A Step up from Flailing Monkey

It’s been a tiring week.

A day and a half of school really do that to ya ;). What with the snow days, an orthodontist appointment and a ski race, that’s last week’s grand total.

So, it wasn’t really the week that tired me, but the weekend.

Last Friday, I competed in GBSSA, our region’s qualifier for the province-wide OFSAA. This time it was for cross country skiing.

I started this ski season in December, with little experience skate skiing. I had done both classic and downhill frequently, but had skate skied less than a dozen times. In grade 6.

Practices were twice a week, and for the first month, I felt like, in my own words, a flailing monkey on skis (you were wondering where that came in, weren’t ya?). But, because of my dedication, (snort Kidding. because my mom paid more than 300 dollars for me to be a part of it, and wouldn’t let me quit), I stuck with it. My one condition: I was NOT going to race.

So, the first few races went by, and I just didn’t attend. Then came the persuading.

First, it was my friends. “It’ll be so fun!” “C’mon, just try one!” My excuse was always, “But I can’t ski!”. They would try to persuade me, but I knew I just wasn’t good enough to race.

After that, it was the coaches. “I think you’d do well in the novice category. You coming to the next race?” And with that, I gave up my resolve, and reluctantly agreed to go to just one race. I was still convinced I would totally fail.

My saving grace here was the novice category. For those who don’t know, it’s pretty much the category for new, inexperienced skiers. Perfect for me.

Still, I dreaded the race all day. My start time was 11:45. Just before then, I got ready and headed out. Heart pounding, I approached the start line. But something was off. As I watched the racers go off in front of me, each staggered by 15 seconds, I realized something.

They couldn’t ski.

And by couldn’t, I don’t mean they were kinda slow or flailed around. Some of them looked like they had never been on skis before. Ever. I began to wonder if this race wouldn’t be so bad after all…

The race went pretty well. My technique was awful, but I still went at a decent speed. I was glad to have it done and excited to see my place.

I won. First place.  I was so excited! Sure, it was only a novice race. I was the best––of the worst. So, yeah, I’m not the greatest skier in the world. But I learned that I can ski.

The decision to go to GBSSA happened because of a coach’s encouragement (well he went as close to forcing me as he could), about four days before the event. It went as well as a race for a sport I don’t like could go. Or maybe a bit worse.

I was super duper slow and had almost no energy. But, I finished the race. AND I didn’t come last. 26th out of 57, actually! I still think that last race went better than this, but I did it.

What in your life is a struggle right now? Are you pushing through it?

I worked all day Saturday, and lead worship at our church on Sunday, so I’m kinda pooped. My writing has been slow, what with such a busy weekend. Maybe I’ll bribe myself with cookies. Then I should get something done.

I apologize for such a long post. You asleep yet? These really need to be more interesting :).

Any thoughts? Comment below! I’d love to hear about what you want me to blog about! (’cause random events in my life aren’t quite what I would call interesting)

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