Snowboarding
I went snowboarding yesterday for the first time in my life. We (coworkers and some students) drove up to Katsuyama — the same place where we had the summer barbecue, if you remember those photos — early in the morning. It had been snowing since the day before and continued to snow all day, which made me really happy.
I fell down. A LOT. Everyone said that I did a very good job though, especially for my first time. I dunno, I guess it could have been a lot worse too, so I was pleased with how I did. Next time I go, though, I think I will try skiing rather than snowboarding. Snowboarding was fun and perhaps a bit easier than skiing, but skiing looks *much* more comfortable when you fall, and also you don’t have to look sideways when going forward. Plus, walking in skis in much much more natural feeling than with a snowboard.
I am in so much pain today its ridiculous. Particularly my arms have no strength at all, because I kept falling on my wrists. A few times, though, my wrists couldn’t take another beating so I fell hard on my butt. So my butt hurts a lot too. Muscle pain is mostly gone, though I’m a bit stuff. The truth is, I hardly used my muscles at all… I was mostly falling down.
Turning was the hardest thing to do, and that’s important on a snowboard cause you can’t stop without turning. By the end of the day, I could go slowly down hill, I could even stop, and occasionally I was able to zigzag around for a long time. But inevitably at some point the board would angle itself straight downhill and I would blast off at high speed. I was actually able to ride that way fairly well, keeping my balance. But at some point, I would have to turn or slow down, and no matter how I tried I could do neither of them, and I would take a really nasty fall instead. For the sake of falling easier, I want to ski instead.
Today I am in pain, so I will just rest at home. I have a ton of chores to do anyway. But it’s snowing and the sky is white, and it should be like this all week, so I am really happy.
I hope I don’t hurt this much tomorrow at work…