3,000' to the top

I recently irritated my Achilles tendon, skinning up 3,000’ of vertical here in Ketchum, Idaho. Apparently hiking isn’t ALWAYS good for you.

The upside to this injury is that when I am not in spandex or running shoes, I am usually in heels (stick with me here, I promise this is relevant). Wearing heels, although bad for posture, walking the dog, training for the Olympics, et cetera is really helpful when you irritate certain muscles and tendons. Wearing a heel gives the Achilles tendon a chance to rest since it is in a shortened state - apposed to when your foot is flat to the ground, the Achilles is engaged…you dig? So I just want to throw it out there: If Christian Louboutin happens to be looking for an American endurance athlete to sponsor, I am ready and willing. I will sign in ink today!

Louboutin heels shown, priced at $710 USD. To covet is one of the seven deadly sins but in this case, I think it is better to covet than to purchase!

The video below is from said assent; the final day of play before the real training began.

*Danny Walton is the other kid in the video. He is a sick-nasty dude with some killer moves. I am slowly learning from him. He has different sponsors than I have. I apologize for conflicting brands - I tried to make it clear who was on what so that everyone could get a piece of the action. Any questions, requests for future videos, articles or suggestions, please comment!

**Note the Scarpa boots that I am rockin’ circa 1993...if anyone out there has any clout with a telemark boot brand, I would REALLY like a new pair of free-heels (in addition to the aforementioned HIGH heels).

An eleven year-old once told me she was confused. She didn't know if she wanted to be a tom-boy or a girly-girl. My answer: Have it AND eat it; be both!

Off to Canada in the morning for the first on-snow camp at the 2010 Olympic venue. More from across the border.