It’s Sunday evening and I’m feeling pretty zen. I have my pets, my cup of tea. I know I should dig in and try and get a head start on the week with my work laptop, but I’m in denial. Just a few more hours of relaxing bliss until I enter the rigors of the real world.

It has been quite a fine weekend. They always go so fast.

Yesterday did start out with a bit of work. But it was actually some fun stuff. I attend the Whuffie Workshop at the Best Buy headquarters on Friday morning. The author of The Whuffie Factor, Tara Hunt, lead the discussion on business and social media. And while the hotness of “social media” as a topic can, at times, make me gag in its overplay in our interactive space, this was a very practical session on how brands should interact within communities and there was a lot of great food for thought to take back and implement in my day job. The truth is, our online behaviors are trending more and more heavily into the social networking space (finally toppling email & porn and about to topple search) and we, as businesses, have to shift our approach. The tried-and-true tools we have now will not be the tried-and-true tools of tomorrow. If you’re interested in that stuff, the slides from the workshop are here.

So, when my work was done, I was on to the first part of my weekend:

Act I: Spinning with @BolderOptions

As I’ve mentioned here before, I’m a mentor for Bolder Options this year and have been paired with my 12-year-old female mentee since July. We spend about 2 to 4 hours per week together and we’ve already accomplished two 5ks with the program as well as a ton of other fun experiences both formally in Bolder Options programs and on our own at the YMCA or doing other things.

Yesterday was a cycling event.

My mentee is technically in a running program. However, she has a bike and is interested in biking as well — which we try to do when we can. When I saw this pop up on the calendar, I thought it would be a great opportunity to do something different (than running) and in an area of interest for her.

The event was at my old Lifetime club in downtown Minneapolis. It was fun to be able to drive downtown to the Target Center and enter a “fancy” club compared to the Y where we normally workout together (never mind that my regular club is the posh St. Louis Park location, but I can’t bring my mentee there unfortunately). When we got there, there were only about eight other mentors/mentees and a couple of program coordinators. The two dudes in charge are owners of their own home fitness business and were volunteering their services for the day.

Going into this, my expectations weren’t high. Sure, I’ve been going to spinning classes for almost 12 years now, but I just assumed a Bolder Options event would be different. More low key. I’m mean, seriously, how on earth could you keep 10-13 year-old kids entertained for that long on a studio cycling bike?

But in reality? The classes was just as much a spin class as any I’ve ever attended. It was just as hard. The music was just as loud. There were even push-ups and jumps on the bike (both of which are tactics that I’m not the biggest fan of). And knowing how hard my first spin class was for me when I was in my twenties, I could only imagine how hard it was for the kids!

They persevered, though. My girl was tough. She hung in there. She never quit. She did tell me it was impossible more than once. But it wasn’t impossible because she finished. And I was very, very proud.

Luckily, the music was good and my girl is a HUGE fan of pop music. So, between singing along and adding in some fist-bumping as well as high fives, she made it the whole 45 minutes of class to the sweaty, sweaty finish.

At the end, there were bananas and granola bars and loads of congratulations. All the kids were glowing and it looked like they enjoyed it. Walking back to the car, I asked my mentee, “If they have another one of these, do you want to do it?”

And she said very firmly and solidly, “Absolutely not.”

Act II: The Late Afternoon Ski

I got home after the spin event a little after 3pm and the weather was absolutely lovely. The sun was out. The temps were in the 30s and I knew I wanted to ski. I did have to shove a quick, late lunch down the hatch because I was STARVING when I got home. And the husband was already gone. Being the very lucky lady that I am, James had spent the morning cleaning the house while I worked and did my Bolder Options thing. When I got home and he was gone, I knew he was already out on the trail.

I didn’t get over to the golf course until about 4pm. And when I hit the trail, I was very uncoordinated and had a hard time finding my balance. The snow was a little slushy, too, so I felt awkward and slow. I even biffed it right away on a flat — not even sure what happened there. Still, the weather was great so I started my sloggy little ski.

