We experienced the coldest weather of the season over the weekend as temps dropped to -25 at night and warmed to -10 during the day in areas of the Anchorage Bowl. Fearing the snow on the ski trails would be slow and sticky I decided to try a pair of nordic skates as an alternative to skiing this weekend. Nordic skates are simply straight blades attached to a boot using ski bindings, making it easy to switch from skis to skates. I skied from the house down to the Lagoon, stepped off the skis and onto the nordic skates. After a few laps on the freshly hot-mopped big loop I soon got the hang of it and could feel the similarities between skiing and skating. The nordic skates are less forgiving than nordic skis and provided instant feedback (skidding) when I didn't transfer my weight smoothly from a glide to a kick. Though not as fast as a traditional speed skate, I really enjoyed the way the nordic skates felt like freestyle nordic skiing. And like barefoot running, the nordic skates provide self coaching - it only feels right when using the correct form.
