Snow! As I type this Saturday afternoon the snow is starting to fall, and we will see if the twin cities actually gets 4-6 inches, or if the weather people were a bit off in their predictions. Jeff and I have now skated three times this winter. I bought my ice skates at fleet farm last winter, but never actually got them out of the box and in use. Jeff (in non-pandemic times) plays hockey twice a week in different leagues. He’s a great skater and I am….not.
As a kid I did take a couple years of skating lessons, but it has been more than 10 years since I was on the ice. The first we skated I barely made it 20 minutes. Everything felt awkward, and I was so frustrated that it wasn’t coming naturally. I knew what to do, but my body just didn’t seem to want to do it. The second time we skated I set a timer for 25 minutes. Other people showed up at the rink, and I think that helped me push through a bit. Today (Saturday) we went skating, and I made it 30 minutes. Once again, the first 10 minutes or so was rough, the middle 10 minutes I started getting better, and I was really proud of my progress in the last 10 minutes.
After the 1st session being so rough, I put music on my phone, which helped distract me a bit, and make the time go faster. And in general, whenever I’m biking, running, or even walking. I enjoy having music or a podcast on to distract me. I find a can go farther, or do more if I don’t just have my internal dialogue going.
Do you like quiet when you are doing difficult things? Or do you like listening as a distraction? Have you ever taken 10ish years off from an activity and tried to learn how to do it again?
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I dated a guy who was a very good skater thanks to hockey so I also tried skating with him. It was so hard! I skated a lot as a little kid but it is different to do it as an adult, especially after not doing it for many years! I always have a podcast going when I walk. Anytime I am doing something like cooking or organizing, I like having a podcast going. It feels like a more productive use of my time and I always have sooo many in my queue!
I haven’t skated in YEARS – probably since college, which is a long time ago, since i am now officially old. 😉 I admire you for getting out there and doing it! and whatever you have to do to motivate yourself, you should do, particularly if this is important to you. It seems like a really fun activity for you to share with Jeff. I hope it just gets easier and more natural over time!