Training in Montana

2 TM miles at the Y. I wasn't feeling it, not sure what's going on. Did some situps, pushups, and pullups after, then hit the steam room. Normally I'm sweating so hard after a workout I can barely cool down to get back to work, so it was nice to steam up and stretch sore shoulder muscles.

4 TM miles at lunchtime. Listened to Pandora instead of Netflix; Smashing Pumpkins station; and it was much better than watching Longmire. I think I focused better and the time went faster. I felt stronger, not sure if it was music or what, but I ran much better. I also switched incline to only 1% so that helped, vs 2% which better mimics outdoor running, but I don't seem to be up for it yet (no pun intended). 30 situps, 20 pushups, 10 pullups after.

Darn it, I tweaked my left calf muscle yesterday while running and thought little of it and continued on, and in fact ran faster and faster until I finished the last bit at a 6 minute mile. All on a tweaked calf. This morning I went out for a run and took it easy, but after 3/4 mile in I hit a low incline hill, and I couldn't even run. I walked/limped to the flat, then was able to run, so turned around at 1 mile and slowly ran back. Now I'm limping as I walk, even though I have it wrapped and have been icing it. Bummer. I'm reading articles about what to do, so I'll RICE and go from there. Hmph.

3 elliptical miles at the Y. Wore a calf sleeve to work today, and during the workout, and it feels much better with the sleeve. Calf was pretty tight the first bit, so I need to find a way to warm it up next time before hitting the elliptical, maybe cycling, not sure yet. After a bit it felt fine and I was able to up the difficulty and got a little bit of a sweat on. Followed with 30 situps, 20 pushups, 10 pullups. Pullups are hard!

3 elliptical miles. Not bad! Warmed up by doing some calf strengthening on the stairs (I forget the proper term, but lower the heel, up with the tow, lower again. Repeat 10-20 times, then switch.) I've done them before - concentric heel drops is what they're called - and they work great for sore achilles and/or calf strains. Doing much better, no limp when walking.

3 or so cross country skiing miles with my wife and 14 yr old son. I never really broke a sweat as it was my son's first time, and cross country skiing is tough, especially when going uphill. Had a fun time, got snowed on, and enjoyed being out amongst gorgeous snow covered pine trees and a mostly frozen creek nearby. Gorgeous.