This past Sunday I enjoyed my second day on the slopes this season with the same group that headed up two weekends ago.   This time we decided to check out Breckenridge.   The snow wasn’t as good as we had at Keystone on our first day, but it was still pretty good in spots.   Down low on the mountain there wasn’t much snow and even the groomers got pretty rough toward the end of our day.   However, Rob and I found some good snow up higher on peaks seven and eight.   In order to reach these slopes, I had to conquer the t-bar.

I had never tried the t-bar prior to Sunday, but have had my share of falls on rope tows and a platter lift  at Vail.   Before hopping on the t-bar I sat just above it and watched other snowboarders use it so I got an idea of what to do.   Though the t-bar can accommodate  two people at once, the first time up I decided to do it on my own.   Just before grabbing the pole, I asked the lift attendant for any advice and he told me to stand up.   I chuckled quickly before it was time to grab on and go.   I surprised myself by not falling down right away.   After a quarter of the way up my arms began to ache and I struggled to keep the t-bar parallel to the ground.   It was at that point I realized that I had the bar too high and I moved it down lower under my butt.   The remainder of the ride went smoothly.

At the top we enjoyed some of the best snow we had seen all day.   Once back at the bottom I knew it was time to ride the t-bar again.   This time I decided that Rob and I should easily be able to catch a lift together.   While waiting our turn Rob let me know that he had never ridden the t-bar with a snowboarder before.   I think he was a little nervous too.   Again I had no problems catching the bar and starting up the hill.   In fact, this ride was even easier than the first time.   Not only was the bar in the correct position  the whole time, I didn’t have to use my right arm to try to keep the bar parallel to the ground.   It was a great success!   I look forward to many more rides up the t-bar in the future.

With one week down in the Jenny Challenge, I have completed 28 miles. I am well on my way to finishing the full 100 by Christmas. My dad is nearly leading the way for all participants with 41.2 miles in the first week. He is winding down his training for the Rocket City Marathon in my birth town of Huntsville, Alabama. I’m thinking that he should shoot for 200 miles by Christmas.

I had bowling and a hockey game last night. Bowling was first and I had an alright night. My scores were 106, 103, and 114. I doubt my average of 113 moves down very much. My team has climbed into first place and should remain there after winning all three games last night. Next week is the last week, but I will have to miss it unfortunately. There is talk of another league starting up in February.

My hockey game didn’t go any better. I didn’t play particularly well after the Chipotle dinner and a couple of beers at the bowling alley. We actually played pretty well as a team and only lost by two goals, 5-3.

Finally, I had a couple of wins and a loss in last weekends fantasy football. In the winning leagues, I sit comfortably in third and fourth place and should make the playoffs in both. Unfortunately in the other league, the loss could cause me to miss the playoffs. I need the guy who took my spot to lose, and I need a win, for there to be any chance of making it. I am in sixth place in both pick’em games, so those aren’t looking too promising either.

While chowing down on Thanksgiving dinner, a couple of friends and I made plans to hit the slopes the following day.   I woke up bright and early on Friday morning (5:45am) and met up with two friends at a park and ride along the highway.   We left the parking lot just after 6:30 in the morning and I drove us up to Keystone.   We wanted to be sure to avoid any traffic, which was completely successful, though we may have been even a bit too early.   We arrived at Keystone before eight and the lifts don’t open until nine.

With all the  recent snow that has fallen  in the mountains many of the resorts are opening lifts and terrain much quicker  than ever.   One of these record-breaking  openings was the earliest ever opening of The Outback at Keystone.   Traditionally this is my favorite area of Keystone, so once we were finally on the slopes, we immediately headed that way.   Usually you would take either Mozart, Mine Shaft, or Diamond Back from the top of Dercum  Mountain (the first peak at Keystone) to gain access to both North Peak and The Outback.   On Friday, these  trails  were all  closed  due to lack of snow coverage, so the only way to access the other two peaks was to take a ride on the Outpost Gondola.

Enjoying the snow in The Outback at Keystone.

I don’t think I have ever ridden the Outpost Gondola, but I was more than happy to take a ride this day.   Once we made it to North Peak and then The Outback we were treated to absolutely no lines.   In addition the snow was actually really good, especially for November.   We enjoyed many hours of fun out in The Outback.   The highlight of the day was easily the snow we found after a quick hike to the North Bowl.   My friend Rob and I often hike out to the North and South Bowls to find the best powder.   Friday was no exception, where after a half mile hike we found over half a foot of untouched powder.   It took us both by surprise, but we enjoyed every minute of it.

