A Different Kind of Workout

Post # 120

Salt Lake City, Utah - I've been out in Utah for a few days visiting my family for the holidays. My brother lives out here now and is a champ downhill skier (he doesn't race, but he's got serious skills). We had planned to do a bunch of downhill skiing while we were here, but I rallied my parents to go cross-country skiing with me as well. The post-Olympic period is a better time than any to try out new activities and I had always wanted to try my hand at a sport I've heard so much about. I was excited when there was no parental resistance to my idea, and we headed up to a nearby ski track the next morning.

Things I didn't know before we strapped on our skis: 1. My parents were both certified nordic ski instructors back in the day (how was this left out of the original discussion?). 2. They both still have a knack for teaching beginners (read: me).

I learned pretty quickly that similar to my main sport, nordic skiing is very repetitive and requires a lot of strength, technique, and balance. The former, I'm pretty good with. The latter two, not so much. Actually, not at all. Cross-country skiing is a different kind of motion on a different kind of surface than I'm used to. I had no idea what I was doing, but I kind of picked it up as I logged some km's. Still, I couldn't help but spend the whole time thinking about the efficiency of the motion, trying to understand how the skis moved, and figuring out how this crazy motion is supposed to look (and then asking my parents how closely I compared - they were forgiving in their assessments). What can I say, my brain is wired for efficiency.

The only picture of me skiing, and it doesn't even look like I'm wearing skis.

By the end of the day, I had gotten a great workout in and had gained huge respect for my ITA teammates Brian, Torin, and Sylvan. Major props to them. Cross-country skiing requires a lot of skill and cardiovascular fitness - not that I ever doubted them, but now I know for sure. For you three, good luck at US Nationals next week. I'll be watching and cheering from afar.