Ever since I was a little girl I loved the last day of the year skiing at my local mountain. The snow was slushy, the sun was out and people were stoked! It was never a sad day, people didn’t cry, it was more of a celebration of a great winter season.

Therefore, when the lifts turn off, I am thrilled to take my ski boots off and give my feet a much needed summer vacation. I am an avid water-sports person in the summer, I spend a lot of time behind the boat waterskiing, wakeboarding, wakeskating, surfing. I like to I play tennis, golf, skateboard, bike, berry pick, but most of the time I am chasing my kids around.

No Point6 socks are featured in this photo. But we still like it. 

After becoming a mother my sports and fitness goals have really shifted. I can no longer just jump into a boat with my suit on and a towel in hand. These days I have to prioritize my children’s needs before mine. I remember rolling my eyes at moms that would be super fast at pushing their strollers. Like, that’s not a work-out. Now, I can’t wait to get out there and be strolling.

I never really enjoyed traditional running while I was growing up but after getting into more hiking and ski-touring something switched in my head and I like the peacefulness of pushing your body and mind on a big hike. And since I am hiking and walking a lot these days I thought it would be fun to sign up for a few competitions this summer.

The first run I did was a mud run, with rope swings, mud ditches, monkey bars, tubing hills with snow machines firing, balance beams and a woods full of ticks. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed standing at the start with a bunch of other people and tackling the course together. After competing for so many years it’s a good way to bring the rush back. (Paul Bunyan Extreme benefitting Mount Ski Gull https://www.mountskigull.com )

Not this, on the other hand, requires an exceptional merino wool sock. 

The second run I did was the Dru Sjodin Purple Elephant Run creating awareness of violence against women & children while promoting your health. This was a more traditional 5k with the professional timers, t-shirts and the water stations that allow you to throw water over your head mid run, one of my favorite parts of running in a race. 

I really believe there is a reason I live in this part of the world where there are different seasons. Even though I love skiing and snow so much, I do not want to be in it year round. And I need to give myself time to allow my toe nails to grow back and give my feet some much needed outside the ski boot time. And then when the seasons change and it starts snowing my body and mind will be ready to tackle the winter. New toe nails and all.