Unfortunately, the actual act wasn’t living up to what I’d imagined in my brain. I wasn’t having the time of my life. In fact, I checked my watch every 10 minutes surprised at how slow the time was passing and I was pretty sure I was only going to make one lap around the thing and go home. I chalked it up to already tired legs from the earlier spin. That and my digesting Tuna Casserole (a pretty heavy lunch to shove so quickly and probably not such a good idea). About five minutes from the end of lap 1, James appeared and skiied with me back to our start. At that point, I’d only been out for 40 minutes and, somehow, I talked myself into a second lap. James headed home. I headed out again. And as the sun started to set some more, the track firmed up a bit. I also found more balance and I had a great second half of my ski. The setting sun was gorgeous, too. I love the colors of the winter sun in Minnesota.

I got home for the second time around 5:30. And after mustering a shower and some more chow, I was pretty much toast for the night. But it was a really good kind of toast.

Act II: A Ski at the State Park

My little golf course ski wasn’t enough yesterday. The weather was again beautiful today so James and I made it a point to get out to ski somewhere special today. One of our favorite parks, William O’Brien, was our destination. After loading up on oatmeal, we headed out and were on the trail by 11 am.

There is something so mystical about skiing through the park in the winter. The trees. The snow. It’s just so absolutely gorgeous. Anyone who complains about Minnesota winters obviously does not cross country ski.

Some of the park trails are pretty tough in terms of skill level. We climbed a lot of hills and went down them, too. I also managed to muster up the courage to attempt the “scary” spots that I’d first encountered at this park last year. The first was a SUPER steep downhill that, last year, I scootched down on my butt. The second was a glare ice S curve that I fell and scootched down, too.

This year? The SUPER steep downhill wasn’t as scary as I’d remembered and I did fine. The S curve, while still scary, not as bad. It helped that it also wasn’t glare ice today, too.

I also got to use some of the lessons I’d learned on Tuesday night at Ride & Glide. I practiced my V1 stroke. I tried to make sure I cornered with my gravity low using the little steps to turn. I also tried to get more confident and not slow myself down on every hill by snowplowing. It was fun to put those lessons into use.

In the end, I skiied about 13.5 miles (James completed 14). It was a pretty intense and very rewarding afternoon. We fueled back up afterward with beer and bar food in Stillwater. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

And now, here we are. The end of a great weekend. I only have the Golden Globes and some dinner left. But I’m as content as I could be.

Last week was a close to back to Weight Watchers as I’ve been for a while. I also casually looked for a weekly meeting that would fit into my schedule, but I ended up not prioritizing anything. I had a lot going on during the week nights and Saturdays are hard for me to do anything but focus on a workout and chores. I also had a movie date with my mentee @ the library.

So, yeah, getting back to a meeting just hasn’t been prioritized. It’s hard this week, too. I have activities every night and work is pretty insane right now as everyone is getting back into a groove after the holidays. But I’m not giving up yet.

I did manage one little milestone. I went every school night without a cocktail or glass of wine last week. That’s been a bad habit I’ve developed: treating myself to a martini or small glass of wine after a particularly hard day or as something comfortable while I work an evening on the laptop. I’ve been trying to replace that with tea. And while it’s not the same, it’s a good small goal to have and achieve. This week, so far so good, too. In fact, I have my Good Earth tea at my side right now.

In other news, I did sign up for a cross country ski training group this winter. This will be my third year with skate skis and I’ve yet to get any formal training aside from a 3 hour lesson one day two years ago. All other instruction has been from generous friends on my ski team. Signing up for Ride & Glide this year is my attempt to craft a bit of skill and learn technique. And while I’d already attended a few of their dryland training sessions pre-snow, tonight was my first evening with them with actual skis on.

I’m in the beginner group and it’s very basic. But it’s good for me. We concentrated on open field technique, V2 and then headed off to a small hill with a sharp corner at the end. That latter exercise is my nemesis and I really need to practice learning how to corner without slowing myself down so much that I lose all momentum. It’s a hard skill for me. I hate falling and every cell in my body wants to do whatever I can to prevent a fall – which means practically stopping pre-corner instead of trusting myself to maneuver with the speed. I’ll never get it if I don’t loosen up and practice without putting the breaks on. Tonight was a good first step. I also made a few friends — so that should help the “wanting to come back” factor.

