Why do I do this to myself??

My last Sunday off work I ran a 22km half marathon and today instead of relaxing and sleeping in I decided to torture my body by learning how to snowboard! 

It was close to midnight, out at a friends 30th last night when the last minute decision to do the snow trip was finally made so we left a little early and tucked up in bed, to be rudely woken by our alarm less than 5 hours later.

I'm not great in the mornings but we pulled it together and were on our way to Mt. Buller to meet our friends by 6.30. (7 of us went in total.) 

Now I haven't been to the snow since I was about 5 or 6 and helped around by my mum on mini skis, now I'm 22 and was going to be helped around by Chris and my best friends Cara and Mel on a mini snowboard! 

The trip itself wasn't too bad, some good music, snacks and a lot of coffee got us through so we reached Mansfield at about 9am in time to hire gear, stretch our legs and get some breakfast.

We went to a quirky little cafe called the Produce Store that 

we had been to in Mansfield before. It such a nice place, with great service and coffee, some clever little gifty things and really yummy food. Definitely worth a stop at if you're ever passing through town. 

We decided to drive up the mountain as the sun had come out and the chances of needing snow chains was pretty low. I can't believe my little Holden Barina made it all the way up there!

We all met up and went to tackle the lifts, I must have looked like a funny little fat man in all my snow gear and my pink earmuffs struggling with the snowboard! 

I was so lucky that Chris is a seasoned snowboarder and helped me down the first slope before our lesson, I ended up on my arse more times than I could count! It was so funny and I couldn't help but laugh at myself. 

Nick, Mel and I left the more experienced guys to have a 2 hour lesson which really helped! We had such a giggle at everything. Once I was so proud that I got myself up all on my own, only to be taken down by an out of control skier. I was back on my arse again and we were all tangled up in skies and my legs were backwards. I almost couldn't breathe with laughing so hard! 

I must admit, one of the funniest things I've ever seen is someone taking a fall on skis, arms, legs and poles everywhere, head over arse into the snow. I felt mean laughing but I'm sure they were all giggling just as hard at my stacks! Just as I'd find my balance Chris kept zooming past, giving me cheeky taps on the butt which would startle me so much I'd fall down again! 

By our last run when the other guys all came down with us as well, I was feeling a lot more confident, I could stop and choose which direction I wanted to go in (kind of). It was such a fun day and I'm so glad we made the trip. I'd been meaning to get around to learning for so long but it seemed things kept coming up or there were no free weekends. It was a long trip to just go for one day but definitely a day well spent. 

Price wise it probably works better to go for a few days, one day between Chris and I, including my fuel and me having to hire my board and snow jacket, lift passes, lesson, resort fee, breakfast and lunch ended up being about $500. 

The only thing that was frustrating was the traffic on the way home, the tailgating cars! I couldn't believe how dangerously some of these guys were driving, in the dark and rain and on windy roads. We were doing the speed limit and I felt as though the 4WD behind me was practically humping the poor Barina! We saw so many near accidents for people overtaking on double lines or near blind corners. All so they could get home about 10 minutes earlier. Unbelievable. 

 Aside from that it was such a perfect day, the sun came out for a while and then we got some snow as well. It feels so rewarding to have tried something different and out of my comfort zone like that, and my friends were such a great support! Now being tucked up on the couch with a cup of tea after a hot shower is such a nice feeling! My body is aching but I have a big grin on my face!!!

xxx