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This weekend was my chance to gauge my cross-country skiing skills. You know, my first thought to the question of where to cross-country ski is “anywhere”. But in reality, in April in Bellingham, there aren’t many options.
The Ski to Sea race is going to be at the Mt. Baker ski area, but I can’t go there while they’re still operating the lifts. According to the Nooksack Nordic Ski Club (bad, bad website, btw), there is a set of XC trails just after mile marker 46 on the Mt. Baker Highway. So I headed out at 7:30 Saturday morning.
Let me preface this. I’m in good shape. I run five miles a couple of times a week, with another long run of 8 to 10 miles. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week for an hour+. So I was curious how my fitness would translate to this endeavor.
It’s questionable.
I bought a one-day Sno-Park pass at a store near Silver Lake, and found a mile marker 46 parking lot. There were no other cars, but there was a fresh pile of broken glass from an assumed recent car prowling. Sweet! But I could hear the streams flowing around me. The air was crisp. The sun was peeking out. It was a beautiful morning.
If these were the official XC trails, it looked like a one-lane road covered with snow turned ice. Lots of uneven, chunky ice. Once I got past the wobbly walking feeling, I started falling down. I tried some different strokes, but felt like I should be wearing ice skates. More falling down.
It was awkward, and unsteady, and I was glad no one was watching. I kept trudging and adjusting. My shins started burning, and I quickly realized I was wearing too many clothes. I crossed my skis a few times (whoops) and lost my balance a lot (ouch).
But through it all, there were glimmers of hope. Moments where I felt the full-stride, I was pushing off and had full pole extension; it felt like it should. So now I just need to reduce the falling and awkward slipping.
I put in about a 90-minute workout. And I must have been working hard, because when I took my boots off, they were steaming.
And no one broke into my car. So overall, it was a success!
[...] know, is a seven-leg race from the Mt. Baker Ski Area to Marine Park in Bellingham. I did the Cross Country Ski leg last year. It was my rookie year, and I did pretty well for not having cross country skied in [...]