Recovery

Recovery is defined as the restoration to a former or better condition.  While Terry continues to recover from his back injury, I have been transitioning from recovery to recovery the past two weeks.

It all started with a business trip to California.  We had an offsite in Marin County for 48hrs and then transitioned to our office in San Francisco for an annual company party and other events.  It was an amazing trip and fantastic to spend quality time with my coworkers.  Three of us took advantage of being in town during the America's Cup and we got up early Saturday to soak in the atmosphere before flying home.

Somewhere in Marin County

Early Saturday jog from hotel to pier - great views of San Francisco!

First time on the SF Cable Car!  Faster than jogging back to hotel.

Showered and ready to experience America's Cup!  The boats are huge - 13 stories tall!

Race is on!  Amazing crowds.
Fantastic to see the Oracle USA Team take the victory this week - incredible comeback!

I woke up Sunday in my own bed after four very full days and started my California Recovery.  The trip was very good from a business perspective and we accomplished plenty, but it was also a test in staying power.  Many of my coworkers are in their twenties and probably don't have to worry about recovery yet.  They were able to exercise, workshop all day, drink all evening, stay up all night, and repeat.  I paced myself but the 3 consecutive nights of partying were a bit extreme and I was wiped.

Sunday was a nice quiet day with just a little time on the bike in between rain storms.  In California, I got out with my coworkers for 2 long morning hikes plus we did a couple hours of SUP (Standup Paddleboarding) as a team activity.  I felt fit, so was slightly surprised when I felt so horrible on the road bike on Sunday.  I chalked it up to the trip and altitude but I should have seen the signs.

Offsite Hike - Awesome to work with others that like to go-go-go!

Sunday Rain on Overpass - nothing like Colorado - but more than we are used to.

I woke up Monday with a tickle in my throat and spent the next 7 days fighting the "offsite bug".  It made its way around the team, but there was strong evidence that those of us not in our twenties got it worse.  I worked all week, but other than that I was sleeping, sneezing, coughing, or blowing my nose.  I would like to blame it completely on a coworker that was sick at offsite, but I didn't do my body any favors being so worn down and susceptible.

Even though I wasn't completely over the bug, I mentally decided to start my Cold Recovery on Saturday morning.  I went for a hike and then represented the Alumni Chapter at a Montana Tech vs Westminster volleyball game in SLC.  They are a young team but fought hard like good Montana kids and won in 5 games!

Montana Tech Orediggers beat the Westminster Griffins!

Since we cancelled our trip to Worlds, we went out for a nice meal on Saturday evening instead of flying to Florence.  Terry was in obvious pain sitting that long for dinner and I had to control my coughing, but we were glad we did it.  We sat outside overlooking Main Street and reminded ourselves that many would give anything to vacation in Park City and the important thing for us wasn't Italy, but to get healthy again.  Speaking of getting healthy, we also celebrated CB's Birthday and Stem Cell Transplant Day 100 over the weekend!

Asian dinner instead of Italian

Now, a week later I'm experiencing Ski Conditioning Recovery.  After a week off, Monday meant back to a routine and working out.  With a fresh gym pass, I went every night after work and reminded my body what else it can do besides cycling.  Winter temps and snow arrived this week, so I figured it was time for Ski Conditioning.  I did my own thing 2 days, but attended an official class on the others.  Wow, what a good reminder that there are a million other muscles to look after.

October isn't even here, but there is snow blanketing the ski runs and even a few piles at the house, so we'll be clicking into our skis before we know it.  I hope we have a few more weeks of mountain biking before we are looking for face shots.  Either way, I'm sure I'll continue to have recovery sessions.  I just hope they are all athletic based and not due to too much partying or colds - I'm too old for that type of Recovery.

Officially Fall Season in the backyard - with both Summer Flowers and Winter Snow