Proved to myself (again) that I am not beyond trying something completely new...and seemingly risky. I am proud of myself, seriously. How often it is easy to take the easy way out, look for that path of least resistance. I am just glad that I have the willpower to fight that inertia, and step out of that comfort zone. And learn something new. Just like that.
Yep - went skiing and hit the slopes on Friday. With COF jantha. Most of them hit the advanced slopes, coz that's what they are - advanced skiers and snow-boarders. Me, a total novice. A few years ago, I tried my hand at snow-boarding and had a rather hard time staying off my back-side. It was tough, and I did not learn properly. I should have. I let the pain dominate over resolve. Anyway, that was then.
This time, I decided to brave it out and learn to ski. So, I signed up for a lesson. Wanted to learn the basics. So, there I was, all geared up (unbelievably heavy those boots are, damn it!) and ski-d up, and ready to go. Of course, even with the instructor's guidance I fell. Many, many times. This stuff is not easy. And it is painful. And if you are not careful how you fall, you can hurt yourself really bad. That's solid packed ice out there.
What I am proud of though, is that I didn't give up. I almost did, mind you. But I kept at it. A little over an hour of really trying, and I finally started to get the hang of it. I finally started to master the baby slopes. I made a few complete runs down without falling. The intermediate slopes were a little more challenging. For a true beginner such as myself, its scary not having control when you start zipping down. The only way to slow down or stop is to turn your skis and make a turn. And that is really the key thing to master. And it is super difficult until you get it. Like cycling. The problem is, each time you fall, it really hurts, and then you have to take off a ski to be able to stand up. Then you have to put it back on. And that's challenging because you are on a slippery slope. And finally when that's done, you have to start again. You end up using muscles you never knew existed to try to keep your balance.
Several hours later, I got back on the bus aching all over. I knew the next 2 days were going to be super painful. However, it felt great that I had made the attempt to learn something. And that I actually did. Now I just need to go back again and practise.
To-Do Item # X - learn to ski - Check.
Yep - went skiing and hit the slopes on Friday. With COF jantha. Most of them hit the advanced slopes, coz that's what they are - advanced skiers and snow-boarders. Me, a total novice. A few years ago, I tried my hand at snow-boarding and had a rather hard time staying off my back-side. It was tough, and I did not learn properly. I should have. I let the pain dominate over resolve. Anyway, that was then.
This time, I decided to brave it out and learn to ski. So, I signed up for a lesson. Wanted to learn the basics. So, there I was, all geared up (unbelievably heavy those boots are, damn it!) and ski-d up, and ready to go. Of course, even with the instructor's guidance I fell. Many, many times. This stuff is not easy. And it is painful. And if you are not careful how you fall, you can hurt yourself really bad. That's solid packed ice out there.
What I am proud of though, is that I didn't give up. I almost did, mind you. But I kept at it. A little over an hour of really trying, and I finally started to get the hang of it. I finally started to master the baby slopes. I made a few complete runs down without falling. The intermediate slopes were a little more challenging. For a true beginner such as myself, its scary not having control when you start zipping down. The only way to slow down or stop is to turn your skis and make a turn. And that is really the key thing to master. And it is super difficult until you get it. Like cycling. The problem is, each time you fall, it really hurts, and then you have to take off a ski to be able to stand up. Then you have to put it back on. And that's challenging because you are on a slippery slope. And finally when that's done, you have to start again. You end up using muscles you never knew existed to try to keep your balance.
Several hours later, I got back on the bus aching all over. I knew the next 2 days were going to be super painful. However, it felt great that I had made the attempt to learn something. And that I actually did. Now I just need to go back again and practise.
To-Do Item # X - learn to ski - Check.
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