I did learn one other valuable thing. I need better gloves. The gear I wear when I’m skiing outside might be great while I’m moving, but at a class where you’re also standing around a lot listening and watching technique requires more warmth. My fingers were in pain by the end of the night. My right ring finger is still feeling a little numb. Yikes.

Gah. What a boring entry. But it’s something. Still also trying to get back in the blogging groove. I guess, if anything, this entry is a good reflection of where I am right now: struggling to get back on the WW wagon, working on my xc ski technique and continuing to focus on the ever-so-popular work/life balance thing.

Okay. I need to hit the sack now. I have a painful 10 x 400 interval running workout scheduled for the morning. Ouch.

Okay. I’m going to gush here. I have totally fallen *in love* with the MapMyRun.com iPhone app

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. I honestly can’t believe it is free — I would pay for this thing. I may just join the site at a premium level to give them some love.

So, I downloaded the thing this morning to take on my XC-Ski. If I’m staying close to home, I ski at the Phalen golf course. I can walk there. It’s a nice, rolling loop. It’s easy and the conditions and grooming have been really nice lately. The only thing that confused me was the distance. Some places online say they have 10k of trails. A map I found online said 7.5k. Then there was the day when the course was different and I *knew* it was less than that. So, I never really knew for sure how far I was going. Of course, that’s no longer an issue. I brought my phone, turned on the app and skiied my little heart out!

I’m not sure how to do “laps” on the app just yet so I actually had it map three different workouts for each of my three laps. And it was weird because it did log 7.23 first, then 7.00 and then 7.55. But I’m sure I didn’t always hold the same line on the trail and I did fall once and had a little interaction with a raccoon that diverted me on the final lap. But still, it’s VERY cool to have all these stats (including elevation!) and it saves it right to the site online.

Here’s a map of my route:

So, I’m a little smitten. If you have an iPhone, you *need* this app. And I can’t believe I used to want a Garmin. Hah!

On a side note, that means I completed 21.8k today in about 2 hours and 23 minutes. It was long and I was getting tired at the end so the idea the 35k ski race next week is starting to freak me out. Everyone says it’s flat, but today’s route isn’t *that* challenging. And how long is this thing going to take me? 3.5 hours? 4 hours? Yikes. On my third lap today I could feel my arms and ankles turning to jello. It’s been a long time since I’ve entered a race that has scared me so much. This is truly going to be one of those “my goal is just to finish” races. Because, honestly, I’m not that confident of even that right now.

With my anxiety aside, the ski was LOVELY today. It felt a little slow and the snow was a bit sloppy. But the sun was gorgeous and it was warm. The sky brilliant blue and birds chirping. When I would ski past Lake Phalen, I would get a glimpse of the kites from the Winter Carnival events. They were so cool — one giant one shaped like a fish was mesmerizing. And on my final lap, I came across a raccoon passing by. He was so cute! He stopped to look at me and then climbed up a nearby tree to watch me go by. Very adorable.

Good day! Now for a nap.

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I did it. My first ski race.

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt the nerves of trying something new. After numerous triathlons and a couple of marathons under my belt, I felt race anxiety like I haven’t felt since my first few triathlons. I had crazy dreams the night before the race and I thought of bailing a half a dozen times right up until race time. But I did it.

I completed the Pepsi Challenge 10k “Mini Challenge.” I entered the freestyle (skate) category. And while most of my buddies (and husband) were out there competing in the 26k distance, 10k was more than enough to introduce me to the competitive end of the sport.

And the reason for the stress? I was freaked about my inexperience. I was afraid of being “in the way.” I was afraid of falling. I’m not that good going downhill. And I was more than freaked about racing with skis and poles and all these things that could get caught up all together.

But, of course, it wasn’t nearly as scary as my mind had made it. In fact, falling and getting tangled with other people was the least of my issues. In fact, the biggest challenge was the terrain (super hilly) and the snow (cold and powder-y and not great for skate-skiing). Truth be told, barely 1k into the course, I was thinking about only completing 5k — it was that hard.

The course was up a giant hill and down a giant hill. Two laps of this. It was slow. Classic skiers were kicking my ass on the climbs. There were kids racing that were half my height and triple my ability.

