I just had a spectacular week skiing in the French Alps – huge amounts of food, even more exercise; the highest of highs and the lowest of lows; decked out head to toe in sportswear. And I thought, “Hold on, I’ve been here before. More than once. Skiing and training for a marathon are literally the exact same thing.” Don’t believe me? My case:
1. Your relationship with your next source of food is absolutely critical.
2. Second only in importance to the location of your next wee.
3. You will, at some point, have to have a little cry while passers-by look on nonplussed.
4. By halfway through, if you could marry pigeon pose, you would in a heartbeat.
5. So many opportunities for new clothes in technical fabric!
6. You go to bed excited for your breakfast.
7. Try as you might, you can’t lose your new alluring aroma – sweaty hair and Deep Heat.
8. It’s difficult to remember how far you’ve progressed, when sometimes all you can see are your limitations.
9. The way you behave under intense pressure will surprise (and please, and scare) you.
10. Your happiness is directly related to the health, or otherwise, of your knees and ankles.
11. The bonds you forge with people at this juncture are exponentially stronger, per hour spent together, than those made at any other time.
12. Banana and jam sandwiches are a perfectly reasonable type of snack. Just hook you up to IV carbs.
13. You think about your own snot more than is reasonable for a grown person.
14. Eight hours sleep leaves you knackered.
15. Ditto nine hours sleep.
16. Ten hours is about right, though more would be perfect.
17. The wrong socks can ruin your whole week.
18. Nothing beats the first drink when you’re done.
19. The occasional adult tantrum is not unheard of.
20. Despite your best efforts with sunscreen, you are guaranteed a really, really daft tan line to explain at work on Monday.
21. Misplacing your Buff is like losing a limb.
22. Hardcore exercise for three or more hours a day doesn’t even phase you. That’s normal.
23. There is a cortex of your brain devoted to spotting any signs of chafing and eliminating them instantly.
24. Energy Balls are a food group, right?
25. The second it’s over, your heart starts yearning for the next one (though your bank balance and blisters say no).
26. In the middle of all the sweat, and the snot, and the blisters, there will be moments when the world shows itself in all its magnificence. You’ll feel so blessed to be alive and able to take part.
I rest my case.
Anything I’ve missed? Do you either run, or ski, and would like to try the other? (seeing as they’re basically the same…)
I love this…
I may not have ran a Marathon but I do ski (& run) so this did all sound v familiar.
I would even go as far as to say the same applies for Alpine/Mixed climbing…5-10 hours exercise with similar emotions..puts me to shame for grizzling at the prospect of a 2 hour run! 🙂
Oh, just one thing..your ski boots..like trainers must be perfect or there’s hell to pay 😉
Ooh, I really loved the look of Alpine hiking this trip. I bet it’s SO invigorating. I was noticing how few clothes they were wearing, despite the sub-zero temps.
Yessss, the feeling of a foot bath when you’re done!
I wanna go skiing again and I wanna run another marathon!
Great post.
Though my bank balance may restrict me to indoor slope sessions and a half marathon this year, this has definitely whetted my appetite for both.
Hopefully next year… 🙂
Definitely next year! You’re going to smash both 🙂
A colleague returned from her week’s skiing and booked to go again only about 5 weeks later…
Lucky colleague! I think we’d have to get married in a shack if we went skiing again…
My 10 year old son is embarrassed to be seen near me skiing because I’m so unco and slow (I saw his point when I saw the video footage) everyone laughs. I try though. I’ve been running a year now and I am also slow and really quite uncoordinated, but I try and it makes me feel alive. I don’t think I could do a marathon though. My body mechanics is not up to that unfortunately.
The cheeky so-and-so! Kids have it easy with skiing, because they learn before they realise how much you could break yourself, and so have such lovely style.
It doesn’t matter how slow you are, in running and skiing, as long as you’re out there and having a good time. Good on you Charli!
Ooh, realmente disfruté la apariencia del trekking alpino en este viaje. Supongo que es TAN estimulante. Me doy cuenta de la poca ropa que llevaban puesta, a pesar de escorts maduras Avellaneda las temperaturas bajo cero.