out and easy to follow.  I got back to the trail and soon found myself at the base of the bushwack to the summit.  I turned up the hill and pushed hard up to the summit where I had a nice view of …trees!!!  Some of these 4000 footers are so funny.  You have to wander around to find a view.  I was happy that I only have West Bond and Cabot to finish my list of the NH 48.   After a nice long break on the summit I spun around and cruised down the hill.

I moved real fast on my way out.  By the time I got to Lincoln woods I was walking very quickly and at that point just wanted to get the heck out of there.  Lincoln woods always breaks me.  It is flat, wide, and goes on forever.  The highlight is smelling all the clean people walking by on my way out.  It is way better than how I smell after a hike in the Pemi Wilderness!

I crossed the bridge and looked down at my GPS to see my time of 4 hours 25 minutes.  I forgot to turn the GPS off when I got back to the car so I was not sure if that was my moving time or total time but either way it was under 5 hours.  Not bad for hiking!  I was thrilled to feel like I was almost back to my old self and I felt so strong!  I really have to thank Amber for giving me my life back!  She is an amazing physical therapist and I have been so good with doing the exercises she gives me!

After a nice dinner with friends that night I got a good nights sleep and went for a road run around Bow Lake with Chris and Ryan.  It was great to go out for a nice social run and I got in 11 pain free miles!  I was also happy to have averaged about 8.36 minute miles for the run!  It was cold and windy out but the sun was shining and the company was great!  I am looking forward to getting through another hectic week that should set me up nicely for an incredible and lofty weekend, weather permitting! 

This weekend took me back to a sport I had taken a break from, ice climbing!  My friend Courtney invited me for a climb in Huntingtons Ravine and I was nervous but not about to turn down the offer!  Huntingtons Ravine had been on my list of climbs for a while but it always intimidated me and I never got a chance to get in there, until this weekend!

I was nervous all week, I didn’t want to hold anyone up or have a freak out and hold up the climb.  When I got to Pinkham notch and put on my climbing boots and zipped up my gaitors I began to remember that I knew how to do this and I would have a good day!  I met up with Courtney, Mary, and Joel and we made the slog up to the Ravine.  We had some good laughs and made pretty good time getting up there!  This was my first time carrying a pack full of climbing gear in quite some time and I felt it in my legs but kept on pushing up the hill!

At one point as we neared the ravine I turned around and the scenery was almost dream-like.  I could see the mountains floating in and out of a white haze, peaks of blue sky and a bit of sunlight.  I gazed up into the Ravine at blue skies with white puffy clouds whipping by overhead and lots of beautiful spindrift dancing through the gullies.  My senses awoke and that fire inside was lit.  I was ready to climb.

Not knowing if my skills had slipped much or how tough this would be I took a deep breath and put on my harness and crampons.  The avalanche conditions were moderate and were predicted to increase as the day went on.  We were going to have to have a smooth run up this ravine today and I told myself I was not allowed to get scared.

We got to the base of Yale Gully and there were only a couple of other parties out climbing other routes.  I looked up at the big blue ice in front of me and my heart filled with warmness.  I knew I wouldn’t be leading today and felt really bad that Courtney would be hauling my ass up this thing but I was so excited to have a friend kind enough to take me out climbing!  We roped up and off she went.

Courtney is an incredible climber.  Her grace and confidence in the sport are what I admire about her climbing skills.  I hope to get back to leading again someday!  It was like summer down in the ravine and I could hear the wind howling over my head but for now I was enjoying the warm sun beating against my black clothing.

I looked around and felt like I was back where I belonged, in the mountains!  Now ice climbing, especially in an alpine enviroment is not for everyone.  You are far from help, you sweat, you freeze, conditions change rapidly and you need to be ready for anything that may be thrown your way.  The routes can be unpredictable and vary as you get higher up the climb.  We were soon to experience this phenomenon.

