Snow, mountains, altitude...WHERE AM I??

We're not in Florida any more Toto!!
Friday night the plane landed at COS...and I'm back in Colorado Springs for another year at the Olympic Training Center. It's been great to see all my friends again...Jaz, Jess, Sam, Ken, etc! Of course we've had a party both nights since we've been back...I was hurting a bit on Saturday night from skiing all day...but last night I was back to 100%:)
I was awake before 6am on Saturday morning and in the car by 6, on my way to Monarch Mountain again. This time the drive was easy: I knew my way there and the sun was not blocked by a blizzard! With two short stops for gas and some hot cocoa...I got to the slopes around 8:50am. It was perfect timing for me to rent some skis and then meet Sally and Jimmy in front of the ticket windows.
We had a great day of skiing...the sun was out in full force...not too much wind...a lot of runs were beautifully groomed...and of course it wasn't too crowded! It was nice to have someone to ride on the lifts with...and we alternated choosing what runs we wanted to take. Unlike my weekend of skiing in December, I didn't have to go into the lodge every 2 hours to get the feeling back into my fingers and toes...we stayed out on the slopes until lunch time and then almost made it until closing time before we were all worn out! A big THANKS to Sally and Jimmy for a great day in Colorado!
The drive home was fast, no scary blizzard...and then dinner at the OTC in the repainted and redesigned dining hall! Sunday was a bit of a catch up day...I spent the morning unpacking my bags and then went swimming with Jaz and Jess after lunch. We weren't allowed in the OTC pool because we didn't have a coach on campus so we drove to the Peterson Airforce Base and used Jess's military ID to get on and then paid 2.50 to get into lap swim. I came up with some swim sets for the 3 of us and we all got in the yardage we needed. It was getting late when we got back...close to 5pm when Jaz and I actually started on our run. Note to self: the sun does not stay up as long in Colorado as it does in Florida right now...and it gets A LOT colder when the sun is gone! In other words...the run was really cold, but at least we got it done!
I wont even go into details about how much I love being back at altitude...I think I wrote enough about that last year when I was acclimating...I just know that it means I'm working harder all the time:)! The magnificent views out the windows of Pikes Peak and all the other snow covered mountains makes everything worth it...and of course being back with my awesome training partners and friends!