But it was fun. I was better on the second loop. I passed a few people – including a couple of kids (take THAT suckers!). And it was pretty cool to finish my first race, get a medal around my neck and be done with all that anxiety re: my first race.

I also got to compete the race with my buddy, Judy. She and I placed 1st and 2nd place in our age groups respectively (of course, we were the only two women in our age groups!). After our race, we waited for the rest of the hardcore gang who were completing the 26k including my husband who chose the crazy, slow, cold long course for HIS first ski race. We also had two rockstars in our cabin who did the 45k! Completely amazing.

And now that I’ve done it, like all my other sports, I’m ready for more. In fact, I’m going to jump right in and go from a 10k to a 35k! Of course, this 35k is flat — so hopefully not has hard as even the 26k at Pepsi.

When all is said and done, my race time was 1 hour, 5 minutes. It’s probably not great for a 10k, but I have no perspective. And, like I said, the course was super-slow. But I did it and I’m, obviously, ready for more.

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So, I’m home for the weekend without the man. He has flown down to Texas for a 60th birthday surprise for his father and I am left to my own devices. And if last night wasn’t an enjoyable waste of some hour-age, today was more of that. And I’m completely fine with it all.

I knew I was going to be home alone (aside from two wonderful, furry creatures) so I called my girlfriend to see what she was up to. Her Friday night was free in that she and her mom were going to hit the movies and I was invited to tag-along. It seemed a perfectly acceptable invitation, so I met them at her pad at 7pm. Only, nothing seemed very appealing in terms of flicks that the group could agree on. We viewed trailer after trailer online (and even some mildly entertaining YouTube videos as palate cleansers) while drinking wine and eating cheese it the kitchen. Finally, around 9pm, we weren’t any closer to a movie choice and we knew we had to eat, so we headed to a local Thai joint, had some great food and then just headed back to the house to watch Xanadu.

Yes, Xanadu.

What can I say? I Netflixed the thing a couple of weeks ago because I had to refresh my memory of what had captivated me so much as an 8-year-old. Captivated me so much that I would roller skate acting out the entire performance in my driveway to the record soundtrack.

So, I got it. Another dear friend copied the DVD for me. And I had passed it along to my buddy so that she could see what it was all about. Long story longer, she hadn’t gotten around to watching it — so we decided to watch it together. (Not sure a smart idea on my part because I get to be mocked throughout the entire thing in person, but what can you do…)

And that’s what we did. Suddenly, it was 12:30 am and I was making my way post-Xanadu back to my pad from St. Louis Park. That’s a 1/2 hour drive for those keeping score at home. I hit the sack after 1am and knew I’d be sleeping in on Saturday morning.

So, this morning (as expected), I got up late and lolly-gagged around. I checked email, ate my cereal and washed a few dishes. I also texted my other girlfriend who’d invited me to go skiing. I was kind of on the fence, and a little nervous, about trying the sport again after my injury, but she encourage me to get out there. We had plans to meet in the early afternoon out at Carver Park Reserve. And since I have been pain free for about 2-1/2 weeks now, I thought it was worth giving it a try. I figured I could try and ski as much as possible without poles. I would take it easy. And, even as I waxed my skis, I was mindful of my arm and tried to used my right side (non-injured) as much as possible.

After a couple doses of sub-zero temps recently, it was beautiful today — in the 30s. And the sun was shining at Carver when we arrived. We ended up doing about 10-12k of skiing (I’m estimating). For a portion of it, we skiied the Grimm trail which was an advanced trail over 7.5k long. There were hills and a couple of fun (and scary) downhills. It was a good workout and I felt really strong. My arm never hurt (although, it never did hurt when I was actually skiing). I skiied without poles whenever possible. And we both felt like it was a great effort. We also both confided that neither of us would have gone out had we been left to our own devices.

We skiied for about 1-1/2 hours before having to head back to the city (it is a haul out there — over 40 miles). We stopped for a warm-up coffee, chatted some more and then I was on my way home. I couldn’t believe it was already past 5pm. Where had my day gone??

On my way home, I called James to check in. I also stopped at Cost Plus World Market to stock up on some wine. I got home after 6pm and filled the tub with hot, hot water and my Burt’s Bees Buttermilk Bath Soak. The bath was absolutely yummy.