As we got higher up we realized the snowpack was not very stable.  dust on crust that lie on top of a few feet of powder with an icy layer below.  Perfect 30% angle slopes kept us alert for avalanche danger.  We knew these conditions were probably unlikely to be naturally triggered but also knew they were perfect for a human trigger.  Luckily there was a lot of ice on this climb and we stuck to that as much as we could.

A few pitches up we were right below a slope that looked like a potential for a problem so we moved through that belay quickly.  Soon we were at the next pitch getting blasted with wind and spindrift.  Our route was now in the shadows and it was getting cold.  I got the screaming barfies twice and it almost brought tears to my eyes as my hands went from useless bricks to feeling like I stuck them in a fry vat.  This was not the time to be messing around.  I sucked it up and we moved on up.

As I reached Courtney at the last belay she signaled me to keep going up the snowfield and to top out.  I found a nice open slope that seemed like a great top out but as I put a foot down into the snow I felt a huge layer settle under my foot.  My heart started pounding and I slowly and carefully moved to the right and traversed to an area that  felt a bit more stable.  I threw a sling around a root that was sticking out of the snow which was more mental protection for me than anything else.  I figured if this slope slid on me it may slow me down or hold me up.  When I got to the top I set up a body belay and got Courtney up and we hiked across the alpine garden under cloudy skies and high winds.

We did the sideways shuffle down to Lions Head winter route and were finally in the sheltered trees.  Things were great until we got to this icy downclimb section and I had a freak out!  What the heck!  I was so brave all day and then this stupid little down climb did me in.  I lowered my pack to Courtney, cursed at myself a bit for being such a wimp and she talked me down it.  We had a great hike down under the moonlight and celebrated with dinner at Delaneys.

I had a great time and hope the frost nip on my fingers recovers quickly!  I cant wait to climb again!  My weekend finished with an icy 10.5 mile run with Ryan which was fun but probably some of the hardest running I have ever done!  We had a great day and finished the weekend off with an incredible homemade gluten free pizza!  Looking forward to the next weekend!!!!!

This weekend arrived fast and went fast, as most usually do.  Saturday we had some unexpected plans arise so we did a quick ascent of Moosilauke up the Beaver Brook Trail.  The weather was really nice and the views were great!  On the way up the trail we looked up Jobildunk Ravine and saw some really cool looking ice, certainly something I would love to scope out!

The trail was crust on top of powder but not too hard with snowshoes!  We summitted under blue skies and bright sun!  After standing on top of Moosilauke we went over to South Peak and then returned back to the car.  It was a short but great day!  We got back to the house and got just a little sleep before the alarm went off at 4am!

Now at the last minute we had plans change on us so we quickly decided to ascend Carrigain via the Desolation trail!  I love to break trail and I love the solitude of unused trails!  The day was perfect and the sun was nice.  Once off the road and onto the trail it got nice and quiet.  When we got to the junction for the trail that turns off to the right towards Carrigain notch there was one set of tracks that ended about 5 miles into the hike (including the 2 mile road hike).

Finally, we were on our own!  The conditons were interesting, crust that sometimes would hold me and most times would not.  The crunch of the snow under my feet felt so good!  Ryan broke through the snow crust a bit more than me.  We took turns breaking the trail and were treated to great views of a gully to our right that looked like good climbing and also little bird tracks, squirrel tracks, bunny tracks and even moose tracks!

Right before the desolation trail intesection we saw some tracks that we thought were bear but certainly weren’t.  They were single file (almost like a human would look like) and were triangular shaped.  They were kind of hard to make out but they had paw pads about the size of my hand and we think we may have seen claw marks but cannot be sure.  There was a fallen log off the ground that the belly of the animal had rubbed against on its way over.  The coolest part was how far this thing jumped at one point!  It lept about 13 feet and then made a right hand turn into the woods.  After coming home and looking at tracks online we believe it may have been a Canadian Lynx.  Either way it was certainly from a cat like animal.

