A Report by Stephanie Rees:

As I write this, I am procrastinating on two tasks: studying for my thesis defence and getting out the door for a ski.  READ ON!!

This winter has been singularly stressful in the fact that I have had to juggle the demands of an almost complete PhD and living in a location where I can actually ski. As both my defence date and last ski race rapidly approach (they’re actually occurring two days apart!), I have struggled to balance the requirements of both (along with my teaching and other research demands!! Trust me, this winter has been hectic), but recently I have decided that there are a lot of skills and techniques that are applicable to both areas of my life.

In fact, after some thought, I have decided that there was actually no need to spend so many years (and so much money) on post-secondary education when skiing was giving me a better education for my buck… Although the argument can be made that my post-secondary schooling will give me more bucks for my education in the (hopefully near) future, but who’s counting?

To illustrate my point, I have listed below a sample of subjects that skiing has given me a more than adequate education:

Climatology 101: Now, this whole article initially stemmed from my frantic attempts to understand changes in weather patterns. As ski season progresses, I seem to spend more and more time monitoring weather conditions, even checking weather websites every 10 minutes hoping for less rain and more snow!  Or less deep-freeze and more not-too-far below freezing temperatures. However, if I could accurately predict/understand weather, I’m not sure I would be any happier about it. Now, if only I could learn how to actually change the weather…

Geography 101: After many years of skiing in Ontario, I have become a proficient map reader, mapquest.com-er, shortcut taker, and lost-in-the-middle-of-nowhere traveler. I have also become acquainted with several backroads and quaint ski-towns. This allows me to wow my non-skiing friends with my knowledge of small town backwoods Ontario.

Chemistry 101: Frankly, it sometimes seems to me that at least three graduate degrees are needed to understand all the intricacies of waxing. This combined with along with a great knowledge of climatology (see above).

Philosophy 101: Some important schools of ski thought include:

1. “If a skier falls in the forest…”;

2. “I ski, therefore, I am.”;

3. “To ski or not ski, that is the question”. Ok, that’s from Shakespeare (who knew he was a skier at heart?), but it sounds pretty philosophical to me;

4. And most popularly, “I’d rather be skiing”.

Mathematics 101: “If I started 30 seconds behind number 4, but started 2 minutes ahead of 9, and number 4 finished 5 seconds ahead of me while number 9 finished 10 seconds ahead of number 4, that means……. I probably didn’t win and I probably didn’t lose, but I’ll just wait for the results to make sure”.

Law 101: Have you ever really read the waiver portion on an entry form?

Medicine 101: Understanding pain and how long it takes for it to go away is definitely related to the study of medicine. Also, other topics such aging (decreased performance in relation to increased pain), nutrition (donuts before races do not necessarily result in a better race), biofeedback (listening to your body: “Need caffeine now!”), and the principles of training on the body for better performance (although knowing this does not necessarily result in a better performance… apparently you have to actually apply these principles to your training to improve your racing).

Physics 101: Many physic laws and equations are very relevant to skiing. For example, speed equals distance over time. Inertia equals me having a hard time getting out of bed in the morning. Friction equals too much grip and too little glide. Lastly, sharp angle at the bottom a downhill equals me bailing into the snowbank.

Fashion 101: One thing that all skiers know is that all-out spandex, although somehow seemingly necessary, is a hard look to master. Another hotly debated fashion topic for skiers is toque technique. A skier can pull off any outfit with proper toque position. If you have never received the toque talk, you need to take this class immediately!

Accounting 101: 1 pair of skis = within budget; 1 pair of skis and rent = a little over budget; 1 pair of skis, rent, and food = not affordable. Who needs food anyway…

And last, but not least…

Psychology 101: This seems paramount at times. Issues such as dealing with stress, scraping up some motivation, focusing on the task at hand, and surviving in the social hierarchy of skiing, etc…

Now, I didn’t just save Psychology for last because it is the subject that I chose for my formal school-based education. No, it seems most applicable to me in the final days leading up to my thesis defence. I have decided to treat my thesis defence like a ski race. From my many years of ski racing, I have found that the more I race during a season, the better I race at the end of the season. While this might be physically based, I also believe that it is psychological based in that more experience with races leads to a more prepared racer. As such, I have booked several practice talks in front different groups of scientists in order to get as much practice and feedback as possible before the “real” race.. Think of it like working out the racing kinks and peaking for a chosen competition. I also plan to eat well (and lots), stay hydrated, and rest up before the big day. On the evening prior to the big day, I will go over my equipment (computer, powerpoint presentation, etc.) and go to bed early. In the morning, I will eat well (at least two hours before for good digestion), spend some time visualizing the event, complete a good warm-up (including a few intervals to get my heart rate going.. in this case, that might include trying to scare myself by imagining all the really hard questions I might get asked), and get to the startline early. And lastly, I will control my pre-race jitters by repeating my well-worn (yet soothing) mantra: It will all be over soon, it will all be over soon……. OK, the real mantra is a little more optimistic:     

It will all be over soon;
            Yet I know I’ll miss it when it’s finished;

So I’ll enjoy it while it lasts;

Because I ski, therefore I am.

During my defence, however, I’m sure the actual mantra will end up being: “I’d rather be skiing, I’d rather be skiing…”.