Training in Montana

Took the day off for my wife's birthday and went cross-country skiing. It was fantastic. Went a few miles up a canyon then headed back in order to pick up the kids from school. Total was about 6 miles but I didn't really break a sweat as we were going nice and slow. I wish we lived closer to the mountains but glad we're as close as we are.

Treadmill hill miles. Used the Hills program and it was a good workout, with a base incline of 5.5 going up to a max of 11.1. Started at 5.3 speed, and after 5 minutes moved up to a 6.0 for the rest of the time. Feeling tired today, probably from the cross country skiing yesterday using different muscles. I had a great nap Sunday but erased the benefits by staying up too late and starting my week sleep deprived. It's a constant cycle. Looking forward to my 30K in 5 weeks.

Boot Camp today. Good workout, but left me a bit tired. Working out in a gym is way too hot for me - I enjoy the colder air of a morning run, even if it's below freezing. Others said it was a tough workout but it's got me wondering if I'll stop doing boot camp once a week and just run. I love the camaraderie and learning new ways to work my muscles but maybe I need to slow down a bit? Odd - haven't felt this way in a workout for a while. Even got a really good night's sleep as I was really tired yesterday. Maybe I need to go to bed at 10:30 instead of after 11. I know I should, but...

Man, I am tired this week. Was supposed to do pickups today but just knew I didn't have it in me, and I have a Scout winter campout and cross-country skiing tomorrow, so needed to take it easy.

AP 9:02; Splits 9:11, 9:02, 8:59, 9:08. Avg HR 137; Max HR 148.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/74864735

Boy Scout campout screwed up my mileage this week, but it was fun. Friday we drove up past Red Lodge and parked at the road closed sign on Lake Fork trail. We unloaded our backpacks and loaded the Klondike sled with sleeping bags & cross country skiis, etc. and headed up the snowy road to our campsite. It was 1.35 miles away with a total of 400 feet elevation. It was really hard and took us over an hour. 3 ropes up front pulled the sled and two from behind pushed and it was brutal. Great upper thigh workout. Set up camp on some snow and had a horrible night's sleep as I melted all the snow beneath me all night long. Saturday morning we had breakfast and headed off up the trail teaching the boys how to cross country ski. All but one figured it out quickly so I stayed behind the slow one while the others went ahead. Ended up not getting much of a workout as it took us 2 hours to go 0.75 miles, then turned around and went back. Broke camp and headed back. Downhill was a breeze! Got home and planned to go for a run but we had some friends coming over in an hour and my wife wasn't keen on me leaving again. So, missed my 15.5 miles but definitely got a decent workout this weekend.