No pain, no gain? Trying to keep balance skiing.

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Sheryl Checkman

A Yard Sale at Mt. Snow.

I went to Mt. Snow, Vermont this weekend to ski, chill out (and considering the frigid temperatures, I believe that I succeded). I’ve been working non-stop on my new t-shirt business so a weekend away, in the fresh air and snow was just the right balance that I needed in my life. Saturday started out as a beautiful, sunny day. It was cold, but without any wind, it was a perfect ski day. Now I am a pretty good skier, although I haven’t skied since the beginning of December and haven’t worked out much in the past month due to a nasty cold. I started my day skiing with friends on intermediate trails on the front of the mountain, terrain I know so well I can almost ski it blindfolded. No sooner did I make my first few turns when I noticed something off about my skiing. I could barely control my skis. Turning on hard pack felt like ice and I could not get an edge at all. Was I so out of shape that my skiing could have gotten this bad? Every turn was an effort and I kept having to stop to rest. This couldn’t be me!

Coming down Ridge Run, I felt my skis cross in front of me and I found my self heading head first down into the snow, hard! My friend Bill stoping behind me couldn’t believe how hard that I fell. Nothing but my ego bruised (so I thought) I got up and continued skiing. My next fall proved to be more of a yard sale. Again my skis tips crossed and I found myself separated from my skis, once again sitting in the snow. So unusual was this for me, that my friend Susan, felt the need to capture this with her camera.

At the end of the day I decided to take my skis into the ski shop and see if it was really me or the ski. When the ski tech took a look at the bottom of the skis after I explained to him what had been happening all day, he told me that it was no wonder that I was falling. It seems that my skis were sharpened too many times and in doing so, the edges were higher than the base, so I was actually skiing on two boards with no edge at all. The skis had been throwing me off balance! Well that certainly made me feel better. I left them overnight for stone grinding, where they grind down the base to match up with the edges, and headed to the bar for a much needed glass of wine!

Life is Balance "Keep Your Edge" Ski and Snowboard t-shirt

The following day, setting out on my newly tuned skis, I discovered that I wasn’t in as bad a shape as I had thought. It was like night and day. I was skiing just like I used to ski – effortlessly! Hallelujah!

It was only when I got home and woke up the next morning, unable to move that I realized just why I don’t like to fall in the first place! Oh well, nothing is broken and the spasms in my back will eventually go away (soon I hope) and I am looking forward to the next time. What I learned from this experience is that while the activities like skiing may balance our lives, it takes well-maintained equipment to stay balanced!

Life is Balance^® T-shirts Debut!

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Sheryl Checkman

Celebrate the balance we add to our lives through activities that make us smile!

The first Life is Balance t-shirts have been printed and I am excited to be selling them this Sunday, November 21 in Fort Lee, NJ at Congregation Gesher Shalom (the JCC): 1449 Anderson Avenue, Fort Lee, NJ from 10:00am-2:00pm.

If you can’t make it out to New Jersey, I will also be at PS 183 in NYC : 419 East 66th Street on Tuesday, December 7 from 5:00pm-9:00pm.

The designs, all based on a yin yang symbol, are specific to a particular sport, activity or lifestyle choice. I have over 30 different sport and activity designs that will be produced. The first 4 designs that are available are: Yoga, Ski/Snowboard, Peace and The Environment. To see the other designs, please visit my website, checkmandesign.com

We’ve got shirts for men, women and girls so come join us at one of our upcoming events and get your holiday shopping started early!

Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend!

Posted on December 29, 2009 by Sheryl Checkman

Last weekend I hit the slopes for the first time since last season. My friends and I went on our annual ski clinic weekend with Maximum Ski Tours to Gore Mountain in the Adirondak Mountains of upstate New York. It felt great to put on my skis and point them down the hill once again. The clinic, which divided skiers by ability, focused on completing round, carving turns and was a great way to jump start summer legs back into ski legs. While NYC and points south received lots of fresh snow, we alas received zilch! Nadda! Nuttin! However, the snowmaking provided by Gore did make for surprisingly good conditions despite the fact that mother nature dissed us in the mountains.

It’s always great getting back on the slopes but I can’t say that the experience was pain-free. As soon as I struggled into my “custom-fit” boots I knew something was wrong. They were so tight I could barely feel my feet (and not in a good way!). I managed to ski all weekend despite the severe pain of my boots pressing on a nerve below my ankle. When I got home I proceeded to mark my feet with a marker showing exactly where my boots hurt and then went straight to Surefoot where I had purchased them. Surefoot makes custom boots with liners molded to your foot and they guarantee the fit as long as you have the boots. Adrian, the boot technician that worked with me was terrific. He looked at my marked up foot and saw where the problem was immediately. Not exactly sure how to fix the problem, and rather than submit me to trial and error (and possibly more pain), he made me new custom liners right then and there! I have no doubt that my next venture onto the snow will be virtually pain-free! Thank you Surefoot for superb customer service!

Now I can’t wait to get back out on the slopes and hit those diamonds! Maybe I’ll wear one of these shirts, because when the shoe (or boot) fits, diamonds ARE a girl’s best friend!