So today I decided to cross-train. To take a bit of the pounding off my knees while thumping along like a baby elephant on my treadmill I decided to go cross-country skiing.
Now being the first time out on x-c skis this winter I expected to be a bit rusty, but I didn't expect to have completely forgotten how to wax... or ski.
I had the skis, I had the skin tight insulated leggings, I had the technical windproof shell, I had the toque on. But watching seniors gracefully swishing their way past me as I puffed, slipped, panted and swore my way up the hills was a real pride killer.
So time to rewax, as a guy towing a pulk with kidlet on board stylishly went by giving me a nice smile. Out came the warmer wax, from violet which was obviously no good to blue. Off again, no difference.
My partner, who was also suffering but was trying to be smug and pretend he wasn't by pointing out that my technique was crap, had already spent the morning whining that he didn't have the right gear to wear, that his legs looked skinny in his leggings, that his bum looked too big in his other leggings, that his jacket was a bit too short with his leggings, blah, blah, blah. If ever a man was in touch with his feminine side that's him.
Overtook the guy with the pulk who was doing a bit of kid comforting beside the trail. Then hit another hill. By now my arms were really protesting because they were being used to haul my sorry ass up the hills rather than my well-waxed skis, I use the term well-waxed loosely.
Overtaken by the guy with the pulk again and another cheery smile, so out came the wax. Now I'm going red, red wax that is. This is the warmest wax we have onboard today, so if this doesn't work then I'm finished.
By now the guy with the pulk is passing me on the other side of the trail going in the opposite direction, another cheery smile is forthcoming.
It's better, so feeling confident I go round the circuit again, only to have a high-speed fall on the fastest, steepest downhill part of the circuit due to the family from hell who ski downhill slower than I ski uphill. If you're going to stop for a chat, then don't do it out of sight around a blind corner at the base of the fastest, steepest downhill...duh!
Overall I can honestly say that it was a miserable cross-training session. And why? Because I didn't get my equipment prepared correctly. I expended so much effort on the first few hills that my technique, although not brilliant to start with, degraded due to muscle fatigue.
The good thing was that although I only covered 7.5km in total, I burnt a lovely to see 748 calories at 45% fat. So that in some way made up for the bruises and aches and pains that I'm sure will follow tomorrow.
And the moral of this? Well, there's no substitute for correct preparation of equipment. If you don't treat your equipment right, and that includes maintenance, then you can't expect it to perform 100%. Of course, lousy technique is also an issue, but get the equipment functioning correctly then you get a bit of leeway on your technique.
It's so much easier just to put on some runners...