Now, I’m just hanging out with the girls. I’m icing my arm. I ate my left-over Thai for dinner and have a nice glass of red wine at my side. I’m also updating my photos on Flickr and listening some good music. It is all so very indulgent.
I really didn’t get much accomplished today. I didn’t grocery shop, clean the house, run errands or pay bills. I didn’t even cook or catch up on work. But I feel completely relaxed. I can get stuff done tomorrow.

Sometimes you just need days like these.

In fact, I’m going to get even crazier and read my book as soon as I log off here.

Happy Saturday, ya’ll.

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Okay, ya’ll. I honestly sat down at the computer this morning to get caught up on some work-stuff. And that was after accidentally sleeping in late (I swear the alarm was set for 5am for James’ spin class that he teaches at 6 — and we both woke up at 6:18 saying, “WTF???” My apologies to everyone who showed up to his class and he wasn’t there).

The plan was to hit spin class, then grocery shop, then be home still bright and early to tackle a few work projects before indulging in a day of Heather-ness which no doubt will include a bit of reading, a bit of exercise and, sure, maybe some trash TV.

So, I got up at 8:30 am instead. Ahem. I sat down at the computer and have been sucked into email, MySpace and Facebook ever since. It’s so sad. Damn those social networking sites! I haven’t exercised, I haven’t worked, I haven’t even gotten out of my PJs and I sure as hell don’t have groceries. That’s when I figured I might as well update my blog. If I’m going to be un-productive, you all might as well get to benefit.

Of course, I’m not all that sure what to write about except — yes — skiing. Are you sick of it yet? The big news is the boy bought skis! Yes. James picked up a pair almost two weeks ago now. I had no idea that while I was hosting book club at my house, he was plopping down some phat cash for some skis. I’m glad, though. It’s tough to tackle a new sport when the significant other can’t relate and just looks at you like, “I don’t understand why you’re making it so hard — it’s easy. Just ski.”

Since it was the week before Christmas, even though James had his skis, he really barely had time to wax them. We had so much craziness going on with holiday parties, shopping, etc. The boy also celebrated his 37th b-day. We had a nice little happy hour with a bunch of dear friends. Very pleasant.

So, last Saturday was the first chance James had to put on his new skis. I took him to Phalen (the golf course near our house). And while the conditions weren’t perfect, it had just snowed. There was some fresh powder on the rolled track. There was a little bit of ice, too, from the rain we’d had. But it was okay to ski on. And FINALLY James got to learn what all my frustration was all about. Hah! Not so easy, huh??? (sorry — I need to gloat a bit).

We did the 7.5k golf course run. James floundered and fell. I tried to give him as many tips as I could (especially stuff from my lesson). But I could tell he was frustrated. He did get steadily better, though. But he did make me feel like a rockstar. ;)

The next day, we headed to Wisconsin to spend the holiday with my fam. We brought the skis along and managed to squeeze in time both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Unfortunately, the Madison area had received much more rain and the conditions were pretty icy and terrible. We attempted to ski at a Madison golf course but it was gnarly. Another dude was out, we attempted to ski together, but there was just too much ice. We did find a little patch and he gave James some lessons as we skiied back and forth. But we all gave up after less than 30 minutes. It just wasn’t worth it. Howver, since James and I had traveled to Madison, we decide to attempt another location. This was a good move because the conditions there (while, again, not ideal) were much better. There was a small loop that had powder and we went around it a few times. We also met another gentleman who gave us both tips and advice. I could tell James was getting smoother and smoother.

On Christmas day, we decided to stay in my hometown. There are some trails out there and we attempted those. Again, conditions were icy. But we managed to glide around for about 90 minutes. I knew it would make us appreciative the snow we have here at home.

Aside from the skiing, our holiday was nice. I finally got a replacement Nano for mine that died in October (thank goodness I can run to good music again!). James got some cash to apply to both his new bike and skis. We exchanged a lot of gear between the two of us. I purchased him clothing for our upcoming dog sledding trip, a ski pass and some other REI swag. He got me pink Speedplay pedals to match my bike, some ski clothing and adorable handmade mittens. He also purchased a few items of fashion clothing (big risk — but he did well).

