Ever since I started training in November, I’ve been thinking about skiing the Mittåkläppen trail. If you start in Bruksvallarna, you follow the road which you drive in the summer – the first 6 km is mostly uphill. If you start in Ramundberget though, you only need to go up for 3 km, 200m altitude change. I’ve skied that before, 10 years ago with blisters that were killing me, and had to stop several times on the way to catch my breath. And on the way down, got a very serious case of lactic acid buildup. But that was then, and now I have had plenty of proof that I’m more fit, I’m stronger, I have a better balance and quite importantly, my ski boots are no longer chafing! So up the hill I skied. And skied. And skied. Didn’t have to stop once! I felt like a proper little Duracell bunny.

It was a glorious day, it had started very cold but the sun is quite warm already at this time of the year so as long as I was skiing in the sunshine, it was pleasant. Later in the afternoon when the sun went behind the mountains and the trail was in the shade, it started to get cold again. Especially when gliding down back to Ramundberget, my fingers were freezing. But I didn’t think as much about my fingers as I thought about my legs – I was waiting for the lactic acid to kick in. But guess what? It didn’t! Not even a bit! I guess it helps to be in good shape, even when you’re plowing your way down a steep hill. And I’m pretty sure I didn’t have to plow as hard as I did back when. My balance is so much better now that I can handle higher speeds; I’m still not super-confident (I often have people gliding past me) but I’m trying to expand my comfort zone. I think I’m capable of more than I think I am!

The next time I tackle the Mittåkläppen trail, I intend to take the long way from Bruksvallarna. You know, the same way I cycled last summer, when I had to give up in some of the hills and walk the bike up. With my newly-found strength… I’m not scared of those hills any more! Bring it on!