Ski Fun

As you can see the trails at Minocqua were a veritable winter wonderland. On the downside the snow was too moist to set up properly so they couldn't be groomed. All they could really do was run the snowmobile over the trails to pack them down.

On the upside it was a great day to rent waxless classic skis and go out and do some striding. Like most people that is how I got my start. I shuffled around on some waxless classic skis with no idea of what I was doing. Like many people I eventually decided to learn to skate ski and since then have really not done any striding. There isn't enough snow to get out skiing enough to do one discipline justice so I have been concentrating on learning to skate ski.

Of course, there's also the fact that striding is actually very difficult. Oh sure, anyone can shuffle around but to really glide over the snow with beautiful technique is a whole different matter. Anyway, it was good that the conditions forced me to get back out and stride. There are so many great trails that are striding only and so many days when the conditions are really perfect for striding. I definitely want to take a lesson this year so that I can feel more comfortable on my classic skis.

Of course today I'm feeling the pain of classic skiing. Of course, Dave has no idea what I'm talking about since he does silly ski walking and ski bounding training all summer and also classic roller skis. I can assure you though that striding takes some real particular muscles that I don't normally use.

If you are one of my blog readers who don't ski race here is a funny video from Noquemanon ski race. I did the half Noque last year for the first time and found it to be a somewhat frightening experience . . . lots of people who ski like me careening down steep hills with sharp turns. The video is a pretty accurate portrayal of the fun.

During the race last year many thoughts went through my head. For awhile I told myself that if I just finished the race safely I would never do the race again. Then I started thinking that if I didn't die I would learn my lesson and would never ski race again. Then I decided that if I just made it to the finish line I would never ski again at all. Oh yeah, I'm signing up for the race again this year. I did win an awesome cowbell last year so how can I not go back.

Here's hoping for snow! Things are looking a little grim in Cable, WI for the 24 Hours of Telemark.