I Run to Ski

Brundage Mountain.  Look at that powder!
 

I’ve mentioned before that I am running away from heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, but there are other reasons why I run.
I run to ski.
Skiing isn’t all about the strength of the legs.  In fact, much of skiing is about endurance and a lot about technique.  When I get tired, my technique (which is not expert, anyway) goes out the window.  Fatigue brings on bad habits.  Wow, that’s another essay in itself!  More later on fatigue and bad habits…  Bad ski habits bring on danger and the opportunity for injury.  The more I run, the longer I ski without fatigue.  The longer I ski, the more I improve.  The more I improve, the happier my ski partner!  The happier my ski partner, the more I enjoy skiing.  And so on…

While my avoidance of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes is a long term goal, I have more immediate motivators to keep my running.  Snow skiing is just one of them.  On days when it seems just too hard to lace up my shoes and get out the door, I can remind myself that the ski hill will be much more enjoyable if I just keep running.

What is your motivation? I would like to hear about it in the comments below.

Happy Running!