Saturday morning, I jumped out of bed (seriously) and went to the gym for a run on the treadmill (again, seriously).  It felt so great (you got it, seriously)!  I was full of energy the rest of the day and when Paul called to go for a cross country ski, I was super pumped.  I managed to get a couple of pictures off before my camera died in the cold.  A new camera needed for Christmas, perhaps?  Paulie…hint, hint.

Super Pumped!

We love to cross country ski in the ski trails above my house . . . South Star Trails.  They’re great in the summer too for mountain biking.  A perfect place to live . . . all season uses.

Camera on it's last legs in the cold . . . that's all I could get from our day. Too cold for the batteries I guess.

It was an absolutely beautiful day to go out in the winter weather . . . and what better way than to end of the ski adventure than a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

Mmmmm, hot chocolate.

Holiday Mallows from Jet Puffed

Since this is a cardio post I thought I would do some research on the benefits of Cross Country Skiing.  Here’s a little of what I found and what I know.

• It’s easy!  You can just strap on your equipment and go . . . literally right out your front door.
• Paul and I have Rossignal backcountry cross country (BC XC) ski gear, and it is awesome.  BC XC skis are slightly wider to distribute your body weight in power snow, but they still fit in traditional sized tracks on established XC trails.  These skis also have metal edges to allow you to cut into fresh snow, and the edge gives you a little bit more control than those out-of-control alpine skis.  You know what I’m talking about if you’ve ever found yourself going too fast down a hill using alpine gear!  The BEST thing about these skis is that they are waxless!!  Whooo hooo!  No sticking to the snow for us.  There are also scales on the bottom of the skis to help prevent you from sliding backwards when going uphill . . . you still slide, but not as much.  BC XC all the way 🙂
• You can work up a serious sweat!  Burn baby, burn.  On average, a 150lb woman can burn around 500 calories in one hour spent x country skiing at a moderate pace!
• It is fun!  A great way to enjoy a cold winter day.  I used to HATE winter, but I’ve found myself activities that I can enjoy, and slowly, my opinion is changing.

I hope you had a good weekend too.