skifreak

He's finally come around to letting go of his 70's something Mach 1. He runs 15 off at a soft 32 and 34 mph and gets in 22 off frequently. He's 56 years old, weights about 230lbs and skis for fun - no tournaments and is just happy to make a pass. He wants something that skis similarly to his mach 1 in that he doesn't want something that hooks aggressively. I have some ideas but am looking for more opinions. Used is not a problem and preferably under $400. Thanks!

Great advice all! I definitely think backing off is the way to go. Pride needs to get set aside and when i'm "off" I should just back down to something I run all the time and work on technique instead, ignoring ball count. If I'm lacking focus I need to change my goals for the set. Like I said, this only happens every now and then - hopefully I keep this all in mind next time!!

Wow. Kinda makes me want to cry.

Thanks! I had seen that website. The one's for goggles obviously aren't going to work and I doubt the ones that clip onto your ears will stay put. I was looking for one with an arm band but thought the earphone wire would get in the way. I had no idea about the vests with pockets!! I'll have to look into that! 

I was wondering about that. I also have a hard time getting earphones to stay in my ears when i'm doing anything that's not simple walking so I can only imagine they'd get ripped out before I began. Still, I hope.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't usually humming a little tune as I approach the course. Music is frequently a "tool" of exercise and with the advent of waterproof mp3 players i'm wondering if anybody has tried one. While I desperately want to hear that there's a good one for skiing, I also don't see how it could be anything other than a PITA. Still... I desperately long to hear some "eye of the tiger" as I'm rounding six...

SHOTS! Why didn't I think of that?!

 

Jean B - totally agree, unless the driver happens to rip my arms out of my sockets with the first pull up. :-| 

 

I do know that I'm lucky to be doing this, spoiled actually. That's something I need to remember when I'm frustrated. Rawly - thanks for reminding me that I haven't done yoga in awhile, should probably work on that!

Weappa - I'll try that next time. I ran my first pass then struggled for 3 passes with the next speed - a pass I usually make 9 times out of 10. ARG!!

Yeah, it's definitely about fun and I do enjoy it (ok, maybe love it). I also completely agree that even my worst set is better than being at work. I don't get so frustrated every time I do poorly, just on occasion. I recognize when it's a problem, I just don't know how to break it.

I find that I ski terribly when in a bad mood or frustrated. Poor skiing leads to a worse mood which causes worse skiing. It's a viscous cycle. Today on my last pass when I missed 4, I just threw the handle instead of skiing to the dock which didn't go over well with my husband. Does anybody have any tips for keeping a bad mood from affecting your set? How do you keep poor skiing from making you more frustrated? If I know i'm going to ski poorly because of my mood should I just walk away and save the frustration? It's hard when I know I can do so much better.