41 for 41...Maybe Next Time

Setting a goal and not reaching it just plain stinks. I'm not a very destination oriented person, but I do sometimes set ridiculous goals so that I'll get myself motivated to accomplish something rather than just sitting in my comfy chair eating chocolate covered pretzels all day. 41k did not happen. More and louder Fugazi cannot always overcome a lack of preparation. There are all kinds of factors - my lack of any real training; my ratio of fast twitch to slow twitch muscle fibers, didn't eat/drink enough, whatever...but one legitimate factor was the cold. When the temp drops near or below the 0 degree Fahrenheit mark things begin to get very slow. The rudimentary physics go something like this - when your ski base runs over the snow there is a very subtle melting process that occurs. It's a blink of an eye type thing. The ski runs on these momentarily transformed molecules. Too little melting (cold temps)and everything gets static-y and goes into slow motion. It becomes a time to shift expectations or continue on in frustration. It becomes a good day to bundle up, take things easy, and enjoy the view; or kick really hard and drive yourself utterly into the ground; or go inside and make soup. I definitely saw my expectations shift as the day developed. I remember the first few hours being borderline OCD, seeing my goal slip away from me. It took most of the day to realize that it's really just about having fun. If I wanted to accomplish something I could always go to the office and switch on my computer. All that being said, a really fit, talented skier could tick off 40 or 50k on a day like that. So, it was a tough day on the emotions. I keep coming back to the fun factor. It's gotta be fun. Don't get me wrong, there is a time to push and train - but not when it makes me feel like a gerbil on a wheel. I had a job as a deckhand on a boat. When I first started I struggled with the lines making these ugly coils while coming perilously close to catching and breaking my ankles. That's when a fellow (female) deckhand told me to handle the lines like I would handle a woman. In other words, stop struggling. "My yoke is easy and my burden is light".