We carried on up the Desolation trail and this is where the fun began!  We started to go up and soon we were on steep and off camber terrain!  It was deeper and the trees were now a battle to push through as well!  Going uphill was like going uphill in sand!  Once you stepped, the crust broke and you slid down on the soft powder under the crust!  It was hilarious!  Ryan and I took turns on this terrain breaking trail for each other!  I love breaking trail and was so happy!  The last 1500 feet of gain was something else!  It was so steep and deep and we were climbing over and under branches and trees!  Soon my undies were full of pine needles and I soon got the warm fuzzies!  I forgot how much I love winter hiking on untravelled terrain!

It feels like an all out battle pushing through the deep snow, swimming up the hills and weaving through dense pine branches!  We could see the top of the mountain but it seemed so far away!  After the final battle and a few curses I smiled and stood on the summit of Carrigain where we were treated to great views!  We took off our snowshoes and ran down the Signal Ridge trail and did a run/walk until we got to the road where the snowmobiles go and we walked the last two miles out!  What a great day!  Of course it led us into another crazy work week!  Looking forward to next weekend!!!!

I have been working hard at getting healed up and to begin running again.  I am feeling really good and when I do feel some pain I simply back of my pace and it goes away!  I haven’t limped in about two weeks and I almost forget sometimes I am coming off of an injury!  My runs have been short, most have been in the gym and my 7 mile run I did on a treadmill with my friend Miriam which made the time pass by nicely!

Taken by Gianina Lindsey

I started running outdoors on the snow and it was causing a bit of discomfort but nothing too bad!  Ryan and I did our first run together since October and I was so happy!  We did 4 miles, slowly, but it was great to get out and run!  Last weekend I did my first solo hike and went up Tecumseh while Ryan had run ahead.  Earlier in the day we did the Welch Dickey loop and it was my first time on it!  It was so pretty!  The views from there are amazing and for a shorty, easy hike it was great!

On my way up Tecumseh my plan was to go out for half an hour and turn around and come back before dark.  The higher up I got, the prettier the sky got and I decided to keep on going to the top!  Ryan flew by me when I was about 10 minutes from the top and I didn’t even have time to ask him if he wanted the car keys.  I hoped he would have kept running or something so he didn’t freeze as he would be back to the car well before me.

I summitted just as the sky was pink and orange and it was so pretty!  The mountains had that nice pink glow and everything was covered in snow.  The winter is always the most beautiful time to get out and hike.  It just makes everything look so calming.  I snapped a quick photo on my phone and soon realized I would be descending in the dark.  I am terrified of the dark and being alone was going to really test my mind.

I had a headlight with me and I got it out for when it got too dark to see.  I kept telling myself it was okay and no animals would eat me and I wouldn’t get lost.  (The trail was like a superhighway of footprints so I wasn’t too afraid).  I hustled on the way down and got to the sharp left hand turn before the ski slope before I needed my headlight.  As it got darker I found myself noticing the sounds of the creaky trees and wind blowing.  I looked up to a starfilled night and suddenly felt calm and relaxed.  It was so nice to have tackled a fear and in the midst of it to find peace and beauty!  I was soon at the car where Ryan had luckily borrowed a jacket from two people we met and I was glad he was able to keep warm.

Then I managed to get out for my first outdoor run since October!  Ryan and I got to run together and it was so special!  It was wonderful to share a run with him again!  Then the weekend came and I did a snowshoe race!  I must admit, it was hard to go to a race and not race.  I let my injury guide me through the race.  I took off way too fast and then backed off a bit.  I tried to pick up the pace a bit when two girls passed me and things started to get achy so I did the right thing and backed off.  It was hard to not try to chase them but I had to let go of the moment and focus on the big picture, having a pain free year of playing!

After a fun race I crossed the finish line with almost the same time as last year!  That was great news because it meant that I was in even better shape than last year and didn’t lose much fitness!  I was thrilled!  Ryan and I then headed to do Tom, Field, and Willey where we were treated to great conditions and unbelievable views!