We headed back from Wisconsin on Wednesday. The day was pretty much lost to packing and travel. James had to go back to work yesterday and I have been enjoying my time off.

I did head out to Phalen yesterday for a long ski. My goal was to make it around the golf course loop 2 times. This is about 15k and I haven’t really made it more than an hour with solid skiing. I certainly haven’t covered that distance. So, when I set out, I made sure I had water and a little nutrition with me just in case I bonked.

The first loop was nice. It was great to be back on fresh snow and not ice. I didn’t also have to contend with a bunch of leaves on the trail (something there was a lot of in Wisconsin and would catch my skis). The trail wasn’t recently groomed so it was slower. But enough people were out that it was getting packed down. I felt pretty good. It always takes me some time to warm up (I’m noticing that a lot — I don’t feel comfortable until about 20 minutes into the ski). I did fall a few times, but I’m also definately getting more comfortable.

There were only a handfull of other skiers out on the course. It’s such a luxury to have it all to yourself that way. Only once did another skate skier pass me. I did see some other Birchwood peeps out there practicing skills. They all look so smooth!

I finished my first loop in approx. 56 minutes. I paused a bit, drank some water, ate 1/4 of a Clif bar and headed out on my second loop. I felt strong at the start of the second loop — better than the first time. Although, the further I got, the more I’d have to stop for brief intervals at the tops of hills or other long efforts to catch my breath. I’m still amazed at how high my heart rate is when I’m skate skiing (higher than running!). So, many times, I like to stop when anerobic to get back in control. When I keep going anerobic, my technique goes to crap and I get sloppy. I’d rather take some time to get my heart rate back so I can ski more cleanly.

Towards the end of the second loop, my back and arms were getting tired from the poling. My legs were getting a little wobbly, too. But I made it!! The second loop took 52 minutes and I felt like I’d accomplished my first milestone. I skied for 15k and over 100 minutes straight. Sweet.

I’ve been out maybe 8 times now. Most sessions have only consistuted about an hour of skiing and I haven’t been too sore from any of the effort. Last night, however, I woke up sore in the middle of the night: my back and my right tricep specifically. And so sore that I had to get up for a couple of Advil. It kind of made me proud. ;)

Today, my plan was to take off from skiing. Allow myself some time to heal a bit from yesterday’s effort. Got to a spin class, something I haven’t done in a while. But now that option is out the window after sleeping late. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. It’s tempting to go skiing again. But I could also get on my spin bike here at home. I have a new Nano, afterall. We’ll see.

The one thing I want to do today is get my training calendar for 2008 started. I need to pick my race dates so that I can build my plan. That would probably force me to get back in the pool and to hit the weights as well.

I will admit: all this time off feels so indulgent. What a blessing it is to be able to hang out, think about training and wrestle with such tough decisions as, “should I ski or bike today?”

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Last week, I finally had my first ski lesson. It was out at Elm Creek and it was a beginner skate ski class. There were about 10 of us. Everyone was new. And it was probably the best $16 I could have ever spent.

We started out falling down. Literally. The instructor made us all fall down and then get up. As someone who didn’t grow up skiing, this is a good exercise for me to practice. Getting up with the long contraptions on my feet takes some coordination and thought!

After that, we all headed over to the lesson area which is basically an open field with some tracks. The instructor had us glide on one ski. He had us walk while double-poling. He finally had us put on our skis and we practiced the V1 technique (which is poling on one side and then gliding on the other — what I’ve pretty much been attempting since I started). He had us focusing on the glide, which was really helpful. THEN he explained V2 The Wild Geese buy

and I finally got it (this is when you pole on each side)! Everyone has been trying to explain V2 to me and it just didn’t connect. But when the instructor showed it to us, I realize that I didn’t get it because I wasn’t gliding long enough on either ski to get it to work. Once you glide longer, you have time to poll on each side. Eureka. After that, we learned Open Field buy Eighteen

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After that, we headed out on the trail where the instructor showed us how the different techniques come into play. V1 to get you started and get up hills. V2 when you have a little bit of momentum going and you want to go faster. Open field when you’re downhill and/or have a lot of momentum. Again, Eureka! Things were starting to make sense!

