I Run Like A Girl

What was originally going to be a low-key weekend in SF turned out to be a spontaneous adventure in the snowy mountains. On Thursday, Julia texted me asking if I wanted to join her, Rahul and some of her family (who I all met at Thanksgiving) in her family’s cabin in Tahoe…how could I say no to that!? Busy season has winded down and I’ve been dying to get a little break from life in SF…and so our spontaneous ski trip was on!

Friday

Julia, Rahul and I all left early on Friday to get a head start on traffic. Our first stop was stopping in East Bay to pick up Julia’s Aunt Kim, rounding out our core-four for the weekend. Aunt Kim is such a fun-loving lady and was such a source of positive energy for our group the entire weekend. She’s one of those people who makes you feel instantly comfortable and who you want to share your whole life story with. And that’s what we did, talking nonstop the entire drive up.

On the way, we made a pit stop for Chick-fil-a. We each had only eaten Chick-fil-a less than two times in our lives (Aunt Kim never having tried it yet), and so it was an easy choice to make that our quick dinner…YUM.

4 hours, dozens of jokes and stories, 2 podcasts, and 1 nap later, we were in Tahoe! The four of us stayed in one of Julia’s family’s cabins in the Tahoe Keys in South Tahoe while the rest of the family stayed closer to Heavenly Mountain, where we’d be skiing. The Tahoe Keys is an upscale part of Tahoe – it’s a little suburb community where every house has a port and boat (in the summertime), docking in small channels and eventually leading to the grand lake. Staying in the Keys was quite the treat.

We arrived around 10pm and I was pooped. After getting a quick tour of the house, I quickly hit the hay as we had an big day ahead of us.

Saturday

The alarm went off at 7:30am to get ready to hit the slopes. Julia and Aunt Kim opted out of skiing, and so it was just me and Rahul sticking together for the day. We drove to the ski rental store, then to the second cabin to meet up with the rest of the group (which were Julia’s cousins/friends who are all other 20-something-year-olds), and then we were off to the slopes!

Heavenly Mountain was just wonderful. The highest elevation was at 10,200 feet and the runs were exciting and challenging. Going up the lift, we got the most beautiful view of the big lake and the surrounding mountains. I’ve never been to a resort like it.

Rahul was the perfect ski partner for the day as we both had one objective: SKI AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. The rest of the group was taking it easy for the day just doing a few runs, while Rahul and I raced down the mountains and went right back in line over and over again. We must have gotten 15+ runs under our belts!

We were both around the same level being comfortable with blue trails, where I cautiously stayed. Rahul toyed around on the blacks as well as the more narrow tree-trails. It was SUPER cold and windy (70 mph winds!) on the mountain, and being at such high elevation just made the whole ski experience pretty surreal. I’m typically a safety nerd and scared the whole time skiing, but this time I was finally comfortable on the trails and felt so zen. It was one of my favorite ski experiences yet.

We took a break for lunch, eating burgers and spike hot chocolate outside on the mountain. Perfection.

We skiied all the way until 4pm when the last lifts closed – talk about making the most of one day :). I had some downtime and took the looongest hot shower back at our house, then rejoined Aunt Kim and Julia for a bit as we caught up on our days.

For the rest of the evening, we drove back to the other cabin for our big group potluck. It felt just like Thanksgiving, with all Julia’s family. It was so nice catching up with everyone over home-cooked Chinese food, wine, and board games. I joked with Aunt Kim that they were my surrogate family on the west coast :). It was the perfect, happy, cozy way to spend night after being outside in the cold all day.

Sunday

Sunday morning was a relaxing one. I woke up on the early side and enjoyed a nice hot cup of coffee outside and on the couch.

Afterwards, Julia, Aunt Kim and I took a short walk to Pope Beach. It was pretty cool seeing the ground transition from the ice and snow to the beach’s sand, all within a few steps. Right by the lake looked exactly like the past two times I’ve been to Tahoe (yes…this was my 3rd time here in 8 months of living on the west coast :P). The water was crystal clear (and cold!), beautiful mountains behind it, and sky as clear as the water. I could live in spot forever.

Ladies shot ❤

And before we knew it, it was time to hit the road again less than 36 hours after arriving. A short trip jam-packed with fresh air, adrenaline, relaxation, amazing friends, and my new surrogate family 🙂

We will for sure be back this summer!

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Workouts this week:

Monday: 4.5 miles outside in the Marina Green

Tuesday: 70-minutes of vinyasa yoga

Wednesday: 3.5 progression miles on the treadmill

Thursday: 60 minutes of power yoga

Friday: REST

Saturday: Skiing all day!

Sunday: 4 miles outside in the Marina Green