The clouds were amazing and bits of the blue sky poked through!  We took some killer photos as the sun started to shine the light perfectly on the trees and mountains around us.  We hiked down and got out just before the sun went down.  We drove home and and went for an 8.5 mile run at Bear Brook with Ryan on Sunday.  I couldn’t believe I got through the run feeling good and eventually feeling strong!  I struggled the first 4 miles as I was just exhausted but my mind won the battle and my legs finally gave in and just enjoyed the run!  We got back home and settled in for a short night of sleep to prepare for another crazy work week!  Til next weekend…..:)

The last few weeks I have been getting back out in the mountains, summitting some new peaks as well as some old ones.  I have been hiking with friends and working on getting back in running shape so that I can finish Sawtooth 100 in September pain free and smiling!  Hopefully I will get a peak at the Northern Lights while I am out there.

I am up to running six miles pain free and it is really exciting!  Most of my running has been on a treadmill but it is the only way for me to control my speed and elevation.  It may not be the most exciting thing to do but I just crank up my ipod and visualize myself running on the trails and doing what I used to do before this injury.

Although I have been working way too many hours I have chosen to sacrifice my sleep in order to work on getting back into shape and doing my physical therapy exercises.  Hopefully work slows down soon!  I love my job but I need down time to train as well!  Ryans job has been a bit crazy too and we are just going through the motions and hoping things slow down with our work schedules soon!

As for happy things, I signed up for Rev 3 half Iron in June, Wapack 50 miler in May, Traprock 50k in April and am waiting to sign up for Sawtooth 100 in September!  This is so exciting and committing as I am going to train this year instead of my usual show up and go attitude that got me injured.  I am feeling the same passion I had for climbing Denali for Sawtooth!  That should pull me through the race, smiling the whole time!  I have asked someone to pace me and I hope she can do it as she is an old friend with an amazing attitude that would be wonderful company on the trail when I start getting a bit strange.  Hopefully she can run with me and talk me out of my hallucinations, keep me from getting weird and keep me from eating cheese at 4 am.

Ryan, Adam and I did a Wildcats/Carters Traverse last weekend and the weather could not have been more perfect!  The views were incredible and the weather very un-winter like.  The snow was minimal and the ice plenty.  We moved at a decent pace and I felt bad for being the slow poke on the hike but, I was appreciative for them going at my pace.

I managed to get out for my first trail run since October and did 4 miles!  I felt great except for a twinge of pain on the uphills.  I am feeling very optimistic about being able to run outdoors pain free again!  I may even try to run 7 outside this weekend!  I have spent a lot of time swimming, lifting weights and cycling and it feels really good to run again.

Even more exciting news, Ryan and I will be building a log home soon!  I always wanted to build a home but am anti-development and always said that if I found a piece of property with a home on it that needs to be demolished I would build.  Somehow exactly that showed up and we will be tearing down the old home and putting up a new log home!  We are beyond thrilled!  I never thought that I would have my dream home so soon and never thought I would be designing it and sharing it with someone so special to me!

I am hoping good things keep happening and am looking forward to such an exciting year! 

Well, what better way to kick off the New Year than to do a one day presidential traverse!  Ryan, Rob, Larisa and myself started out at Appalachia on icy trails.  We sported our microspikes from the beginning and took my favorite trail, Watson Path, to the summit of Madison.  I fell in love with that trail when an old friend Katie took me up it for my first ever one day presi traverse a few summers ago.  I was certainly out of shape from taking off so much time from the elevation and felt really bad about holding everyone up but was thrilled to have company.

The day could not have been more beautiful!  The sun was bright, the sky was blue and the temperatures felt more like April than January.  We summitted Madison and took some pictures before walking down to Madison Hut.  We hiked up Adams where I enjoyed a yummy whoopie pie at the summit.  After some photographs of Larisas sign we moved on to Jefferson.  We were moving along nicely and there was very little snow up there!  It was so crazy!

