If you have been following, my new years resolution was to do something new every single day this year!! The very first weekend of the year, I had the opportunity to check off one of my big bucketlist items - skiing!!
I flew up to Sacramento, and then drove up to Lake Tahoe on new years day. (Actually, that is a funny story. As we were nearing the summit, the gas light went on and not more than a minute after that, we hit bumper to bumper traffic that snaked all the way down the hill!! We were crossing our fingers and praying that we would make it and thankfully we did!)
Friday morning we hit the slopes ... or my experienced skier friend did. I took a fist-timers' class. Some of the people in my class were not able to move on their skis and some people were not even able to stand. I found myself getting impatient and annoyed at these people because they were "holding me back". I wasn't able to go at my own pace. I wasn't able to grow and learn. Or was I?
I watched these people try different ways to stand up, good/bad ways to fall, how to control/not control speed etc. And each time I saw them do something I thought was wasting my time, I actually learned from it! I learned from someone else's failure and from their ultimate success (standing up, learning how to stop, learning how to turn, etc.)
The next day, I got on the slopes with my friend and his stepdad, who is a phenomenal teacher. We did the easiest beginners' slope once, and then moved on to the next beginners' run. I fell a handful of times, but each time I got back up. I "mastered" the Big Easy and it was time to move on to the intermediate slopes.
We tackled the first intermediate slope and I was TERRIFIED. The view was amazing, but oh my the slope looked so steep from the top. I looked at it thinking "no way," but I was encouraged by the people I was with. Encouraged to move forward and just do it. So I did, little by little, I skied down the slope and, after falling a few times, I reached the bottom unscathed!
Then we did a second intermediate slope and it was sooo long. It was "easier" than the first but much, much longer. My legs were wrecked by the end!! We stopped at the lodge and got a small snack and some water to fuel back up for the next (and thankfully last) run!
The last run was pretty much a disaster. I was so tired from all the earlier runs and my legs were shot, but I HAD TO GET DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. So, I started slow, and fell. I got up, made a few turns, and fell again. I got back on my skis and fell yet again. Then I got back up and really fell - like really spectacularly fell. I flew off the trail after having missed a basic turn. I flipped and spun into the deep powdery snow on the edge of the slope. I lay there looking up for a few minutes and though "maybe I'll just stay here!" But of course, I didn't. I got up and walked to the slope, picked up my skis and poles along the way. I stepped onto the run, and decided to walk partway down. Then a ways down the mountain, I stepped back into my skis. I skied, and fell, stood up, skied, and fell a couple more times. But again, I made it down the mountain unscathed ... exhausted, but unscathed.
As I reflect on this experience, I can say it is a lot like my fitness journey. I started off like gangbusters, way ahead of the pack, losing 10lbs a month, but carefully observing other people! And then I stalled out, I hit some road block, I fell of the trail so to speak. At one point I gained back 30lbs I had lost and I had that same thought that I had in the snow - "maybe I'll just stay right here." But I didn't I brushed myself off, and found other ways to continue in my journey. As long as you stand up one more time than you fall, you are on the track to success. Just keep standing up!!
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