Saturday Ski

 Cross-Country skiing is great. Until you need to slow down or stop.

Took a new trail yesterday, and on the map the trail is green. IE, easy, gentle slopes if there are any. 

I did okay. Enjoyed it even.

Got to the last loop of the trail. Bit of a hill. Okay, I've done green hills before. No problems. I don't need to take the little connector to the flat trail I've taken before, I tell myself. Down I go, and all is going well until the left ski left the track and wouldn't come back in and I had to bail. On my face. Good times. 

I get back up with a bit of assistance from someone who has probably been skiing since the beginning of time. I didn't even have to take my skis off! Win for me. 

"Oh," she says. "There is a bit of a divot there," and points up the trail a bit.

"Yeah, that was me. That's where I fell." Apologies to everyone else who had to ski that afterwards.

I continue on. The next hill looks just as intimidating. I follow some other newbies across a gap to a nicer looking trail. Fall on my ass stepping down onto the main trail. 

I make it to the top of the hill just above the lodge, and even though I know it's okay to ski down (I've done it before, even), I calmly ski into the upper parking lot, remove my skis, and take the stairs.

I log into my fitness app and have a look at my ski. I compare its map to the Ski Trails map. I look a little closer.

The last part of the loop is blue, with yellow high-lighting to show that it's lit up at night. And that looks green. Definitely is not green, though.

It's Been a While

You ever have those days where you want to blog / write, but you feel like it's a guilty pleasure to do so because it's something just for you, and that there are so many other things to do, so you don't?

Apparently I've had over a year of that. Over two years of that.

And then I feel guilty about that,  

But then I remind myself that I have done things just for myself these last two years. I've gone to the gym a couple mornings a week which means that my kids have to get up and start getting ready for school on their own.

I've taken dog tracking classes.

I've taken a weekend trip BY MYSELF. 

I've focused on health these last two years.

And now I want to add writing to the table.

So I'm not going to feel guilty.