Endurance Path – March 2014
March was a pretty decent month. I started feeling better, we had some nicer weather and I was able to get outside more. We also took a road trip to Moab, Utah to do some mountain biking and hiking.
Lessons Learned
1) Time flies whether you are having fun or not.
2) I should have started cross country skiing years ago.
Training
March was definitely a better training month for me than February. I was feeling much better and kept up on a short morning workout for most of the month. We have also started to have a few days of warmer weather, making it a little easier to get outside for some exercise. Not to mention, I took my family to Moab, Utah for some hiking and mountain biking. In general, I’m feeling pretty good right now, but have a lot of cardio work to do before the Lutsen 99er in June. I came up with another short workout to do in the morning before work to focus on leg and core strength. I will share some of these workouts in the future as I get this site developed.
Cycling
I’ve been wanting to visit Moab, Utah for years and it finally happened. This was a great opportunity to see how I was feeling on the bike at this point. I only got a couple of hard rides in, but they were a couple of hours of riding. I can tell that I have a little better leg strength than I did last year and was able to make some pretty good climbs. I rode with my wife and kids, but was able to break away to do some riding on my own a few times.
Trails ridden:
Dead Horse State Park – Moab, Utah
Intrepid
Big Chief Loop
Pair
Whiptail
Twisted Tree
Prickly
Sand Flats Recreation Area – Moab, Utah
Slick Rock
Porcupine Rim
Klondike Bluffs Area – Moab, Utah
Jasper
Agate
MOAB Brands Focus Area – Moab, Utah
Lazy
EZ
Rusty Spur
Cross Country Skiing
We also made a weekend trip to the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan where I was able to do some cross country skiing. It was extremely frigid that weekend, but I am really enjoying the skis. I was also able to hit another trail here in Minnesota as well. I only have a set of beginner classic skis right now, but I plan to get a set of skate skis as well for next year. I may even try to enter some type of event.
Trails skied:
Swedetown – Calumet, Michigan
Maasto Hiihto and Churning Rapids – Hancock, Michigan
Big Rock Creek Farms – St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin
Running
I didn’t get much running in, but the weather has started to warm up and I did manage to get out a few times for a short run. I felt really good and was running the same pace that I ended up finishing last year with. I don’t really have anything on the agenda as far as running events go this year so far, but I will continue to mix a little bit of running into my training.
Nutrition
I have started to get my nutrition back on track during the month of March. It really is nothing more than a decision to eat better. My wife also found some good dried fruit and granola packages that was very helpful for the between meal snacking. I have moved back to the smaller meals and eating more often. I’ve also cut down on the starches and fats and upped the protein foods.
Events
I did not sign up for any new events this month, but have start looking at a few others that I could use as training events or that would just be good events to compete in.