I feel guilty when I entertain the idea of not skiing on my new ski track. Even though I have exercised hard for three days straight, including this morning’s snowshoe hike with my brother, I feel like I need to get out for at least a few laps on my short track. This is because snow in Lower Michigan is not usually deep enough for skate skiing, especially in the area where I grew up.

Warm weather is predicted for Wednesday and Thursday, so some of us diehards are trying to take advantage of the snow as much as possible. This is why I will go outside for a second time, today, to ski.

Weather.com is predicting a high of 35 degrees F for Thursday. The good news is that it usually takes a little while to achieve that high in the height of the afternoon, and it soon subsides. This means that, if the sun is kind to my snow, I will continue to ski over the next 10 days. I think I’ll play it by ear.

Either way, to prevent over-training and to allow my muscles to recover, I am going to have to schedule a day off from my winter workouts.

Don’t worry. I also have a little optic gratification for y’all. The following are some photos from today’s hike with my brother.