After noon we decided to work our way back towards the front of the resort.   We took one run down Bachelor, and soon realized that the snow wasn’t very good on the front side of the mountain.   I’ve often found this to be  true.   Rob blames it on the night skiing that Keystone has.   Most resorts in Colorado don’t offer it.    We also  found large lines all along the front side of the mountain.   Those two things put together convinced us to call it a day.   I was so happy that most people either couldn’t figure out how to get back to the other two mountains or just weren’t interested.   It left all the  good snow for us while they dealt with all the icy conditions on the front.   It was a great first day of the season!

Keystone on Dwellable

You may recall the running challenge I participated in at this time last year.   The goal was to run 100 miles between Thanksgiving and Christmas.   I was able to complete the challenge last year (week 2 results, week 3, and week 4) with a few days leftover.   Well it is back again this season, and I am signed up to participate.   I don’t actually know Jenny but found out about the challenge through friends in Denver.   It is open to anyone, so I encourage you to give it a try.   To sign up just visit jennychallenge.blogspot.com  and follow the directions.   If you do decide to sign up, let me know, as there are already over 150 people registered and finding someone without scanning the entire list is impossible.   Good luck runners.

Somehow my hockey team  lost to the last place team in the league on Wednesday night.   What’s strange is that this team didn’t seem like a very bad team at all.   In fact, most of their forwards were really good skaters.   This game was played  at what must be the oldest hockey rink in Denver.   Most of the rinks I’ve played in have been really nice and up to date.   This rink was up to date for the most part, but you could definitely tell the age of the building based on the locker room facilities and small size of the benches.   What’s worst, there is no bar!

Bowling went really well last night.   Not only for me but also for my team.   I started with a score of 111 in the first game.   Second was my third highest score ever of 146.   And finally I finished the night with a 130.   My team will still be in second place, as the first place team also won all of their games.   However, we put should put some space between us and the team we played against, who were in third place.   We only have a few weeks left to climb back into first, so I hope that my bowling continues to be above my average.

I went 2-1 in fantasy football.   With one of my wins, I moved up into second place overall.   I remain  in fourth place in the other league with a win.   And in the final  league with a loss, I remain tied for fourth.   This week may be  a struggle for some of my teams, as injuries continue to bring down some of my better players.   I also lost some points in the college pick’em game and fell all the way down to sixth place.   And  I’m stuck in eighth place in the NFL version.

I had another night of inconsistent bowling last night.   It all started off great with a score of 150 for the first game.   This was the highest score for the entire league last night.   However my second game ended with a pathetic score of 77.   The third game was improved, finishing the night with 109 pins.   My average for the entire season is 110, and I think that will remain the same after this weeks results.   My team played against the first place team, and we beat them two out of three games.   Our team remains in second place, one point behind the first place team.

My hockey game two nights ago was pretty mediocre as well.   Our team lost the game 4-2, but I managed to score our first goal and was on the ice for the second.   So even if my team is doing poorly, at least my play is improving.

Finally, my fantasy football  teams went undefeated this past week.   I moved up to third place in one league, and remain  in fourth in the other two, though one is technically a tie with Kim’s dad.   I have tough matchups this week in two of the leagues as I go head to head with the first place teams.   In the other league I am playing against the last place team.   I’m predicted to win all three.   In the pick’em games I remain  in third for college and eighth for NFL.

Again I went 2-1 in fantasy football.   I am now in fourth place in all three leagues.   I was in third in one, and dropped to fourth after the loss.   The second league I remained in forth after a win.   And finally I moved up to forth from sixth in the final league.   As far as the pick’em games go, I dropped back to third from first in college and moved up one spot to eight in the NFL version.

Last night was bowling and hockey night.   My regularly scheduled Wednesday night hockey game was on Thursday this week for some unknown reason.   Bowling was pretty rough last night.   I’m blaming the week I took off last week.   My first game was a 93, but could have been much worse if I didn’t have a couple of good frames at the end.   The second game was a miserable 81.   Finally on the third game I got back above my average, scoring 118 points.