After our summit of Jefferson we walked up and over Clay and then stood on top of Mount Washington where there were a lot of people.  The conditions were now becoming undercast and we had a spectacular view of the tops of the clouds!  After a few summit pictures and some snacking we headed down into the windy, Southern pressies.

As we came up and over Monroe it was getting colder, cloudier, and windier!  We took some more pictures and did the slog over to Eisenhower where we were blasted with wind, now it was starting to feel like winter!  There was a bit more snow there as well and we walked over to Pierce where I was glad to be on the last summit.  I was feeling tired as this was the most mileage I had done in several months.  We marched on down and Rob and Larisa got to the car first and got it nice and warm for us.  Ryan kept me company on the way down and we finished in exactly 10 hours!  Not bad for being out of shape!  I was thrilled and the best part was that it was my first one day winter presi traverse!!!

As I start to heal up I am starting to run again on the treadmill and am doing a lot of physical therapy.  I am trying really hard to take it slow and do this right.  It is not easy but I did make myself a promise to behave this year.  As a treat for myself I bought a new running skirt that is reflective and very comfortable!

It has an inner short that has nice leg elastics to keep the undershort in place.  The skirt moves very well and does not feel restrictive.  The reflective stars are extremely cute and I love the fit!  Plan on ordering true to size.  The only thing I would change with this skirt is the crotch area.  It has a very rough seam and you must be willing to wear underwear with it or you will not be a happy runner.  Check out the website at http://www.relaxreflect.com/ and in the comments box tell them “Dangergirl” referred you to their site!  They are super fast with processing and shipping and you will love the product!  Happy New Year!

Check out the website at http://www.relaxreflect.com/ and in

the comments box tell them “Dangergirl” referred you to their

site! 

2011 has not been one of my best years, actually, it has been one of the most difficult years of my life.  I feel like I am walking away from this past year with many lessons learned the hard way and a new outlook on life.  Two weeks after I stood on top of North America in 2010 I was told that I was an awful person and that I was never really loved by someone I thought would be my forever.  At that moment I swore to close my heart and never open it again.

I stepped away from climbing for two reasons.  One, it brought back too much heartache and two, I lost my climbing partner.  I started to work extra hours and save up some money to buy a house and move out of Connecticut.  Luckily my ex was “kind enough” to let me stay at his place until I had a place to go.

I began hanging out with friends more and starting to enjoy swimming, biking and running more than ever!  I signed up for the Ironman competition and filled my schedule with ultraendurance events to find a way to keep me smile and to give me something to look forward to.  In the fall of 2010 the unexpected happened, I met someone who made me feel like a kid again.  He wanted to do things with me and said nice things to me and it made me feel really good.

I had spent the last six years of my life in a quiet relationship where our only two things we did together where I wasn’t ignored was climbing and dirtbiking. I was very lonely and had learned to live in silence.   I was terrified to enter a new relationship and would have preferred to just stay single but, I was willing to take the chance on another broken heart.

Ryan came into my life quickly and we both fed off of each others energy.  He is a runner and I just do everything.  It would be a challenge for me to introduce him to new sports and for me to get fast enough to hang with him on some of his easier runs.  Before I knew it I was having fun again in my life and falling in love with someone new.  I would slowly start taking down the walls around my heart.

In February 2011, mid snowshoe season I started to get some odd pains when running.  By March I had a stress fracture in my pubic bone and two tears in my adductor muscle.  I was on crutches for about 8 weeks and bedrest for about two of those.  I was a horrible patient and couldn’t take the immobility so I would sneak out on runs which only made it worse.  I ran Massanutten 100 two weeks after coming off crutches and was fine until Rev 3 half iron where I re-hurt myself and was hobbling around in pain again.

