The Ideal Taper

With IM Wisconsin looming this coming weekend Courtney and I headed for the mountains. Before Louisville we planned on heading up to Beaver Creek for their annual Oktoberfest. Why it's in early Sept. I don't know. I love going to Beaver Creek when I can. Courtney and I were married there at Allie's Cabin, up on the mountain. Every time I go back I dream of buying a small condo there so we can be there more often. Plus, this time of the year the weather is perfect. The mountains are green, there is a bit of a nip in the morning air and it seems so fresh.
We head out on Saturday morning, fought a bit of traffic on I 70 and checked into the Hyatt around 1. We immediately made our way to the food, beer and fun. I was a bit disappointed as some of the food stands had tacos and barbecue, not quite the German food I expected. Fortuately there were other stands with some great food. I grabbed a bratwurst with sauerkraut and an Oktoberfest beer. Courtney went straight for the gigantic Stein O' Beer. It was about 24 oz. of beer in a cool Beaver Creek stein. We sat down and enjoyed some Oompa music from a band that came from Austria. They were completely done up in the laterhosen, hats and socks. The beer settled in and we both got tired so he hit the room for a nap. Yeah, we are lightweights!
After a refreshing snooze we went back out, listened to a new band and played some putt putt golf. Courtney whooped me pretty bad. I wasn't happy about it either! Our hotel had a big fire ring going and all the goodies for S'mores! Court had 1, and I tried 1 of the homemade marshmellows with M&M's in it. Dinner was at the Dusty Boot and the halibut was great.
We went back to the hotel where the fire was still going. There were some Adirondack chairs out for everyone to relax and enjoy. We found some chairs and got a drink. Beaver Creek isn't the cheapest place. Our 2 hot chocolates, mine with whiskey, Court's with Schnapps, were 22 bucks!!
My plan for the morning was to sleep as long as possible. That didn't really happen as my stomach was growling around 6:15. Breakfast didn't start until 7, so I snuggled with Court a bit longer. We headed down right at 7, but the day was so nice I wanted to take a stroll first. I love the crisp mountain air in the morning, and the quite feel to the day. I love getting up early to feel that calm energy and the anticipation of what the day brings. We didn't walk too long and soon we were back at the hotel for breakfast. Court was a trooper and sat outside even though she was a bit chilly. My nice warm coffee warmed me up, but she had a Coke. I ordered the Swiss Muesli and the Breakfast Sandwich off the kid's menu. Nothing beats an english muffin with an egg and cheese. I felt a bit silly ordering something from the kiddie menu, but our waitress said it was really good. Breakfast was great and we took our time watching the light come over the mountain. Plus, we could just barely see Allie's Cabin from our seats.
Finally we packed the few things we brought, checked out and headed for the Vail Farmer's Market. It's a pretty big market with all sorts of produce, goods and knick knacks to buy. One of the restaurants had Erdinger Beer on tap, so despite it being only 11, we stopped in for a beer. We grabbed a table outside and ordered. I had a machiato, and Court went with a ColaWeissen, which is 1/2 Heffeweissen and 1/2 Coke. It sounds odd, but if you like Coke, it really is pretty good. Court got addicted to them during our time in Germany, so when she saw the Erdinger on tap, it was a no brainer. We had to explain to our waiter what exactly she wanted, but it came out great. After the drinks we did a bit more meandering and then headed for the SilverThorne Outlets. I was pretty shopped out so Court kept it mercifully short.
All in all it was a great weekend. I like this taper method alot, although I don't think I will be using it too much in the future. The legs feel pretty decent overall, although I have only run once since IM Lou, and that was for a very painful 30 minutes. We shall see what happens on race day!