Mistranslation and learning to ski

This weekend I did not run a mile. Last week I had a few rough nights of sleep and then Friday night I went to bed with the start of a sore throat. So I took Saturday off. The sore throat did not develop into much and I spent the afternoon with Kelly and the kids sledding at Pineland. What a hoot. My guess is that the million trips up the sledding hill schlepping Riley and her friend was equivalent to a 20 mile run.

Sunday morning I slept in (6:45!) and when Kelly and the kids headed out to the grocery store I made my way over to Pineland for some skate skiing. The temps was near the freezing mark which made for some warm skiing and interesting snow, the properties of which changed as I passed from shadow to sunlit trail. A little sticky and soft in the sun and nice and fast in the shade. No matter the snow properties. I had the best ski yet as my form is coming together a little at a time. I skied most of the trails over at Pineland and after a couple hours of skiing, my legs were shaking from exhaustion. Perfect. I am looking forward the snow we are supposed to get tomorrow night and later in the week. If it was up to me we would get snow through March and then April 1 (incidentally my birthday) the snow would all melt and I would have a dogwood (don't think they grow up here) blooming in my front yard. No such luck as April can be a pretty snowy month up here. Oh well, I will get more use out of my XC ski pass. Next year my winter plans will include the Rangeley Loppet, a 25 km XC race. Hopefully by that time my skating will be a little more honed in. If there is one thing I have learned up here is that you have to embrace each season as it is presented to you. That means loving the snow and skiing in the winter, grinning and bearing it in the short spring we have, and running and cycling everyday outside in the summer and fall.

Today I awoke with some soreness in my hips and legs from skiing. I knew I skied hard but had no idea I would be sore. Amazing that no matter how fit you are in one sport, that fitness just doesn't translate 100% to another sport. Different muscle groups and different demands. Anyhow, I was lucky enough to get out today at lunch for another beautiful Maine winter day. The temps were somewhere in the mid-30s and the run was a relaxing one. I ran with Ethan and Tom, both of whom had more physically demanding weekends than I did. It took me a little time to warm up to the run but once I did things moved along pretty well. I have included a Google map below to show how nice the running is around South Freeport as most of the run is near some body of water or another. Take note of the village and marina of South Freeport at the upper right corner of the picture and L.L.Bean Corporate HQ complex where I work marked "Start" on the right side near the middle.

Stats: 6.24 miles, 46:41, 7:29/mile, Ag HR 149, Max HR 174