It was a mad dash to heal up for the Ironman competition and of course I went into that with very little training and ended up walking most of the run due to groin pain.  This would be the story for the rest of the year, pushing through a Pemi loop record and lots of hikes and then winning Vulcans Fury in Oct and walking away with severe pain and a horrible limp.

Ryan and I also moved to New Hampshire which has been wonderful and I miss my friends and family in CT but love NH so much!  I have an awesome job up here and am working on making some friends here to train with.  Emotionally, dealing with this injury has torn me down a bunch but at the same time it has taught me about patience and that I do all of these races and events for fun.  Honestly, I would rather finish with a smile on my face than with a trophy in hand.   If I happen to do both then it is just a bonus!

I was finally sick of misbehaving and took a few months off only to find I wasn’t getting any better.  I was starting to get depressed which is not a way I like to be so I went back to the doctor and found that I really just need some physical therapy to get myself in a healthier spot.  Amber gave me confidence that if I follow her instructions I should be back to my old self again!  So, this time I will listen.  I will recover and I will come back strong in 2012.  I am picking only two key races for next year so that my focus can be on gradually building up mileage instead of going from nothing to everything!

Ryan and I have also grown closer together in 2011 which has been wonderful.  I am still continuing to lower those huge walls around my heart as I trust that he will not hurt me.  I am looking forward to doing many runs with him this year and taking him out of his element and showing him some of the hobbies I love most!  It has been fun going mountain biking with him and I am afraid that by next year he will be much faster than me!  We have a backcountry ski trip planned in Colorado in March and plan to go out west next summer for some mountain adventures!  Happy New Year and let 2012 be an awesome year for everyone!

I have been still enjoying my down time and am really looking forward to getting back to my normal routine.  I have had a relapse with my pelvic injury and am hoping for some goodish news from the orthopedic doctor on Friday.  I had an x-ray taken and it showed some very strange bone remodeling.  The general physician that saw me is not quite sure why I am in pain again and it has taken me six weeks to get an appointment with an orthopedic doctor here in NH so I am trying to be optimistic as to what I may hear.

So, is this broken, healed? Why am I still in pain?

My biggest fear is that I will be put back on bed rest or still on limited activity mode.  I have been in pain since February since fracturing my left pubic bone and am ready to do whatever it will take to become pain free, even if it means a lot of time off from some of the things that give my life so much meaning.  This has been the worst injury I have ever had and after researching pubic bone fractures it looks like it is a very debilitating and frustrating injury that take most people well over a year to recover from.  I have prepared myself mentally to deal with this.

There are days I want to cry and there are days that I am thankful to still be able to go for a slow hike, ride my bike or go swimming.  There are plenty of people who can’t do any of those things so it would be wrong for me to get upset over having to tone it down a bit.  I am finding that the longer I am away from running and speed hiking the more determined I become to get myself healthy and pain free again.

So, the last few weeks have been involving some nice hikes with my friend Miriam and her dog Cooper.  Ryan has been joining me on some slower bike rides and hikes as well.  Slowing down and taking the time to look around has made moving in the mountains so different!  I see so much more while walking.  Moving fast is certainly not a bad thing, but moving slower really brings out the beauty of the woods and the mountains.

Miriam joined me on a hike up Waumbek and Ryan and Rob joined me on a hike up Moriah.  Both were very fun and they were also new peaks to me so I was excited to tag two more peaks!  I now have Owls Head, West Bond, and Cabot to complete my NH 48.  If I get good news Friday I might try to do Owls Head and West Bond in one push!

With all of the down time I have had lately I have been doing a lot of thinking and planning for when I heal up!  I have been doing small things for the community through donations and wish that I could get involved a bit more with doing local volunteer work.  To my surprise all of the places I have tried to offer my volunteer services to are not in need of volunteers.  So, I am trying to find other ways to do nice things so I donate food and toys.

