I was checking the weather and schedule up at Sovereign Lake last Saturday when I noticed that there were some classic lessons being offered. Since neither Kristin nor I had ever taken formal lessons, I thought it might be a good idea so called up and registered us. The receptionist asked “Are you beginners?” and I said “I don’t know.”
We’ve been back into cross country skiing for three years now, and Saturday was our 21st time out this season. While the skaters tend to fly by us for the most part, very few recreational level classic skiers do, so I felt like we weren’t really beginners, but I have learned from experience that “the basics” in any area are worth learning right. So we showed up as beginners and joined a class with two ladies who had only skied four times total.
Long story short: Very glad we took the beginner class! Our instructor pointed out several things that each of us could do to improve our technique, which got us both moving faster than we had been, and when the hour was over, we were tired! We went for a little loop afterwards but we were draggy, and the next day we felt muscles that had not been bothered by our previous faulty techniques.
Moral: When in doubt, start at the bottom. We would have been toast if we showed up at a more advanced class. Maybe after a few months of working on the things our instructor pointed out we will be ready for another level, but for now, we both have a lot to work on!