Of course, then we had to learn how to go downhill — something I’m still struggling with. But I practiced my snowplowing down to slow myself (I’m getting better). He also showed us how we are supposed to corner. I could probably have a whole lesson on that. But the idea is that you keep your weight balanced (not to one or the other side which I was doing before) and you have to move your skis in the direction you want to go (straight skis will keep you going straight — imagine that?).

So, after the 2+ hour lesson, I felt way better about this new activity. I have skills to practice and I’m not totally lost now when people go into this whole V1, V2 business. I know all you experience skiers are probably cracking up at this entry — so elementary. But it’s all so new to me.

Unfortunately, after my lesson on Saturday, I didn’t get any opportunities to ski throughout the week. The holidays have been so nuts. I finally made time for a ski with a buddy yesterday. We went out to Elm Creek. And the temps had gotten up to 40 degrees so the snow was really slushy. It felt hard to ski through and sometimes my poles stuck. There are quite a few hills at Elm Creek, too, so it was quite a workout for me. My legs were shaking within 15 minutes and I only lasted an hour out there before my body was done. I wanted to ski longer, but I have to remind myself that people who are new to running don’t go out and run for 2 hours right away. I need to be patient.

I am looking forward to the extended holiday and using my time off to get out on my skis more often. James actually just purchased skis, too, so he’s going to start learning as well. In fact, he’s downstairs now putting on his first layers of base wax. We awoke to a little snow this morning, so hopefully our golf course will be skiable this afternoon. :)

I think I can safely say this now: I’M SO GLAD I PURCHASED SKIS THIS SEASON!!!!!!Shanghai Kiss movie

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I’ve been on my skis four times now. And, today, I think I can officially say that I’m getting better and am not nearly as daunted by the prospect of learning this sport. I still have so much to learn. As a girl who didn’t even grow up downhill skiing, I don’t even know how to go down hills properly — or stop, for that matter. But, after today, I feel like I’m starting to get there.

There is hope.

Yesterday, I headed out on the groomed Lake Phalen golf course which is two blocks from my house. It was super nice to just leave the house with skis in hand and walk to the trail. When I got out there, I once again tried the rollerblading emulation without using my poles. It took a bit to get the feel again, but it happened. On a few straight stretches, I practiced this over and over until I had the confidence to move forward on the trail. There were a few other people out. They cruised by me (especially up the hills). I felt slightly awkward. But at least I was out there and feeling like I was starting to get it. I would toggle between the skating without poles and double poling. At one point, I removed my left ski and practiced balancing on my right. I repeated the same on my left. I’d read this suggestion somewhere online saying that it helps you learn to balance on one leg.

A little later, I saw my husband appear on the golf course in his snow shoes and he ran along side me. I continued to toggle between the freestyle skate and double-poling. I was starting to get tired and was having some real challenges going downhill. James witnessed me fall so many times — and one really bad time when I went down a steeper hill and couldn’t make the turn at the based throwing me head first into the snow with my legs spread. Ouch!

After I’d been out for about an hour, James and I decided to head home. The sun was fading and it was starting to get colder. Unfortunately, since I don’t know the Phalen trail, I had no idea how far I was from my street entrance and we did a little off course trekking in order to head home more directly.

Today, I headed out on Phalen again. Luckily, I had some additional information based on a conversation with a very experienced skiier last night. He explained the V1 motion and I finally began to understand what I’m supposed to be doing with my poles. So, when I got out today, I was able to skate ski AND use my poles. I felt like it was a big step. I still was really bad on the downhills. I didn’t fall so much, but I usually skiied off the corners of the groomed trail. I think I just need to learn the proper technique for this — something to do with picking up my outside ski to steer. I’m hoping this is covered in my lesson next week.

At one point, I actually passed a couple of classic skiers and that made me feel good. I’ve been questioning my decision to buy skate skis all week thinking it would have been easier to just get classic since I know it. But seeing that, even as a newbie, I’m still faster, I know I made the right decision. This is more of the kind of sport I want to do.

It ended up taking me 53 minutes to complete the entire Phalen loop (I have no idea how long it is). And since I was starting to get tired, I figured that was enough for today.