I don’t have a ton of money but I do have a good job and live a pretty fun life.  I may be injured but I can still do fun things and am grateful for that.  I am a bit sad that I feel so limited but at the same time it makes me feel good that I can maybe have a part in providing food on someones table or being able to give a child an opportunity to wake up to something special on Christmas morning.  Climbing a mountain or winning a race may make me feel really awesome but imagining the look on a childs face while unwrapping the toy they wanted and the family enjoying a nice hot meal together gives me so much more.

I am hoping that I get good news on Friday and hope to be back to my normal routines and to actually train next year.  I did not get into Hardrock 100 this year but I think it happened for a reason.  I am going to get myself healthy again, ease into my training, and totally rock it in 2013!  2011 taught me that I am not invincible and that proper training is important.  I think this year taught me many hard lessons and it will leave me to a fun 2012 where I will work on getting healthy and stronger than I ever have been!  In the mean time I am going to enjoy the down time and continue to try to help out in the community in any way I can while still trying to maintain some level of fitness however my body allows me! 

The last couple of weeks I have been taking a break from running and doing more cycling and swimming.  I am resting up for the snowshoe season which is fast and a ton of fun!  Ryan was pretty excited about testing his legs on a 2.7 mile paved loop in Rhode Island that he would run on for six hours!  The Rhode Island six hour was a popular event that offered people the opportunity to not only test their physical limits but also their emotional limts.

To me running that loop for six hours would have driven me crazy, but Ryan really wanted to give it a try.  I was going to crew him and decided I would bring my road bike and ride it on the trainer for six hours while crewing him.  Who would go crazy first, we would find out!

It was exciting to see the Acidotic guys looking speedy in their Movember facial hair, actually I didn’t even recognize half of them!  Too funny!  They had a fast team put together and were motivated to go for the win.  It was a chilly morning and before we knew it the runners were off on their six hour journey!

Ryan managed to hang with Ben Nephew for the first 4 laps which was his goal.  He wanted to see how long he could hold his pace.  It was so exciting to watch and I really enjoyed hanging out on my trainer and cheering him on (well, off the bike to crew him) and then hopping back on the bike to wait for him to come around again.

Surprisingly that six hours went by rather quickly and Ryan finished with a few less miles than he had hoped but he was able to see that he can pull through even when things get hard!  I couldn’t have been prouder!  Team Acidotic got the win and almost got their 60 laps.  It was a blast to watch this all happen!

 The next weekend Ryan and I did a small hike up North Tripyramid.  It was really amazing to see the damage leftover from the hurricaine in August!  The river was ripped apart and there was so much erosion and downed trees and it was crazy!  The hike was quite uneventful but the weather was very warm!

We got up towards the top where the wind started to pick up and it cooled down a lot.  We had a snack on the summit and I headed back down and Ryan ran over to the other twin and met me on his way down.  We had a nice day and I was happy to tag another summit!  Only Waumbek, Cabot, Owls Head, West Bond and Moriah to go!  Yippee!

I found a place that offers aerial yoga and took a class.  I knew it would be challenging but what I didn’t expect was the amount of arm work involved in this yoga practice!  We started by doing simple floor exercises using the silks and then moved off the mats and into the air!  It felt so free and so fun!  The instructor did such a nice job teaching and spotting us and I can’t wait to take another class!

Life has not been too exciting lately and I have been focusing on recovering and resting up for the next round of training for 2012.  It is always hard to slow things down but I am also tired of residual pain from old injuries and taking this break always helps those areas feel better!  I am also starting to talk with some of the people at the Y that I belong to and will be doing my volunteer work through the Y.  We have some really exciting ideas and I can’t wait to make them happen!

It will be fun to dedicate some of my time to helping others to live a healthy lifestyle.  I am very thankful for what I have and the health and friendships an active lifestyle has given to me.  It has changed me from an out of shape person who would sit around on a couch and eat donuts to someone who has a passion for playing in the outdoors!  I hope to encourage more people to get up and start moving, it may change someones life in a positive way!