On the other hand, hockey was great last night.   We only had two lines of skaters, which I like.   The other team barely had one full line.   We didn’t let that stop us from scoring goal after goal.   The final score was 14-7!   A coworker today asked if I really was playing hockey, or if it was a football game with a score like that.   Not only was the game good for me team, but good for me as well.   I managed to get my first points of this season, as I went on to score a hat trick.   I could have had a fourth goal, but missed an open net.

While in Cincinnati this past weekend, we headed down to the University of Cincinnati campus for the homecoming celebration on Saturday.   First, we watched the parade as it flowed past campus.   My mom came along with us, while dad found our tailgating spots, and we met up with Kim’s parents and Nick.   Chris, another of Kim’s brothers, was in charge of putting together a float for his fraternity, and we wanted to be there to see it.   The parade itself wasn’t very long, but was a great way to start the day.

Watching the homecoming parade with Kim's family.

After the parade, we walked through the ever-changing campus on our way to the tailgating lot.   While Kim and I were in school, the joke around campus was that UC stood for Under Construction.   The construction has continued with the addition of football practice fields, along with other athletic complexes, but the campus is so much nicer than it was ten years ago.   In fact the campus now appears on Forbes Magazine list of the most beautiful college campuses in the world!

Kim and I with the brand new Bearcat statue.

Our tailgate party was complete with fantastic food and a pretty good selection of drinks. Before too long it was game time, and we headed for the stadium. As well as the day started for us, the same would not be true for the UC football team. The game started with a series of punts, and a scoreless first quarter, before Syracuse scored their first touchdown in the second. On Cincinnati’s next possession, a fumble on the first play deep in their end, led right to another Syracuse touchdown.   As bad as that was, the same thing happened again on their next drive, however this time it was only a field goal for Syracuse.   Regardless, the Orange never looked back and came away with a solid 31-7 win.   Disappointing, but I hope Bearcat fans are staying optimistic for the future.

More pictures from my mom can be found here.

Kicking off our last weekend in Cincinnati until after the baby is born, was the Run Like Hell.   This   was my second time running the race, and my main goal was to beat my time from last year.   Earlier in the day, I heard a rumor that the course had been changed and that it was no longer a 5K race.   Once we started the run, I knew that this rumor must have been true.   Rather than running out to Dana Avenue, a rather busy street, to start the race, we simply started running the course in reverse.   It’s a little hard to describe, but this new route ended up cutting out over 2/10 of a mile.

Nick and I dyed our hair blue.

I started off running with my dad, but he quickly picked up the pace and I could no longer keep up. I blame this on a few things. First, I haven’t been running very much recently. Secondly, I ate too much at dinner before the race, but the Rusty Bucket  is too good.   Finally, I couldn’t breathe that well, which I think was a side-effect of a recent illness I had.   Anyway, I was able to run the remainder  of the race on my own pace, and actually finished with a pretty good time of 24 minutes.   I don’t think the race tracked any results, so you just have to believe me.

Me And Kim, Elton John style.

My dad ended up with a great time, under 7:30 pace. Originally he had a goal of making it under eight minute miles. Kim’s youngest brother, Nick, ran the entire race with my mom and Kim’s sister. He wasn’t able to make it through the graveyard section of the course last year, and that was his goal for this year. Meanwhile, Kim brought up the rear of the pack, but still managed to walk a good chunk of the course before it was closed  off. Kim’s cousin, Patrick, who has cystic fibrosis was able to come out to the event again to hang out with family and friends. This race benefits a very worthwhile cause and I hope it continues for many more years.

Patrick and I after the race.

I stole all of these images from my mom, and more can be found here.

After another alright week in fantasy football, going 2-1, I have moved up into fourth  place in one league.   In the other league with a win I remain in third place.   And in the final league I fell into sixth place, from fifth, after the loss this weekend.   I also moved into first place in the college pick’em game and fell back into ninth in the NFL version.

My hockey team got crushed last night, 9-2.   We faced-off with another one of the traditionally good teams in the league, and paid for it severely.   I think we can blame most of our poor performances on the lack of team chemistry.   There are only a few guys left from the core group that I played with regularly for years.   We actually talked about it last night, and may end up making some changes in the next offseason.

I won’t be  able to make this week’s bowling, as I’m catching a flight later tonight.   The good news is that I’ll be able to catch a Cincinnati Bearcat  football game in person on Saturday.   This weekend is the homecoming matchup against Syracuse.   I’m really looking forward to being back on campus and catching a game.   Look for me on ESPNU.