Cross Training

Snow arrived (locally) this past weekend and my XC Skis begged me to take them out...so I acquiesced.  The first trip was over to Lake Galena on Tuesday.  The skiing couldn't have been better until the Park people plowed the very path I was skiing on..bleh.  Check out the picture on the left.  (In fact, the damn plow guy almost hit me when he passed)  I managed to ski on top of the plowed snow..but it definitely wasn't as fast as the trampled/packed snow on the trail.  Why do they have to plow the path so soon?  Hell, they weren't even done plowing the roads in the Park.  They could have at least waited a day or so.  Something tells me the locals, who use the trail for their daily walk, are behind the prompt plowing..bleh.  Regardless, I got a good 6 mile workout in.

After giving up on Lake Galena I decided to try the Parks that were within walking distance of my house.  I headed over to Bush Park (in Buckingham) yesterday and found a gold mine.  It was a soccer field with at least 6 inches of virgin snow (except for a few footprints).  With that, I blazed an oval trail (or track) that was approximately 400m long. I did a sort of track workout during my lunch break.  After work, I met Jason Wood (Cat 2 roadie) and did some more track work.  I pushed myself MUCH harder with Jason because we raced.  Jason was averaging 2 min. per lap and I was averaging 2 1/2 min. per lap so he gave me a head start.  I think we got a couple miles of 400m sprints in.  A great workout for sure.  I wore my HR monitor and I was at 188bpm (193bpm max HR for cycling) at the finish of each lap.  We had a great/fun time.  More importantly we got a great workout in.  My legs are so sore right now.  In fact, I don't remember the last time my quads were so sore.

Maybe another XC Ski Track workout today?  Regardless, gotta get back on the bike/trainer tonight for a Sweetspot interval.  Cross Training is fun but it is NO SUBSTITUTE for time on the bike.  Will it help improve cycling performance?   Probably not.  At least there is no research to support it.  But, that's not why I do it.  I do it because it's fun, it gets me outdoors in the fresh air and in the sunlight (which I don't get enough of these days), it's a break from the bike and keeps me in good cardiovascular shape.

It's all good!  Power ON! Coach Rob