Sports

This page is about personal, participatory sports (sorry, no Red Sox info - better luck next millennium.) And for training for these and other sports.

On the training front, please check out my article "Functional Sports Conditioning: Bridging the Gap Between Fitness and Athleticism.

My two favorite participatory sports are running, and skiing.

Running:

Running has long been a big part of my daily workout. Though I haven't competed in any road races lately, I've completed three New York City Marathons and numerous 5k, 10k, and half-marathons in the New York and New England areas. In New York, I was a member of the New York Road Runners Club. For information about running both nationwide and in Greater Boston, one of the best sites is Cool Running. You can find information on upcoming and completed races, running news and issues, and lots more, including your results in many races.

I've never run the Boston Marathon (though my NYC times would now qualify me for it) but it's arguably the most prestigious in the country (as a native New Yorker / transplanted Bostonian I have to juggle my loyalties!) I'm lucky enough to live right near the course, and urge you to support and volunteer for the road races sponsored by the BAA and other groups here or wherever you live.

Skiing:

As I mention on my Pilates page, I first tried to learn to ski (thanks in large part to my husband Mark bugging me about how much fun it was) in 1990, and fell flat on my face. I didn't "get it." Well in 1998-1999, I tried again reluctantly, and became an addict! I finally can't wait for snow, and now when spring comes I'm a bit sad that it's melting, instead of happy.

What was the difference? Good instruction. As an instructor myself, I can appreciate good instruction, and I can tell bad instruction, even in an area where I may not be a subject matter expert. In the 1999-1999 ski season, I took the "Perfect Turn" series of "guaranteed learn to ski" classes that are offered at Sunday River (Maine), Killington (Vermont), Mount Snow (Vermont), Attitash (New Hampshire), and the other American Skiing Company ski resorts. Their teaching techniques, throughness, encouragement and relation of the new skill, skiiing, to sports and movements I already knew, made all the difference. The reasonably-priced 3-class "guaranteed to learn to ski" concept allowed me to get good, ongoing instruction, all-day equipment and lifts all in one place, and the ability to re-take classes until I got the skills from that level. Also, I was able to do one day at Mount Snow, another a week later at Sunday River, and finish the beginning series at Killington.

I got confident enough that I ended the season with a trip Mark and I made to North America's biggest ski area, Whistler-Blackcomb in British Columbia. That's my all-time favorite area, and I recently returned from my second trip there - awesome! They also have a superb ski school, and a unique 3- or 4-day program called "Ski Esprit" where an instructor skis with a small group for the entire time, acting as a guide to bring you to places on the mountain you might never find, or you might not believe you were ready to do. It's not just a "class" - they work on technique, yes, but they also encourage you to ski areas you never would have believed you could handle - and love it. Plus whatever your level, you even do a fun ski race! I heartily recommend both companies' (Whistler's and American Skiiing Company's) ski schools. Yes, their areas can be crowded, and are somewhat expensive, but you get what you pay for. Sorry to sound like a commercial, but I can definitely recommend both.

Since these positive experiences, I've been skiing even more, taking many more lessons, and even focusing some of my practice on ski-specific conditioning - see my Ski-Fitness.Net site.

I'm been negotiating to set up a ski conditioning class at Healthworks or one of the other locations I teach, possibly in conjunction with American Skiiing Company for a "class graduation" trip at one of their New England resorts. Look for something to happen in the 2001 season for this. Thanks to ASC for donating a prize for the Healthworks Foundation benefit last year!