All in all, I feel pretty good. I don’t feel nearly as lost and I’m super-excited for my lesson next week. I’ve also discovered that Como has a lighted beginner loop that I can use during the week after work. Yay! They also offer private skate ski lessons for only $25/lesson. I’m going to certainly sign up for those.

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This topic really requires a full, thought-out post but I just don’t feel up to that tonight (especially after a 2.5+ hour commute home in the snow — I’m not even exaggerating). What you’ll get is a quick stream-of-concious overview instead (won’t even spell-check — I’m that lazy).

So, last night was my second attempt on my new skis and I just have to say: I totally hate sucking at something

. In fact, I honestly don’t like doing anything I’m not good at. So this is hard. Getting out there and finding that this is all about a technique that I’ve yet to learn is difficult. The worst was Sunday. I’d spent the entire weekend freaking out about the whole waxing process because we had snow on the way and I didn’t know what to do.

But $180 later, I had supplies. James set me up a nice little spot in the basement. And on Sunday morning through the afternoon, I put on 6 coats of base wax (per instructions I got at Finn|Sisu) and one coat of glide wax. I jammed out to the radio while doing my thing. It was kind of theraputic. Then, at 3pm, I headed out with skis in heand to meet a girlfriend at a local trail.

Unfortunately, the girlfriend had an emergency. I was on my own and I hadn’t the slightest what I was doing (in fact, I didn’t even know how to put on my skis!! how funny is that?). Once I did get my skis on, I slogged through the snow. I tried to make a V-movement, but all I know is classic skiing and I kept falling back into that. After about 25 minutes, I was cold and frustrated. I figured I might as well call it day. The sun was going down. I didn’t have a resource. I went home.

Last night, however, I headed back out with some members of our team. I worked on double poling. Then, a teammate had a really good suggestion and told me to try to emmulate the rollerblading motion and not use my poles. This helped so much. It was still super-hard. I fell about 8 times. But I finally got an idea of what I’m supposed to be doing. I did 5 rounds on the 1k beginner loop. And I felt good about it.

I’m also signed up for a beginner skate ski course on Saturday, Dec. 15. That session can’t some too soon.

The good news: it’s snowing here again. So despite my horrible commute home tonight, it’s looking like a good time to own skis!Firestarter 2: Rekindled dvdrip Murder Rooms: The Kingdom of Bones dvdrip Restraint movie download

Tonight, I am back from my fourth or fifth dryland practice with my ski team. (And, honestly, using “my” in conjunction with “ski team” is still a foreign concept to me, but I’m a dues-paying member with skis. That technically makes me a member even if I don’t know how to skate ski yet — right?). But I digress.

So, tonight I’m back from practice and I just have to beam for a bit about how much I freaking love these people and these sessions. Everyone is so absolutely awesome. And patient — soooo patient with my not-knowing-what-I’m-doing ass. And spending an evening out pole hiking, running, bounding, core training and whatnot with awesome people is SO much more fun than anything else solo. Saturday’s workout was spectacular, too. We spent two hours pole hiking and doing other drills on the trails at a beautiful park and it was such a wonderful way to start a weekend which was made even more incredible by brunch following the workout at a teammates home where there was wild rice soup and pumpkin cookies.

Yes, pumpkin cookies.

Now that I’ve had a little distance from my last stint of employment, I think I can safely make some comments about the situation. I hesitated to talk about it prior because I don’t want to put too much online or come off as bitter or unfair to anyone. But now that I have time and space and some context, I think it is fair to come out and say that I was in a very unhealthy environment that wasn’t allowing me to be the person that I am. And when you are in that type of situation just gasping for air and trying to survive, you don’t have time for the little luxuries. The things that help you draw peace and perspective but don’t help you get your day job done or subscribe to what the bullies in your life may be dictating priority-wise.

So, as I begin my new career adventure at the new place (which has been really quite amazing if not a little overwhelming due to the size and scope of the organization that I now operate within), I’m finding time to bring back these little luxuries. The things that make me whole and “me”. Things like training and friendship and evenings spent bounding up hills and feeling like a dork as I attempt a “V2″.

I like my life. I’m glad to have it back.

(I’m also thinking I need to add a new Skiiing category to my blog entries. How fun is that??!!)A Bronx Tale divx

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