Sand Skiing

I've been wanting to try sand skiing with the team for years - yesterday we were looking to finish the week with a low-key workout that was a little different, so we headed over to Morse Mtn to give it a try.  With skis/poles in hand and boots in backpacks, we jog/hiked over the mountain and down to the beach.  It was a cold day made colder by the howling wind, but still a spectacular day for the beach.  The skiing was pretty cool - it was basically like real skiing with perfect kick up a steep hill on super slow snow.  We ended up doing a lot of walking and easy shuffling, but real glide was possible.  It came at a high cost, though - my heart rate was through the roof after about 30 seconds of good fast skiing (although this might have been because I'm in terrible shape).  The minimal glide forced you to get into a nice forward position, which was nice for those who have been working on this all fall.  I came away feeling like sand skiing could be a great tool for real workouts - it's basically a more specific version of bounding, so it could be great for short VO2max intervals and explosive power development.  I'm thinking we may give this a try sometime in the future - hopefully not until next year, though.  Headed for the real thing tomorrow!