Xmas in FC

We arrived back in Fort Collins on Saturday evening and have spent most of the first week dealing with Christmas stuff. It was a busy week, but I did manage to get in a couple of runs with the FC Trail Runners.
On Tuesday evening a small group gathered at Lee Martinez Park and ran along the bike path. It was cold, but not as cold as the Thursday evening run when temperatures dropped into the teens. Thursday night was supposed to be a "social" run, but the brace was brisk and we covered about 10 miles. After the Thursday evening run we were invited to a Christmas party at Cat's house. It was a fun evening with lots of great food and laughter.

Wednesday night/Thursday morning also saw us get a dump of about 8 inches of snow. It has made for a white Christmas and beautiful views of the foothills. It has also allowed us to get out and do some snowhsoeing. On Christmas Eve we headed upto Lory State Park and spent some time on the trails. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we had a great time.

Illiniza Norte

This past week at work was long and stressful. By the time Friday had rolled around I was feeling pretty beat, but at the same time I was feeling the need to get out of town and challenge my body the way my mind had been challenged that week at work. so, I signed up with Ruta Cero for their group hike/climb to Illiniza Norte, which lies about two hours southwest of Quito.
This seemed like a good idea at the time, but when the alarm went off at 3;30 am on Saturday morning I would have been quite happy to rollover and snuggle upto Konna. Instead I dragged myself out of bed and pulled on some clothes, gulped down some cereal and headed out for the bus. I had hoped to catch a few zzz's on the bus, but it was not to be and so when we arrived at the drop off point i was feeling even less like being there...there were lots of "what the hell am I doing here?" thoughts dancing across my brain.