A hidden talent of mine is to whine when no one is looking. Granted, whining is not limited to these times, but I can whine to myself with the best of them.

And so when I checked the trusty website provide by The Weather Channel and the good folks there told me it was 7 degrees in Buffalo, N.Y. and that, with the wind chill factored in, it felt like 0 degrees (all fahrenheit mind you) the thought of joining my friend Sue for her skating lesson at an outdoor rink sounded, well, less than ideal.

There were plenty of excuses at the ready, but each excuse brought out the reasons to go. I had wanted to go ice skating at an outdoor rink this year. I wanted to embrace winter and do the fun things I love. I wanted to try new things. And, I wanted to spend time with Sue, whom I haven’t seen much of since my plantar fasciitis has kept me away from all types of land-based running.

So, I sucked it up, put on three layers of clothes and headed out to the Classic Rink in East Aurora. The rink was the one used at the 2008 Winter Classic (this has particular meaning to fans of the  NHL and the Buffalo Sabres) and the lessons were given by Aurora Ice Association.

Forget cross-training. Forget asking how this will help me become a better runner, cyclist or swimmer. It’s time to just enjoy winter and something a bit new:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eujbqQOqO0A]