I asked my Mom for a set of cross-country skis for Christmas because the prospect of continuing on indefinitely with my normal schedule of the evil elliptical 3 times a week is starting to make me a tad depressed.
And the skis came yesterday -- YAY!
Now, I haven't gone cross country skiing since (seriously) like 1979 or so. The last time I did it, I had two braids (think Pippy Longstocking) and was wearing a very groovy orange-and-brown snowsuit and a goofy Snoopy ski hat. Despite that, I think I can still handle the technique, but I'm looking for basically any tips you cross country skiiers out there can give me. For example, these skis look WAY different in shape, etc., than the skis I had back during the Iran Hostage Crisis
...is there a different way of using these newer ones (like the difference between older downhill skiis and the new "carvers?") I'd really like to not break my ankle my first time out if there's some kind of new method of cross country skiing that I don't know about! Also, what are some good after-ski stretches?
I'm a downhill skiier, so it's not like I haven't been on skis in a while...but I know Nordic is very different than alpine.
Pretend I'm a total beginner, and toss me some advice!
Thanks!